How Do You Get Your Groceries
Being visually impaired, most of us don’t drive a car (hopefully). That means getting groceries requires some resourcefulness. When I first made the decision to stop driving, I lived way up in the boonies on the side of a mountain, 5 miles from the closest country store and about 45 minutes from a real store. At that time, I experimented with ordering groceries online. My groceries were FedEx delivered neatly in a box, UHT milk and all, all the way up my steep snow covered driveway. Though I never ordered again, it was a psychological boon to know that my basic human need, eating, could be met despite my situation.
Shortly after this, I landed a new job and moved to this lovely town of Manchester Center, VT where I was able to ditch my car completely. I can walk to a grocery store! I got wind of my father trying to modify a golf bag cart into a grocery cart for me. I quickly told him to hold his horses. I wasn’t ready to become a bag lady yet. Instead, I bought some bicycle saddle bags at LL Bean to carry groceries on my faithful 10 speed Motobecane bicycle. Now I use these on my Tomos Sprint moped. With the 2 saddle bags and creative bungee cording, I can transport about $60 worth of groceries and a pizza.
Sometimes I compare notes with other users and ask them how they get their groceries. Chuck Van Hise uses a Rascal 4-wheel drive scooter, max speed 4.5 mph. He hooks up one of those bike trailers that you see toddlers being towed in. Sometimes he tows his grandchildren on the sidewalk and other times he tows groceries. He has a different trailer for each purpose.
Bud Gottesman has a bright yellow 3 wheel mobility scooter he picked up at a flea market. He has no room for his grandchildren but he does take his trusty service dog, Missy. Bud and Missy ride along the sidewalk and then right on in to the grocery store. As you can see from the picture, Bud and Missy attract a lot of attention.
Perhaps we have a spouse that does the major grocery shopping but it’s comforting to know that we can rely on our own power whether motorized or not to obtain that basic staple of life, food!
