may 14 2023
Back a few months ago maybe it was in preparation for one dog fest or another... the question of having a restroom in compliance with the handicapped laws was put before the board... and me . For dog fest the solution was very simple they would bring us two toilets one would be handicapped accessible. piece of cake.. But somebody on the board picked up on the restroom facility in the laundry building was not in compliance----- Because of the configuration of the groundwater and the fact that water runs downhill the toilet in there is 6 inches taller than normal.--- Immediately the board got going on could we possibly make that restroom handicapped accessible...and save $300 for the portable... and I explained not without my $50,000 where the plumbing and pumps and things. and at that point “the board” told me. ... too bad, I was just going to have to spend it because otherwise the handicapped police could come in and I would be in all kinds of trouble because this toilet was 6 inches too tall. I tried to explain no way was I going to spend $50,000 trying to lower a toilet when l I kind of liked it the way it was. This became a huge issue as one of the board members became incensed because ----her feet didn’t reach the ground....... and she didn’t care if that was to cost me $50,000 --- she had her rights as a handicapped person-----it circled around and then began to involve other people. How Insensitive I was to the needs of a handicapped person trying to use the toilet.. this .. “lets all hate insensitive Carlene” movement appealed to one 6 foot tall man to whom I had given a dog.
Now I don’t know an awful lot about male anatomy, but the pure geometry of a male standing to use the toilet made me try and seriously understand why a toilet that was 6 inches higher than normal would be a problem---- really ----there are times when he might not be standing---but for the most part the question became standing to Pee in a pot that was 6 inches higher than normal... if that would be a problem I certainly could not figure out how or why I should spend $50,000 to change the plumbing system----- I am told “aim” is a problem with many males... but......
I tried to understand where all this was coming from.. and it all just seemed to be “ we are now in control and can order Carlene around”-
This was not just one meeting.... it went on for months –til they got distracted by something else.... and heaven forbid me to talk about – or make fun of the male appendage. or short legs ---which I saw as the cause. To this day- there are several handicapped people who do not speak to me or even look me in the eye because of the tall toilet.
Up til now you can not accuse me of being “snarkey, and rude”. Which I apparently have been known to be. I have sat round biting my tongue ----“don’t say anything”. And now--- “go live in a nursing home”.
Not yet.....
That is just one story....
