Power to the People

Dianne and her sister left the house early today which is OK by me, I was getting ready to head out myself for the Wellness Program. Even though I was quite early I want to get down to Sugarhouse cruise around a little bit. Sun is out it's not successfully warm yet that's a nice day to be out riding the system. Since I have the time I figured I would stop somewhere inbound for lunch. I found a place essentially across the street from outpatient rehab. I'd see the place a number of times actually a bar that's okay. The places name is Fats Grill and the best part is Fats is all accessible to a person using a wheelchair. Fts is one those places that didn't mean to be or go out of their way to accessible Fats is accessible because they're civilized. I stopped for lunch there and got a BLT and fries the lunch was okay not stellar. The bar tender/waited said the sandwiches are good but the burgers are their best offering. I am sure the burgers are as he said they are, I just did not want to load up on that much fat before I went to my workout.Fats is great, located in the heart of Sugarhouse on Highland Drive, the place is serviced by at least two bus lines, possibly more. The place is spacious and unpretentious yet the place is not a dive. There are a number of levels, an eating section, a pool/billiards and a hard core bar section which looks may also serve as a dance area in the evenings when they have live bands.

Today I was traveling entirely on public transit which means I power from my house up to the bus stop on to the train then jump another bus to 1100 East. Use a lot of powers and seems my batteries drain quickly meaning I have to be careful and conservative in how I expend my power. As I sit here having lunch looking out the window at the intersection, I am nagged “ Why the hell can't I have access to chargers scattered throughout the city? So a person could drive their powerchair have lunch, watch a movie, read a book and charge for an hour to can come away with enough charge to do what they would want to do for the rest of the day. I mean I would love for Fats Grill to have a charger that I could plug into when I come to eat and get a nice hour buzz, which guarantee me enough power do whatever else I had to do. This much electricity is not going to break Fats or Sugarhouse. Perhaps that time may come when there are enough people using powerchairs that their usage might have a financial impact on private or city facilities.

I would not care if who ever asked a small fee for the power. A quarter for an hour, seriously I would pay a buck for a guarantee of enough power to go where I needed. I know a lot of chair users may not be able to afford this much but I could. And seriously my 25 cents and even a dollar is not going to save the city but is my “by in”. Its me paying my way. Remember how people bitched and moaned when businesses started charging for air. People accepted air is not free, at least compressed.

I want chargers out there in the city at food markets, doctor offices, libraries transit hubs and transit stations and yes even private places, theaters, malls, and even restaurants and bars...Power to the people!!