I thought I had the job

I guess the answer is no.

I stayed home all day Monday. My phone was always by my side all day, waiting for that text, that email, or that call. I was hoping it was a phone call: something as monumental as what I was oh-so-much expecting, surely, was worth a phone call. I was sure — darn sure — they had all my contact information. I wanted to phone. Sure, did. But I knew she would be very busy, flying to Philadelphia where, I heard through credible news services, she was making the big announcement. Philadelphia? You kiddin’ me? Talk about full circle.

The reason I’m not reading this is because I don’t speak very clearly. I live with a disability. Cerebral palsy. I didn’t breathe for 17 minutes But, only for a minute. Then I stopped. Sorry, everybody. I didn’t start breathing on my own until I was 45 minutes old. But — get ready for this: it’s a joke — I got rid of the hiccups. Sure did. My parents, the most incredible people I will ever know, took me to Philadelphia for treatment. We made 18 trips to Philadelphia over five years. I can honestly say that if Mom and Dad wouldn’t have taken me to the City of Brotherly Love I would not be sitting up and typing this copy.

So, going back to Philly. That would be so, so sweet. I thought maybe we could go back to where I went as a kid. Chestnut Hill, a picturesque, Norman Rockford-like suburb — northeast Philly, if you ever want to go there. I could introduce the team to the staff of the — get ready for the name, here Grampa — Institute of the Achievement of Human Potential. But, as much as I was waiting to hear from her, time marched on. Disappointed? Yes, siree Bob, because, after all, I had the qualifications.

I was around, oh, 14, maybe, 15 when I was elected vice-president. Not the president. But the vice-president. Second in command of the Glenrose School Hospital students union vice president. There you go. That was my hot dog. I didn’t want to be the person with all the pressure who got yelled at — he sure did — when my fellow students didn’t like the band at last Friday night’s dance … even when they voted in big numbers to hire them. I liked to do things the president didn’t have time to do. It was a great learning experience. I liked the gig so much that, in Grade 12, I threw my name in the hat, again, and was elected. Again.

Decades later and far less hair, I assumed the role as vice-chair for the Premier’s Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities. Same thing: learning, and doing everything to keep the Council going. I also was the vice-president of a small group that for a home care program for people with disabilities. So I have experience. I do not know, honestly, if I was a good vice-president, if there is even such a thing. But I knew what it took.

I thought last Saturday night was the night when it was cemented. I surfed through the 8,723 channels my cable provider, go figure, provides me with and landed softly on channel 27, CNN, where Abby Phillips was conducting an interview with her. Over the next hour, sitting in a crisp navy suit, on a well appointed chair, with tasteful — not over the top jewelry — and a dignified hair style, she shared her beliefs, her drive and most significantly, her vision. It inspired me. Then I thought of my vice-president experience and, maybe I assumed, she heard of what I did. Guess not. Because, Kamala Harris chose her vice-president running mate in the United States upcoming election.

I wonder if, maybe I didn’t get the job because … I’m a Canadian.