With Pam needing a wheelchair to get anywhere, it’s been interesting to see how people react, how easy it is to get places, and how people treat you in general.

For the most part, people have been pretty good with treating us as people. I hate to say it, but it’s been along racial lines that people ignore you. Here in Surrey there is a very large East Indian population, and they have been amazing. Opening doors, smiling, chatting – even more so than when we weren’t in the chair! I’ve really been pleased with the reception, it’s been wonderful and heartwarming. The Chinese, on the other hand, have been rude, abusive, and pushy. They’ve never once held a door open, they’ve virtually ignored us, and they’ve run to cut us off, failed to move even an inch so we could get by, and even pushed to get on a small elevator first. It’s a real tragedy over the way they’ve treated us. At the local T&T, a mostly Chinese store, the staff has been good, but the customers even pushed by us to get ahead in the checkout line!

On the other hand, every restaurant we’ve been to has been amazing. They’ve rushed to open the doors, helped us find a table, moved chairs, and basically done everything possible for us. Patrons in our local pub, Brewster’s, have been really terrific. They have literally RUN to hold open the door, cleared a path for us, and treated us with amazing respect.

Most stores have been quite accessible. Well signed elevators, wide aisles, and respectful staff. In no way could you say that we’ve been overlooked, or mistreated. Kudos to all of them. With ONE exception! The Bay in Guildford Mall was abysmal. The store itself is huge, with tons of open areas, but it was impossible to get around any of the aisles containing products! We wanted to look at shower curtains, but could not. The aisles were far too small for a wheelchair to get down.

As for parking, it’s been generally very good. However, there have been a number of times when we’ve seen people in the handicapped spots, who were clearly not impaired in anyway. One young girl cut us off to get into the spot, then got out and ran into the store, and I mean RAN. We found a spot farther away and struggled to get Pam into the chair in the narrow parking stalls. I used to be kind of ambivalent about the handicapped spots, but having to get around with the chair has really given me an appreciation for their effectiveness, and their real need. We have a handicapped parking pass but I’ve made sure I avoided the handicapped spots when Pam was not with me.

Overall, I’d have to say it’s been a pretty good experience most times we’ve been out.