Waiting for the Bus

In my daily life I use two wheelchairs one wheelchair is a manual chair that I use in and around the house most of the time. I use this manual chair at the end of the day transferring from my power chair to the manual chair where I can get close to the toilet then to my bed to transfer in and out. The same in the morning I rise, I transfer to my manual chair and go to the bathroom transferring to the shower shower day earlier the sink shave, brush my teeth and do my regular ADLs then I get dressed transferring to my power chair to go to work and spend the rest of my day. So, with the advent of my use of power chairs I have used my manual chair relatively little. Still, the chair is received its share of wear and tear and I'll have the chair 12 to 13 years, getting the chair soon after I went to work with the State.

I don't know if it's me or what, but in the last three or four years the manual wheelchair just has not been easy to use. The brakes have worn out and I have replaced the back of the chair once. Trouble I'm having now is that I seem to be sliding out of my chair is kinda freaking me out. So, as I come to the end of my State service and health coverage, we have felt that this important it we consider getting another manual wheelchair, to that end, I have set up a real chair evaluation for yesterday afternoon at the University hospital. The only problem was that they wanted me to have the manual chair with me during this evaluation – – which I sort of figured it's bringing my chair in plus my power chair means that I would most likely have to saddle up in the van and I do not want to drive any more than I have to. So I had made the appointment to have my evaluation done yesterday afternoon at two o'clock, I figured with all the transit for my office to the University and back, and not knowing just how long the evaluation to take I took the whole afternoon off his medical. So I was somewhat disappointed when I got the call from my durable medical agent indicating we had to cancel since I would not have my manual chair with me. So we reschedule for the next week when I would have the manual chair are make sure the manager was there at the hospital for the evaluation I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed because I was looking forward to taking the afternoon off. Now there is no reason to so I decided to stay at the office Mark after a lunch.

Little did I know this one hour lunch would stretch into two hours. I jumped the train with the idea of getting off at 1300 E. second South, where I know there are some interesting places to eat. I just spaced the information that the train doesn't stop anywhere close to that area. I backtracked commute from Stadium parking lot 1300 E. and when a couple streets to second South and found a hamburger joint that looked good – – the burger was okay, not world class, not tasty but just okay. I was anxious to get back to work so I rolled over the bus stop, on second South, waited for the bus. I was not at the bus stop 5 minutes when psychotic homeless guy wanders up to the bus stop and begins ranting and raving primarily about Asians in Utah now they are wrecking the state(this is highly cleaned up the individual was foul, vulgar and obviously crazy). I wished I had taken an image of this individual, I can't describe it would do in fairness but he was obviously mental health material and needed some help. I was tired and backed away from the individual seem more of a threat than an ally. This is why I was totally surprised when the bus, I've been waiting for, did arrive in the driver opened the door and apologized indicating was wheelchair tie downs were taken – – there is no room in the Inn. I would have to wait for the next vehicle, which he said would be about 10 min. I could do was wait swallowing bile and wait. Then to my surprise the psychotic racist start ranting about how I had to get on the bus, I had to get on the bus before, for anybody else. I try to assure this traveler that it was okay I could wait 10 min. for the next bus I just continue to get more and more agitated. Finally I backed away all the way and he seemed to forget me instantly wandered onto the bus and was gone. I wondered if somehow these actions had somehow save my life, what if psychotic little guy pulled a gun stopped the bus rolling permanently?

My bus finally came, the right bus, blessedly the bus was almost empty. I got him at my office and sat back and thought about the incident. That's the last thing I thought would happen from the psychotic traveler was him standing up for my perceived by rights. Just goes to show you don't judge the nuts of the bottle.