Monday Winds

This morning there were gale force winds blowing as I left the house for the train. Rain turning to snow was forecast but later in the day. There were a few drops amplified by the wind which felt like pin pricks on the skin when the wind found exposed skin to lash against. I was running late this morning too almost forty-five minutes one of those morning when nothing went right. I counted and I had to put my shoes on three different times! The shoes went flying, after I put them on the first time, in a flurry of spasms. The second time I was rolling into the bathroom to pull my pants up and the third time I was transferring from my manual wheelchair to my power wheelchair. Three times I was exhausted! I mean to put on my shoes I use one of my hooks to hook the pant leg of my shoeless foot and lift my leg up over my other leg to where I can reach my foot, then I take my shoe and put in my foot and lower my foot down to the foot plate on my wheelchair. In fact the major reason I did not use my van today was because I always loose at least one shoe transferring from my wheelchair to the drivers seat and I just could not bare putting on my shoes another time. I did the turtle all the way up to the station. Huddled way down in my parka and stoking had and the new gloves I purchased yesterday I was warm and dry.

I got out of the house about 10 minutes later then usual I missed my usual train and as I neared the ramp up to the mini-high block I could see there was a person who was blind waiting to catch the same train as I . Turned out this person was a blind talker, someone who filler her darkness with words. I guess I can understand that but why this morning and why me? Oh well, I thought and engaged thinking that once the train arrived I could ditch her up front and disappear into my Stephen King. The driver would, of course, put her in a seat. In the short we spent waiting for our train to arrive. I found she was retired, going to the blind center for mobility training, had worked for thirty-eight years, was diabetic had had kidney transplant from a cadaver, had three kids, would move East but not West, used to live in the Avenues and suffered from retinopathy secondary to her diabetes. The train FINALLY did arrive and I thought I was off the hook. I was on the train,in my customary spot and had just read the first line when I felt a tapping on my shoulder and she had managed tom sit in the seat on other side of the divider. She had self a 90 degrees in her chair to continue her incessant babble all the way into to the city. Sometimes a person just has to accept they are not going to get to do what they want to so, I feigned interest to this sightless traveler, nodding and grunting to her chatter. The skies are gun metal gray as I get ready to head home. The temps are in the 50’s and there is not rain yet. I was able to read at lunch so if I have to listen to some one on the way home I will do so and be nice about doing it. I never know when I may need someone to listen to me