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* With a vaccine in September seeming more and more likely I am tempted to plan for some travel in spring. But even best case scenario it might be a while before we have enough people vaccinated. There have been concerns about medical glass shortages for a while.
A lot of people have something they are looking forward to at the end of this and I don't. But, I really shouldn't be pinning my hopes on that. I don't even know what I can count on right now.
* One thing that drives me nuts about the mask debate, that I don't see brought up, is how people think disability accommodation works. They think not being able to wear a mask is some big 'gotcha' and they get special rights. People's ideas about how much accommodation there is for people with disabilities get is downright nuts.
Let's look at travel for a moment. Every time I've done a long haul train trip I've spoken to at least one person who can't fly due to disabilities. A lot of people can't tolerate being in a coach seat for medically diagnosed reasons.
My knee/back problems don't count as a disability, but if I sit in a coach seat for 6 hours there is a good chance my left knee will lock, my lower back will spasm, I'll be in pain and have trouble walking. This does not get me a free upgrade. If I want enough space to ensure I wont arrive in pain I need to pay for it out of my own wallet. If I don't want to pay, then I am rolling the dice that I can stand and stretch once and hour without the plane's staff hassling me. I have had stewards talk to me about being 'disruptive' for just standing in the aisle once an hour.
If you can't tolerate a plane seat, even for medically diagnosed reasons, you have to pay for an expensive upgrade or suffer. But these damn idiots who don't want to wear a mask seem to think that any problems with a mask entitles them to special treatment and exemptions. That is not even remotely how any of this works.
Want to know how my Dad got my Mom home after she broke a hip and couldn't sit? Did the airlines give my Mom a special bed? Even first class couldn't accommodate her unless she could sit for take off and landing. Their options were to stay in Houston until she could sit or hire a private fucking plane.
I fly a LOT. There are no beds for people who can't sit. There are no special places for people who are in wheelchairs they can't leave. You know how buses have that section of seat that folds up for wheelchairs and scooters? Planes don't have that. Ever seen someone with core stability problems so bad they have to stay in their high back reclining wheelchairs on a plane? Neither have I. They have to travel via van or train. Long haul trains do have special suites and also places to park wheelchairs people can't tolerate being out of.
The sheer lack of understanding of how the world works is boggling, having a problem with masks doesn't mean the world needs to bend over to accommodate you. Even if it is a recognized disability, the world don't care. Lots of people can't shop at a grocery store, all of those people need to find alternate ways to get things. With the whole home delivery trend it's so much easier than it was 10 years ago.
...I didn't mean to rant for so long, but this assumption that people with medical problems and/or disabilities get this level of accommodation drives me up a wall. I've stayed at hotels with no ramps or wheelchair access, in the US! I tend to notice than most since I worked with disabled kids for 10 years, and have also had adult friends with CP or other conditions. But like ... do these people have no elderly relatives? Do they really know no disabled people?
Jesus, to have that sense that the world will bend over backwards to help you if you can claim that disability label.
