[Sca-cooks] handicapped services carts at Pennsic

[Terri Morgan]

> At the risk of kicking a hornet's nest, can you tell us why this change?

> Is it literally a monetary concern? Complaints about the overuse of

> non-medieval carts? Not enough volunteers to man the carts for such

> pick-ups? Has the number of handicapped folks at Pennsic taken a

> sudden leap upward? Complaints about joy-riding royals finally

> causing some changes?

> The use of carts has been controversial since I joined the SCA 20+ years

> ago, so I'm curious what has changed?

> Thanks,    Stefan

 

I cannot speak for the Mayor, or the policy makers, of course. But this is
my understanding as an individual:

 

It's supposed to have been the policy since the hay wagons went away but
most staff members are soft-hearted "we're here to help you" folks so
observation of the rule has been hit or miss. And every once in a while, we
did try to find a way within the rules that would let us expand services.

 

Mainly, yes, it is financial.  Golf carts are NOT inexpensive, and the
two-seaters are more expensive than the single-bench ones. Also, we already
do use an incredible number of carts, and are tapping out the local
resources for them - not too many golf cart rental places are thrilled about
renting to us, given the length of our use and the way that we use them.
We're not riding around on a nice manicured lawn only in daylight!

 

Since the inception of the busses, we've been in the same sort of situation
as a city with bus service would be in - there are a few folks who simply
cannot get into/out of a standard bus who need some form of auxiliary
transportation. By federal regulation, if we provide service to 'the general
population', then we must also do so for those who are handicapped. However
- and this is a big however - we are only required to provide equal service,
not "over and above the general population" service. 

 

Each time we transport someone outside of the bus routes, we are,
essentially, using SCA funds to benefit an individual since we are using gas
and our 'rental time' to their advantage over those of the rest of the
event-goers. It is not really fair to give on-demand rides to one person,
for whatever personal reason they have presented, and to deny the same
service to someone else. And logistically (and this has been a huge
complaint, and a valid one) if we only have two carts travelling the bus
routes to provide handicap rides, but they are instead travelling
willy-nilly all over the grounds giving on-demand trips to people, then
those folks who are patiently waiting at bus-stops, following the rules, are
left ignored - and without the federally-mandated service we are required to
provide. And they often end up angry and exhausted. And - because this
happens - once they learn that other folks have been 'signing up' for
special ride service, then in self-protection they begin to do the same, and
our resources become stretched to the breaking point. And still we have
unhappy people wanting what has essentially become free taxi service.

 

People forget that in our ability to form a fairly well-run small town,
however temporary it is, that we are still just campers in a primitive
camping area. It is camping. Even when we have a downtown, two (or is it
three?) theatres, a market district and a University. We're still on a
campground, living in tents.

 

And here's my hard-nosed view, as someone who does have difficulty with
mobility and who even needs a crew to set up her camp nowadays (this is
totally a personal opinion): Problem-solving needs to be the purview of the
individual who has the problem. Most members of the SCA are smart, creative,
and able to think through walls. Give any of them enough time to be aware
that they have a need or situation that needs solving, and they will solve
it. So it is sort of my mission, this year while I have this particular job,
to get the word out as soon as I am allowed* that there are situations folks
need to address and that the resources of the event will not be responsible
for solving. We will offer special transportation to those who are unable to
ride on the busses. But that service will be in the same category as the
service we offer every other camper on the grounds. And I know that with
sufficient time to think about it, folks will find solutions that will
address their own needs.

 

I solved my own problems in ways that may not suit others. When things are
beyond my husband and my abilities,  I have a crew of folks who I 'hire' to
set up/take down our camp and reimburse them through means that are in my
reach. (Often this means cooking for them, or sewing garb. or buying cases
of beer). I no longer, for example, travel into the camping areas that are
far beyond my own grounds. I just plain don't have the ability to walk that
far and be able to count on walking back without collapsing on the side of
the road. But I have learned the bus routes. J  And I now have a sturdy
fold-down wagon (the one I offered to lend) which can carry 200 pounds of
cargo and has big enough wheels to deal with the rough terrain. It can carry
my folding chair, which I can set up on my own. Were I less heavy, I'd be
investing in one of those cool canes that convert into a seat so I'd know
that if I had to wait at a bus stop for however long it takes, I'd be able
to do so without becoming too exhausted. (I did have one, and loved it, but
ended up giving it to a friend who was in greater need and lesser in girth
than myself.) Now, I do what I do because I'm fiercely independent and cavil
at asking for help. I imagine that most folks reading this are of the same
sort of mind. "Do for me!" is NOT the mindset of a cook!

 

 

Hrothny

*had to wait for the official rules to be finished being written.