Accessible (Bouncy) Houses

When I see those colorful, inflatable bouncy houses that people put up in their yards for kids’ parties, I feel sad. What makes me sad is thinking about how those bouncy houses probably didn’t even exist back in the days when I was but a wee criplet. Technology probably hadn’t evolved that far. Because if it had, things would probably be a lot better for the criplets of today. The entrances to those things are never accessible. There is always at least one step up. But even if there was a ramp or something, then what? How could a kid in a wheelchair go bouncing around once they got inside of a bouncy house? The wheels would probably puncture and deflate it and maybe it would sputter and fly around backwards like a deflating balloon. Or maybe the whole thing would suddenly pop and disappear like a punctured balloon. So I would’ve sat outside the bounce house, pouting hard and being jealous as hell of how all the kids inside were bouncing around like maniacs. And if my mother had witnessed me going through such torment, it would’ve broken her heart. She would’ve been mad enough to sue to establish the legal right of disabled kids like me to bounce around like maniacs, too. But back then, there were no laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act to assert. The best leverage we had was to shame people. So instead of hiring a lawyer, my mother probably would’ve hired a publicist.And she and I would’ve gone around making television appearances, telling our sad story about the little crippled boy who only wants to bounce around like a maniac just like every other kid but he can’t do that because those mean old companies that make bouncy houses don’t care about crippled kids. And maybe they would’ve started making bouncy houses accessible. (Please support Smart Ass Cripple and help us keep going. Just click below to contribute.) https://www.paypal.me/smartasscripple?fbclid=IwAR2qrql-UFH19OepgeaCG4WmblyNylb27k2q8eYxXHH