Charge!

Yesterday was my advisory board meeting for 211, actually this advisory board has become a “disability advisory board”. I kind of feel this board is 211,'s proof that the call center is working to address the needs of callers with disabilities. I intend to write more regarding this issue the next day or so. The meeting is held in the 257 building on second South downtown so I'm on the tarmac riding the buses and the trains to get to my meeting and that's the way I love it, especially during the seasonal transition point from warm to cold. I have to rely on my power chair it's as simple as that. I've been having some challenges with my charging system I. E. my battery charger. I feel I have finally isolated the issue which is I have a short with the plug that engages might power chair.I plug the charger and the lights which indicate the charger is working and the battery is being charged,, however I have found that often the cord will relax and somehow the electricity flow will be interrupted in the battery will not charge. I usually charge my chair and evening right before I go to bed as I jump from my power chair to my manual chair. I assume the battery is charging and go to bed.. Sometimes I looked in on the chair as I pass my study on the way to bed and see that the charger stopped and I finagle the court until the charger begins to do its job once again. Sometimes even, the chair she seems to be charging when I check on it before bedtime only to find the next morning that the charger had stopped charging at some point during the night and this is what happened yesterday. I woke to find the chair it stopped charging during the night at about 85% of charge. I had just about an hour before I had to leave so I plugged the chair into charge what little it might before I had to leave for the bus. So needless to say I was running on less than a full charge but yet I figured I'd be okay since I would be around ample sources of power and I would charge what I could. This is what I did, after the meeting I stopped off at my old office and visited with staff a little bit and powered up my chair which I thought was for about an hour which should've been enough time.

I actually had no problems at all accessing in the bus then jumped the train and then waiting for an hour and catching the 201 home. It was only after I began my trip home from the bus stop that my chair begin acting like it was energy starved. Any bit of an incline, even the crown of the road was enough to shut my chair down. I crept as much as I could, I seemed barely to be moving, luckily one of my neighbors noticed me as I passed and saw that something was up and asked if he could help. I should've let him but I was going to try to make it home on my own. I got about a street and a half further and realized I was not going to make it so I backtracked back to my neighbors house who finally saw me sitting in the road and came out to help. We disengaged the brakes, kind of, and Bruce pushed me all the way home. This is one of the first times my chair has actually failed me and causes me great concern. I guess I need to get a new charger for the house one that I could believe in which will fully charge my chair. I'm going through a lot of changes in my life right now and above charger is one stress I don't need.

Dock In The Box , Again

Something is happening to me I don't know what it is I'm hoping it's just a bladder infection or at least a bladder infection. Had a fitful night again last night,not sleeping much just a couple hours and that's not bad I can deal with that especially in retirement… I can sleep all day if I have to. What is really weird s that during the night I get all stuffy terribly thirsty and all panicky sometimes. I lay there and think about all the things which could be happening then gets spooked. I usually have to get up once and usually twice during the night to use the bathroom which is a physically challenging event. I don't mind if I can drain enough urine to make it worth my time, at least a couple times has been low production events and I hate that. Usually if I wake up before 4:00 AM I can usually get back to sleep for at least a couple hours or has been the case not so this last week or so.

I mean I hope there is a fairly easy fix for what is ailing me I best be careful what I wish for is it may not be a fix. However I hope it's something physical in easily taking care of without any kind of institutionalization. Otherwise we're talking about me being histrionic that would really suck.What is interesting is that I've been visiting a lot with my neighbor Albert, lately he told me last weekend that his 90^th birthday was coming up. I knew he was getting close to this number but to actually see him get around and worry about him being 90 this I think beginning to freak me out. Not so much in being 90 as the fact that he's not live much longer regardless of the day and how good he seems to be right now 90 is 90. I went over and talked with them yesterday for an hour or so. It was our usual conversation a lot of it dealt with me and my history which really seems to interest Albert. We talked about my cooking and how much he hates to cook but how he did cook during the war. Last night is doing the math he was born 1924 that means he was about 20 and he served in the Navy during World War II, and maybe 24 or 25 when he got out! That's crazy!! I worry every day after these two old people who lived next door. Albert will longer drives because of his recent accident and Lanai is driving around and replacement car. She's been griping a lot lately about how she has to do everything now that you can do right… Poor Albert his self-esteem must be going down the tubes. I finally left yesterday afternoon I realized I needed to get home so I can work out on my Saratoga. I thanked out for spending time with me and he reached over and touched my shoulder and said thanks for spending time with him. Albert seldom does this as far as touching goes it was a big deal. I think I'm beginning to have some separation anxiety with what might be coming.

