The Jerry Maguire Elevator Scene

The scene was set inside an elevator with Jerry Maguire (played by Tom Cruise) and her newly-hired assistant Dorothy (played by Renee Zellweger). A young man, probably in his early 20’s, steps inside along with his girlfriend. He then raises his hands and starts gesturing as if trying to say something to her girlfriend.

It turns out that the man is hearing-impaired and sign language was his way of communication. It was not clear if the girl was also hard of hearing but there was no doubt that she understood what his boyfriend told her since they ended up embracing each other.

When the two stepped out of the elevator, Jerry asked Dorothy what the man said to his girl. She interpreted the hand gestures as “you complete me”.

That particular scene was actually quite short as it only took around five minutes, maybe even less. Yet, it was one of the more memorable shots of the movie, with the line “you complete me” actually ending up being used by lovers all over the world when professing their love for one another.

What is significant is that it took one disabled man to give real and complete meaning to that short, three-word line, and he did not even need to blurt out the words. In his own sweet and innocent way, he was able to express his feelings to his beloved, and he was readily understood, and his action appreciated.

So what exactly did that elevator scene in the film ‘Jerry Maguire’ attempted to impart? Simple: it wanted to convey the message that love knows no boundaries as it can happen anywhere and to anyone. Yes, even among lesser mortals that society often relegates to the sidelines.

More importantly, love need not be expressed in actual words. In very special cases, this can be shared more effectively through silent but meaningful gestures.

A Disabled-Friendly Establishment

When visiting different places, I seldom come across structures that acknowledge the existence of disabled people in their midst. In other words, many establishments are hardly disabled-friendly despite clear guidelines defined in the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons in the Philippines.

This morning, however, a pleasant surprise came my way. At around 10am, I went to the Valenzuela branch of Cebuana Lhuiller to claim a money remittance.

Upon entering their offices, the warm smile of a security guard greeted me and offered me his assistance. After telling him my business, he directed me to the counter where I filled out the remittance slip as per company procedures.

After completing the form, the guard then directed me to a special counter where a helpful teller processed my request. At this point, I noticed the small sign in front of me that says, “We proudly assist Senior citizens and PWD’s”

Those were not the exact words as I could hardly remember them. Nevertheless, the point here is that there is actually this particular establishment in the Valenzuela area that respects the rights of the disabled and proudly acknowledges them as part of modern society; in short, a building that is disabled-friendly. 

This could not be said of other concrete structures, especially those involved in the customer service business. I have entered a number of buildings that unfortunately has no existing policy when it comes to addressing the needs of the disabled.

Disabled people are not exactly asking for special treatment. They would be happy to follow any existing policy or guideline for as long as they are able to do so. The problem is, there are building guidelines that the typical differently-abled person will find hard to observe like in the case of going up the stairs to reach the upper building floors when the presence of elevators would have been a better alternative for PWD's. 

Cebuana Lhuiller Valenzuela may be an exception, but it still has a few things to work on in helping out PWD's. In particular, I take special notice to the particularly high step that I had to climb down on before I can get to enter the inner premises. A small ramp would have made things a bit easier; sadly, I hardly recall seeing such a structure.

Still, Cebuana Lhuiller Valenzuela has taken a valuable initiative in the customer service front. A few more improvements (a ramp perhaps?) should make the establishment totally disabled-friendly.