Every interview I do has an impact on me, and when I interviewed Tim Wambach and Mike Berkson of the wildly successful stage show, Handicap This, it was no different. The impact has been a very positive and personal one. Tim and Mike have a way of inviting you into their company and making you feel like you've known each other for years. They wanted to meet me and I reeaally wanted to meet them, so it was a very easy comfortable flow when we met and said hi and what made it even more unbelievable was that our interview was over the phone! I really related to one of the things Mike said... he said that he didn't know if anyone outside his family would accept him for who he was. Enter stage left, Tim, a 27 year old who became Mike's aide when he was 12. Soon after, Tim began to realize that his job as Mike's aide was turning into a friendship! This is a friendship that transcends any barriers! It's inclusion at it's best! Mike and Tim are BEST friends and it doesn't take you long to recognize their unbreakable bond. In fact, I was honored that I got to hear it with my own ears! Handicap This helps you understand that there is more to a person than just what's on the outside, it's what's on the inside that counts. Tim decided that he was going to open his mind and his heart and get to know who Mike really was, which meant Tim would see Mike go through rough, painful times and happy, incredible times... But, no matter what, Tim showed that he would be with Mike through it all... He wasn't going anywhere! He values Mike's friendship and Mike values his! Now, and since 2010, you can see their journey play out on stage, where you will laugh, cry and be INSPIRED!
This interview will be one of the ones that will stay with me through my career as an anchor! Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
Tim-
Thank you for opening your heart and your mind all those years ago and having a passion for helping those with disabilities and special needs and continuing to make minds "handicap accessible"! You truly are a one-of-a-kind person! Thank you for being you!
Mike-
Thank you for showing all of us what having a physical challenge can look like. We don't have to let limitations define the possiblities of what we CAN DO! Because you ponder the infinite possibilities, all of us who have the privilege of meeting you, also ponder our own possibilties! Thank you for sharing your positive journey that is the essence of you!
Listen to Mike and Tim on my podcast! We had so much fun! http://www.arcind.org/a-view-into-handicap-this/
Want a sneek peek of the show? Watch Mike and Tim's TEDx Iowa speech! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfVCgRVMBRc
Michelle Fischer is host of A View from My Window a podcast produced, by The Arc of Indiana
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