So to 11 AM, I am sitting here naked and best get dressed drag my sorry ass over to “Doc in the box” and hope he'll give me some magic pills to get me going and possibly get some sleep. Until then I'm happy for each moment I have of this life.

Asher Time

Today has been another one of those totally perfect beautiful autumn days. Clear skies, brisk morning to warm temperatures in the afternoon. Today was the kind of day when one just want to get out and do something. Dianne and Bridget had sort of made plans to go out for breakfast which is okay by me. We were up and ready to go by 9:30 AM and met the kids over at the local VI. We had a great breakfast with great company. Following breakfast we returned to the house to hang out for a couple hours. Bridget and Dianne were caught up in conversation leaving Asher and I defend for ourselves which was great just us guys. We went out to the garage and must around the shop for a few minutes. Asher is just now really began to explore things like grandma's house grandpa's shop which I think totally fascinates the little guy. Ash is totally enthralled with the tools in the garage… I am not sure if he has made the leap that tools directly modifies wood but cancel that think he senses that. We briefly viced up a piece of wood and sawed and sanded a few minutes then it was off to explore other parts of the yard. We checked out the garden, grandma's garden and grandpa's's garden and wandered around the backyard for a few minutes.

Next we took off to explore the neighborhood. Asher wants to see everything he often walks behind me and thinks he's pushing my big power chair other times just walks beside. At the neighborhood we often walk and roll in the street. At 10 o'clock in the morning our streets are pretty deserted. We checked out the new neighbors and their dogs and we did the walk around the block. It was fun and a new experience for us. Asher and I have not been that close at our time together is only been since retirement. Think Asher has matured and I have got the time now to spend with little people. I don't know if our time together like this will be a weekly event but it's kind of begin to feel that way and again that's okay with me.

I Really Am Lucky :-)

I am fortunate all things considered to live in a neighborhood that has many great services all of which can be accessed readily by me in my power wheelchair. That means I can take off on Saturday morning and get to State Street and catch a bus in a direction as long as I am patient. Sure, Saturday service, all weekend service is a bit slower than weekday service. The times between buses can be as much as an hour. I can wait the hour if I know when that hour is going to over. Especially if the time to wait is it an area where I can be busy doing something productive even if only reading. A number of months ago during the summer I downloaded the local bus companies app for cell phone and this greatly made a difference.Now I just enter the point where my bus originates from in the point where I want to be picked up and the app will show when the next two buses will be at that bus stop. I am anticipating this app will be greatly beneficial during the cold months of winter. I could stay in places like Starbucks, 711 or even wait around the house take off when I know the buses will be at my bus stop. I would just have to make sure I build in enough time to cross the intersection.

As I indicated we have a 7-Eleven convenience store, our credit union, to ShopKo a number of fast food joints i.e. KFC, Arby's and some Asian fast food. Granted, we had really be lucky if there was a movie theater, real movie theater and real food market. We have a very small health-food type of market that sells homegrown produce but it's just not the same it's catch as catch can and their prices are superhigh. But the fact that in our neighborhood the 711 convenience store and the McDonald's has a Red Box. At the 7-Eleven the red box is on the outside of the store making it terribly difficult if a person is in a wheelchair to be able to use the red box independently whereas at the McDonald's, across the street the red boxes inside very convenient to use. McDonald's is currently undergoing some sort of modification and even though the restaurant remains open they are not accessible at all right literally there's no way for a wheelchair person to get into McDonald's by themselves and from what I can see from the outside they no longer have a red box. Recently I have been forcing myself to use the red box at the 7-Eleven. So yesterday I rented a couple films, I actually ordered them online which is great when it works. Yesterday the reserve movie system did not work. When I went to pick up the movies I ignored her red box not read by credit card. I came back called red box central they agreed that there was a problem with that red box in the credits for two movies later that afternoon Dianne and I were out shopping and I got the movies I was more than surprised this morning when I returned the DVDs to the 7-Eleven and machine still would not accept any directions – – Dianne drove me to another McDonald's not far south of our house.

