Apparently Canton First Mondays Is Violating The Americans With Disabilities Act In Texas

A Pair of Motorized Scooters Scooting Around Canton First Mondays

A couple days ago I got a feedback comment from Gary M. from my Eyes on Texas webpage about Canton First Mondays.

After I moved to Texas, Canton's First Mondays was the first thing I experienced of a particular genre that was better, in this case much better, than I'd experienced anywhere else.

Since then there have been a time or two where I've thought the same thing. Fort Worth's Main Street Arts Festival comes to mind.

Canton's First Mondays may be an incredibly special event, but something about it bothered Gary, rightfully so. Below is Gary's initial email, then my short response, followed by Gary's response to my short response.

Hi, you guys have a great page set up, places I have never thought about. I would like to bring something to your attention about Old Mill and The Mountain in 'Canton Texas'.  Although First Mondays rents scooters, there are places where they are not allowed, Old Mill itself has a sign saying Foot Traffic Only! As does The Mountain. This has been a huge concern for the ADA and the disabled / handicapped community. There are no signs saying no scooters allowed, just foot traffic only signs. Last month a disabled 14 year girl with her scooter and her parents were removed and the police called, apparently Canton's police are not familiar with the laws that protect the disabled and handicapped. I can just picture how dramatic this was for that child. A few months before that there was another incident involving their supposed security guard and a senior man on his mobility scooter, carrying a blue disabled plaque, who was repeatedly told "His kind wasn't welcome". I have heard this type of complaint before, but I think this one regarding the child stepped over the line. This is not a place I want to take my family. And I feel anyone involved with the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) should be warned as the man said "Your kind wasn't welcome here." Thanks for your time and I hope you can give a heads up here. 

To which I shortly responded with...

Thanks for the info. That is disturbing. I can see not allowing those scooter carts that people rent into some locations, but to deny wheelchair type access. Isn't that against the law? And what an idiotic security guard. He needs to be either educated or fired. I will likely blog about this.

To which Gary responded with....

Thanks for the Quick Replay. The scooters are "disability equipment" recognized by the Government and State of Texas, just like a wheelchair. They are just like someone's legs, as a seeing eye dog is like some people's eyes. "This is the law in the state of Texas". Of course anyone can rent one. But these people own theirs. There are a lot more handicaps than not being able to walk or get around. "Heart Problems, Mental, Balance Problems, Lung Problems being short of breath, etc.." The older man the security guard jumped on and screamed at used his state approved scooter because of heart problems and did have a handicapped plaque just like using it at Walmart. He didn't obey the so called security guard because he wasn't wearing a security guard uniform, which is required by law, and had no idea what the law was and hinted he had a gun, plus other vulgar remarks and getting in front of him slamming the brakes on in his golf cart. This was all witnessed, not hearsay. Thank you for your time and I hope this broadens the scope of things a bit. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks, Gary 

Well,  I don't know how much help blogging about this will do, but I think it is clearly obvious that Canton's First Mondays needs to have a bit of an institutional attitude adjustment. I can not imagine saying to a disabled person that their kind is not welcome here. Or harassing a 14 year old girl in a scooter wheelchair. Methinks these harassments are criminal acts and a lawyer could have him or herself a field day doing some suing...

Sergeant Skinner Is Real Upset About Texas Trash

My blogs get a lot of comments. For the most part the commenter is not upset about whatever he or she is commenting on. Often the commenter is sending some useful information.

Like this morning TxMoose pointed me towards HootSuite in a comment to a blogging where I was lamenting my troubles with Twittering.

My Eyes on Texas website gets more comments than the blogs. Often the commenter lands on a specific page due to a Google search and then comments on that specific page thinking it is an entire website.

In addition to TxMoose, this morning I also heard from the ubiquitous Anonymous and Sgt. Nick Skinner.

First, Nick Skinner's comment, followed by Anonymous....

What an extremely biased web page. You show some of the worst places in Texas yet show an intersection in Washington with tulips that make people believe that Texas is trash an everywhere else is beautiful. Why don't you let me critique your state. Anyone who thinks they learned something from your site is an idiot.

Ssgt Nick Skinner

Sent from my iPhone

Below, Anonymous is commenting about my webpage about Canton First Mondays Trade Days...

I found your Canton First Mondays site using Google. And I want to thank you for your work. You have done a really very good site. Great work, great site! Thank you!

Anonymous

I've no idea what webpage or pages Sgt. Skinner was looking at. I don't recollect having a picture of an intersection in Washington with a tulip. On my Eyes on Texas website, just like on this blog, if I experience something I like, me liking it is reflected in how I describe it. If I experience something I don't like or think is goofy, or just plain wrong, then that's how I describe it. I believe this is what is known as expressing ones opinion.

Now, people like Sgt. Skinner I really don't understand, beyond the obvious, as in not too bright and likely poorly educated, though smart enough to operate an iPhone. Is he a Sergeant with the Fort Worth Gestapo? Or the U.S. Army? I wonder what he saw that had him thinking I was showing some of the worst places in Texas? And how does someone like Sgt. Skinner work himself up to a state of umbrage so strong that he goes to the bother of typing a comment into his iPhone? And does iPhone add that "Sent from my iPhone" tag, or is Sgt. Skinner just real proud to be sending a message from his phone?

Perplexing.

Canton First Mondays Trading Days & Labor Day

How can it already be September? As I get ever more aged, time seems to get ever more accelerated. Soon it will be the dreaded holiday season.

It's not too early to start in on Christmas shopping. The earlier you start the earlier it will provide a stimulus to the ailing economy.

