OSH '05 Comments

In article ,
(Paul Tomblin) wrote:

Yeah, you were talking about people you know. But there are a lot of
people out there who sneer at me in public because I sit while others have
to stand and do what I can to avoid unnecessary walking and standing. I
hear the rude remarks from total strangers, and I was addressing my
remarks more to them than to you.

I think the problem comes in when you have folks who are able to get
around, even if it's painful, but then there are those who really can't
get around even if they want to.

If someone is willing to put up with the pain to walk around OSH or to
go and play 18 holes, why should they be riding a scooter or park in a
handicapped space at the grocery store? Obviously, they don't need it.
There are those with serious disabilities or medical conditions, who
simply can't get around, and then there are those who are just lazy.



JKG

This has also been a problem for me. It seems most people have a phobia about
walking. Even a 10 minute walk seemed too far for many people. Every time I
ask someone how far some place is, they would insist it is too far to walk,
and would give me directions on how to take a bus or trolley etc.. An
example is the EAA museum bus. It is faster to walk there than take the bus,
espeically during the rush hour. I discovered this after waiting for 30
minutes for the bus. Same thing with the trolleys. It is faster to walk than
to wait for the trolleys.

Andrew, you haven't told us about your travels via the big bird???

"Paul Tomblin" wrote

Think about people like me next time you dismiss somebody as "really
aren't handicapped" just because you can't see anything wrong with them.

Thanks, Paul. My thoughts exactly. As far as your pain goes, I am one of
you.
--
Jim in NC

Here are my two cents as an orthopedic surgeon and pilot (attending OSH
tomorrow). In my opinion, I never give anyone a permanent handicapped
parking sticker unless they need a cane, crutches, walker, or wheel chair to
ambulate. This especially includes people who have undergone joint
replacement and have no problem playing 18 holes of golf, but want to park a
little closer at the grocery store.

Besides, most of the others who ask for stickers would do themselves a lot
better if they did more walking rather than riding on scooters. I also see a
lot more abuse of handicapped parking places than I do people using them who
really need the assistance.

In essence, I agree with the original post. After recently traveling to
Europe and Southwest Asia on a military deployment it was noticeable how
obese the average American was compared to their European counterparts. It's
a lot easier to ride a scooter that's paid for by insurance than to lose
weight.

On the other hand, for the right person, both scooters and handicapped
permits can really expand the quality of life of an individual, assuming
that they are prescribed appropriately.

Jim N. wrote:

Here are my two cents as an orthopedic surgeon and pilot (attending OSH
tomorrow). In my opinion, I never give anyone a permanent handicapped
parking sticker unless they need a cane, crutches, walker, or wheel chair to
ambulate. This especially includes people who have undergone joint
replacement and have no problem playing 18 holes of golf, but want to park a
little closer at the grocery store.

Besides, most of the others who ask for stickers would do themselves a lot
better if they did more walking rather than riding on scooters. I also see a
lot more abuse of handicapped parking places than I do people using them who
really need the assistance.

In essence, I agree with the original post. After recently traveling to
Europe and Southwest Asia on a military deployment it was noticeable how
obese the average American was compared to their European counterparts. It's
a lot easier to ride a scooter that's paid for by insurance than to lose
weight.

On the other hand, for the right person, both scooters and handicapped
permits can really expand the quality of life of an individual, assuming
that they are prescribed appropriately.

I wish all docs shared your philosophy!

Matt

As another example, I was returning from southwest Asia from an Air Force
deployment, and after many hours on planes, was waiting in the commuter
terminal in Dulles. I also had picked up a pretty significant GI bug, which
had given me fevers and chills along with a nasty case of diarrhea. However,
I also knew that this was the last leg on my way home, and was at least back
in the States.

However, the last leg was on an RJ, and there was an obese passenger waiting
to go on the plane on a scooter. In order to accomodate her needs the
airline needed to bring out a portable ramp, since there was no jetway up to
the plane. Unfortunately, due to the parking spot, the ramp wouldn't come up
to the hatch, so then they had to get a tug and move the plane back a few
feet, after moving all of the ground equipment as well that was next to the
plane.

Unfortunately, the ground crew miscalculated, and they didn't move the plane
back far enough, so after another twenty minutes of trying to fit the
portable ramp, it was clear that the plane needed to be moved again. Of
course, all of the pax were waiting and watching this keystone cops routine,
while I was there with chills and a fever, wondering whether I was going to
need to go out and run to the bathroom again before the flight.

After another attempt at fitting the ramp, the ground crew gave up, and the
passenger in question simply walked up the stairs and down the aisle without
a problem! While she wasn't exactly sprinting, she clearly had little
difficulty going up the four steps and walking down the aisle without
assistance. If we had been on a sailing ship I think all of the pax would
have voted to throw her out the door to the sharks.

