Conversion

Back in the late 80’s when my middle marriage failed due to bad cocaine deals (are there any “good” cocaine deal, really ?), jail time and spousal sexual re-orientation. I found my self without a vehicle when aforementioned spouse skipped bail taking her vehicle and MY hand controls with her. I was left living in an apartment complex 40 some S.L. blocks from where I worked in the South East section of town.

A few posts ago I posted an image of me in one of the early salt Lake bus strikes. I had not really paid much attention to the rhetoric which surrounded a lot of the accessible discussions at the time but one item remained in my mind was a statement made by the authority the authority, bus driver could or would not prohibit someone from getting on the bus. Anyway no long after the bus strikes we got three accessible bus routes in this city. Three routes with every bus accessible seemed like heaven at the time. The routes were State street, truly the main drag of the city and nearly ran the length of Salt Lake County, then there was 5^th East which served a good part of the East side particularly a small wheelchair accessible apartment complex of about six units which was being used as a transitional living center, helping people adapt to living accessible lives from a wheelchair. The third accessible route was 3^rd Avenue , a route which wanders the North East end of Salt Lake, the old well established neighborhoods. A few years later Routes 39 and 40were put in service when the next order of accessible buses were purchased: two routes which traverse East and West one route turning into the next at the end of the line. Luckily I happened to live a half a block from one of the new routes. All I had to do was push up a small hill and wait.

Even though some of the uses were now accessible, and the drivers were trained on these specific routes many of the drivers refused to use the lifts many drivers would say, when the came to a stop in front of wheelchair using consumer “my lifts not working” shut the doors and drive away living the consumer looking stupid. One such warm spring day I was waiting for the bus, which finally came and the driver was not going tom use the lift. I remember what the Authority said if you can get on the bus you can ride the bus. So I said great took a deep breath took off my foot pedals and thru them onto the bus and crawled on board and sat on the floor all the ay to State street for my ‘in bound’ ride. Word got out that I had done this and my crawl-ons became a protest and a few days later this above image was taken at such a strike; resulting in a major “re-training” of UTA drivers of how to operate the wheelchair lifts but more important for the first time ever I took ownership of my transit authority . “If you can get on our buses you can ride” I took ‘em at face value. It took me 10-15 minutes of sheer well and struggle to crawl onto the buses. If those drivers thought cycling the lift was going to make them late for their end of the line bathroom break just feel the time drag as I crawl on. BUT, I was able to get too work! I no longer cared or was dependent on my old car—didn’t matter if the old lady took my car…I just wish she had left my hand controls.