Tough year for short celebrities

I just found out Gary Coleman has passed away. On May 16th, the world lost Heavy Metal music icon Ronnie James Dio to stomach cancer.

Gary was about 4'8" tall and Ronnie was about 5'4" tall. Many short statured people find inspiration in these two extraordinary individuals. Gary faced tremendous adversity in his life. Yet he has left his indelible mark on the world. His legacy as a gifted actor will continue on for years to come. Ronnie was a musical powerhouse who stood out as one of the most talented rock singers of all time.

The story of these two men reveal the truth. Short stature is not an inferior trait. These men will live on in the hearts and minds of their fans. Thank you for blessing all of us with your talent...

NOSSA receives complaint re: school bus service

NOSSA - National Organization Of Short Statured Adults, Inc. is in receipt of a complaint regarding a school bus service in Tacoma, Washington.

The complaint alleges:

On March 31,2010 I was hired for a school bus driving position for a school bus service in Tacoma, Wa. I reported for training April 1st and took my D.O.T. physical and passed on Friday, April 2nd. I continued on with my training on April 5th. By April 8th, after driving for two days, the Supervisor in charge was made aware that the seat belt on 'some' of the buses would not fit me properly. The reason the seat belt would not fit was because of my height of 4'9" (4'10" with sneakers). I had to move the seat far forward on this particular bus, and the seat belt would not extend. The Supervisor told me that since the seat belts on some buses would not extend, she could not hire me. I suggested a seat belt extender. She said it was unacceptable and against policy.

I have been a bus driver for almost 10 years (6 of those years driving a school bus), I know a seat belt extender is not a safety infraction nor are they against the law. Many over weight drivers use them.

When you're first hired as a Bus Driver with a big company, you start out on 'stand by'. When a driver is on stand by, they are never assigned the same bus. It is my opinon, this supervisor did not want to do her homework. If a seat belt extender is against policy, she would have to check every bus to see if the belt extended far enough. It was easier to let me go.

NOSSA is contacting the company in hopes of receiving an explanation regarding this situation. We will post a response if one is issued from the company.

*** UPDATE *** NOSSA received the following response from the bus service:

Dear Mr. Hamre, the safety of the children we transport is our top priority. The person in question was not employed by us. While they did attend training for two days, we cannot comment on the decision to not hire them. Respectfully,
General Manager

Apathy

One of my favorite quotes was made by stand-up comic Bill Maher, when he said, (paraphrasing here) "I am angry about alot of things. I'll tell you what I'm mostly pissed off about. I'm mostly pissed off that not enough people are pissed off."

I think that really sums up the frustration of the heightism activist. Most people simply don't care. People just want to go on about living their lives. They want to make the most of the time they have and not sit around dwelling on the fact that they are short and the challenges that they face because of it.

Why bother joining NOSSA? What good will it do? At the end of the day I'll still be short and nothing will have changed.

We've compiled a list of some of the benefits of uniting together with NOSSA. You can review the list by clicking here.

I think it's very important to not allow yourself to have a negative and/or apathetic attitude when it comes to these types of issues.

Change starts from within and can certainly work it's way throughout society like a wildfire. But only if you let it. Only if you abandon the apathy and take action....