It's not perfect, my neighborhood, but it almost is. I love zooming back and forth from my house to State Street usually a couple times a day. I think all the neighbors watch out for me especially when they drive since I'm often in the road in my power chair. It looks as if I will have pristine weather for the week. I really am lucky.

Lunch With Jerry

I was pleased earlier this week when I tweaked a friend of mine about having lunch and he responded immediately with the date which was yesterday downtown Salt Lake. I am so pleased with the current weather we are experiencing along the Wasatch front. Here enjoying cool but dry days sometimes cuneiform is 70+ degrees, perfect days for “tarmacking”. Tarmacking is writing the local public transit system all over that transit systems service area.

We had contacted each other over Facebook (a fact I immediately forgot… Senior moment) and agreed to have our meeting at our local Asian food place downtown Salt Lake. This is a great place for me since the restaurant directly across the from a downtown TraX platform make it super easy to get there for me. When my friend was working I believe it was equally easy for him since he was employed by a a major Utah newspaper housed downtown Salt Lake City. Now that he's retired himself with a little more difficult but he was more than eager to have the meeting. I spent the morning trying to confirm with myself the time but could not find an email because there was none. I vaguely remembered 12 noon be in the target time so I made sure I was downtown by 11:30 AM sitting in front of the Cindy Lee restaurant.

I was surprised how cool it was in the “Canyon” downtown Salt Lake. I'd wished after I got off the train I attacked my hoodie with me. However I did find some patches of sunlight by the restaurant and found a Wi-Fi with enough power to use my voice to text feature on my tablet. I was just getting in to posting an image to my Facebook account when Jerry showed up. Jerry looked great I thought in jeans and a baseball cap. We shook hands and went directly into the restaurant. Cindy Lee's has morphed itself numerous times over the years we have used the little restaurant as a meeting place. However I noted with some dispersion the last morph. The quantity size has greatly been reduced for their lunch. However as justification sense I was there to spend time Jerry. We merely got to talking I think to the chagrin of our waitress was very no-nonsense and wanted us to order. Which we did when she came back with our water.

When my great frustrations is that you can only visit so much within a hour or so that usually takes up a lunch meeting. I wish we were closer which we met more often selected understand Jeri thought processes better. My friend is so smart and worldly and somewhat intimidated when we speak. I'm so grateful and lucky that he treats me as an equal but I don't feel that way. I feel like he's one of the big kids and I'm just little kids. Jerry's traveling now going this place and that… He does things like go to spring training of his baseball team, or take a week and go down to the Shakespeare Festival in St. George are breeze out over the weekend to Grand Junction Colorado to attend a concert of the 60s folk singer and hopefully to get that folksinger to sign an album cover of an old vinyl album Jerry still has. These things are cool I could never pull something like that off I would even know how even if I had those resources or the resources to do this. I admire Jerry because he is so full of life even now even being older than I, I'm still focused on the late-night terrors I suffer every month or so. He's not afraid of dying cities go live until he does got appreciate that. Jerry had an idea, he would think up captions for cartoons that I would draw. He saw a couple pieces of my work a year or so ago and has not let it go. He is always seeing great talent in me and I appreciate that. So I've been sending email reminders see if he comes across to listen captions and then out torture myself into trying to deliver such a rendition that will do his caption good. Either way it's fun to have a project is funded work with Jerry for however long is the time we have together.

