"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Tuesday 1 September 2015

FEELING INVISIBLE

A call came from Ipsos Reid doing a survey on behalf of York Region. Would I be interested in participating? 

What's the  issue...I asked ..... Walking  and Cycling, she said. 

 Don't do much of either......, I answered....How long does it take?

Seven or eight minutes depending on the answers....she said...D'you want to do it or not,she asked  sharply obviously forgetting that she called me.

Alright, I said. 

 First, can I ask you what year you were born ? I told her

"Thank you"..she said without missing a beat." We've filled our quota for your age group" 

Clunk. 

****************

I seldom participate in surveys. But I was interested in the region's questions about walking and bicycling. Mobility scooters seem not to be a feature in the overall scheme of things. 

Sidewalks have a camber toward the road for drainage. It tilts the scooter. Pressure cuts in concrete create a thoroughly bumpy ride. A walker would  be conscious of neither but a person with spinal or joint discomfort can be seriously discomoded.

Bicycle paths are smooth asphalt. It makes for a smooth ride. In Vancouver, bicycle paths are a full traffic lane width and separated from traffic. On a Sunday, I rode the scooter all the way from one side of the city to Granville Island. A small boat completed the journey. 

I have talked about the problem of concrete sidewalks at Aurora  Council. They waited until I stopped talking so they could go back to talking about things that really matter. 

A weird reality of being elderly means sometimes being invisible. 

People look through you, not at you. Voice is heard but not words. If you're not alone,they speak of  you like you're not in the room.

Sometimes it's interesting just to stay quiet and observe. 

Elderly people are frequently focus of the media. A few months ago Macleans claimed the elderly  have the most wealth. It is said ,we use the most health services, 

Kathleen Wynne recently stated her  government is contemplating paying the cost,under the Ontario Health Services,  for a perfectly healthy male or female to change his/her sex. 

Nursing homes and retirement centers are a fast-growing and highly lucrative industry. With better care 
seniors live and pay longer. If the existence can be so described. 

Pitches to the elderly have largely replaced liquor and cigarette advertising in the media. 

Grey Power auto insurance rates are available.

At end of life, insurance policies without medicals,provide something extra for a favorite grandson, 

A bank has a life policy that deducts $2 a month from the account for ten or twelve years. At age seventy-five,the policy expires. Greater chance of death means risk is no longer risk but certainty.  
Money funneled to protective insurance is not shared. No compensation because demon death did not occur. You're outta luck baby. 

A  private and fully-owned house is advertised  on television as a generous source of ready cash for all manner of extravagant fantasies through the generosity of money-lenders. 

Seniors votes are courted by political parties. . All kinds of goodies are promised. Seniors do matter.

Except to York  Region and Ipsos Reid. 

"The quota for your age group is already filled" Perhaps I should have lied.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

People with invisible disabilities are treated just terrible after disclosure.

Anonymous said...

"I have talked about the problem of concrete sidewalks at Aurora Council. They waited until I stopped talking so they could go back to talking about things that really matter."

Your last phrase explains it. What did you ask them to do? Lay sidewalks without camber or pressure gaps? That would be a good use of municipal funds. As I walk the dog, I notice a number of problems with our sidewalks - heaving, cracking, etc. I usually see that someone at some point in time painted some day-glow paint onto the areas where they are hazards. When will they be fixed?

Anonymous said...

Those surveys are funny but you have to remember that the ones doing the calling are the same as those who used
to try to sell the elderly magazine subscriptions. They are as useless as they make you feel.

Anonymous said...

I liked the Ipsos survey in which they asked if you would be comfortable in a room filled with minorities.
They can't handle it when you ask, " Why am I there ? Are they friends or am I at the clinic ? "

Anonymous said...

Council wanted to replace sidewalks as part of their attempt to attract tourists.
They said absolutely nothing about " better " sidewalks.
I think that particular stupidity might have been abandoned but Cllr Humfryes is determined in that quarter.

Anonymous said...

Wynne is more interested in her sex education up-date than she is about the eyes, ears or teeth of
the people of Ontario.

Anonymous said...

05:47
"People with invisible disabilities are treated just terrible after disclosure."

I don't think getting old is an invisible disability.

Anonymous said...

And to think we have 3 more yrs to fund all her programs makes me sick. Way to go Ontarians.

Anonymous said...

It is the same with being part of medical studies. After a cut-off date, your data is simply no longer needed.

Anonymous said...

Uh excuse me 15:49
I think you might have missed the point of that comment

Anonymous said...

Auroran is up - some good, some not-so good, material for Aurorans.

Anonymous said...

I have no clue how people with mobility issues get around in this region. Davis dr. Is an absolutley disgraceful.

Anonymous said...

"I have no clue..."

'nuff said.

Anonymous said...

It would be interseting to find out how those abulances get to southlake in a timely manner.

Anonymous said...

Guess you haven't been on Davis?