Dimensions:
36×24
Done in oils

It is my belief that kids should play the same even in roughhousing, regardless of a disability or not. I enjoyed roughhousing when I grew up and liked seeing my friends do the same. But the neighbors weren’t sure of this and thought we were fragile. One afternoon my friends, Jamie and Timmy, came over for a visit and wrestled with me on the grass in the front yard. I was no match for either of them because of the Cerebral Palsy that I was born with, but it was fun to see them roughhouse. My friend, Timmy, was just partially paralyzed in one leg, compared to Jamie’s severe paralysis which made his legs much smaller than his friend’s. Nevertheless, Jamie with just his upper body strength pinned Timmy down almost every time! One of the neighbors freaked out watching Jamie turning repeatedly to pin Timmy down, and yet his lifeless and limp legs barely followed and even wrapped around each other. He didn’t wear his usual braces, which made his lower half look even more debilitating. Dragging on the ground, his legs were also one full circle or more behind his upper body. His back was twisted in the shape of a screw. This was too much for the neighbor to watch out of her window. She called my parents, who then made us play indoors. So, the next time you see kids with disabilities playing and perhaps getting a little rough, remember that boys must be boys!