[Sca-cooks] Wheelchairs- OT- was Cooks Symposium Dec 4

[Johnna Holloway]

Thanks for all the kind words and warm regards  (both on and offlist)
as to my value at being
at the MKCulinary event in December as well as the moral outrage
expressed at the site being inaccessible. In my case I can walk,
although given time and place and slope and stairs, it can be very
slow and very painful. It's isn't the first trip down on the stairs that
kills one--- it's the 30th. On certain days, it's ok, I manage. On
other days, I can't do it.

I think in the long run what bothers me most is the fact that the home 
page still does not mention the fact
http://home.comcast.net/~iasmin/2004cooks/
and that the original description/invitation posted widely last April made
no mention of the fact that the site would have a great number of stairs.

2004 Cooks' Symposium Date Set!

Hear ye hear ye! (forward as you like)

The 2004 Cooks' Symposium is scheduled for December 4 in the Canton
of Three Hills (Kalamazoo, Michigan). The site is the beautiful
Cathedral of Christ the King, site of Bardic Madness South in 2003.
Wet site, lovely kitchen, large main hall, nice sanctuary, easy to
find off I-94 and close to all sorts of amenities.


It was only after I inquired on 9/27/2004 that I learned on  9/28/2004 that

"The site is not handicapped friendly, unfortunately. The classes
will be taking place in the basement. If there's overflow, classes
will be done upstairs in the sanctuary."

There are a number of things that one can do to prepare for events
like this but the essential thing we must have is the information 
as regards stairs, elevators, ramps or lack thereof. 
There's no getting around the fact that there are stairs at this event
and building ramps is not going to help.

The classes I started planning after the announcement last April can be
taught at another venue at another time. That's just postponement in my
case. I teach hither and yon or used to anyway. However,
There's no advance registration for the MKCC event; people just show up.
I just hope that no one arrives for the event and finds that they
cannot manage the stairs after having driven hours to get there. Imagine
the disappointment then.

Advance upfront and honest information about "stairs" is a very good thing.
I think that's the least we can expect; it's the honorable course and
courteous thing to do.

Johnnae llyn Lewis




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