By Arthur Moore
 
All the years I have been around I have heard the older people complain about knee pain and hip pain and never thought much of it. Being young you figure its a little pain take two aspirin and it goes away.  I have now reached that stage in life when I now have the knee and hip pain. And now I have that realization that it is not a two aspirin cure. Almost nothing helps. It started with the occasional pain that went away.

Okay, we can deal with that. To now where you are in pain 24 hours a day. Pain medication no longer helps. Besides the fact I have to drive a lot so I can’t even do that. But this is not so much about me as it is about many of us that have been on the Earth for a while.

The difficulty we have of doing everyday things. I now have a handicapped plaque. I was embarrassed to even ask for it. At first I didn’t even use it. Even now only on a really bad day or nothing close enough that I can get to where I want.

I want to be considerate of those worse off than me. I used to complain about handicapped places taking away parking. Not anymore. I now know what it really feels like. Which leads me to why this city does so much to take away any chance the disabled have that drive the chance to go to small businesses.

I talked to the hairdresser in the new building on Winter Hill and she moved there as her parking was taken from her in Union Square and the elderly cold no longer got there. After she moved in the city did the same thing by putting that unused protected bike lane in for the able bodied people thus taking away her customers once again. The nail salon next door also caters to the elderly. Now they can’t. And don’t forget the Somerville retirement board where some of its members can no longer go there. And Christine on Highland Ave had the same problem, move in and then take away parking.

In order for small business to survive we have to do what we can to help them and at the same time help the disabled. These places not only need parking but handicapped parking as well. The ADA sent a letter to the mayor a few months ago. Well by now it is obvious that was ignored as usual.

I guess the message is here in Somerville the disabled are not welcome here. Also were complaints about elderly in the apartment buildings on Broadway having problems getting in and out of their apartments? Again, the disabled are not welcome here as well as the elderly.  

2021 brings another election for mayor here. Why would anyone want to vote for the same person who does not want you here and makes your life miserable when you need help the most?  And the mayor is not alone in making your life miserable. He has help.