Amputee soldier denied access to club
From the
Des Moines Register:
bq. Abby Jackson, wife of Spc. Robert "B.J." Jackson, 22, who lost his legs in an explosion last August while serving with the Iowa Army National Guard in Iraq, says her husband was denied access to an upscale nightclub in Clive on Friday night because his shoes weren't fancy enough.
bq. "Both of us told (an employee) that those were the only shoes he can wear with his prosthetic legs," Abby Jackson said Saturday. "I even told them he lost them in Iraq."
bq. But Tom Baldwin, owner of Crush, 2249 N.W. 86th St., says the couple did not explain to his bouncers that Jackson has to wear his tennis shoes with his prosthetic legs. The club, which calls itself a "casually swank joint," prohibits tennis shoes and hooded sweat shirts, Baldwin said.
and more:
bq. Jackson was wearing a pair of black suede Nike tennis shoes, specially inclined to fit his prosthetics. "They're actually pretty dressy," Abby Jackson said. "He wanted to pick a pair of shoes that he could wear with everything."
bq. "It was very insulting," said Brandon Beveridge, a close childhood friend of Jackson's who, along with his wife, Stephanie, was out with the couple. "B.J. pulled up his pants to show them; I remember seeing the steel," he said.
and more:
bq. The Jacksons said they have no desire to return to Crush.
DOH! Probably a couple other people in the Des Moines area will also feel disinclined to return to Crush... I can see doing a dress code but the people at the door need to be non-stupid (these goons probably voted Democratic in the last election...)
Posted by DaveH at January 5, 2004 9:26 PM