Accommodate Beautifully

Was just chatting back and forth with a high school friend on Facebook. I'd posted one of those "Would you live here for $100,000" things, showing a lovely, rustic cabin on the water somewhere. She pointed out that as an Epileptic, she needs some one with her to tell her if she's had a seizure; she isn't always aware. Aside from that familiar crestfallen feeling of "we are the reason we can't have nice things," and why we can't live the dream in some secluded paradise away from people and the burdens of civilization--those of us with health concerns--I started thinking about how "paradise" is not traditionally SUPPOSED to accommodate the Disabled. Remember my entry "Make a Way for Us"? It's the same kind of thing. As a follow-up, the sweet elderly lady who needed help getting in and out of our rented house DID make it there to be with us, and she DID, I think, enjoy herself! But this latest thing, with my Epileptic friend who needs some one with her all the time to tell her if she's had a seizure, brings into focus once again the idea that the Disabled can only enjoy the natural world so much, before they NEED the "discomforts" of the modern world--medication, ramps, walkers, elevators, handicap parking, medical facilities nearby--whatever. At the reunion, I noted almost immediately that the nearest medical center was fifty miles away. If anything had happened with me or our elderly family member, or indeed ANYONE else in the large assembly, we might have had a serious problem getting them the care they needed in time. So what's to be done? Pave the world? That wouldn't even work. European cities are paved beautifully, but the width of their streets often comes from a time when people with disabilities or health problems were institutionalized or shut up in their homes 24 hours a day. An embarrassment:( Sometimes even now, I don't feel like we've made much progress away from a time when that was normal. Look at prisons. Look at the homeless. A vast percentage of the people filling those roles are remembered but forgotten, seen but not seen...the mentally or physically Disabled. Yes, there have been advancements. I can't thank the ADA ENOUGH for what it's done to equalize the opportunities for disabled people out there. From housing to employment to hotel accommodation (with the exception of course of those places farther afield), every stipulation the ADA has made has by and large been extremely helpful. Marriage equality is definitely a work in progress, but that isn't the ADA's fault! Some beaches have gone well out of their way to give the Disabled access to the natural world. With their "light as air" big-wheeled wheel chairs that take a rider straight onto a sandy beach and even right into the waves, or their long paved walkways that allow a mobility aid to at least feel the sand beneath its wheels--beaches have been helpful. I think part of the issue with forests and lakes not being as accessible is that accommodations as they appear now DO somewhat detract from the grandeur. Even I have to concede that. So clearly that is something that needs to be worked on. Stop painting ramps orange or white, start making aids that blend into the scenery a little better! That would make everyone happy, and keep everything as beautiful as possible. It breaks my heart that had I not been able to climb the stairs in our beautiful house at the reunion, I wouldn't have been able to see more nature than what was around the front porch and the driveway. I think it's amazing that one elderly lady I know lives directly on a river, which makes it easy for HER to see up close and personal all the comings and goings of ducks, fish, and people on the water, as well as the wildlife and foliage across from her. Alas, we're not all so fortunate. Some of us can't venture into the Great Outdoors; some of us need what we need--medicine, an elevator, or medical facilities nearby! I'd like to open the discussion of how to make beauty and grandeur accessible. How to make it possible for somebody with Epilepsy to enjoy a lakeside retreat without fear, or an elderly lady to see natural charm beyond her front door. Let's make this happen. It can't be that hard. Why is it "okay" for the Disabled not to have access to heavily wooded areas or many places with sand? We don't love those things any less than YOU do. In fact we probably love them more for how rarely we get to enjoy them.