Image: Rabbi Adar on a scooter, admiring Cantor Ilene Key’s great Purim hat! Photo by Linda Burnett.
Tag: scooter
Disability Adventure Part 2: So Far, So Good!
Linda dropped me at SFO this morning, and took this photo. The good news is that when I arrived here at my hotel, I was still smiling!
Traveling with the scooter takes patience. The airline questioned me about the battery and its carrier but eventually I was cleared for travel with it. I had done my homework, gotten the proper carrier, and allowed a lot of time, so I wasn’t worried. I know that people fly with these things, and that they fly on American Airlines with them, so it was going to be OK. And really, I’m glad they are cautious about people with batteries and other such devices.
TSA was interesting. My mantra going in was “I’m in no hurry” and that seemed to be the key. They had to test everything, including my hands (!) for bomb residue, but I and the scooter passed the tests. When I got to the gate, we had the discussion again about the battery but all was well: I was able to gate check the scooter and get to my seat.
Words cannot express how much easier this was than past experiences struggling through airports. When I went to a conference in January with my cane, I was in tiny airports and was miserable and exhausted before I even got to my destination. I was in pain all the time during the conference and frankly rather cranky much of the time as a result. I was continually mentally exhausted from pain management (or perhaps non-management.)
This was totally different. I navigated through SFO and O’Hare airports with relative ease, albeit with a few stops for discussion. I’m now at the hotel and happy to be in my room, looking forward to seeing friends tomorrow and excited about a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago. At any rate, while I am sure there will be some awkwardnesses, this is looking to be a completely different experience.
Tomorrow: Learning with the Women’s Rabbinic Network, and the first day of convention.
It’s a Disability Adventure!
I’m preparing for a big adventure. This week I am traveling to Chicago to attend the annual convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. That’s the organization of Reform Rabbis in North America. I’ll see old friends, we’ll study and pray and tell tall tales, and it will be grand. The night of April 1, I’m going to shave my head.
This is the first time I’ve traveled so far in a long time, and I am a bit nervous about it. You see, my world has gotten rather small in the last few years due to troubles with chronic pain and arthritis. Nowadays, if I want to go farther than a couple of blocks, or if I am going to need to stand in line, I use a scooter. This will be the first time I’ve traveled with it. So there is a lot on my mind: the airports, the airplane, transport from O’Hare to the hotel, the reactions of colleagues when they see me on wheels — it goes on an on. I’m still self-conscious about using this thing. But if I don’t use it, I can’t go. And I am tired of letting my life get smaller; I have work to do!
I had coffee today with a friend who is an old hand at wheelchair travel. He was very encouraging – I might say he even gave me a gentle little kick in the tuchus. It’s easy to hide at home, but there is too much life to be lived, too much Torah for me to live, to give in to that impulse. I’m glad we had coffee, and I’m going to keep him in my heart as I buzz down the hallways of OAK and ORD and down the sidewalks in Chicago.
So wish me luck! Life is about to get really interesting.