tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983507008930005927.post2221922725089423080..comments2023-01-26T10:31:50.332+00:00Comments on An Uncivil War: About Face - thoughts on disability in fictionAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04817197150591121768noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983507008930005927.post-85828959027808327882015-08-14T12:27:57.775+01:002015-08-14T12:27:57.775+01:00I can remember a WWII RAF pilot whose face was bad...I can remember a WWII RAF pilot whose face was badly scarred on one side, just a mass of red and pink shrivelled flesh. He moved to our quiet neck of the woods to avoid people. I was a kid when he finally braved to outside world, but to stare at his scar seemed a rude thing to do and I didn't, I focused on his face as though both sides were equal to his handsome side, and I never thought of his wound as repulsive. Deep inside I felt sorry for him, but when talking to him there was no voyeuristic fascination for my part and I think he knew that, because he never cocked his head to one side as he often did when speaking to other people and he didn't disappear inside his house or exit a shop at the first given opportunity as he did with others. Later on, as a teenager I can recall walking from town alongside him and conversing merrily as we stepped through the churchyard (a short cut) and he made a quip about one second longer stuck in the cockpit and there wouldn't have been enough of him left to bury, and what was half a face gone to that of those who had never returned. I couldn't think of any thing else to do but link my hand in his and we walked on that way for quite awhile until he paused beside a wall to pick a sprig of an overhanging fluffy yellow pompom flower (never can remember the name) and stuck it in my hair, a big grin to his face. There was nothing remotely sexual in his motive, and I shall never forget his words. "Thank you, for being my friend". His wife was lovely too, but sadly they never had any children. I truly believe there's a place for disability within novels, and provides not only sense of realism, it can make a hero more of a hero in some respects, and even a minor character with a disability can shine as a hero or heroine in their own right. Francine Howarthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02326542867876257042noreply@blogger.com