Time to Escape
Mom and I took off
in the new to us, used Ford Escape. Not new by any means but moderately priced
and in great shape as evidenced by a lack of rust. Traditional white and a
gravel dusty lane will lead to more washing to keep it in that shape but it
runs well, and we both have the comfort we need to take long and short trips.
This is a more
fuel efficient vehicle than the Ford Expedition we had , and although it was
the first one we seriously looked at , I feel we were steered in good direction as only time will tell. Having
been neighbors with Larry Bowling for years of Bowling’s Used Car lots in North
Industry, Ohio, he treated us with the respect that a neighbor should, as we remembered
old times and past cars we have traded to him or he had provided to us. Larry and
his family have always been great neighbors to us.
He has personally
helped me at times when I needed a vehicle and I was stressed to find a way to
afford it. It seemed as if he was there with something, and it was usually at
the least, good sound transportation if he picked it out.
Anyhow Mom and
myself liked the Ford Escape and I believe we will do well saving a lot of gas
allowing us a chance to see more and explore more as it is also easier for her
to get in and out the vehicle. This is one of the reasons I chose this vehicle
is its ease of entry for a disabled person. Mom is able to sit right onto the
seat and pivot and swing her legs in allowing her to enter the vehicle much
easier than the Expedition. We had to use a small step ladder of which we had
to find two step ladders that would work. The first I forgot one time after having
eaten some chicken and in a hurry to head home i left in a parking lot as I just
drove away not noticing what I had done for at least a couple of days.
Sometimes I need
to park in the fire zone directly in front of a place to unload Mom as I try to
make access to some these places easier for her. Most new restaurants have
handicapped parking directly in front of the building, but at some I have seen
it placed a good distance from the entry door making handicapped accessible, a
little bit of a trial to make it work. In those cases I drive to the front door
and just block everything till she is unloaded. And then go and park elsewhere.
Also it seems as if everyone has a handicapped parking permit these days and
still at some places only two handicapped parking spaces, what is up with that?
Again I have to block traffic as I unload. Heck I figure if UPS can stop in the
middle of the street, and unload Publisher Clearinghouse Packages for people
and never bother trying to pull off to the side, and make people go around them,
then it should surely be no problem for me to stop and let my Mom out in front
of a business that apparently doesn’t share my views on handicapped accessible.
By law they
are supposed to make all restaurants and public places handicapped accessible
but it seems as if no one is really enforcing the issue. Apparently the local
zoning boards have granted waivers when people are applying for building permits,
to avoid compliance with the handicapped restrictions. Otherwise we would see
better compliance and better facilities, as even public restrooms are not what
they should be on a statewide basis. I have seen public buildings funded by
taxpayer dollars, that surely could use a code update but for lack of funding
will pass up retrofitting of their facilities.
Unfortunately we
are coming of the age where this is going to become more important to our age
group as we go along. I know numerous individuals my age who are disabled or
have handicaps restricting their ability to do something as easy as open doors.
A recent visit to a Doctor’s office in North
Canton revealed a handicap accessible door that was disabled and a bear to open
for myself. The reason it was disabled as because the nurses were cold and the
doctor was losing too much heat to the outside. This is one type of a door that
is accessible by the handicap pad you hit and it opens the door. It doesn’t open
for everyone. What good is installing handicap equipment if they are only going
to disable because of their personal comfort or efficiency of heating. If you
are in the business of dealing with handicapped and expect to have those
patients in your business, then I feel a Dr.s office of all places should have
working handicap equipment. I imagine
everyone was using the pad and the door was used to frequently as I have seen
people do at other places. Double sets of doors stop that as you have to enter
one set of doors and they close behind you before entering a second set. This adds
to the initial cost of construction, and may depending on how many people or the
traffic you receive be quite expensive to install. But again if you are dealing with the handicapped
and expect them to enter your business then this is all part of doing business
in the real world.
We took a nice
long trip and ended up at Atwood boat launch where I took these pics of mom and
her new vehicle. It was a nice day for a ride to nowhere in particular and
ending up there. A chance to escape
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