A Flat Tire and New Compressor

I have been limping round the house for the past couple of days in my manual wheelchair. I let one of the tires go flat, an insidious leak. I meant to get the tire filled with air but every evening I was too tired and the task never got done and by Wednesday the tire was completely flat. The left tire was just fine and I was able to get by but I had had enough of limping round last night I vowed that today I was going to get that tire fixed today.

Its funny when you “live” out of your wheelchair any little change has a marked effect on your quality of life. How you sit in your chair, transferring in and out of bed even dressing. It took me an hour just to get dressed this morning. Your entire mood can is really based on what condition your wheelchair is in. I finally got my boots on and laced and I was out the door in my power chair, warming up the van, throwing water on the windshield so I could see and heading for Goslen's bike shop. I had called Goslen's and was excited to find that Goslen's indeed did have the inner tube I needed for my wheelchair. Well, I popped the wheel off and took it with me.

My buddy Alan Kimball or Larry Orr, both paras, would never have considered so much work for getting a flat tire fixed. They would have just thrown the chair on it's side take pulled the tube out and either patched the offending tube or installed a new tube. then pumped the tire up and been on their way to go play basket ball or ski or something—maybe twenty minutes out of their day. But not me—I am a quad. I have to have someone else just about do everything for me. Last time I tried to change a tire I punctured the tube and my self esteem so bad I elected to pay someone else to do the job. I fact the last time my tire lost enough air that I needed to call someone for assistance. I drove over to Sears and purchased huge air compressor so I could keep my tired aired up anytime I wanted. I came home put the compressor in the garage and realized to use the compressor I had to be in the garage, when the garage was clean enough that I could access the garage. Also getting to the garage in the winter is a trial at best. So after I got the tire repaired I stopped by Harbor Freight. Harbor Freight that great store where the best Red Chinese tools are sold t price the common man can afford. There I agonized over their compressors for an hour or more and finally settled on a one gallon compressor, light weight and small enough I can keep it in my computer room and use it when ever I need all by myself.

The air is still frigid and I wear my gloves where ever I go. I am old now and I have to do a lot of things like that. It was snowing as I drove home.