A stunningly inappropriate and thoughtless
question often blurted toward a handicapped person, the only
proper answer to which is "Don't
ask".
"What happened to you?" asked the seemingly civilized
man of the woman who was struggling mightily to take each halting step. Yet she needed no reminder of how
hard it was to
move, or of how many years she had been in
pain. She was under no obligation to answer the moronic stranger, who in any event seemed to want no answer and quickly began prattling about his skiing accident, years ago, which he believed would be fascinating to a woman with a permanent handicap, but, please... don't ask.