Sit-Down Comic Shakes a Leg

[Guest guest]

This sounds wonderful for next years conference (can't remember who's doing

next years conference but know it is in the midwest)

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Sit-Down Comic Shakes a Leg

By Weeks

Barker saw a newspaper advertisement that read: " Women in wheelchairs

wanted. "

" I thought it was a dating service for cripples, and thought, hey, I could

use a date, " she said, laughing.

Barker laughs a lot - even when the pain of twice-weekly physical therapy

shoots through her body.

Barker, 24, also laughs when she recounts how she answered the ad: " If you

like women in jeans and sweatshirts, I am the one for you. "

The ad was a call for contestants for the Miss Iowa Wheelchair competition.

Barker, who was born with cerebral palsy, took the plunge. She won. In

August; she finished as first runner-up in the national contest in Florida.

Now she wants to parlay her 15 minutes of fame into a career for which she

seems well-equipped.

Barker wants to be a comedian.

" I'll be a stand-up, sit-down comic, " she said. " Life is too short to be

negative, so I like to look at the humorous side, " she said. " I really enjoy

life. It's just fun. "

Barker of Urbandale has performed her act at several local talent shows at

coffeehouses. She hopes to perform for a living someday, but not until she

finishes her autobiography: " My Life with a Disability: What a Joke. "

She tried out her special brand of humor at the wheelchair competition,

where, like any good comic, she sometimes rubbed organizers the wrong way.

Getting out of her wheelchair during the dance segment was against

competition rules.

" When I dance, I don't stay in my chair, " she said. " I get out and shake a

leg. "

Barker also made a joke during the karaoke segment that made judges bristle.

" I said, `I sing about as well as I can walk.' "

When she accidentally ran over her Iowa crown with her wheelchair, " I just

went and bought a new one, " she said, laughing again.

Not everything about her life is funny, Barker acknowledges.

The muscle soreness after physical therapy resembles the aches from the flu.

Sometimes it's much worse.

That's why she stays at it.

" I want to be able to get up and walk around my apartment and do things for

myself, " Barker said. " Everybody has inconveniences. Mine are just more

noticeable to everyone. "

Barker graduated in 1998 with a general studies degree from Central College

and landed a job at Equitable of Iowa.

Her boss, Christensen, describes Barker as outgoing and sure of

herself.

" Whenever she's presented with an obstacle, she finds a way to overcome it, "

he said.

Like anyone fit for a crown, Barker relies on attendants to help her prepare

for work in the morning and get ready for bed in the evening.

" There are times in life when I get really frustrated. I go get ice cream or

see my family, " she said. " I have a lot of good friends. They put me in my

place, and it's all better. "

Barker said the phrase " I can't " was banned in her home in Gowrie.

With each physical therapy session, she gets closer to her ultimate goal.

" I can stay in a straight line and walk short distances, but turning and

walking on carpet are difficult for me, " she said. " I can still hear my

parents saying, as long as I put my mind to it, I could do anything. "

END NOTES

Copyright 2000 The Des Moines Register. via Bell & Howell Information and

Learning Company; All Rights Reserved

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