[nabs-l] canes and water park rides
Kirt Manwaring
kirt.crazydude at gmail.com
Tue Apr 2 04:43:37 UTC 2013
Sarah,
I know I'm going to spark an age-old debate, and possibly get
reprimanded for being off-topic, but I don't really care right now. I
don't mean this condescendingly or judgmentally...but, Sarah, the next
time someone asks me why I'm not a dog user, I want to have your
e-mails on hand because they would make my case far better than I
possibly could. (and, yes, I'm aware how ironic this will sound to
anybody who remembers the stir I created a while back because I wanted
to get a dog and bring him...or her...or whatever to a training
center.)
And, please, before anybody gets their knickers all twisted up over
this, I'm definitely not anti-dog. I know some fantastic travelers
who happen to be dog users; I also know some terrible travelers who
happen to use canes instead. My point is simply that, having the
personality I do where I want to wait my turn like most everyone else,
and hearing the kinds of stories I do from Sarah and from most dog
users I'm acquainted with about how ansy/skiddish/uncomfortable/needy
their dogs are, I'm pretty darn sure I made the right decision for
myself. This isn't a condemnation, much as some people might construe
it as one. Canes can certainly bring issues of their own...but my
straight cane won't have a panic attack if I decide to leave it at
home and take my folding cane instead, and vice-versa.
Anyways, sorry for the rambling...I'm trying to find every possible
excuse I can to distract me from my political science homework,
because Plato's Republic is really hurting my fragile little head
right now. :) I really didn't mean this as a knock against competent
dog-users or, really, against Sarah at all. I just meant to say how
stories like this reinforce my belief that, in choosing not to get a
guide dog, I think I made the right decision for me.
Best,
Kirt
On 4/1/13, Sarah <coastergirl92 at gmail.com> wrote:
> i can't leave Wizard hoc alone when I go to parks he freaks out
> when I leave him for a few hours to go to a friend's house.
> Besides his trainers told me to none leave him alone unsupervised
> for more than an hour inr 2.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com
> To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Mon, 1 Apr 2013 20:08:50 -0700
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] canes and water park rides
>
> Perhaps you shouldn't bring Wizard under those circumstances?
>
> Mike
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Sarah
> Sent: Monday, April 01, 2013 7:32 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] canes and water park rides
>
> I'm not making my guide dog wait 4 hours for one ride in the
> uncomfortable
> hot weather. Besides, all the ride operators know me at the park
> anyways.
> I never waited in line before I did for like 2 hours because X2
> broke down
> and sy had to replace a wheel.
> But I'm not making Wizard wait in line er 4 hours for each ride.
> It's like 2 or 4 hours for each ride and I bought an immediate
> boarding
> pass. All I have to do is show the paper I bought to the
> operator if they
> don't know me already, and they let me on.
> People are just jealous because they can't do it!
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Mon, 1 Apr 2013 20:18:14 -0600
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] canes and water park rides
>
> Sarah,
> I know you're going to get a lot of flack for what you just
> said, so I'll
> do my best to be gentle. I know each person's situation is
> different, so
> I'm not judging every blind person who chooses to take that extra
> perk and
> cut through line; for all I know, there really is some other
> disability or
> legitimate need for that accommodation with some of us, so
> farbeit from me
> to condemn everyone wholesale for making that choice. Still, and
> I feel
> very strongly about this, if you are capable of waiting in line
> with
> everybody else, you should.
> Period. In the past, there have been a few times where I've
> caved in to
> family pressure and broken my own rule; I'm not proud of it, I
> don't always
> measure up to my own standards here, but I nevertheless believe
> very
> passionately that we should not take "accommodation"
> where we do not need it. If you had no real need to cut in line,
> and it
> sounds like you didn't if you've been able to wait in long lines
> before (if
> I'm wrong please forgive me), you shouldn't have.
> That's
> my opinion, I'm not trying to be harsh because I've certainly
> skipped in
> line a few times before (and invariably felt ashamed afterwords),
> but
> accommodation is only real accommodation if it serves a real
> need.
> We have enough real needs already to go around taking advantage
> of things
> that just aren't necessary. Not only is it a waste but it can,
> if we aren't
> careful, send totally the wrong message about blindness.
> Our reputation as people who take and take, without giving back,
> isn't
> entirely unjustified. If we want to be treated equally, we
> _have_ to have
> it both ways. If we want equal treatment, we have equal
> responsibility.
> Much as this might seem menial, or irrelevant to the larger
> problems we
> face, waiting in lines is a drudgery that we ought to accept
> cheerfully (or
> at least grudgingly) if we really want equal access to amusement
> parks. I
> think, for many blind people, the attitude which says it's okay
> to cut in
> line even though we could wait like everyone else is indicative
> of a far,
> far larger problem. I am, of course, referring to the idea that
> we are
> entitled to special treatment and superior, not equal access. We
> wouldn't
> phrase it that way...but when we're asking for unnecessary
> extended time for
> assignments (I'm not implying that all extended time is
> unnecessary),
> demanding the right to a dedicated person to take our notes for
> us, begging
> rehab for every piece of the newest and greatest technology and,
> yes,
> cutting in lines at amusement parks...isn't that what we're
> really saying?