Lost Wallet

I did it again! I cannot believe it this last weekend we were getting ready to go out to do something, I cannot remember exactly what but I was gearing up to head out and for one reason or another I went to check my wallet and it was not there! I then began the search of myself my backpack in my power chair. I have a small pack on the side of my power chair which have actually been keeping my wallet in the last couple days. I immediately was not concerned I felt sure the wallet was somewhere either in the house are in my backpack. The last place had remember for sure that I had the wallet was at the coffee shop Starbucks when I paid for my latte. I even stopped in at Starbucks and asked the question “Has anyone turned in a wallet?” Of course nobody had. At my earliest convenience I found a space and began to systematically go through my backpack looking in each pocket were conceivably I could've stuffed my wallet in a moment of haste. I hoped beyond hope that my wallet was safely nestled beneath the battery charger that I carry in the large pocket of my backpack but alas it was not there either.

For some reason I I was not all that concerned… I knew I had little cash to speak of mainly transit money i.e. dollar bills and quarters so was a very much. Of course there's always the credit card/debit card and for some reason that didn't bother me either. We diligently begin checking online to see if any outrageous charges had been made to my card accounts but there'd been no actions there to speak of so that was good which again led me to believe the wallet was somewhere in the van our in house. We did some quick one overs of the house… No wallet we did scour the van… No wallet and then out of the blue Dianne was checking messages for messages and there it was a call letter indicating he had found my wallet that we need to set up some sort of meeting to where we could get the wallet back to me.

I don't know why but I felt weird about the caller. I called the phone number he left and the person I got was not the person who made the phone call I had to get a hold of him at another time which was okay with me. I called another time a day later and there was just silence and then upbeat to leave a message which I did. I don't know why but I was getting spooked thinking that maybe the caller was going to try extort some money in order to get the wallet back. I had no reason to justify this just felt weird. Then I called again and got a hold of the guy but he could not talk very long he said something about minutes. Dianne suggested that he was probably poor and had to watch his cell minutes that made sense I guess. I had already decided if there is any attempted extortion I would just leave the situation immediately, cancel my cards just the tech $20 could buy and start over again as well as try press charges if extortion entered the question. However, that never happened I was just being silly.

We finally made contact and the holder of the wallet said could be a memory area and we could meet somewhere and make the trade-off. That never happened I don't know why but he said he couldn't make it and could I meet him overall his area which is way over on the west side. So Dianne and I at this point were extremely anxious to get the wallet back. So we decide to meet at a fast food place close to his apartment. The guy was just a kid and a nice kid at that. I was surprised. We had already decided to offer/give him 20 bucks for his honesty. He was not going to take the money we literally had to thrust the money at him and I will stick it in his pocket but finally he relented and took the money. We seem to shy and nice guy. I'm so lucky he is the one found my wallet. Next time I may not be so lucky. I have to make a better plan.

Thank You Bob!

I was mildly shocked and surprised yesterday as I was working on one of the monthly letters that I write when I noticed a Facebook update or our request for inclusion to my Facebook group of one of the dads of one of the guys I used to hang with 50 years ago, Robert DeRell.

Robert DeRell was in my ward( religious community submit to a parish). He was a bigger than life personality, I think their seven or eight kids in the family and Robert sold Kirby vacuum cleaners. He always remind me of Ronald Reagan, and he always had an idea about everything. He was always thinking pushing himself and his family to be better than they were. He was a legend in our ward particularly regarding his golden Kirby. Seriously he had a gold-plated Kirby vacuum he won for selling the most vacuums in his area in one year. A gold Kirby is a sight to behold.I don't know I think I was seven or eight when this happened and I knew it wasn't real gold but he had outgunned/sold everybody else that's just kind of guy Robert was.

As I indicated Robert DeRell was the father of one of my best friends growing up. I watched them from the outskirts you had a really interesting relationship with his boys. The actually did stuff together, they genuinely like doing stuff with each other. My friend Greg would actually make fun of his dad good-naturedly and went back and forth they had a good time with each other and I hate to say it that was something I never had. I did not have that relationship with my father. I didn't spend a lot of nights over at their home but some and always enjoyed the feeling that existed at the household. Their house much like ours revolved around their religious affiliations in church work.