Although the whole debacle took around an hour, it was an inconvenience to
everyone on the plane, as well as the ground crew. Obviously, I think most
people would have been understanding and compassionate to a person with
legitimate needs, but this was completely over the top.

I also recently had a patient in her early thirties who insisted that I
document that she had knee pain and needed a handicapped sticker so she
didn't have to walk so far from the parking lot. I offered her some physical
therapy as well as a short course of anti-inflammatory medications, but she
declined, telling me the only thing she needed was the handicapped permit!

Why is it that in American society we need the quick fix- gastroplasty and
other fat reducing surgery or diet pills rather than watching what we eat
and increasing our exercise? Why are our children the fattest in the world?
I am not one of those arrogant rail thin marathon runners by any stretch,
but I believe that obesity is a serious concern for our entire society.

Well said !
And another point, any passenger that needs a seat belt extension, should be
required to buy two seats.
Why should we have to put up with their mass spreading into our comfort zone
?

Roy P

"Jim N." wrote in message
...
As another example, I was returning from southwest Asia from an Air Force
deployment, and after many hours on planes, was waiting in the commuter
terminal in Dulles. I also had picked up a pretty significant GI bug,
which had given me fevers and chills along with a nasty case of diarrhea.
However, I also knew that this was the last leg on my way home, and was at
least back in the States.

However, the last leg was on an RJ, and there was an obese passenger
waiting to go on the plane on a scooter. In order to accomodate her needs
the airline needed to bring out a portable ramp, since there was no jetway
up to the plane. Unfortunately, due to the parking spot, the ramp wouldn't
come up to the hatch, so then they had to get a tug and move the plane
back a few feet, after moving all of the ground equipment as well that was
next to the plane.

Unfortunately, the ground crew miscalculated, and they didn't move the
plane back far enough, so after another twenty minutes of trying to fit
the portable ramp, it was clear that the plane needed to be moved again.
Of course, all of the pax were waiting and watching this keystone cops
routine, while I was there with chills and a fever, wondering whether I
was going to need to go out and run to the bathroom again before the
flight.

After another attempt at fitting the ramp, the ground crew gave up, and
the passenger in question simply walked up the stairs and down the aisle
without a problem! While she wasn't exactly sprinting, she clearly had
little difficulty going up the four steps and walking down the aisle
without assistance. If we had been on a sailing ship I think all of the
pax would have voted to throw her out the door to the sharks.

Although the whole debacle took around an hour, it was an inconvenience to
everyone on the plane, as well as the ground crew. Obviously, I think most
people would have been understanding and compassionate to a person with
legitimate needs, but this was completely over the top.

I also recently had a patient in her early thirties who insisted that I
document that she had knee pain and needed a handicapped sticker so she
didn't have to walk so far from the parking lot. I offered her some
physical therapy as well as a short course of anti-inflammatory
medications, but she declined, telling me the only thing she needed was
the handicapped permit!

Why is it that in American society we need the quick fix- gastroplasty and
other fat reducing surgery or diet pills rather than watching what we eat
and increasing our exercise? Why are our children the fattest in the
world? I am not one of those arrogant rail thin marathon runners by any
stretch, but I believe that obesity is a serious concern for our entire
society.

Jim N. wrote:

Why is it that in American society we need the quick fix- gastroplasty and
other fat reducing surgery or diet pills rather than watching what we eat
and increasing our exercise? Why are our children the fattest in the world?

Because some decades back American health "authorities" came up with the idea of
the "food triangle", and American companies started manufacturing stuff based on
that model. When I was a kid, Italians were the heaviest people in the western
world, and it was presented as fact that this was because their diet was heavy
on starch and bread. What did people expect would happen when we adopted the
same model?

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

"PPT33R" wrote in message
oups.com...
Another great OSH. The number and quality of the exhibits seems to
improve each year. I especially like the Miller Welding trailer. My
girlfriend even got to play with the plasma cutter, and she liked it
(maybe helping me justify a future purchase ;-)...

snip

Wicks had a much smaller display this year with no parts, just pilot
supplies. They should probably move to the Fly Market and provide more
selection next year.

I am not sure about the new scheduling, starting on a Monday. Crowds
seemed VERY light on Monday (which was good for us, but not sure for
the vendors.) It will be interesting to see how this weekend works out
for them. The North 40 was filled by Sunday night, but emptied out
considerably by Wednesday afternoon (when we left.)


snip

Funny, when we got there by air at ~2:00 on Monday afternoon, the ATIS
indicated that ALL camping was full and the only thing that was open
on-field was General Aviation Parking... From my perspective, this was the
busiest Oshkosh I've attended. I managed to get a spot in Homebuilt
Camping, but the guys there indicated that they were essentially out of
room. Maybe a half dozen spaces left (I'd guess there were 1,000 aircraft
in Homebuilt Camping), and they were about to have to "invent" parking
spaces. The North 40 appeared full, as did Antique and Classic
camping/parking...

Amazing how different folks have different perspectives.

KB