Silver Lining

One silver lining to having a health condition is that the sufferer may be eligible for a disability placard.

My mobility is sufficient so that I can walk, albeit slowly, from "normal" parking spaces; the real advantage to having a placard is that sometimes the only spaces that are open are for the disabled. This is not too important for most errands--I can come back later--but I definitely need to make medical appointments on time. During last month there were at least three instances where I needed the blue sign to park at the doctor's office.

Having a disability placard, IMHO, is a privilege, not a right. We will only use it if I'm in the car, which is the law by the way ("It is important to remember that you are the only person who can use your DP parking placard or DP License Plates").

About half the time I see placarded cars where no one appears infirm, where everyone can walk vigorously to and from the vehicle. Well, appearances can be deceiving; there have been tremendous advances in physical therapy!

The Grief of the Chronically Ill

I'm lucky that old age has been a long, slow descent. The mind has time to adjust to the fact that I'll never be able to do some things as well as I used to or in some cases ever again.

When disability strikes at younger ages the grief never goes away completely.

The grief of those with chronic health issues—for the loss of capabilities, for changed or ruptured relationships, for changes in appearance, for the forced end of a career, or for former dreams for the future—can last for long periods and recur often, as losses and uncertainty become a constant feature of life...

People who have intimate knowledge of the grief that comes with chronic health issues say it has a trajectory all its own—a trajectory that many mental-health professionals, friends and family often don’t understand. The idea that everyone goes through five stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance—doesn’t ring true for many disabled people. Chronic illness, other disabilities and the grief they bring often run an unpredictable course, easing but then flaring up again, a cycle that can recur over time.  

Physical disabilities are tough enough to deal with. Combined with the emotional toll, it's nearly impossible for normals to understand what the chronically ill are going through.

Cleanup in Aisle 70

Castro Valley Trader Joe's after the crash (Chron)

My late father gave up driving at the age of 90. His reflexes and eyesight, especially his night vision, had deteriorated to the point where he knew that there was too much of a risk to himself and others if he continued to drive.

Unlike Dad, some older drivers don't have the self awareness to quit:

The man who rammed his car through the front window of a Castro Valley Trader Joe’s on Thursday, injuring eight people and spilling debris across the floor, was a 90-year-old Hayward resident apparently trying to park.

The accident left a bizarre scene, a 2005 gray Toyota Avalon sitting among red shopping carts and racks of colorfully packaged organic cereal. The eight people injured included a 5-year-old child and a Trader Joe’s employee. Four were taken to hospitals by ambulance, while the other four were treated at the store.

Though the man is not facing criminal charges, the incident represents a growing concern on Bay Area roads, which the California Highway Patrol has begun to tentatively address: the ballooning population of older drivers...

A spokesperson for the California Department of Motor Vehicles did not immediately respond to questions about requirements for older motorists; state law mandates drivers who are 70 and older to renew their license every five years, and take a vision and written test, but not a behind-the-wheel test.

Your humble blogger hasn't reached the point where he (thinks he) is even close to being unable to drive, and unless forced not to do so, I'll keep my license as long as I can. The plan is eventually to use the car only in case of emergency and switch to public transportation or taxis for normal transportation needs.

Maybe in ten years owning and/or subscribing to a driverless car will become reality, and that will be another option.

In any event Trader Joe's will have nothing to fear from me.

California: More Lenient Laws For Government Than Everyone Else

Small businesses are plagued by lawsuits filed
under the American with Disabilities Act.

The law that penalizes businesses for violating the rights of the disabled does not apply to public schools.

California businesses that discriminate against a customer can be sued for penalties of at least $4,000 and damages of as much as three times the harm they inflicted. But the same penalties do not apply to public schools that violate their students’ rights, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in the case of a disabled student from Contra Costa County.

The 1959 California law, the Unruh Act, applies to civil rights violations by “business establishments.” And “public schools, as governmental entities engaged in the provision of a free and public education, are not ‘business establishments’ within the meaning of the act,” Justice Joshua Groban wrote in the 7-0 decision.

In this case the double standard doesn't lie with the state Supreme Court which is just interpreting the laws as written, but with the legislature. This is yet another example of the government applying more lenient rules to itself than it does to everyone else.

I often wish that the Progressives who want the government to run everything would look at the consequence of them getting their wish. Government exempts itself from penalties or remedies or shortages, there is no appeal, and we are all immiserated.