By Dietrich Fischer
Nine physically and mentally disabled contestants at a Special Olympics assembled at the starting line for the 100-meter dash. As they heard the gunshot, they all began to move as rapidly as they could, not really in a dash, but with joy to try to be the first to reach the finish line and win.
But one boy stumbled, fell down and began to cry. The others heard him and stopped. Then they all turned back. One girl with Down Syndrome kissed the boy and said,
“This will make it better.”
Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood up and cheered for ten minutes, some with watery eyes.
And we keep calling them ‘disabled’.
Dietrich Fischer (1941-2015) from Münsingen, Switzerland, got a Licentiate in Mathematics from the University of Bern 1968 and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from New York University 1976.
21 June 2021
Source: www.transcend.org