I’m not intimately familiar with the Captain America comics, but the film’s trailer intrigued me enough to lure me into the theater over the weekend. Captain America can safely be considered a B-lister in Marvel’s stable of superheroes, so the movie could have gotten away with being merely competent and audiences would have been satisfied. Captain America aspires to be more than competent, taking us on an invigorating romp through a comic book version of World War II. The story itself doesn’t need much explanation. Steve Rogers is a 90-pound weakling who desperately wants to join the military and aid in the battle against the Nazis, but keeps getting turned away because of his physical frailties. Thanks to a chance meeting with an Army scientist at the World Expo, Rogers is enrolled in a secret military program designed to turn him into a super-soldier. Meanwhile, renegade Nazi officer Johann Schmidt (played with appropriately sinister megalomania by Hugo Weaving) is pursuing his own plan for world domination.

The movie’s light touch keep Captain America from becoming a jingoistic self-parody and lets his simple humanity win the audience’s sympathies. This attention to character development, along with several clever yet not altogether original action sequences, separates Captain America from lesser peers like Daredevil and Fantastic Four. Aside from an after-credits scene that plays more like a commercial, Captain America is perfectly enjoyable popcorn entertainment drenched in lovingly rendered nostalgia.

My medical supply company has been trying to gently persuade me to give up my bulky, old-school ventilator in favor of a newer, more compact model. I’ve been reluctant simply because I’m so accustomed to my current vent (the LP-10, if you’re curious) and how it interfaces with me. I know how to trigger the alarm to get someone’s attention and how to tweak the settings when necessary (such as when I’m doing a lot of public speaking). In short, it’s familiar and comfortable.

Yesterday, I received a letter from my supply company notifying me that there’s a slight problem with the new ventilator intended to replace my current vent. Apparently, it may suddenly stop working without warning. I understand that any medical device can malfunction, but my clunky LP-10 has been a dependable machine over nearly two decades of use. As you might guess, I’m even less enthusiastic about the new vent now.

I’m usually an enthusiastic adopter of new technology, but this might be an instance where sticking with what works is the better option.

I got sidetracked doing tech support for a nurse who desperately needs a more capable laptop. I’ll be back tomorrow with something more worthy of your time and attention.

Michelle asks about my first kiss.

It may be difficult to believe now, but I was quite the ladies’ man back in the sixth grade. I was a terrible flirt and girls would actually compete with each other to hang out with me during recess. It was probably the high point of my romantic life. Yes, I realize how sad that must sound.

Anyway, I had my eye on a particular girl in my class–Melanie. She had brown hair and big wet eyes. We had taken to spending a lot of time together and I had an inkling that she might like me as well. My friends knew all about this and decided to move things along. One day while my friends and I were in the school library, they suddenly pushed me into a quiet corner between bookshelves. Melanie was waiting there. She didn’t say anything. She just leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. My usual gift for words left me and I think all I could manage was a dreamy “Wow!”

Not much became of me and Melanie. We went to separate schools for seventh grade and I never saw her again. But it seems appropriate that I was surrounded by a hushed audience of books when a girl kissed me for the first time.

Thanks for making the first annual Since You Asked Week such a success. We’ll have to do this again sometime.

Maggie asks:

What did you do that got you past the assorted prejudices and horse-hockey assumptions about people with disabilities … especially to get into law school and to get hired by a big outfit? What should a new kid in that kind of situation be doing?

I’m not sure I did anything particularly different than my able-bodied peers. I was a good student and had the drive and ambition typical of academic overachievers. Of course, my parents were a huge influence on me. They made it clear that, regardless of my disability, they expected me to get an education and find employment. Anything less simply wasn’t acceptable. That’s why I get particularly perturbed whenever someone suggests to me that I really don’t have to work and could simply go on Social Security if I so desired. That’s certainly a valid choice for many people, but it’s foreign to my worldview.

As for any advice I might have, it’s pretty standard stuff. Study hard. Find mentors who can see past your disability and will eventually be willing to extol your virtues to others. Don’t be afraid to talk about your disability and how it has shaped your perspective, but remember that your disability is not the most interesting thing about you. Take every opportunity to demonstrate your competence. Enroll in challenging classes. Volunteer. Get noticed. Once people see that you’re capable in whatever endeavor you choose, your disability will matter much less to others.

Keep the questions coming.