I love ribs but to be honest they’re hard to eat for anybody, nevertheless someone like me who needs assistance eating. Whenever I feel like ribs, I ask the waiter or the waitress if they could take the ribs straight off the bone. Most reply that they can’t do it. There is only one restaurant nearby that will accommodate my quirky need--that is http://www.woodranch.com/restaurant_entry.html Woodranch Grill. (If I’m going to talk about a good experience, I might as well give them a shout out!) Once in Vegas, I went to the Excalibur Steak House and to my surprise, they cut the rib right off the bone. The next day, I won quite a bit of money and went there again, taking three other people. In subsequent trips to Vegas, I went there again and again. One time I went there and to my disappointment, they changed their menu and they no longer had ribs, but I didn’t care. I was bummed...but it was okay.

In 2007, I took a trip to Vegas with 15 guys. And where, do you ask, did I have my 30th birthday party? That’s right Excalibur. Between food and drinks, we spent around $1500.

The moral of the story was that the steakhouse did not have to accommodate me, but they did. More importantly, they received a lifelong customer. In fact, on more than one occasion, I went to the steakhouse before I even checked into my room. They did not have to accommodate me and they had no idea I was going to blog about them one day, but Vegas is a city of accommodations. Recently, I went on a trip to Utah and Reno and it was one of those trips that everything went wrong. I waited for 45 minutes to get a cab in Utah, I missed my bus from the airport to Lake Tahoe, it was an emotionally and physically draining trip. It’s no wonder that I go to Vegas a lot. It’s easy to get a handicap cab and I could get around easily in my wheelchair.

There has always been a debate in my mind whether or not people and businesses should accommodate the disabled. Under court law, it’s a right, but the way I look at it is, it is a gift, just like so many freedoms we take for granted in the US. I rarely have to worry about whether or not there’s ramps in public places. I don’t have to worry about whether or not my wheelchair will fit in a restaurant.

I believe that people get rewarded for acts of kindness. If we all take a little bit of time to accommodate other people, then everything will run more smoothly. Woodranch had no idea that I would blog about them or the Excalibur Steak House had no idea that I would come back so many times or I would show up with 15 other guys and spend $1500 to celebrate my 30th birthday.

Timelapse - Lighthouse (Oct 2012) from IMK Digital Multimedia on Vimeo.