They're Coming Around, So We Can Get Around!

Hello and Good Morning, Lovelies! A sunny and glorious day has developed, after some SERIOUS drenching earlier, that we desperately needed:) And I'm very delighted to watch it all from behind my elevated windows:) Not that the conditions aren't ideal--they're not. Ideal would be if it didn't look so horribly windy out there! I'm all about getting fresh air and exercise, but with the promise of constant winds batting my walker around and challenging my every step forward--I'd just as soon stay in and avoid the hassle for a while. I'll be out again tonight anyway, volunteering. The big news I just heard is that Google Maps is making some changes for the Disabled in a few large cities! They're making it possible in cities like Boston, Massachusetts and Sydney, Australia, for the disabled community (or otherwise wheelchair bound) to choose "accessible" when filtering their directions! So finally, instead of just saying I want "walking directions" from point A to point B, I and others like me can say we want a route that is more wheelchair accessible than not:) This is a game changer for us; no more simply hoping for the best on a route catering to the Able! I hope this new feature becomes the standard in EVERY major city. An English girl I follow on Twitter, wheelchair bound herself, told a story. "I wanted an ice lolly (popsicle), but the vendor was up on a grassy hill. I drove my wheelchair around and around that hill twice and no one noticed or offered to help me..." After commenting that had I been there, though I use a walker, I would have gotten us both popsicles--I got to thinking. How often does stuff like this happen every day, all over the world?! And it's nobody's fault. I know that quite honestly, very often, the plight of the Disabled never even occurs to some people when conducting their business. But I'm very glad that's changing. Google Maps at least is forcing its people to consider EVERY ability level when customizing their directions. Maybe it won't be as long as we fear before the whole world sees us for who we are, and gives us an accessible route to ice lollies.