The first Monday of September is on the 7th, which makes the 7th Labor Day.

The 4 days prior to the first Monday of any month, in Texas, are also when First Mondays Trading Days happens in Canton. That'd be September 3 through 6. I'm thinking of going to First Mondays this weekend. I've not been to Canton for a couple years. It's only about 80 miles east of my location in far east Fort Worth.

I've never seen anything like First Mondays anywhere else on the planet. It is like a flea market, crafts show, art show, antique market, home goods, food goods, all sortsa of goods store on steroids. First Mondays sprawls over a huge area. There is no way you could walk through it all in one day. There are covered arbors with cooling fans with a lot of vendors. Then there are outdoor garage sale type vendors, arranged along a maze of roads. There are permanent non-arbor structures with vendors and food purveyors.

There is no entry fee to Canton First Mondays. You do pay to park. When I was last there it cost $4 to park. There are buses to take you to and from your parking lot, but I've never parked far enough away to warrant a bus.

First Mondays can be very crowded, even though it is huge, there are a lot of people milling through.

People come from all over to go to First Mondays. This makes it a great people watching place. If all the walking makes you weary you can rent an electric cart to drive around the sprawling grounds and to haul your goods back to your vehicle.

Hot Hiking & Canton First Monday Trading Days

This is Thursday and it is not raining. My one longtime reader might remember that means there is a good chance I went hiking today at the Tandy Hills Natural Area. My one longtime reader would be correct.

Slightly warm today and not very breezy, making for some HOT hiking with minimalized clothing to maximize comfort.

It would appear the wildflowers have peaked, judging by what I saw today. I don't know if it qualifies as a wildflower, but the prickly pear cactus were busy blooming. They sprout out a nice big yellow flower that eventually turns into an edible piece of fruit. I bit into a prickly pear once. I can see if one were real hungry one might eat one.

May this year ends on a Sunday, which makes the first Monday of June come on the first day of June, which makes the next Canton First Monday Trading Days take place the last 4 days of this month due to First Mondays taking place the 4 days prior to the First Monday of any given month.

Someone got a new car and wants to take it on a short road trip and is trying to convince me to drive her new car to Canton at the end of the month. It sort of sounds fun, except, by the end of May it can get really really hot. My first time to First Monday was late in the month of April. And it was HOT. I was not as acclimated, then, to the Texas HEAT as I am now, but still, it was HOT. I was in Canton the next time in October with very pleasant temperatures, with the last time being in December, two years ago, when First Mondays was the busiest I'd ever seen it, due to Christmas. The December visit to Canton managed to be warm and muggy.

Texas weather can manage to be warm at any time of the year.

Canton First Monday Trade Show Starts Today

Who wants a Fried Pie? I'm partial to an Apricot Fried Pie. I've only had one once. At Canton's First Monday Trade Days Flea Market.

When I first learned of the existence of Fried Pies it sounded like a bad thing to me, like when I learned they fry turkeys here.

But, just like I learned with Fried Turkeys, Fried Pies are a good thing. And not greasy. Just tasty.

Today is the start of February's First Monday Trade Days in Canton. The Trade Days are held the 4 days before the First Monday of every month. The First Monday in February is February 2, which makes all of February's First Monday Trade Days take place in January, beginning today.

I have gone to Canton for the First Monday Trade Days 3 times. It is fun but exhausting. I've never seen the entire thing. It's just too big.

You can rent electric carts to haul yourself and your purchases. They are sort of like the electric carts you see at Super Wal-Mart. But there they are mainly used to haul super big people around the Super Wal-Mart. In Canton you see all sorts of people, of all sizes, driving around in the electric carts.

That's a pair of Canton shoppers tooling along at walking speed in electric carts in the photo on the right.

I've not been to Canton for a couple years. The last time was the First Monday Trade Days before Christmas. It was very crowded. I webpaged what I saw that day.

Maybe I'll head east this weekend and go to Canton.

Lulu's Blog

I may have mentioned Lulu previously. She lives up in Tacoma with her first husband. He leaves her almost daily to go toil on REI's website. This leaves Lulu free to fill her days with an interesting variety of activites. Some of which are very productive. Others not so.

Like when Lulu decided she'd embark on a new career as a professional slot machine player. Unlike Texas there are casinos all over Washington, big tempting Nevada type casinos.

Lulu's gambling addiction did not last too long. It sort of morphed into a food addiction when she learned that if she bought $200 worth of gaming cards she got a free food voucher, good in the buffet or any of the casino's restaurants.

The casino food addiction did not last too long. As far as I know currently Lulu is free of any untoward type addictions.

Except for haunting garage sales and thrift stores looking for treasures she can turn into art to sell at the many shows and exhibits she attends.

One of Lulu's inspirations, a foo-foo artist of some fame in foo-foo art circles, decided to move to Texas. From Washington! I tried to warn that these people that they might want to re-think this. What sort of fool would make such a move? But they are here now in the Lone Star state and apparently loving it. This weekend they are out at Canton's First Mondays. This is their second First Monday's, their first was the First Mondays before Christmas. Apparently that went well.

Anyway, back to Lulu, you always have to return to Lulu. She was an only child and you know how they are. Attention sponges. So, Lulu is now blogging. Years ago we sort of blogged together in the world's first blog-like thing, "As the WWWeb Turns with Lulu & Durango". This time we are blogging more separately than before. All spelled out in the settlement.

If past history is any indicator, and usually it is, Lulu's blogging will be sporadic. And it could be interesting. Lord knows she is. Interesting I mean. And sporadic.

Lulu's blog can be found right here. Or on my list of Durango's links on the right.