Joining the Ranks of the Disabled in Target and Price Chopper
I ventured forth today, after reaching my limit of cable TV, lying with my foot up, and going no where. We decided to have pancakes at the Williams sugar house in Deerfield. As I left my bedroom I had to exit by the front door, since there is a handrail there. The whole day these obstacles came up, barriers to mobility and threats to my safety. I felt a little like a contestant on a reality show promoting the Americans with Disabilities Act!
My first question was answered easily. The sugar house is on ground floor level, in a former barn,so no problems there. Likewise sitting down on the big roomy picnic tables they will be using through next weekend when they close for their short maple season. After breakfast, we decided to drive up to Keene to a specialty store Mary had heard about to find some running shoes. I wondered, what will the access be like? How far away will we have to park?
A later stop was to Target. Oh boy, a big box store, with store items laid out in every far off corner of the cavernous space. I hobbled in on my crutches, hoping to find some mobility. After a brief panic, (would I have to wait out in the car?) a manager pointed me over to a fleet of red scooters with big baskets up front. I was mobile with forward and reverse gears!
Besides bumping into a few aisle ends, everything went fine in Target, and i was sad to have to give up my wheels and return to my crutches.
Next it was a stop at a Price Chopper grocery store for dinner provisions. Dropping me off at the door, Mary left to park the car, and I surveyed the scene, noticing how people instinctively give wide berth to a guy wielding crutches. A little girl perched in the seat of a shopping cart eyed me with a smile. My choices here at this food market were not as good as in Target, here I’d have to settle for a mere wheelchair with a basket up front. Mary began pushing me and met quick resistance. Boy I must be heavy–oh no, it was the brake still on!
Coming home on the long road back from Keene, I could feel the foot begin to get grouchy, and contemplated when could next pop some Oxycodone to get rid of the ache.
I have a newfound and genuine appreciation for what people have to go through who are disabled and who are not mobile. I have a new way of looking at the parking spots left for the handicapped. Because, disabled brother and sisters, now that I’ve been there I know just how you feel.