Ok. This, I just have to rant about... Town Hall accessibility project underway.

Shutesbury, Mass. has adopted a fragrance-free policy for their public areas. I'd love to see their poor police officers trying to arrest someone for smelling too good. The link has a long FAQ about fragrance-free issues, the last one being:

Q: Why do we have to bother with being fragrance free?

A: Fragrance free is a civil rights issue. The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guarantees disabled persons access to all public services and programs. This includes public meetings, events, and services such as education and library programs. Your cooperation with Shutesbury's fragrance free policy is the most practical and least expensive way to provide access at this time. Suggestions, questions or comments about accessibility in Shutesbury are welcome. Please contact Town Administrator David Ames, Shutesbury's ADA Coordinator at 259-1214, townadmin@shutesbury.org, or Ziporah Hildebrandt, Chair, ADA Committee at 259-1874, zhildebrandt@hampshire.edu.

Really? A civil rights issue? What about the rights of those who now must shower with baking-soda, wear freshly-laundered-with-nothing-but-water clothing from head to toe, including a hat to cover the residual scents from shampoo, just to enter city hall and pay their taxes? There's also a bit about fragrance-free Mondays at the library. I commend their efforts... and have you ever been in a library? It's full of scents! The smell of age and paper and ink and glue and skin oils permeates the place. (and I think it smells great) How can you get rid of all those fragrances? I assert that no amount of air filtration will do the trick.

Now, look. I think it sucks that some people are so sensitive to chemicals, that they get sick from being around them. I really do. My mother in law is like that. She doesn't shove her disability under everyone's nose, and make them wrong for not living their lives in a way that would make it easier on her. She takes her allergy meds, does her best to eat wholistically (which makes a huge difference in her sensitivity levels), and budgets her body and her time for when she must be in public. She doesn't think herself a second-class citizen. She doesn't scream for every tree in her path to be cut down because it might make her sick. She chooses instead to appreciate the beauty of the world around her, and live with her disability in peace.