Several months ago Bill and I moved to Harrison, MI. Bill, having grown up in nearby Farwell, finds this enormously embarrassing, and refers to our location as "Northern Clare County." But I like it here, and find the people open and friendly. I've been in small towns where everyone eyed outsiders with suspicion, and no one will have anything to do with you unless they know your entire background and all your relatives. Harrison doesn't strike me as being this way, and Gladwin never did either.
Yesterday I took a deep breath and called the salon around the corner from where I live and made my first appointment with them. It's crazy for me to drive all the way back to Clare for a haircut, especially since I wear a short style and need it cut frequently. The shop I went to is owned by relatives of someone we share a property line with, so I used that as an opening for a friendly conversation. The shop itself is polebarn-ish in construction with gravel parking right outside the door. It's easy to get in and out of in summer months, but might be a different story in the winter. Unfortunately, the haircut is really awful, and I feel that it makes me look man-ish. Think "lesbian--with a Snookie-poof."
Another nearby business I've visited since I moved here is a complete disaster. I live right next door to a discount grocery store, which sounds GREAT, right? The entrance is at ground level so I walked right in with my cane, only to be faced with a half-flight of the worst stairs I've ever tried to use since my disability. The steps were too shallow to put my full foot down, and only one rickety handrail. Another customer saw my plight and helped me up the steps. The store clerk pretended not to notice. I don't know if she was one of the owners or hired help. Either way, I never went back.
A third business here in Harrison I want to mention is Steve's Country Market. They generally have good prices on gallon milk, which is handy because they are the closest store. But I love them for their meat and deli counter! It's HUGE, and the prices are the lowest in the area. Very good quality as well! And the best part about the store is the people working there. They seem happy to be working there, as though they love their jobs and each other's company.
Harrison is the intersection of Old US-27 and M-61. It appears there once was a "downtown" district several blocks long on a street at an angle to both highways. But the focal point, Surrey House, sits empty and forlorn, no longer the lovely restaurant you took your grandmother for dinner. There is still the downtown branch of Chemical Bank across the street, a solid "old" bank by current Michigan standards. McLean's Pharmacy is on the same side of the street,locally owned and housing a tasteful gift shop. Also a laundromat that I hope I never have to use, and I think a hair salon. I'm sure there are other businesses still open on that street, but since I never drive down it, I forget what is there.
However there are many little businesses strung along Old US-27, some in strip malls and some free-standing. The difficulty is determining which are still open and which have closed, because they nearly all have that "I'm not putting any effort into the exterior because I don't know how long I'll be here" look to them. I know that Harrison once had the distinction of being the welfare capitol of outstate (non-Detroit) Michigan, and I don't think it's improved much since then. But I admire the people who remain hopeful and optimistic and keep trying and trying again with their little shops.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Adaptive Equipment Ripoffs
I was legally blind for about eight years. I developed diabetic retinopathy around the same time my kidneys were failing. My eyesight would come and go, and when it went it was quick, often leaving me stranded. After several years of suffering this condition, my renal social worker was able to hook me up with the proper state agency to provide me with support and advice. They, in turn, sent me to the Michigan School for the Blind in Kalamazoo.
At blind school, I was introduced to a number of devices designed to help blind users in their everyday activities. Many of them had audio prompts; the use used bright lights and magnifiers. I came home with a talking wristwatch, a talking calculator, a lighted magnifier that clamped onto a table, a portable hand-held lighted magnifier, a tiny pocket-sized lighted magnifier and a talking glucose monitor. The State of Michigan covered some of these items, Medicare and my health insurance covered some others, and the rest came out of my own pocket. And this is when I discovered that items designed particularly for the blind are outrageously expensive! Especially when compared to the cheap quality of the design and materials used.
You can imagine my anger and disgust when my vision eventually partially returned and I discovered that many of the items I paid through the nose for buying them from a vision-assistance center or from catalogs from places like Maxi-Aid and Lighthouse could be found through everyday gadget catalogs at much cheaper prices!
I was reminded of this again today when I read an e-mail from FootSmart.com. I use this company often for the comfort of my poor deformed footsies, so I browsed the day's sales while eating my breakfast. I was looking specifically for ideas to make my upcoming trip to USLMRA Nationals, my one-mile Kidney Walk and my fall color/wine tasting trip to Traverse Bay more comfortable. I found several solutions that should do the trick, but they were so small and simple, I was aggravated that they charged anywhere from $6.99 to $19.99 for TWO! For what they were, I should have gotten 100 or a gross for that amount! Then to add insult to injury, those annoying, tiny words at the bottom of the description: Not for use by diabetics or those with poor circulation. GAH!
Finally I started reading the customer comments on the products, particularly the unsatisfied customers. And wouldn't you know, one had the perfect solution for me. I am so stupid, why didn't I think of this? One solution for both problems I was trying to avoid! 3M Coban. I'd gotten some for free from 3M for being a fan of Greg Biffle, who's NASCAR team they sponsor. It's that stretchy, breathable fabric that sticks so itself and nothing else. I can cut a skinny little strip to pad the toe that keeps rubbing and blistering the inside of my shoe, and I can cut another skinny little strip to keep two toes on the other foot from rubbing together and ulcerating. Bingo!
