I couldn't do what I do, such as it is, without the work of people like Harriet Pryde Johnson whom I was sorry to read has died at the age of 50. I never had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Johnson save through her words in articles about medical ethics or telethons. If we had met, I doubt we'd agree on everything.

However, people like her, living in the generation before IDEA made many things about my life possible, so I thought I'd take a moment and thank her for that, even at a time when I'm not so sure that the case for my life would be as compelling as hers. Thanks for the telethon protests; you put words to the creepy feeling Jerry and his posse always gave me that I couldn't reason out.

I hope you feel,Ms. Johnson, mostly, that you got most of what you wanted out of life. Did you? Or were you always facing forward for the next fight?

I wonder that about every disabled woman I meet now.

We are a movement that has never been about the televised leaders, though, so all I can say is that I will keep up the fights you started best as I can.

One of Ms. Johnson's articles can be found here.