My relationship with this family and every other aspect of my life change significantly with my spinal cord injury when I was 15. I don't blame anyone particularly except just the time. People just didn't know what to do with folks with disabilities and the reason I bring this up is that of all the people I knew at the time I think Bob was the first may be only to help me reenter life as someone normal. Please realize this was somewhat weird but still I felt I was getting back into life. It is probably two years after my trauma, I pretty much gone to rehab and was back in the school and I was a normal adolescent with spinal cord injury, in a wheelchair. I needed money, I needed to date I wanted to I want to get back my life but I could not find any way to get money and I hated asking my parents for money. We never had money I always had the feeling everything was hand to mouth. I looked and looked for part-time jobs and full-time jobs during the summer but it just was not to be. Then one day Bob asked if I wanted job and of course I said yes. I should've heard the bills and the alarms go off in my head or paid more attention to them. But I didn't I just wanted cash. Well, the job Bob offered me was setting appointments for vacuum sales presentations… Telemarketing. This is before I had any idea of how effective telemarketing could be. I was defeated I couldn't sell myself I couldn't sell anything else I tried to make those appointments in the back room of Bob's Kirby storefront on Broadway Avenue there in Boise. I left about an hour into the project totally defeated. But in hindsight I'm so thankful that Bob was there and took a chance on me even though I failed he let me fail he gave me the opportunity.

Bob has to be ancient now, I hope he remembers me. I don't know how much I really want to rekindle relationship with Bob since we have gone separate ways in our lives, which means I have diverged from the path he probably would have had me choose in my life. If he wants all communicate with them I owe this guy a lot.

Low Tech But Effective

This is probably going to be a short one but I want to get something up on the blog just the same. Few weeks ago I was at one of my meetings, A T for assistive technology Council, I've been part of this counsel for over 20 years and I really believe in the whole concept of assistive technology. I hadn't attended the meetings last couple years as I finished my work life and I was on loan to 211 with United Way. I was glad to get back on the A T councils mailing list. One of the people on the council is a PR person from Utah State University. She works with all forms of media and tries to increase the amount of assistive technology the community is aware of any given time. She knew that I had done a number of interviews which I put up on the Internet as podcasts couple years ago. She did not know that I had also made a couple of videos describing different aspects of low-tech assistive technology. She said she would be interested in seeing these videos. So I've been digging around my old video files and actually found one or two that might be entertaining if nothing else.

Over the years I believe I have indicated that I make sticks, and I won't go into the whole thing regarding the history, resource procurement and all of that which I believe is in one of the 1600 blogs I've done up to this point. But this video is not only important from the aspect of low technology but am proud of myself for having laid down caption space at the bottom of the video. This really took some time specifically to type the dialogue and basically match it up with the video. It took a week or so but it turned out fairly decent. It's a shame we never really did anything with it. I really think we could've and I really would've like to have made more videos. I really enjoyed the process and the ability to make a document that might actually have some value to somebody somewhere. More than one person has encouraged me to possibly do something like this in my glorious retirement.

I actually have another video just called just Bunji I know it's spelled wrong and I will change that when I make her do some work on the video. Currently the video is in a format that would be hard if not impossible to put up on this blog are Facebook so I'm going to have to do some reformatting on that video… That should be fun if I can get the time to do it. I love having to find time to do stuff I was having such a struggle just out of retirement trying to find things to keep me busy which does that seem to be the case now. If this goes over fairly well from the blog standpoint, perhaps I will post more videos in the future. I really haven't posted many videos just because it seems so gauche particularly if the videos are of me… Seems like I've gotten past that wink wink.

King Happy

Maybe it's because I am a person with a disability that I tend to focus a great deal on disability situations when I see them out and about as I do, or maybe it's because I'm a person with a disability that I do not see myself as a person disability and when I see folks with significant disabilities in the community I still tend to stare probably more than is socially acceptable. And also just maybe, because I'm a person with a disability that I tend to shy away from other forms of disability are people (I do not know) with disabilities because am comfortable with folks disabilities just like everybody else.