I still read gadget catalogs from Lillian Vernon, Harriett Carter, etc every chance I get. You never know when I'll find another new solution for cripply goodness that I can bundle with an order for a microwave egg boiler or cheap resin garden gnomes!
At blind school, I was introduced to a number of devices designed to help blind users in their everyday activities. Many of them had audio prompts; the use used bright lights and magnifiers. I came home with a talking wristwatch, a talking calculator, a lighted magnifier that clamped onto a table, a portable hand-held lighted magnifier, a tiny pocket-sized lighted magnifier and a talking glucose monitor. The State of Michigan covered some of these items, Medicare and my health insurance covered some others, and the rest came out of my own pocket. And this is when I discovered that items designed particularly for the blind are outrageously expensive! Especially when compared to the cheap quality of the design and materials used.
You can imagine my anger and disgust when my vision eventually partially returned and I discovered that many of the items I paid through the nose for buying them from a vision-assistance center or from catalogs from places like Maxi-Aid and Lighthouse could be found through everyday gadget catalogs at much cheaper prices!
I was reminded of this again today when I read an e-mail from FootSmart.com. I use this company often for the comfort of my poor deformed footsies, so I browsed the day's sales while eating my breakfast. I was looking specifically for ideas to make my upcoming trip to USLMRA Nationals, my one-mile Kidney Walk and my fall color/wine tasting trip to Traverse Bay more comfortable. I found several solutions that should do the trick, but they were so small and simple, I was aggravated that they charged anywhere from $6.99 to $19.99 for TWO! For what they were, I should have gotten 100 or a gross for that amount! Then to add insult to injury, those annoying, tiny words at the bottom of the description: Not for use by diabetics or those with poor circulation. GAH!
Finally I started reading the customer comments on the products, particularly the unsatisfied customers. And wouldn't you know, one had the perfect solution for me. I am so stupid, why didn't I think of this? One solution for both problems I was trying to avoid! 3M Coban. I'd gotten some for free from 3M for being a fan of Greg Biffle, who's NASCAR team they sponsor. It's that stretchy, breathable fabric that sticks so itself and nothing else. I can cut a skinny little strip to pad the toe that keeps rubbing and blistering the inside of my shoe, and I can cut another skinny little strip to keep two toes on the other foot from rubbing together and ulcerating. Bingo!
I still read gadget catalogs from Lillian Vernon, Harriett Carter, etc every chance I get. You never know when I'll find another new solution for cripply goodness that I can bundle with an order for a microwave egg boiler or cheap resin garden gnomes!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Doggy Doc Disaster
Today I'm commenting on the veterinary clinic Wild Bill insists on using. They have several handicap parking spaces just outside the front door of the waiting area, but the actual exam rooms are down a flight of stairs. No ramp, no elevator, just stairs. I guess the owner of the clinic doesn't feel that elderly and/or handicapped people are entitled to talk to the vet directly when they bring their pet in for an exam, or to hold their beloved friends in their final moments before they leave for the Rainbow Bridge. But mostly I feel for the older, large dogs who are prone to hip problems.
I had hoped that when we moved up to Harrison, we'd transfer our pet care to the vet just two miles down the road from us. Close by, well thought of by the locals, a vet I'd used in the past and been satisfied with. However Wild Bill had taken his first dog there once, about 18 years ago, and didn't like him. *facepalm*
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Gimping 101
As I become braver about leaving my house and traveling in Michigan with my walker, I notice things that outrage me, confuse me or make me giggle uncontrollably. I don't have a lot of differently-abled friends to share these thoughts with, so I thought I'd start an innocuous blog and hope the occasional stranger might wander in, browse, and possibly even appreciate my musings.
When I first started having difficulty getting around, I had a cast on my left leg up to my knee and used crutches. I discovered early-on that the only places away from home that I could count on being able to use a restroom were hospital facilities and McDonald's. Believe it or not, thirteen years ago you could almost always count on a McDonald's restroom being CLEAN, which was rarely true at Burger King, Wendy's, or other fast-food place we might stop for lunch along the way. I once found myself trapped between the inner door and outer door while leaving the restroom at a Burger King and had to wait there until another female felt the urge! If I couldn't manage the doors on crutches, how does a person in a wheelchair manage?
I have three Big Deal excursions planned for the upcoming months. The first is the US Lawn Mower Racing Association National Championships, a Kidney walk, and a color tour/wine tasting bus trip. These will all be "firsts" for me since I've become chained to a walker. I hope there will be more!
When I first started having difficulty getting around, I had a cast on my left leg up to my knee and used crutches. I discovered early-on that the only places away from home that I could count on being able to use a restroom were hospital facilities and McDonald's. Believe it or not, thirteen years ago you could almost always count on a McDonald's restroom being CLEAN, which was rarely true at Burger King, Wendy's, or other fast-food place we might stop for lunch along the way. I once found myself trapped between the inner door and outer door while leaving the restroom at a Burger King and had to wait there until another female felt the urge! If I couldn't manage the doors on crutches, how does a person in a wheelchair manage?
I have three Big Deal excursions planned for the upcoming months. The first is the US Lawn Mower Racing Association National Championships, a Kidney walk, and a color tour/wine tasting bus trip. These will all be "firsts" for me since I've become chained to a walker. I hope there will be more!
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