Cody Goes Shopping

Yesterday I introduced you to Cody LaScala. Today we met up in Second Life, and Cody told me he wanted to go do a little shopping, so I took him to one of the best menswear stores I know, called Gabriel:

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Cody (left) and me at Gabriel

Following Cody as he strolled around the store looking at clothing, chatting about the prices, we had a great time today! It made me realize that even the simple task of shopping in a store is probably something that is more difficult for Cody than most people, because of his differing abilities. For one thing, Cody’s cerebral palsy can make it difficult for him to be understood. He has to speak very slowly and enunciate every word so that I could understand him, and even then I often had to ask him to repeat himself. I suppose over time I will get better at understanding what he has to say, as other people do who communicate with him on a regular basis.

It’s also somewhat of a novelty for me to speak using voice in Second Life! I almost always use text chat only in SL. Among other reasons, it kind of destroys the illusion that I am a beautiful female supermodel, when I open my mouth and a man’s voice comes out! 😉

Cody LaScala and His Project

Me and Cody Lascala in Sansar 26 May 2018
Cody LaScala (right) and I in Sansar

My introduction to Cody LaScala was via Draxtor Despres’s documentary Our Digital Selves: My Avatar Is Me, where he was one of 13 individuals with differing abilities interviewed by Drax. Cody LaScala is someone who comes quite often into Sansar, and I have gotten to know him over the past few weeks as he has attended Atlas Hopping.

After today’s Atlas Hopping, Cody invited me to join him in Second Life so we could talk about his project: he wants to start up a movie studio in SL!

Cody Lascala and me 26 May 2018
Cody LaScala (right) and I in Second Life

And I have offered Cody my help in getting this project off the ground. I am a born Second Life shopper, and I can assemble a really detailed, well-put-together avatar like nobody’s business! Surely that skillset could come in handy when starting up a movie studio!

Cody’s story can be read here. He has severe cerebral palsy as the result of a near-drowning in a swimming pool when he was just one year old. But Cody is much more than just his disability!

Virtual worlds like Sansar and Second Life provide a sort of level playing field for people with disabilities like Cody, allowing them to present themselves to others as they wish. For many people with differing abilities, virtual worlds may offer them the first opportunity in their lives to be able to self-disclose their disabilities when and where they wish, rather than having people just see a disabled person first and foremost. In Sansar or Second Life, other people don’t see a wheelchair first, they just see Cody!

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Picture of Cody LaScala in real life (taken from Cody LaScala’s Triumphant Story on the NAPA Center website)

So, we are embarking on a wonderful adventure. Perhaps you’d like to join Cody in his dream of founding a movie studio in Second Life? The more the merrier! Just send me a message via this blog or in-world in either Sansar or Second Life (I also told Cody I would support his project by blogging about it today). Sound off in the comments! Thanks 🙂