Fairly unnoticed by the public at large, a large portion of the American population has gone bionic. That is, sporting man-made body parts tailored to replace human organs or limbs.
“At some point in every person’s life, you will need an assisted medical device – whether it’s your glasses, your contacts, or as you age and you have a hip replacement or a knee replacement or a pacemaker. The prosthetic generation is all around us.” Aimee Mullins
After years of wear and tear, some body components start to misfire and need to be upgraded. Replacing them with bionic elements is presently a fairly common practice. Some bodies are now fitted with sophisticated prostheses that mimic pretty well what genuine components do.
When I was a young child, I remember seeing decorated World War One veterans hobbling on crutches. Leg amputation was then the only way to salvage the body. These poor souls would be incapable thereafter to resume a normal life.
But now, war veterans and civilians alike can be fitted with artificial limbs and resume a fairly conventional life. Hip or knee replacement is as a common today as replacing a car battery. Prosthetic technology firm Touch Bionics has created a hand so advanced it can be controlled using a smartphone app.
Our local club is very special… For many reasons. One of them is the fact that probably half of our members are fitted with titanium devices. If some of us would go on a trip together, passing through the airport’s metal detectors would surely trigger a massive commotion. This would in turn greatly unnerve the authorities. Before long, hooded men bristling with weapons would order us to drop our Uzis and hit the deck.
And our case would not be helped by carrying suspicious metal spheres in our handbags.
Our bionic brigade is still fairly small but growing. Regardless of sex, creed or race, we accept anybody who can prove that they have what it takes to be called a Titanium man (or woman).
Alain
PS: We are also known as the Titanium Titans.
