April 19, 2010

Watch the handicapped access!

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We wanted to paint our house. Years ago, after a strong hail storm, many neighbors suffered so much damage to roofs and siding on their homes that insurance companies paid for new roofs and siding. Ours, however, thankfully was barely damaged. No new roof, no new siding paid for by the insurance companies. So, here we are, years later, selecting new colors for a 40 year old home, badly in need of updating, which we will pay for, not insurance.

Homes in central Ohio are constructed now mostly with vinyl siding. In the 70’s, when our home was constructed, it was aluminum. And so, we are attempting to find just the right color to fit the year 2010, cover the chalky aluminum and make our 1970’s home look more presentable. A trip to the local paint store to bring home paint samples was just a short drive down south of Worthington and we would have color samples galore to select for our home exterior.

When choosing a parking space, one must be careful. There was no sign indicating handicapped parking, just a cut out of the edge of the curb to allow walkers and wheelchairs to easily enter the store. Always in a hurry, I jumped from the car, cut across the front of the vehicle heading for the door to the paint store and fell, hopefully gracefully, to the pavement. My left ankle turned as I stepped off the handicapped access.

Suddenly, while I sat on the concrete, hurting, trying to re-gain my composure, the manager of the store ran outside to see what help he could give. Never mind the un-smiling patrons lined up in the store to pay for their goods. The manager was worried or hopefully just wanted to be a good Samaritan.

Today, I sit at home, paint samples in hand, looking out at a gorgeous day, doing my best to select colors from the inside. All the vitamin D may have helped as I do not believe I have a broken bone, just a swollen ankle angry at the cold compresses applied every hour or so. It seems a color may have been selected, actually several colors, and now we are ready to go. I am not so ready to go, but hopefully the painter is. Be careful! Watch the handicapped access pathways or you might find yourself handicapped!

Posted By: Phil Giessler