Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Sidewalk repair is a public safety issue


                 Photo: Corinne Fitzherbert/The Victoria Star

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks. Dressed in seasonal cracks.

It’s most assuredly not the most wonderful time of the year for men and women, boys and girls, even cats and dogs, as they navigate city streets that are plagued with gaping cracks, huge chunks of sidewalk missing, with portions of sidewalk squares actually lifted, posing a stumble and tumble risk. A friend recently fell victim to Fredericton’s appalling sidewalks, fortunate not to have sustained a more serious injury than scraped hands and knee. Ouch.

Here's the sidewalk upon which my friend took her tumble. If you look around at 'landmarks', you'll figure out where it is.




Scene of the 'great tumble' - Fredericton sidewalk

Scarily, a person whether young or old, could become incapacitated for several weeks just walking to the corner store. That’s not right. That’s not okay.

It’s especially not okay when we think about those who live with daily challenges to mobility, requiring devices like canes or crutches to move about on city streets. Disabilities like cerebral palsy, for those who are able to move along without assistive aids pose particular challenges as they make their way along sidewalks riddled with cracks, dips and lifts.

Our lives are a balancing act at the best of times and a crutch or cane tip caught in a crack can unceremoniously take down those easily put off balance. Very often, in an effort to save themselves, the falling person does more harm, with the twisting motion to slow the descent. With that, a hip may break.

As well, given the state of disrepair of far too many sidewalks, the very old who still enjoy a daily walk are one serious fall away from loss of independent living to full time residency in a nursing home. Ignoring that particular problem will not make it go away. We all have a right to freedom of movement with safety within our communities and if the sidewalks are in a chronic state of disrepair that’s not only shameful, it’s criminal. It’s up to everyone to speak up. Grumbling about the state of city streets and walkways doesn’t get them repaired. It just makes people more angry. If you see a problem, speak up. That, my friends, is your job as a fully-formed, functioning human being. No shirking!

Ensuring that citizens are able to enjoy the places where they live requires that sidewalks and roads be safe. After all, tax payers have the expectation that their dollars are working for them, not just for the people ‘at the top’ who administer doling out the funds set aside for routine and necessary sidewalk maintenance; accountability is critical. It is the right of all to expect that when issues of safety are brought up before the ‘city fathers’ that action will be taken. Waiting for months, a year, two years, is wrong and should never be tolerated. Passing the buck should not be the ‘gold standard’. If people in power really don’t know what they are doing, they should find their spine, speak up and suggest someone better suited to the job be found. It’s the right thing to do.

In our current post-COVID climate, I’ll still be wearing a mask in public, as I believe it’s important to ensure the safety of all, being particularly respectful to those who require extra care and attention. By the same token, city planners must be respectful in these post-COVID times of the realities imposed by COVID’s financial costs. Many people have had to forego driving their cars because of costs; they’re walking or using city transit. In walking, they need to be and feel safe. The streets where they live must not be the thing in their life that takes them down and out.

Aging in place is the ideal for seniors, married, widowed or otherwise; advanced age affects physical and emotional health in ways not appreciated by the younger generations and the cost of care in settings outside the home have shot through the proverbial roof, putting quality care out of reach for so many.

A scraped knee or elbow, sustained from stumbling on poorly maintained sidewalks and streets is no small thing for many folks over 40. We don’t bounce. Many of us break. Some of us break in multiple places in a single falling event. Perhaps rubberized sidewalks is the answer. Hmm.

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese and Mr. Malcolm, a boisterous Havanese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca





Tuesday, May 10, 2022

People and pets on the move. Where to go?

 


With the warmer weather comes change of place for lots of folks, university students on the move, empty nesters downsizing, seniors and the very old moving from family homes that have been part of the familiar fabric of their lives for decades.

For that group, what to keep and take to a much smaller place, what to give away, and what to sell are ongoing concerns. Packing up lives, however lived, whether financially fragile or able to meet all daily needs without concern is a challenge at the best of times. Ultimately, people are people regardless of economic circumstance and pets figure into the equation of their lives.

Yet there are forces beyond their control at work, unwittingly taking a hammer to that sacred dynamic; a sad commentary on our society but reality being what it is, those who provide accommodations through the rental process have properties to protect and have a ‘no pet’ clause. However, not all cats and dogs cause damage. Let’s be clear about that. The companion animal that has grown up in a home with compassionate care is part of the family. How many among us get birthday or Christmas presents for our pets; take the family dog out for ice cream in the summer?

In fact, in the absence of two-legged family members, whether near or far, the most significant piece of their lives is the family pet. In some cases, there may be more than one. A couple of dogs or a couple of cats, or one of each.

At law, pets are considered property, not having the same rights ascribed to their human caregivers/companions and can be disposed of at will, when they become inconvenient or have outlived their ‘usefulness’; rehomed, surrendered to animal shelters or, in the case of dogs, breed specific rescue organizations.

Those who truly love and value their pets for the companionship and unconditional love they provide will never view them as property to be disposed of at will. Thus, the tragedy for those living on the fringes, both financially and physically, is having to make the decision to ‘get rid’ of their resident ‘emotional support system’.

