OSH '05 Comments

Ocean City, NJ has aircraft handicap parking.

Les

"Sylvain" wrote in message
...
Jonathan

in the spirit of bringing it a little bit back on topic :-)

you wouldn't believe how few airports have handicap
parking spots for aircraft (actually, the only time
I remember I had such a spot reserved was on an AFB,
believe it or not, these guys are great :-)

one of these days I would really like to go to OSH;
snag is, it looks like it involves an awful lot of
walking (as pointed out by another poster) and I heard
that scooters and such were not allowed on the grounds;

anyone out there who has mobility limitations has gone
to OSH (flying that is) and could tell me about it?

--Sylvain

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.

"Dave Butler" wrote in message ...
Without taking sides on the question of whether all the scooter drivers
really needed scooters, I'll observe that I felt threatened at times by
the scooters.

Perhaps there should be a definition between the golf carts and the reduced
mobility vehicles. I find it hard to believe anyone could feel threatened by
the electric three-wheelers used by handicapped folks, The golf carts are
another story and are well-matched by the racing Gators.

We were making our way back to the Homebuilt Hooch on Tuesday night after an
evening with friends at Camp Scholler. The beer and brats were delicious and
it was approaching eight o'clock. We learned then that the trams stop
running at ten minutes to eight and head for their corral after a long day's
stint.

It was a god half-mile walk from Camp Scholler at the mid-south location to
the Homebuilder's Hooch in the North. My 82 year-old navigator and I set out
to walk it, as nothing else was available. He was doing better than I,
because my ten year old back surgery has ran its course. Not a problem,
though. I was willing to pay the price. You folks with back problems know
what I mean. I did get really ****ed off at the 20 something girl who ran
her empty four-seat golf cart through the pedestrians calling out "SORREE"
at the top of her lungs.

The painful walk paid off when we reached AeroShell Square. The sun was
dropping below the horizon in the west and the remaining light played on a
bank of clouds above the field. I stared at the wonder of SpaceShip One,
facing me across the square. All my earthly troubles were forgotten as I
gazed upon the reality of those many hours spent reading Robert Heinlein, E.
E. Smith, Ray Bradbury, and a thousand other word weavers.

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c4/elw...ceship_one.jpg

Thank you, Burt. Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Richard. Thanks to each and
every one of the dreamers and workers who made possible the dreams of all of
us.

I hiked the rest of the way with a lightened load.

For those of you who have nothing better to do than to scoff at those with
pain - Bill the Cat has an appropriate salutation. Phhhwwwwttttt!

Rich S.

In article bxXGe.5979$r12.5870@trndny04,
George Patterson wrote:

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.


Actually, it's called the "food pyramid," and it was (and continues to
be) created out of thin air by the DAIRY INDUSTRY in order to hoodwink
the American people (not a very difficult thing to do) into believing
that milk and milk products must constitute a major and necessary
component of our daily diet. The dairy industry is as crooked as any,
and lines the pockets of politicians from the president on down. There's
no one on any government nutrition panel that isn't nursing on the dairy
industry in a big way, and spitting up the result.

Smitty Two wrote:

In article bxXGe.5979$r12.5870@trndny04,
George Patterson wrote:


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.



Actually, it's called the "food pyramid," and it was (and continues to
be) created out of thin air by the DAIRY INDUSTRY in order to hoodwink
the American people (not a very difficult thing to do) into believing
that milk and milk products must constitute a major and necessary
component of our daily diet. The dairy industry is as crooked as any,
and lines the pockets of politicians from the president on down. There's
no one on any government nutrition panel that isn't nursing on the dairy
industry in a big way, and spitting up the result.

Oh come on. This is hilarious. The dairy industry makes you eat too
much and eat the wrong stuff? What about the soda industry whose
products have pretty much no redeeming value, unlike dairy who products
do have nutritional value. How about the fast food industry?

I'm curious though, what did the dairy industry do to you to raise your ire?

Matt

I think there were more aircraft this year than in years past coming
through, but I was speaking of the foot traffic being very light. Not
nearly as bad as last year.

The difference may be in the weekend traffic. I make it a point to
avoid Fri - Sun...

How about this fix. A law that requires the doors on fast food joints be no
wider than 18". No drive by windows allowed. To get food, you have to get
thorough the door.

"Roy Page" wrote in message
ink.net...
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.

Perhaps there should be a definition between the golf carts and the
reduced mobility vehicles. I find it hard to believe anyone could feel
threatened by the electric three-wheelers used by handicapped folks, The
golf carts are another story and are well-matched by the racing Gators.

Years ago my kids coined a term to describe the OSH golf cart riders:
"IIGICs". (Idiots In Golf Carts)

They happily shouted "Watch out -- another IIGIC!" all week long.

This year, for the first time, they coined a term for the 8 thousand little
motor scooters that were suddenly running up our heels all week long:
"IOMS" (Idiots On Motor Scooters) They were EVERYWHERE.

I'm afraid we felt nearly as threatened by these folks as we did by the golf
carts and gators. Because of their numbers, and the fact that the riders
had obviously received NO training in their use, we were nearly run over by
one at least daily. When you're wearing sandals, the thought of a 250
pound scooter flattening your toes is not a fun one, especially after a few
days on your feet.

I, too, resent the fact that we could not bring our bikes onto the grounds,
yet these folks -- most of whom clearly were simply not interested in
walking the immense distances OSH requires -- were given carte blanche to go
anywhere and everywhere with impunity.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Bill Daniels wrote:
How about this fix. A law that requires the doors on fast food joints be no
wider than 18". No drive by windows allowed. To get food, you have to get
thorough the door.

......And then up three flights of stairs......

In article ,
Matt Whiting wrote:
Richard Riley wrote:

On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 21:36:15 GMT, Matt Whiting
wrote:

:I have degenerative disk disease. You can't always tell it from
:watching me walk, but some days you can. I could easily get a handicap
ermit, and actually have had doctors suggest I get one. I also have a
:high pain threshold and wouldn't think of getting a handicap permit
:unless it gets a LOT worse. And you'd then be able to tell from looking
:at me that I needed the permit.

Matt, with all due respect - get one. My dad had one for bad knees
(both eventually replaced, which helped some but not enough.)

If you don't need it, don't use it, leave it in the glove box. Then
one long, bad day with lots of walking, you'll have one last errand to
do - and no one will begrudge you.

I just can't see having one when I see people who REALLY need them. I
don't feel I'm at the level of need. Maybe in 20 years. Also, I NEED
the exercise! :-)


Richard is right. Given that you meet the 'letter' of the qualifications
*get*one*.

It's not like there is a limited supply of them. You're _not_ depriving
some 'more in need' by getting one for yourself.

And, you're *not* restricted to only using the handicapped places if you
do have the tag. With one, you can park *anywhere*.

There are good days, and bad days. Having the tag can help make bad days
less bad.

If it's a good day, or you're feeling the need for exercise, use a regular
place. On that really bad day, when you _have_ to go out for something,
don't feel bad about using the close-in spot.