Who Is Involved

"Building Inclusive Communities in Seattle"

Lupita and Joe: A Story Teller and Writer Share their Crafts
By Ray Kelleher

Joe spends his days interviewing international celebrities and local artists and writing entertainment features for a big-city, daily newspaper. He has been a professional journalist for over 30 years.

Lupita buses tables at the cafeteria of Seattle Community College. Lupita is 31 years old, and even though she has Down syndrome and finds writing difficult, she has plenty to say.

Every Thursday Joe comes over to Lupita's family home and spends an hour taking notes while Lupita talks. They're building a book tentatively titled, My Journal, by Lupita. Joe and Lupita have been writing together in this way for over five years, and My Journal consists of hundreds of entries in binders filled with Joe's neatly typed transcripts.

Lupita says she has longed to do this since she was 17 years old. When asked why, she says, 'So they can see us do our thing in action.' Lupita's intended readership is people who don't know what it's like to live with her disability. Lupita spends a lot of her time trying to bring these folks up to speed, testifying before the State Legislature on issues that involve disability and helping to build organizations like Fremont Time that work to include people with disabilities. Lupita takes this mission seriously. She likes being out in public. She likes being social, and she likes to show what she can do. Like all diarists, though, Lupita finds satisfaction in the simple process of articulating the quality of her days. In this sense My Journal is an end in itself.

Joe knew of Lupita through Lupita's sister Rosie, an actress and playwright. Lupita didn't know Joe, but she knew she wanted someone to help her get her thoughts down on paper. Fremont Time provided a practical, equitable arrangement. By working with Lupita, Joe builds up credits he needs for window washing and maintenance services for his home. Lupita keeps her account flush by volunteering at a local nursing home where she helps the residents with recreational activities.

Lupita's journal, like all good journals, is primarily an unfiltered account of her feelings, daily experiences, and creative visions. Joe describes it as a 'record of what it's like to be Lupita.' Sometimes, however, the work goes much deeper than Lupita's daily routine. In the spring of 1995 Lupita's father died of rapidly metastasized cancer, and, unaware of the tragedy, Joe showed up at Lupita's the next day for their regular writing session. When he learned the family was in mourning he tried to excuse himself, but Lupita was anxious to work. Joe describes the session as a mixture of Lupita's random thoughts, grief, and spontaneous bursts of prayer in English and Spanish. It was a moving experience for Joe.

As Joe describes his experience of Lupita he likes to draw a contrast with the work he does at the newspaper. He explains that his job at the paper demands that he routinely interview people for whom interviews are a bothersome part of life ' jaded, sometimes sullen Hollywood stars. Lupita, on the other hand, is anxious to be known. Says Joe, 'I just say, 'Tell me about yourself,' and she does. Lupita is an extrovert.' Joe hasn't participated with Fremont Time in a while, but he still visits Lupita's home every Thursday. He says his friendship with Lupita is part of the payoff. 'I didn't know what I was getting into, but it's been very pleasant,' he says. 'Lupita is pretty exotic by my standards. When I started this there were people who warned me about getting attached, but I've found that attachment is part of the reward.'

Learn more about the strategies Joe and Lupita used.