> Just my humble opinion, take it for what it's worth.
> Best,
> Kirt
>
> On 4/1/13, Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:
> So they let you cut through the line with a dog, but not with a
> cane?
> Interesting.
>
> Chris
>
> Chris Nusbaum, Co-Chair
> Public Relations Committee
> Maryland Association of Blind Students
> Phone: (443) 547-2409
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Sarah
> Sent: Monday, April 01, 2013 9:40 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] canes and water park rides
>
> Because with my dog, they let me right on, and they watch the
> dog very
> carefully even when someone else is holding it so nobody pets it
> while
> you're on the ride. With a cane, they will just say "Wait 4
> hours like
> everyone else."
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chris Nusbaum" <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
> To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Mon, 1 Apr 2013 21:26:25 -0400
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] canes and water park rides
>
> Sarah,
>
> Just curious: how is Six Flags more accommodating to a guide dog
> user than
> to a cane user?
>
> Chris
>
> Chris Nusbaum, Co-Chair
> Public Relations Committee
> Maryland Association of Blind Students
> Phone: (443) 547-2409
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Sarah Meeks
> Sent: Monday, April 01, 2013 7:56 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Cc: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] canes and water park rides
>
> My best amusement park experience has always been Six Flags.
> They are very
> accommodating. There you are more accommodating now that I have
> a dog.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Apr 1, 2013, at 11:22 AM, Kaiti Shelton
> <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com
> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Yay for Disney! they were by far my best park experience. I
> went twice
> as a little kid. The first time I went I was five or six and my
> parents
> also had a baby in a stroller, so the practice for both me and my
> sister
> was to hold onto our brother's stroller to keep with our parents
> and not
> get lost. My parents just gave me verbal direction and were
> with me the
> entire time, so there really wasn't a major need for a cane.
> When I went
> again as an older kid though, I did have a folding cane and the
> Disney
> staff was very good about either showing me tricks to keep it
> with me or
> holding it and then giving it back to me when I got off, even on
> water
> rides like Splash Mountain and the Pirates of the Caribbean
> rides which
> start in one place and end at another. If you have a folding
> cane you can
> secure it folded with the loop and then put your wrist through
> the cane
> and the strap and just let it hang as you hold onto something.
> It won't
> flop around as much as the telescopic cane. Also, the holster
> idea sounds
> good, although some park personelle at other amusement parks
> get worried
> about it coming lose. Either way, you shouldn't have any
> problems with
> getting the ride people to bring you your cane at the ride exit.
>
> By the way, Universal Studios was excellent about working with
> the cane
> too. I went there in the same vacation that I went to Disney for
> the
> second time and they were very accomodating.
>
> On 4/1/13, Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
> Sophie,
> I'm one of those random oddballs who would probably go alone
> if I was
> traveling, and there was a really cool theme park near by.
> I
> know it's not for everyone, but occasionally doing those kinds
> of "social"
> things by myself is fun for me; both to keep my confidence up
> and to meet
> people that I otherwise wouldn't get to know.
> Anyways, I've taken my straight cane to theme parks no
> problem, but I'll
> confess I haven't tried a water park with it yet. A collapsible
> or folding
> cane seems more reasonable to me there. On rollercoasters or
> big rides
> like that, I've almost always just given my straight cane to the
> ride
> attendant and picked it up when the ride is done, but those
> rides usually
> start and end at the same place.
> Waterslides
> and things are different though, obviously.
> Basically, I've been reading this thread to see what useful
> bits I could
> glean from it, as I'll probably be going to a few water parks
> myself over
> the summer. Maybe this will finally give me the motivation I
> need to buy
> another collapsible or NFB folding cane. (I actually liked mine
> for the
> year or so it lasted, but I used it sparingly and certainly not
> as my
> primary cane.) Thanks, all, for the help and suggewstions.
> Best,
> Kirt
>
> On 3/31/13, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I would where a belt around my bathing suit, and Use a folding
> cane with
> a holster.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Cindy
> Bennett
> Sent: Sunday, March 31, 2013 4:25 PM
> To: National Asociation of Blind Students
> Subject: [nabs-l] canes and water park rides
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> This summer, I am going to a water park. When I go to theme
> parks, I
> typically store my cane somewhere outside the ride area or on the
> exit
> side of a roller coaster platform. However, many water rides
> are such
> that you get on the ride in a different location, often quite a
> walk away,
> from the place where you get off of the ride.
> My
> cane is too long to fit in many inner tubes, and I doubt that
> it would be
> a safe thing to bring along especially if it came loose.
>
> I am wondering if a telescoping cane would be the best for
> this, because
> I know that many water rides have shoe holders. It would just
> be
> annoying, because I would have to rely on someone to guide me
> back to
> these shoe holders that are often at the entrance of the ride.
>
> So what are your suggestions for storing a cane during water
> rides?
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
> --
> Cindy Bennett
> Secretary: National Association of Blind Students Legislative
> Coordinator: National Federation of the Blind of Washington
>
> B.A. Psychology, UNC Wilmington
> clb5590 at gmail.com
>
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> --
> Kaiti
>
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