Rents across the country have skyrocketed, pushing out those of limited means though many may have access to government subsidy to support their housing. Landlords must come to understand that subsidized housing is not a reflection of character of potential tenant. Subsidized housing, particularly for seniors, is a mechanism that allows them to live independently for as long as they can. Staying out of the nursing home care stream is cost saving across the board. Institutional care is expensive and very often impersonal though there are many nursing homes and seniors housing across the province staffed by remarkable, caring people who are hands on and present for the physical and emotional needs of those who are in need of such intervention.

Sadly, though, many seniors will often remain in unsafe situations if it means they can keep their pets. Exploitation by family members is a sad reality of the human condition. If living with an abusive adult child means a senior can keep their companion animal, they’ll do it; sometimes to their detriment and to the detriment of their pet. Abuse takes many forms and animals often becomes a pawn in a push pull, as the one with ‘the power’ diminishes the will and resolve of the fragile senior. If you see abuse, report it.

Research shows seniors are healthier and have a greater sense of well-being if they have pets, yet balancing the desires of pet-owners with those of non-pet owners isn't an easy one. Can common ground be found? I’m of the view that it can be.

New apartment and condo developments could assign a certain number of units to tenants with pets; perhaps on one side of the complex, a block of units for ‘pet people, with escape-proofing built into the design; balconies with fencing. Ingenuity gets the job done.

Long term tenancy is a plus for landlords when they rent to ‘pet people’; no yearly repairs between tenants. Saving dollars and cents makes sense all around. Purrfection.

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese and Mr. Malcolm, a boisterous Havanese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca





Tuesday, May 3, 2022

A second family death in as many months


Writing desk in Carla's home, featuring the Cross pen gifted by her brother, Ian.


Death has visited the MacInnis Clan for the second time in as many months. Now we are three. My brother, Ian, died on Wednesday, 27 April.

Ian earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the then St. Dunstan’s University on Prince Edward Island followed by law degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. For many years he practiced law in Woodstock with the firm, Maddox and MacInnis. Later, on his own, he set up shop out of his home in Jacksonville.

The third child and second son of the eight MacInnis children, Ian was an avid reader; the thing I’ll remember about him was his wit. Clearly, genetic, I am similarly possessed of a quick wit. Ian would often call me a ‘Philadelphia Lawyer’. Until he explained what the term meant, I thought he was insulting me. Simply put, a Philadelphia lawyer is one who’s knowledgeable in the most minute aspects of the law. Though clearly I’m not a lawyer, he was speaking of my ability to get to the bones of a matter; rather like a dog stripping them clean.

Ian, along with the rest of us could be found, at different ages and stages, preparing various family favourites in the kitchen of the home where we grew up; Dad supervised the preparation of ‘his’ Manhattan Clam Chowder or French Onion Soup. Truth be told, they were our creations. We did all the work while he wandered around directing how vegetables were to be sliced and diced. It was all at once annoying and funny. Thanks for the memories, Dad.

Years later, Ian would visit me in my home with his wife to enjoy a meal I prepared. He declared that my French Onion Soup was better than Dad’s. Hmm! I can’t remember if I told him about my secret ingredient – a cup of coffee! The cup of red wine was a given.

We didn’t get together often; usually at Christmas when one or another of us was still in university or just starting out with our independent living in our own apartment or house. I remember two Christmases in the late 70s. On both occasions, I received a Cross pen; the first from our parents, a gentleman’s pen with the pocket clip; an added touch saw it engraved with my initials. The second came from Ian the following year; the lady’s pen. At the time, Ian told me that a gift of a Cross pen was a declaration that I had ‘arrived’. Upon reflection, that is very much so. I still have both pens. In fact, Ian’s gift has been in a pen holder on my desk for years. The other, fittingly, is in my purse, to be used to amend the grocery list – always forgetting something.

The gifting of Christmas presents to ‘go with’ the microwave oven I purchased created a memory. Our parents gave me a set of microwave cookware and Ian gave me a set of casserole dishes; the lids were deep enough to use as baking dishes. Both sets are still in use today, having provided years of meals, from breakfast to dinner. Of all the items in my kitchen, Ian’s casserole dish set gets the most use. In fact, I made multigrain oatmeal with apples and cranberries in the medium sized casserole dish just the other day. The largest is used every week to make yogurt.

When I learned of my brother’s death, I paused as I enjoyed a bowl of oatmeal. Was Ian a breakfast person? Did he like oatmeal? I never asked.

As with our youngest brother, Michael, who passed away in March, Ian lived with challenges to his health and comfort. Neither he nor Michael were internet users; I’m not much of a telephone person but I kept connected with phone calls here and there and I always send e-cards on special occasions. When one’s health inhibits the ability to stay connected to family and friends, we find other ways. Technology allows us to stay ‘in the loop’ regardless of distance. We can’t know when our lives will be impacted by loss; all we can do is be appreciative of the time spent and the lessons learned.

Rest in peace, Ian.


Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese and Mr. Malcolm, a boisterous Havanese. She can be reached via email at Carla MacInnis Rockwell