Things are getting heated at a local Taco Bell. Jared Freeman and Marcel Harris, two wheelchair users, are currently competing for the next chance to use the accessible stall, which is currently occupied. The ADA requires each public bathroom to have one accessible stall, regardless of how many disabled Americans may have just chowed down a Doritos Locos Tacos Party Pack.
Freeman was sweating profusely as he awaited his turn. He told us, “Those crunchy ones go down really easy, but they also … go out really … you get the point.”
Harris, also waiting, claimed he should get to use the accessible stall first. “You can tell I’m more disabled, and therefore more deserving, because my wheelchair is motorized.”
Desperate for first dibs, Freeman countered. “But I just remembered I’m Baja intolerant! This will trigger my IBS!” he said as he took the final sip of his tropical lime-flavored soft drink.
As the two debated whether or not Baja intolerance is a real disability, the tension rose from mild to diablo. Minutes passed as the angry duo waited for the man currently in the accessible stall to come out. When they approached the door to knock, they overheard him talking quietly on the phone.
“Oh yeah, I can talk now. I’m just killing time playing Candy Crush in the handicap stall. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t be using it but like, everyone does it, right?”