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Return To Disabilities Article Archive   Personal Mobility Devices - Disabilities and Tolerances By Scott Best In the past few years there seems to have been an explosion of new personal mobility devices that cater to a host of varying wants and needs. Some are built with the elderly in mind, some with emphasis pointed toward those with disabilities, and some purely for personal pleasure. All are of different designs and come in varying shapes and sizes. Some are fast, some slow, some have three wheels, some four and still others, only two. All of these new devices have a purpose, some type of usefulness, a niche they fill in some way. I want to share an experience I had recently that involved two different types of personal mobility devices. I don\'t normally venture into this type of territory when I write about such things as new items on the market or how a certain product is manufactured or how useful a particular item can be. But sometimes very personal evaluations of a situation and taking a small stand is the only way for me to, in my own mind at least, positively deal with the topic. On day about a week ago, I traveled off to a large local general merchandizing establishment to partake in the almost ritualistic weekly shopping. As I entered the store, parked against the building, I noticed a uniquely styled tandem tricycle. I thought to myself as I walked past it how stylish and fresh it looked, and marveled a bit over its side by side design. I even went so far as to picture in my mind how quaint a little old couple would look as they peddled off together, side by side. When I went inside I got my shopping cart and unfurled my list that had way too many items on it again and silently sighed to myself because I know how long this was going to take, and also about how much it was likely to cost as well. Not wanting to dwell on either of these unpleasant musings I quickly headed down one of the main aisles to the rear of the store to begin my laborious task of filling the cart with the items our family would require for the next week. I have developed a routine that has worked well for me as I shop in this particular store. It is one I feel affords me the fewest steps, yet takes me past all the items I am likely to need. My pattern is generally the same, up one aisle and down the next, always in the same direction. In this manner I know when I need to shoot across the store a short distance into another section which contains dissimilar items that I need as well, making best use of my time and with few wasted steps. As I was about halfway down the canned vegetable aisle I encounter an elderly woman, probably in her 80\'s, on her little red run-about scooter with a basket on the front. It was obvious the woman was not only hindered by age, but also by some sort of physical disability. Strapped to the back of this little electric device was a pair of arm cuff walking canes. As I got nearer her position in the aisle she pulled her mobility device out away from the edge of the shelving. The front of her scooter stuck past the center of the aisle. A person could walk past her, but couldn\'t push a cart down the aisle until she picked up the item she was after and placed it in her basket. She started to move again, moving closer to the shelf as she did. The entire process took only about 15 or 20 seconds, not a big deal at all. I didn\'t really give it any thought and went on about my shopping. About two aisles later the same elderly woman was motoring down the aisle coming toward me. Again she pulled away from the edge of the shelf to retrieve something from the lower shelf. This time she couldn\'t seem to make up her mind as to which item she wanted. She looked at the box and held it out as if to read it. She then fumbled in her purse to find her glasses and began to read. Apparently, it was not the item she was after as she placed it back on the shelf and picked up the one next to it. She began reading that box. Again it must not have been the item she desired. She attempted to place it back on the shelf, but as she did the box slipped from her grasp and went to the floor. Now in most instances, I would have reached down and retrieved the box for her, but the position of her scooter prevented me from doing so. In fact, as she positioned the scooter she unwittingly blocked the aisle completely as she attempted to get the box from the floor. By this time traffic in front and behind her was backed up because no one could get around her scooter. I have to admit I was on the edge of being a slight bit annoyed. Usually rather then risk offending someone, I would have swung my cart around and headed out the other end of the aisle, but with so many people behind me with carts, doing so became an impossibility. Although there were several people on the other side of the woman who could have assisted her they chose to do nothing and we stood there looking across the top of her waiting for her to finish the task. When she did, she realized she was the cause of some congestion in traffic of the aisle and made apologies as she attempted to move out of the way. As traffic began to move again, a young couple I\'m guessing in their early to middle 20\'s passed me. As they did, I heard the young woman say "Those things shouldn\'t even be allowed in the store, they are nothing but a nuisance." She had been looking straight at me when she said it, and I wondered if she wanted me to agree or if she had just been speaking to her partner and I just happen to overhear. I walked on past and did not acknowledge her comment. In my mind, for an instant, I almost agreed with her. I had been a bit annoyed by the scooter blocking traffic, but as I began to think about it I saw things in a different light. The elderly woman was doing her best to be self-reliant. But because we live in such a fast pace society, we scarcely have time to acknowledge the elderly and the disabled. This little old woman was both. The more I thought about it as I shopped, the heavier it played on my heart. It brought me to the conclusion as I was leaving the store that we tend to be intolerant of those we should have the most compassion for. Yet as a society, we tolerate so many things that by everything that is good, we should be up in arms about. I had to shake my head as I went out the door of the store because there in front of me, looking very annoyed by the people who were trying to use the sidewalk was the young woman who had made the comment. She was sitting beside her partner on that stylish tandem tricycle now having to wait for others to allow them to pass. Scott Best is a freelance author in association with New Pocket Rocket keywords: Pocket Rocket | Pocket Bikes | Scooters | Mini Choppers | Electric Mobility Scooters Grants For The Disabled

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