I’m not writing this to ‘get back at’ anyone. I just need to tell the story in context to get your opinion on how a situation was handled. Joe and I were coming back on Sunday from Vancouver Island and I’d made a reservation on a late afternoon boat. As we drove down island we […]
A long way from home, I am pushing myself in a mall. Part of it is to do some shopping but I am primarily here for the exercise of pushing myself long distances. I am now strong enough to push myself up inclines and curbs but lack the ability to do long distances. So, that’s […]
I have not been shy, in this blog or on my Facebook page, as identifying as a fat man. For the most part I feel fairly safe doing so. The people who read here, and the people who I am ‘Friends’ with on Facebook are by and large people who understand issues regarding difference and […]
She was having a bit of a difficult time. Her walker, a bright red one, was brand new, and she kept bumping into things as she tried to get around. She took it in all good spirits and, in fact, was singing quietly along to the ‘I’m Just a Teenager in Love’ era of music […]
So we’re staying in a hotel room that has an odd feature. The bathroom light is on a motion sensor, it just comes on as soon as you enter through the door. There is no way to turn the sensor off. We don’t know if this is an ‘accessibility feature’ of the room but we […]
I was waiting just at the door to the shop for Joe. He was paying at the till, which though it was marked with the Wheelchair Accessible symbol, was no different than any of the other tills and therefore was to narrow for me to pass through. I made comment, of course, and then went […]
One of the stresses of travel, for me at least, is the rental car. I imagine this might be true for others as well. I need to rent cars that I can transfer into and which have room for luggage and wheelchair. It’s not easy because when we talk to rental car companies, at least […]
Wandering around a mall on a Saturday afternoon, waiting to go to a movie, can be quite instructive. I’ve always been attuned to my environments, a safety strategy that the bullied and the battered learn early, and that became even more true when I became a wheelchair user. So, I pay attention. And because of […]
We approach a day of travel with some dread. Something will go wrong, big or small, something will go wrong. It started hopefully, we got up on time, were ready on time were down for the bus not only on time but early. The bus itself was there early and we got a straight ride […]
I noticed them notice him first. After all, I have noticed people notice me for almost all of my life. The glance that notices, followed by the glance that judges, followed by the glance that reacts. Then shock, pity, disgust, hatred. Very occasionally and very rarely, welcome. So it was them, not him that caught […]
