Dear So and So

[lauraelmore1033]

Not everyone comes to that realization but we can hope. I guess I get some small consolation in that they must be really unhappy somewhere in there...imagine their lives if that is all they can comment on. Insecurity perhaps?
And actually in many ways they were insulting themselves! The person they were making fun of them was actually passing them. I'd say they were probably too stupid to realize that but then that'd be judging ...

We were on that trail on monday! On sunday we were on the Centennial, the theory being that Sammamish and the B-G would be crazy due to Seafair folk.

yes, it is hard to imagine happy people harboring such hostility toward total strangers who are doing them no harm. Trouble is, there are so many of these unhappy folk out there.

How did you like that Centennial trail? It's usually a lot less crowded than B-G, especially on the Arlington end. I usually make it up there once or twice a week

[teigyr]

yes, it is hard to imagine happy people harboring such hostility toward total strangers who are doing them no harm. Trouble is, there are so many of these unhappy folk out there.

How did you like that Centennial trail? It's usually a lot less crowded than B-G, especially on the Arlington end. I usually make it up there once or twice a week

I love that trail. We ended up going all the way out (Snohomish to Arlington) and then mostly back then out again. I like the latter part better than the Snohomish part just because it is less crowded plus there's that phantom hill thing going on. We got it up to 53 miles or so.

And yeah, tons of unhappy people out there. There are the self-righteous also (like Paris and Nicole) that just need to be taken down a peg or two. It'll happen.

I always used to be so betrayed when I'd see cyclist males picking up on giggling roller bladers on bike trails. I'd be thinking "hey wait...I'm doing 70 miles today and I'm greasy and sweaty and not cute but I'm TRYING". Fortunately now I just laugh at it instead of feeling hurt.

Anyway, let me know if you ever want to ride the Centennial! It isn't a bad drive at all from our house and it is peaceful compared to the B-G/Sammamish ones I normally do.

[Haudlady]

Dear Conference Call Organizer,

It was very frustrating to hear you talking the way you did today - I wish you were not so closed-minded about something that could be a very good thing. As an advocate for rights of people with disabilities, I was appalled to hear you say that you didn't want to encourage people to renovate a home to be fully accessible as "that's not what the market is looking for." You only want the home to be "visitable." Well, the way I look at it, the home is either accessible or it's not. The only way that the mainstream will accept a home with "one of those ramps out front" is if they become mainstream. If an advocate doesn't push for change, what the heck do they do? I think you, as the theoretical leader of this project, should take a longer view and be willing to take some risks.

I was very surprised to hear you refer to a fully accessible home as a "handicapped house." Language is powerful - although not everyone realizes it, YOU certainly should know that a "handicapped house" by definition, is a house that doesn't work.

I was happy when you seemed to listen to my point of view - when you acknowledged my comment that just because there is a minimum standard doesn't mean that there should also be a maximum standard. After all, I can use a ramp with my two feet (and it would make it easier to get my bike into the house); I don't have to have a disability to enjoy the benefits of accessiblity.

I was angry when I reviewed the 'minutes' you prepared for the conference call. None of my concerns or comments were included, yet your point-of-view was certainly expressed.

Sometimes I wonder why I bother... then I remember how important it is.

[HillSlugger]

Dear woman I shared a swim lane with,

I'm sorry we bumped elbows, it threw off my rhythm, too. You don't have to glare at me like it was wholly my fault. Grow up and keep swimming!