Life in the Desert

I live in a desert, the area does not have cacti, sand dunes or vultures but still it is the desert. We regularly have enough water to comfortably get through the summer with out water warnings and “every other day” water scheduling. People seem so surprised when this kind of climate constraints happen, but , we DO live I a desert. So the weather we have been experiencing of late IS quite a surprise to me. If we have a rainy season I would day it is now. The rain had been falling steadily what seems for the longest time now. I wussed out again and brought my lift van into work yet again. I knew I had a lunch appointment down in midtown so I knew I was going to have to drive at lunch. I also knew I was going to have to get some gas somewhere along the way. The rain was falling bad last night (see image for yesterdays submission) so I elected to get up early today and gas up before I drove into the City. I do this at the local Sam’s Club, not so much for the few cents a gallon the petrol costs at Sam’s then other vendors but because if I can get the attention of a Sam’s employee they will actually pump the petrol, saving me the effort of having to transfer back into my wheelchair and lower myself to the tarmac etc, etc. Usually Sam’s has someone at the pumping island but not today. I circled round to the front to try to get someone’s attention in side the, market but no one was to be seen. So I figures what the hey I’ll just pump the gas myself, I can do this, it’s early and I am still strong—I am still good for maybe half a dozen transfers if I have to. So I download: transfer from the drivers seat to my Jazzy then down to the tarmac on my scary lift and round back of the van. Then wrestle with the locking gas cap. I finally manage to get the cap off the gas tank and manhandle the nozzle into the gas tank. Now comes the tricky part. I have to first take Sam's card and push the card in and our fast enough for the card to unregister where ever it has to actuate the rest of the gassing process. I just don''t have the hand function to do this get the damn thing to work. It's not even 7:00 am yet, no one else is at the pumping station. You have to get the whole picture, it 6:50 am , rain is falling and the pumping station is a good 70 yards away from the main store. I could wait till another gas patron shows up and I beg the person to take pity on me and do the whole thing for me. So, I make a decision right there and decide I am going to make the trek all the way to the main store and drag someone back and do the gas filling procedure.

The front of Sam's was pretty well deserted when I got there. I finally found a Kansas transplant told her my need and she agreed to come out and assist me. What a pain in the butt, but I was thankful and glad she readily helped me. Just part of living life as a quad. A pretty lucky quad at that. I should be pissed but I am not. I am just glad I was able to accomplish before I started my work day. The rain falls on all of us alike, sometimes that is all one can hope for.