Talk to TSA

The TSA has launched a new "TSA Cares" hotline to help travelers with disabilities and their families. I'm told callers can simply call 1-855-787-2227 to explain their disability-related concerns or medical issues and ask for assistance while traveling throughout the continental US. The TSA suggests calling 72 hours in advance of a flight in order to get the most satisfying assistance. You can also use the hotline to offer suggestions or file complaints. It's open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. EST.

Did you fly this past holiday season? Did you find the TSA elves naughty or nice?

So hoping this is a roll in the right direction.

Shame on You, Mayor Bloomberg

As my family will attest, I rarely say "I told you so." (Come on, guys, support me on this one!) But this is just too good to pass up. New York's Taxis for All Campaign recently issued a public letter to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that tells it like it is on the subject of accessible cabs in NYC. They're necessary and they're the right thing to do, period.

Unfortunately, neither the letter nor Gov. Cuomo could make magic on this one. Yesterday, NYC's Mayor Bloomberg and Nissan representatives introduced the "Taxi of Tomorrow," which is scheduled to fully replace all New York Taxis beginning this coming October. It's definitely NOT accessible to wheelchair users, and Mayor Bloomberg likes it this way. I just don't agree.

Less than 300 out of 13,000 yellow cabs are currently accessible to wheelchair users in the Big Apple. The subway doesn't cut it, as our family well knows, and buses are not an ideal option much of the time -- which is why 13,000 cabs remain in business, except to serve wheelchair users, of course. Similarly, if you are non-ambulatory and would like to hire a livery car, only 23 vehicles out of a fleet of 35,000 can accommodate you. Really? Really!

The Taxis for All Campaign's rather obvious assertion is that most ADA improvements help people with disabilities AND many others, including parents with strollers, older persons with mobility issues, and delivery people pushing carts, to name a few. We've all appreciated the lack of a step at times, I'm sure. It's simple universal design, and that's why it's called "universal."

Since my choice for Tomorrow's Taxi, the Karsan Kab, is out, I had high hopes that Mayor Bloomberg would be pursuaded by clear thinking and common decency as he made an important decision about public transportation and the future of the Big Apple. Alas, he didn't get it right and now people will continue to struggle -- unless they move to London, where all cabs are accessible and it doesn't seem to be an issue or a challenge. Maybe I should just rethink the American Revolution and try remembering why the US is better than the UK. Nah. I think I'll just go make dinner instead.

New Year! New Me?

Happy 2012! With the start of the new year, I've committed to a variety of new things (please don't call them resolutions), including building this blog and creating a robust, supportive and informative (possibly informed?) virtual community through it, too.

I've had this delusional goal before, but life always seems to get in the way. Here I sit, though, on the second morning of the new year, really wanting to do this -- wanting it more than many of the things that I spend my day doing, and I do believe it will be time well spent. Interestingly, as I type this, our 15-year-old-son is completing his application to a summer conference in which he could learn more about self-advocacy and leadership. I think it's time for Mom to lead and self-advocate a little more, too. So...blogging it is.

My call for help is that I'd really love your advice and ideas on how to build readership, comments and general interest in this blog -- no idea is a bad one, I promise. What topics to cover? How much ranting is too much? Who else would you like to hear from? How can I make this vehicle most useful to other families and individuals?

Out with the old habits and in with the new. Posting every six months just isn't good enough. Life gets in the way, sure. But if that happens again, it's a sign I need to stop blogging, I think.

Won't you please start you new year off right and let me know your suggestions?