I took my brother to a cell phone store yesterday in the next town over.....a very "tony" town...very satisfied with itself. High average annual income, and most of the folks will be happy to let you know that they are doing very well, thank you. I once talked to a fireman who works for that city, and he was laughing because when they go into houses....we're talking HUGE houses...a lot of the rooms aren't furnished. Then, the owners treat the city employees like they are beneath them. What a sham. Or a shame. Both, I think.
When will this craziness end? I am in the WRONG place. I'm from the midwest, where you drive a car til it stops dead in the road and you don't give a flip how old it is or how it looks. Does it get you there? If so, it's good enough. Here I am in the Metroplex...with some of the most materialistic people in the nation. I looked around at all the people in this cell phone shop. They were so freakin' concerned because their stupid phone wasn't taking a stupid picture. I'm thinking of our soldiers in Iraq. They're fighting for us? I'm so sorry. Can you tell I'm disgusted? I was really disgusted because in order to park in a handicapped area for my brother, I had to park 3 stores down, and he had to navigate an incline. Yeah, we could have taken the wheelchair, but the freakin' store wasn't even set up for a wheelchair. It was too small.
Apparently, you should NOT shop in Southlake, Texas if you have the AUDACITY to be disabled! They DON'T want to see you! All the handicapped parking places were in odd places....and you have to go down to the end of the street to get to them. It is apparent that they only put in the minimum of what they were required to, by law.
So, anyway, I'm navigating my brother up this inclined sidewalk, and we get in the store. There is one place to sit, and someone is in it. They have a sign-in sheet. A WHAT??!!! A sign-in sheet. Unbelievable. Anyway, I help him over to the counter, after they deigned to wait upon us, and he tells them his problem. His signal is very bad and calls keep dropping.
Now, he has to have a cell phone with him in case he falls or needs help. We're looking into a life line, but the cell phone is the best bet right now. They tell him he needs a software update. Actually, they keep talking to ME...not him. This is nothing new....we should be used to it by now. But, why should we get used to stupid? I avoid eye contact. I really want to tell them that he is physically disabled, not mentally----and then they start talking LOUDLY to him as if he is deaf, as well. Oy.
I was feeling invisible a few days ago.
Can you just imagine how the disabled feel?
10 comments:
"...made to feel invisible...." know the feeling and unfortunately, it's something that too many people experience every day, just because they're different in some way. Read this article (it's got a long address) - my company uses this company for diversity training...talks about microinequities and microadvantages. It's a short read and worth it.
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:GOReTHaKI3IJ:www.magazine.org/content/files/Microinequities.pdf+microinequities&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2
hope your weekend gets better
Thanks, Trace...I'll check it out.
I rant, then get over it!
I have a disability that keeps me off my feet more than I care to confess ... had to cancel our activities yesterday because of a bad left ankle. Karen, it is hard to deal with the issues that you describe in your post ... keeping our hearts soft is especially difficult when dealing with parking and people. With prayers for your brother, KB
If you weren't driving the wrong car & maybe if you wore more fadish clothes you would not be invisible. The handicap parking is too much of a stigma for some stores that want to appear to hip.
Thanks for coming by, my father in law suddenley got sick & died a few days ago & things. He has been living with us since we lost my mother in law last Oct.
Sorry about being invisible {your current theme, as it appears} I can offer no reasoning for the handicap parking and lack thereof. Thanks for coming by my place. We just lost my father in law a few days ago. Suddenly taken sick & passed from liver cancer. He has been living with us since my mother in law passed in Oct. Sad
Oh Karen, I hear you, sister. I often feel like I live in the wrong place too. The women in the town where I work are like the Stepford wives - it's hard to tell them apart, they have the same hair, the same boobs, the same nails and clothes and cars. It's all very fake and disturbing.
My son was in a wheelchair for four months a few years back and I learned to appreciate what it takes for a disabled person to get around. It was horrible!
I'm glad you got your rant out. That's one of the many great uses of a blog!
B
Thanks, B! It's good to rant once in a while!
I hate going to Southlake. Or anyplace in North Dallas. Sorry for the trouble you and your brother experienced.
And Paige, I'm sorry for your loss.
B~
Good rant. I would love to spend one day a week as my town's Handicap Parking Enforcement Officer. I'll do it for $10 per hour. I'll pay double that if I can glue an 8x10 "YOU PARKED ILLEGALLY" sign on the driver's side of the windshield.
Cell phone abuse will, I hope, be dealt with like cigarette smoking. Secondhand phone chatter is pandemic. Some people wear their wireless earphone like power jewelry. I attended a mission planning meeting last week where one attendee wore his wireless earphone throughout the 90 minute meeting. Does he not know how silly and vain he appears?
Keep Ranting Karen - we're listening!
Okay, that post got my blood boiling. So much I could say.
It's amazing how "cool" people think they are with cell phones.
Funny thing about the unfurnished houses.
I think my favorite thing you wrote was "...why should we get used to stupid?" Here's a good example of stupid. We had terrible storms lately where I live and the power was out in hundreds of thousands of homes (not ours, thankfully). One weatherman said, "Those of you with cable modems can still log on to the Internet because cable connections are still active despite the power outage." Whaaaaaat???? Hmmmm, let's think about that one. I guess that's what you get from people who make a career of being wrong all the time. Another favorite: on a local television newscast the mayor was assuring everyone that they would be taken care of, "If your power is out call (whatever number)." How many people are actually watching TV if their power is out?
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