Up or Down, Steps

When young, I never took one step at a time when in a hurry. I just wonder where that's gotten me when I think forward to today because, now, I have trouble climbing just one step let alone two or ten. What is the Word's fascination with steps ?

Living vertical has captured civilization ever since it's vast movement away from the village, away from the common fire pit. From the sprawl of abundant village space to the confinement of modern urban living, Man has taken a building's footprint and thrust walls upward in order to create space for people to live and work in. To utilize this upward space he created steps to enable his upward movement and, when steps weren't sufficient enough, he perfected the elevator with the sky becoming the limit. 

The aged's nemeses is steps but the World is inundated with steps throughout its inventory of space for life. No, I'm not suggesting getting rid of steps, that will never happen. But by watching the dynamics of human living, where an aged population is gaining in relation to other age percentages, steps are becoming less a necessity in their living space.

I am suggesting though, that more housing needs to be 
constructed for the growing population of elderly persons. For someone like me, an old guy on a walker who no longer can navigate a simple set of steps, steps seem everywhere. Try as we may, Connie and I,  seeking to move from our house we've lived in for 40 years here on Evans Street, are having trouble finding suitable housings. Our needs of no steps ( either out side or inside ), two bedrooms, in a safe and hopefully quiet neighborhood is not easily found. Mainly it's steps that disqualify many apartments we've looked at.  

Non- mobility has caught up with me before death could whisk me away from this all. Maybe it's time to rethink my life style and adjust my living so I can live out my time here. One thing that must change for this to happen is property taxation for education. I'll vote for Tom Wolf for governor because he vows to get rid of property taxes. Corbett feels like a guy with his heal on old peoples' throats, he shows little empathy for oldsters. "The Lord helps him who helps himself " may become my mantra for a time to come.

Ronald C. Downie