This blog is going on vacation until the writer has more time.

On Monday, for the first time in many years, I attended a school board meeting. There were many reasons for the long lapse--part of the time I was out of town, writing either "In The Lion's Mouth" or "Smokestacks And Black Diamonds." Most of the time I simply found other local issues more compelling than school issues.
This time, though, as the founder of the South Bethlehem Historical Society, I bestirred myself to get there. My intent was to put in a word in a last-ditch effort to save historic Broughal Middle School, which the board plans to raze.
Predictably, I made no headway with them. Having made a wrong-headed decision, they merely recommitted themselves to it. With the money they could save by an intelligent redesign of the old school, they probably could supply each and every child in the district with a laptop computer. This is a goal that seems highly important to them, but not important enough for them to call off their historical depredations.
Getting to this meeting was well over half the challenge. It was held in the school district's offices in the former Edgeboro School, a building with no elevator. Two flights of stairs--perhaps a total of 40 to 60 steps, separated by a landing--led up to the meeting room. Hard going indeed for a person with a prosthesis and a walker.
There was some nasty discussion (initiated by me) over this fact. The Powers That Are apologized, claiming they did not know I was coming. My contention was--and is--that they had to ASSUME that either I was coming, or that some other disabled citizen was coming. If the Americans With Disabilities Act still means anything, it means THAT.
I will be going back whenever it seems necessary and potentially useful.