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My Achin' Nose

Missing image

 


People these days are very sensitive
To the feelings of the handicapped.
Many of us are physically challenged
And rightly so, others should adapt.

 

Everywhere I go, I see ramps and lifts
For people who are wheelchair bound.
And at every ATM and on elevator walls
Buttons in Braille can always be found.

 

But what about one-armed guys like me?
Does anybody give a stinking rat’s ass? 
I'm driven around the bend all the time
So excuse me if I sound a little bit crass.

 

I spend a lot of time on my home computer
And about two-hundred times every day,
I need to get something done and I’m told
Hitting “control-alt-delete” is the only way.

 

But control and alt are over on the left side 
And delete is way the hell over to the right.
The world bends over for the blind and deaf.
Hello?  What about me?  It just isn't right!

Typing control and alt is no problem at all
But typing "delete" borders upon the absurd.
I have to hold down the control and alt keys,
Then press delete with my nose like a bird.

It's not funny!  Stop laughing, damn you!
My life's hard enough already, you swine.
Please, somebody, invent a new keyboard,
I'll buy it.  In fact, I'll be the first in line!

Author notes

I joke, but this is a real problem for people with one arm.  A friend of mine with only one hand complains about this all the time.  I wrote this to cheer him up.  He has a sardonic sense of humor so I'm sure it will.

Apparently, the ctrl+alt+delete function was created on purpose to prevent people from hitting them accidentally and erasing their hard drive.  Uh, hello?  Forget anyone???

ctrl-alt-delete must be abolished!!!  How about ctrl+alt+R (or any button on the left two rows up from the bottom).  Try to hit that accidentally.  It can't be done!  Ha!  Dilemma solved.
Written May 5th, 2006

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1 - 17 of 17

  • AusStar gold member
    June 24

    Edit | Reply
    I love this poem Mark, because I used to know a guy with only the use of one arm. It was a long time ago, and I wonder now how he goes with the Ctrl, Alt Delete thing!!

  • coolpoet
    May 27, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    hey,i've decided to bookmark this page.I'm gonna show this poem to a friend who has a similar problem..hope u wont mind
  • coolpoet
    May 27, 2006
    Edit | Reply

    excellent

    wow!wat a piece!i couldn't stop laughing!well,someday,i might invent some keyboard like the one u've mentioned..will let ya know then(lol)..dont worry!

  • Grieving-Willow
    May 27, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    It's not funny! Stop laughing, damn you!

    ... How did you know? I got to that line and just started laughing more! You are so funny! You always have a way of making the reader laugh yet show the serious points of society or whatever it is that you are expressing

    Sorry it has taken me so long to comment. Its about time I catch up on your writes huh?! Forgive me for taking so long, my sleep deprivation isn't so severe but I'm afraid it has affected my writing somewhat ... Anywho... Great Write, I'm sure this made your friend laugh, you have a way of spreading laughter to people

    Love you!

    Your nerd of a niece!

    Sara Dawn

  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    May 18, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Hi Jayson,

    Thanks but I'm not missing any appendages. I'm just in the habit of writing in the first person. Glad you enjoyed it.

    Mark
  • JaysonBaby
    May 18, 2006
    Edit | Reply

    excellent

    hey that was really cute i thought. well I enjoyed reading it. At the end of it i had to chuckl a little because it was funny. well hope some day that some one invents a key board just for you. well nice work

  • PurpleSky
    May 9, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    I was going to say ummm this just didnt seem funny to me however probebly because I take care of handicapped people and know the struggles they really go through, now Ill give ya credit on the nose thing you at least gave it a lighthearted feel with that one lol anyways your always a joy to read even if the pic or content is so grafic I have to run and throw up a few times and come back lol. nice write hun, hope all is well
    huggles
    ~LENA~

  • May 9, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    You're funny. I might come back and read your poetry!

    rosita
  • Yvette Champ
    May 7, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Dear Mark, another write which has an important message delivered with a sense of humour.Well written and able to amuse and make the reader think and feel.I am mystified by some inventions that get patented and others that don`t,it is sheer economics,what company will invest if they won`t make mega bucks?The technology is undoubtedly there.In the UK the RNIB has all sorts of products that are made for the visually impaired,thank the lord,I would suggest you contact them on your friends behalf to see if they can refer you to a company specializing in aids for people with physical challenges.Alternatively your friend may consider a computer service which talks,it enables the user to talk into the computer and to recieve spoken messages without the need for the keyboard I believe.The web is beyondsight.net
    As uusual,a pleasure to drop on by and read your creativity,love and light,Yvette

  • Invisible Comfort
    May 6, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Haha, that would be brilliant...except I can do ctrl alt delete with only my right hand... x

  • heismysong silver member
    May 6, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    I think ctrl-alt-"d" would probably be more appropriate... Ya know- "d" for "delete". It just makes sense! (It's also closer than the "r". )

    Just my suggestion!
  • sad-but-true
    May 6, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Another great write by a great poet. I enjoyed this one so much. I admit, I too was laughing. but it was so funny, I just had to laugh because with my child she does alot of weird things to get around on the keyboard. One example is that she will count backwards on the letter keys to find a certain letter then push it down, when the wrong letter comes up she tells the keyboard to stay still. she is only eleven and she is blind, but she moves around the keyboard like this so well. Forget about the typing teacher cd, she does her typing with math. GO FIGURE!! But it works for her. lol nice write as always. HUGS ~val~

  • May 6, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    When I was just starting into computers there was a way to rearrange different buttons on the key board, but I don't remember how. A computer programmer may be able to help your friend some how. This is a great poem. Thanks for remembering the ones that have physical limitations.
    Thanks for the laugh!

  • cherche -d -ame gold member
    May 6, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Oh Mark , you always manage to make me laugh because you create such funny visuals. But I guess you do have a great point here.......btw, could apply to someone who can have both arms , but just temporarily injured one........... I am actually on a tangent about this entire handicapped issue and I will explain. I am awaiting back surgery on the 15th ( a fusion ) I do not have any outward signs of being handicapped ( therefore I get bumped and rushed around quite a bit by the mainstream society ) Being that I have to be very cautious right now on how I move , walk ........and at what speed even <------first gear I have come to really see how this world rushes around and expects the same of everyone else. I am considering going to the shop and getting one of those huge iron on letter H's and pasting it to my posterior
    Have a good weekend,
    xoxoxo
    reenie

  • dragonstuff83
    May 5, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    But all keyboards have CTRL and ALT on both sides of the keyboard so that people can hit combinations easily without crossing over. LOL! Good write though!

    Dragon

  • superstition
    May 5, 2006
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    You're going to get tired of hearing from me, but I LOVE your writing so much! You write on subjects that are oftentimes so different than what most write about.

    Your timing in this was absolutely perfect. I read your second to last stanza and started laughing just to read the words: "It's not funny! Stop laughing, damn you!" lmao. That just made me laugh harder. You pace things great.

    I could see the problems the keyboard would be though for this person, and I had a teacher that had an arm that he couldn't use. It was deformed and really small, so he had to work with one hand. He was my favorite teacher I ever had to. He would love this piece.

  • Marissa Ann Scott
    May 5, 2006
    Edit | Reply

    sensitizing and layered write!

    u knw... ur veeery creative! I live for readin ur stuff when i'm having a bad day... like today....

    it's hard to think of others sometimes i guess when ur patenting and seeing dollar signs dancing.

    ppl with special needs dont really leap to mind.

    thanx for always sensitizing us Mark.

    hugz!
    Marissa.
1 - 17 of 17