Scooter Saga

Like everything else, voting when you have a disability takes more effort, affecting every aspect.  However, I figure if people braved beatings, prison, and forced feedings for the vote, I can quit whining, figure it out, and just do it.       In all fairness, there are many special accommodations to facilitate voting for people with disabilities.  Oregon's mail-in election ballot makes it as easy as possible, but there is always something to deal with. Issue :  Discussion is limited by my speech impairment.  Solution : Patient listeners.  I'm still opinionated, but slower and slurrier. Issue : Filling out a ballot requires some hand eye coordination–certainly more than I have. Solution : I make a dot on my choice, and Earl fills in the box. Issue :  The outer envelope requires my signature.  The only one on record was an old legible signature.  Solution :  I had to send a copy of my new illegible signature to the election board.  Didn't even know they checked.

As we neared going to Maui for nearly a month, I had some concerns. We had been going for ten years and I was worried that we'd become stuck in our routines and run out of things to do*.  Ah, the arrogance of a first world problem!  Earl could hardly wait for the chance to bike more in a warm climate.  Having a disability, I do less and do different things.  While I'm used to that and perfectly content with daily solitude, no longer driving ended our custom of Earl biking somewhere and me meeting him in the car*. From sea level to 10,000 feet We had friends coming to visit and were looking forward to their visits.  That pretty much solved my concerns.  Firstly, there's always something new to do.  Secondly, it's enjoyable to share familiar places with people who have never had that experience.  Thirdly, we had a friend to facilitate Earl's plan to bike up the Haleakela crater–his latest 'bucket list' adventure**.  I knew the way, she drove..and st