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Bringing
people
together to
express their
feelings in an
environment
of trust and
hope.

sk me if I can."
Just a thought, a saying on a button worn on a clown's
lapel. On this night, a cold Halloween evening, it was a
clown, a person in dark face makeup, who provided the
best symbolism one could ask for.
There's trick-or-treat candy being given out all over
the surrounding West Bloomfield neighborhoods.
Yet here, at Temple Israel, a room slowly fills with
people. Some are in wheelchairs. Some use walk-
ers. One wears a clown costume.
No. Don't go away. It's not a meeting, really.
There's reluctant eye contact. Glimpses at neigh-
bors. Stares at the table. The coffee urn creaks
with electrical sounds.

Some came here because they are sad. Some came for a hug.
For some, just to make eye contact was enough.
The topic is practical, yet difficult. People with disabilities
are meeting with therapist Edie Pernick. They are here to hear,
well, about sex. How does one ask a lover to make you feel
intimate when you are in a wheelchair? •
"It's difficult and cumbersome to hug a wheelchair," one
woman says. The people in their wheelchairs move closer to
hear Edie. One couple holds hands. Another person tells it like
it is: "I'm pissed." She doesn't want to know how to make a lover
help her. She wants to first find that person.
Sex is easy, says another; "intimacy takes more effort."
Caring Community at Temple Israel.
On another night in another room, two elderly men recog-
nize one another after decades. Both men grieve over the loss
of their wives. One reads a poem he wrote about his lady. The
other tells him that he remembers what a wonderful person
the first man's wife was.

