Brian Segal

Filed under: Regular Contributors, Brian Segal, Themes, Wheelchairman of the Board

Irked recently received the following one-sentence email from the Wisecracker Grandmaster—the ALWAYS funny, and NEVER dull Mr. Brian Segal:

“Just a thought I had. If there really is life after death then why can’t dead people get life insurance policies?”

Brian Segal is living in the country north of Montréal. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about 18 years ago and, when asked, tells people he is retired (It sounds a lot better than telling people you are on disability insurance). He is happily married, no children, but one very friendly husky cross. He also has the good fortune of living in his own home, not a home.

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Filed under: Regular Contributors, Brian Segal, Themes, Wheelchairman of the Board

Fragments

by Brian Segal

You had better write it down before your mind locks it up and throws away the key.

Walking down Crescent Street in Montreal at about 3:00 in the morning circa 1971. The colors and slightly mad thoughts of psychedelic drugs Click to continue »

Filed under: Regular Contributors, Brian Segal, Themes, Wheelchairman of the Board

My Shoes Will Last Forever

An original essay by Brian Segal

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Filed under: Regular Contributors, Brian Segal, Themes, Wheelchairman of the Board

A TOMB WITH A VIEW (or Things seem to be looking up)

by Brian Segal

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Filed under: Regular Contributors, Brian Segal, Themes, Standard Insomniatic Fare, Wheelchairman of the Board

Surrounded By Time

By Brian Segal

I have had problems with insomnia. Perhaps that is not exactly the truth. I used the past tense in the first sentence. My difficulties concerning sleep deprivation were only artificially overcome with a “cocktail” of sleep aids (medications). My sleep may not be “naturally” induced but it sure beats Click to continue »

Filed under: Regular Contributors, Brian Segal, Themes, Wheelchairman of the Board

Trapped In A Web Of My Own Doing

(Or how vacuum cleaners and wheelchairs do not mix)

by Brian Segal

Although I am in a wheelchair, I still like to try and help out with the day to day chores around the house. There are limitations of course. Shovelling snow off the roof of the house is no longer possible. Crane operators will not insure the hoisting of my chair up on the roof. Click to continue »

Filed under: Regular Contributors, Brian Segal

Man’s Best Friend (Or how the windows in my home were replaced)

by Brian Segal

I’m not really sure where to start this story so I guess I’ll take the advice of the king in Lewis Carroll’s story Alice in Wonderland and “Begin at the Beginning and go on till you come to the End.”

For as long as I can remember I have always had a dog. Click to continue »

Filed under: Regular Contributors, Brian Segal, Themes, Wheelchairman of the Board 

Before I start writing my little essay I would like to make a couple of things clear: Firstly, I accept the fact that I must use a wheelchair. My explanation to people who ask why I am in a wheelchair is simply that I have multiple sclerosis—an accident of life and nothing else. Secondly, and for me something that is obvious, is that I would much rather not have to use one. I don’t feel sorry for myself; I would simply rather not be in my present physical state. Click to continue »

Filed under: Regular Contributors, Brian Segal, Themes, Wheelchairman of the Board 

“Like many people, I felt that seeing a psychiatrist would somehow stigmatize me. If you’re a diabetic and take insulin no one questions you. But if your disease is of the mentally interesting kind…well…that puts you in a different category entirely.”

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Filed under: Regular Contributors, Brian Segal, Themes, Wheelchairman of the Board

Some Musings on Using a Wheelchair

 by Brian Segal

I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when I was 39 years old. The disease was slow in evolving. For a number of years I could get around easily enough using just a cane. As time went on, the cane turned into a walker and eventually into a wheelchair. My story is not about multiple sclerosis, but more about what life is like living in a wheelchair. Click to continue »