The Car

Same vehicle only black~!!

I went through Crip School(Rehab) with another adolescent a year or two older then me. Like me he was quadriplegic and we had about the same amount of mobility, actually had just a little more. I could actually transfer in and out of my chair independently. My friends name was Eugene, which no one was allowed to call him he went just by Gene. After Crip school I went back to my family Gene went back to his but we kept in contact and saw each other every so often when we could arrange to have our parents drop us off at one or the other’s home.
About a year after returning home Gene had about all he could take of his family and managed to move himself into a long term care facility(old folks home) in downtown Boise.

I was impressed, this was “big”. It did not matter that Gene was in “Restful Manor” all I could see is that Gene was out on his own and could do what he wanted when he wanted and that was cool. I made it a point to have my mom drop me off at Gene’s every Thursday night. We would order pizza; I would read Gene’s latest copy of the Berkley Barb and inn the good weather sit outside and watch the nursing students come and go from their dormitory :Marian Hall to St Alphonsus Hospital across the street. Like I said I had a bit more physicality going on for me then Gene and I could and did push myself to where ever I needed to go. Gene was pretty much stuck and her hated being stuck.

About the second year Gene was at the Manor Gene began to hatch a plan which would been his need for final and total freedom. Gene was going to get a car. It took the better part of the summer he had the money, since he sued the boy scouts after his accident Gene just had to talk his parents in to letting him get the right car. The vehicle Gene finally found was a 1962 Dodge Fury, Black with red trim. A two door with a bench seat. It seems like it was summer when Gene got his car. I was impressed when I got to the car facility gene showed me the car. The car came straight from the dealership and Gene had the keys. The fury was sitting there mocking us letting us know it could take us anywhere of we could just drive. There were no hand controls on the vehicle yet this would take a couple of weeks if not months..

I don’t really remember how the idea formed but as we looked at the Fury we figured if we could get in the car I could drive the car if I had a way to reach the peddles. We rolled back to Gene’s room thinking about the idea when I happened to notice that the facility was lousy with canes and we had the answer. Stay tuned …tomorrow “The drive”…