Tag Archive for disabled

A Thank-Full Day

Often a “thank you” isn’t needed.  Why thank a person for doing what he is supposed to do?  Here’s a thought: a “thank you” may encourage someone to do the right thing the next time he’s in that situation, or it might be the only bright spot in his otherwise-depressing day.  I thank the driver who stops for me in the crosswalk, the bicyclist who sees me coming in my handicap scooter and moves from the sidewalk to the street, the woman who notices me pulling into a disabled parking spot and moves the shopping cart she’d blocked me with in the cross-hatch section, the teen who turns down his loud music when he notices that we at the next picnic table are being bothered by it, the delivery man for being gentle with my package, the child who puts his trash into the can without being told.  Why?  Because we are responsible for each other, including nourishing each other’s spirits, fostering actions that inspire others to care about members of the human family. Such is the power of a simple “thank you.”

Something to think about — and practice — on this International Thank-You Day.

Recommendation: Crip Camp

I don’t often recommend movies or documentaries, but I think this one is worth watching. Full disclosure: I grew up with a disability (post polio), and this documentary is about kids with disabilities.

I identify with some of the kids at the camp (10 years earlier I attended Easter Seal Camp) and at the protests (I participated in anti-Nam protests). But some of what the film presents was new to me — like us “Polios” being considered at the top of the disability ladder and “Cerebral Palsies” being at the bottom.

Whether or not you have a disabled child among your friends or family, this is a worthwhile film to watch. The kids aren’t “brave” or “admirable” or “inspiring” or any of the other terms people use that grate on our nerves. They’re just what we all are — people standing up for their rights.

(Warning: sex, smoking, and pot are involved.)

If you, like me, grew up with a disability, you should watch this, too. And, by the way, fellow “crips,” remember that our group is among the lowest in voter turn-out, and nobody else will push for our rights, so VOTE!

And watch “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution” on NetFlix,

Teaching Charity

A fellow parishioner decided when her kids were very young that they needed to learn charity.  She taught them to give something to every person who asked.  Each time that they were approached by the disabled vet outside the drug store, the homeless man on the street, the uniformed woman from the food-providing agency, the Salvation Army man with the Christmas kettle—anyone asking for help or for their aid in helping others—they would give a little something.  I asked, “What if the person’s a fake or will spend the dollar on alcohol or drugs?”  Her answer was another question: “What if they really do spend it on food for themselves or their family?”  This woman was teaching her children an important fact.  That is, it’s our job to be charitable; it’s God’s job to decide who He sends our way and why.

What a Dog-Gone Day Today Is!

Today, and every Aug. 26 since 2004, is National Dog Day. It’s a day for all of our dogs, pure-bred or so mixed they have to be referred to as “American.” The day was established to remind us of the multitude of dogs that need to be rescued or re-homed, and the many way dogs serve us–protecting us, searching out bombs, drugs, and humans lost in earthquake rubble, helping the blind and disabled, and, in recent years, detecting seizures and cancer in people. Read about this day and its significance at About National Dog Day.

Meanwhile, I’m remembering all my past faithful furry friends and celebrating Rosie, my re-homed companion/helper, shown here when she couldn’t decide on whether to continue her nap or play.

Free Trees for Your Community

Trees, nature’s air purifiers, are inexpensive and easy to plant.  In my area (San Jose), there’s an organization called Our City Forest. It helps people choose the right tree for their location, demonstrates how to plant it, and gives it to to the person for free (donation requested).  If the person is older or disabled, they’ll even send out someone to plant it for them.

Does your community have such an organization? If not, propose it. See Our City Forest details at www.ourcityforest.org so you can offer your city some information about how a successful program can operate.

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[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]

Personal: My Mom

My mother had three kids, kept a spotless house, worked in the family business, dealt with laundry down steep cement steps in a dank, unfinished basement using a ringer washer and depending on a clothesline and sunshine, lived through the death of her youngest as an infant, managed questionable activities of her son, and taught independence to her physically disabled daughter. She has been gone for many, many years, but she lives on in the hearts of the kids who survive her. On Mother’s Day, I reflect on her love for us.

For When You Are Disabled (& You Will Be)

If you aren’t disabled, you probably will be some time in your life, whether temporarily or permanently. That’s just part of life. Today’s Thursday Thought quote is something you you to remember.

Credit Cards and Disabilities

I may have to re-start paying cash for everything. I’d miss the cash-back percentage I get from my credit card company, but I may have no choice.

Go back a bit, when those card readers were installed for “our convenience.” Even at my doctors’ offices they’re up high on a counter. That’s great for people who aren’t in a wheelchair or scooter, like me, but too high for me to swipe. Then they added the chip, with a slot that was lower. But many of the card readers don’t angle down to a usable position for me–some don’t allow any real space between the reader and the counter top for a person to manipulate the card into the slot.  And as far as signing, forget it, because the screen is at the highest point on the reader. I’m lucky if I can scrawl an “X” or have the cashier do so, neither of which is exactly a secure signature.

Now they’re talking about using a fingerprint for ID.  Since I can’t lift my arms any further than straight out (on a good day), how will I be able to press my finger against their screen?  Also, I worry about my often-home-bound friends (especially in bad weather). They (sometimes me) depend on others to do their shopping, sending along their credit card.  We can’t send along our finger, so the card is useless.

Credit card companies should realize that people with disabilities spend as much (or more) money than everyone else, and that everyone else is, in fact, only currently non-disabled. If they want our money, they need to make it easier for us to spend it.

Airbnb Wakes Up

Airbnb FINALLY realized that people with disabilities like to travel, too! And that we aren’t all the same–many of us need more than what they currently provide as “wheelchair accessible.”

They’ve just acquired a company specializing in accommodations for disabled travelers and will be including that company’s listings in their own, including indicating whether there are such barriers as steps or insufficiently wide doorways.  Plus, they’re giving hosts a checklist of “accessibility needs” and making their service easier to use for the visually impaired.

Good move,  Airbnb–for your bottom line and for millions of travelers with disabilities.

Disabled Parking Fraud

You’ve undoubtedly seen a vehicle pull into a handicap parking space and watched the driver jump out and dash into the store.  Or a motorcycle parks in the cross-hatch section, making the adjacent parking space unusable for vans with wheelchair side-lifts.  Those divers probably don’t have even a hidden handicap, like a heart condition, yet they display a handicap parking placard or figure the cross-hatch is up for grabs anyway.  Even if the passenger in the car is disabled, because he/she isn’t going into the store, the driver should NOT be using that space.  It’s for people who need it, not healthy drivers of people who need it.

The situation is not only illegal but also unfair to many of us: those with real disabilities (visible or hidden) who can’t find a usable parking space, shop owners who lose revenue because disabled customers can’t park and shop, and taxpayers who lose out on parking meter money when the culprit parks on the street.

There’s an organization that is trying to do something about this problem, handicappedfraud.org, which is an independent reporting organization.   You should report abusers to them; each month they send a report to your state.  Also, leave a post-it note saying “Disabled Parking Violation. You have been reported” or something similar.  (For $5 you can get at supply of printed post-its at http://www.handicappedfraud.org/index.php?mod=postit.  See below.)

Don’t get into an argument by confronting the violator.  And don’t worry about reporting someone with a valid placard, because people with disabilities appreciate others being concerned about this issue (I’m one of them).

Thank you for ordering