The People Behind My Eyes

Not until I’m directly affected by an issue does my attention turn towards that cause. I never really paid much attention to accommodations for people with a physical disability until I depended upon those accommodations and they weren’t there. Now, I notice when a company doesn’t fill its legal obligation to allow reasonable access for the disabled.

I went shopping at a local store that has the absolute freshest herbs in the city as well as hard to find items. The section of the city is called a cultural district but when I was stuck at the top of two flights of stairs with no way to get down I had other names for them. I had my herbs in a basket. I looked down the stairs and thought to myself, there is no way in hell I’m getting back down safely with this basket in my hands. I sent a lady down to get Blossom. She said, “What does she look like?” I told her and then added, “She has a 60’s look to her.” The lady laughed out loud and said, “That could be anyone in this store.” I agreed. Only seconds later Blossom rounded the corner, came up the two flights of stairs with no difficulty at all, took my basket and helped me back down the stairs.

There was no elevator for me to take and the building itself pre-dates the law which means they aren’t required (and I don’t even expect it) but they’re not required to put in an elevator. What I started thinking about is buildings that are subject to the law but still don’t provide reasonable access. That is what gets me, when I see brand new buildings go up with no ramp for a wheelchair, just steps or a step. How do they get away with it? It takes someone paying attention, someone who is suddenly affected by an issue to step up and say, “If you come to my neighborhood make sure you follow the laws, all of them, not just the ones that are convenient for you.” I takes someone to step up and say, “Think beyond the nose on your face and realize more than the able bodied will visit this store.” Most of the time, a person has to be directly affected by an issue before they take a step.

Did I ever actually think there would be a time when I couldn’t move the way I use to? Nope. If you told me 10 years ago I’d walk with a cane I would have laughed at you. I was slinging pies as a top notch bakery. I was on top of my world. There was no way on earth it could be toppled. But here I am, in a whole different physical frame dealing with issues I never dreamed I’d face. As I walked down the stairs at this store the people behind me were quite irritated that I was taking so long. They were impatient with me as I hobbled down the stairs. As they stood behind me clearly annoyed I remembered how years ago I followed behind an elderly lady who kept apologizing to me because she was moving so slowly. I said to her, “There is nothing in my life that’s going to change for the good or the bad while waiting for you to walk safely.” She was surprised by my statement but it’s true. Nothing in my life would change for the good or the bad while waiting an extra two minutes for her to clear the door. I didn’t mind the short wait. At the store, was it really a bother for the people behind me on the stairs to wait two minutes for me to get down to the bottom of the stairs without falling? Did anything major change in their life as they complained and huffed and puffed because I moved so slowly? I doubt it. They were buying the freshest dried herbs in the city so it’s not like they had to worry about their goods perishing. They had the fast paced, I want it now, move out of my way, small focused lifestyle. And that lifestyle can’t be kept waiting for anything, not the old man in front of them, not the pregnant woman making her way to her car, and certainly not a young woman with a cane keeping them from rushing to and fro. Their frame of mind is quite frightening and self centered but when the time comes for them to slow down and be waited on oh how painful it’ll be to hear their own sighs echo back at them.

Austin’s August

It Never Crossed My Mind
Thursday, May 10, 2007