HANDICAPPED MAN HAS A HIGH TIME OVER FARNHAM FIELD

Skydiver's Grass Gets Greener. despite Having Hands That Cannot Write,
Author Has Just Completed Book about His Life

Claude Messier gives a whole new meaning to the term "getting high."

One of 251 Canadians with an exemption from Health Canada to smoke
marijuana for medical purposes - in his case to ease the pain of muscular
distrophy - Messier smoked one last joint yesterday before flying to 13,000
feet.

Then, strapped onto a parachute instructor twice his size, he threw himself
out of the airplane, along with his recently published autobiography,
Confessions d'un Paquet d'Os (Confessions of a Bag of Bones).

It was quite a book launch for Messier, who since birth has not been able
to use his arms or his legs.

His book ended up in a cornfield somewhere, but he fulfilled his dreams of
publishing a book and skydiving from a plane, all in one fell swoop.

"What an incredible trip," he said upon landing in a field in Farnham, as a
crowd of well-wishers cheered.

"Skydiving is like a great drug but you don't need permission for it."

You do, of course, need guts, and that's what Messier has always had plenty of.

Despite his physical difficulties, he has been a strong advocate for
handicapped people's rights, especially for the use of medicinal marijuana.

He even ran in the last federal election as the Marijuana Party candidate
for Mercier riding. (He finished the race with about 1,700 votes.)

And despite having hands that cannot write, Messier has just finished a
book about his life.

His life is not all that different from yours, he said.

"It's about growing up, sex, love, betrayal, delinquency," he said.

"And it's about the unknown facets of handicapped people, often hidden from
view."

For Messier, it's also about beating the odds.

Told he wouldn't live past age 6, then 12, then 24, Messier is now 36, and
has big plans: more skydiving, a new book, maybe work in radio and film.

Yesterday, a team from Radio-Canada filmed his jump for a documentary on
Messier's life called La grandeur d'un Homme.

"He's just extremely determined," said the film's producer, Francois Dupuis.

"He's always fighting so many battles.

"And although people keep telling him he won't live much longer, he is so
alive, with pure joie de vivre, and does more than most people who aren't
handicapped do."

Ultimately, Messier's life and work come down to two simple messages.

For the able-bodied:

"Treat us as equals," Messier said, "as whole people just like you, without
condescension."

For the handicapped:

"Go beyond your dreams, and push your limits. We have to wake up and take
our place in society."

It was a message well-received by the other handicapped people who came to
watch him skydive yesterday, and might just join him next time.