Bending the silverware

[Karen Robb]

I thought that everyone knew this but while I was
on vacation I had lunch with a guy who was also
DBE, with whom I had corresponded for quite a
while, and he kept moving his arm into awkward
positions when eating, to position the fork to the
right angle to reach his mouth.  I asked him why
he didn't just bend the silverware, and he had no
idea what I was talking about, so:

If you are a DBE, you can just bend the forks and
spoons a little so that they are at the correct
angle for your use.  People with hands can move
their hands in an infinite adjustment of angles so
they don't need to do this, but if you are a DBE,
your pros only works well in a limited finite
number of angles, and unless you are very lucky,
that angle won't be just right with the forks and
spoons in a restaurant when you eat out.. So what
you do is, using the table edge as a fulcrum if
you want, you bend the handle of the forks and
spoons just a little so that they are at exactly
the right angle for you.

When you are done eating you can have someone with
hands bend them back, or just forget about it.
Its OK to so this-- It's one of those extra
privileges we get because we are disabled, like
special parking spaces.

And for the professionals among the readers, let's
not forget to pass on the basic tricks along with
the latest high tech stuff...

This is also a more general rule: don't be afraid
to alter reality a little to make things easier
for you.. In life as in restaurant eating, don't
hesitate to bend the silverware!

Karen Robb
DBE at age 23 now 28