So on the day what about the lady with the mental health issues I was confronted on the platform waiting for the train for an individual I ended up calling King Happy. I don't know what King Happy's disability was or is all I know was I did not want to get on the same car as him for a host of reasons perhaps the most socially acceptable would've been or is this only so much space on a tracks vehicle I did not want to have to fight over a place to sit. There's also the fact is appearance more than kind of spooked me. It wasn't the chair, high-end power chair that I could never afford or the fact he was as big as I was at least, and the fact he seemed to have multiple amputations. I think I could've dealt with all these easy enough was the fact he was wearing a crown! Seriously, a crown like you'd get at Burger King, this was what made me moved to the far in the platform from King Happy. No sooner had I relocated that King Happy and his entourage relocated too. I don't know if I looked inviting, safe are accepting that he was going to be by me.. Some things one just has to accept.

The morning was beautiful, a perfect fall morning crisp , clear and inviting I forgot to mention King Happy was toting some kind of sound system more than just a radio or something maybe it was something like speakers to is iPad or whatever he had but to put out beautiful sound. This morning he was playing that mash up of it's a wonderful world plus somewhere over the rainbow. It was kind of amazing at one point I think he felt a little self-conscious about the music and he stopped his music player at that moment two or three people came forward and asked that he continue playing his music the thought it was beautiful. Indeed I watched the folks on the platform look like a picture from a Dr. Seuss animation, everyone was swaying to the music. I felt like I was in the middle of a Coke commercial.

The moment was shattered with the arrival of the train to the hospital, and of course me and King Happy rolled onto the same car and sure enough there is not enough for both of us but oddly we were happy as we edged ourt chairs close together and swayed to King Happy's music all the way to the medical center

Dragon Lady Dreams

After last week's rain and cold temperatures we've been blessed with I guess, an Indian summer. You know, that parcel of days following summer when for short season good weather returns though not extremely warm warm enough with cool nights inching closer need to do closer to the freezing point when we bid ado to all things summer once and for all I. E. Patio garden that I've doted on all summer long. Today was one of those perfect Indian summer days brilliant sunshine, the leaves holding on by the last of their strength waiting to turn a brilliant color they plan for this year and then let go to drift to the yard. The kind of days exhilarating one pushing in more energy than you realize that you had to do something you do rarely in this case it was heading back to the local farmers market. I'm not sure but I think our local farmers market will endure maybe two or three more weeks at the most into either the third week or fourth week of October.

You may not remember, last week we also went the farmers market but in torrential rains. We got a few items a watermelon and corn but it was a struggle especially for me, I thought it was too cold what to even get out of the van not this week though. It seemed like everybody in her duck going to the farmers market possibly because everyone felt jilted because of last week. They had not got there farmers market fix for the week they were all out there this week. There Cadillacs, trucks, wheelchair vans and bicycles and dogs. Seem like everybody one to get their last debs in the farmers market before it closed their doors one last time. I guess we were no different. In fact the watermelon we got last week was so good I really want another one for this week. Does once they're gone now be gone till next summer. And what's really good about our farmers market is that a family comes up for Green River Utah and green River Utah is supposed to be the best place to grow watermelon in the state if not the Northwest and believe me there watermelons are worth traveling for.

Every year and every week there is a huge trailer from Green River full of all kinds of melons and garden produce and of course watermelons. I think this whole group green River is one large Asian family there the nicest folks. The whole group seems to be ran by a little lady who's older than all the rest. She is quite a salesperson calling people up to as they walk by the truck, slicing into watermelons offering samples everyone she does a great job selling. I think she really knows doing this to the point where I voice been somewhat intimidated by her. She reminds me of a older Lucy Lu hence the name I gave her the Dragon Lady. Dianne makes friends with everyone and I think over the years she is made close relationships with the Dragon Lady and I actually met her for the first time, the Dragon Lady was really surprised how nice she seemed to be. I was trying to get a picture of her secretly, I really don't like posed pictures but Dianne and the Dragon Lady struck up a pose and I took the picture and am happy with the results.

I don't know if we'll make it back to the farmers market for closes for the year. We got one more watermelon, some beautiful banana squashes corn on the cob and some beautiful pears and who knows what else. I'm sur we'll eat the watermelon by next week squashes to take months to eatand I have images of a couple of visits to this year's farmers market hopefully they'll be enough to last us until next summer and hopefully will all meet again in the embrace of the Dragon Lady.

What Do You Do?

Yesterday was a busy day, more busy than I anticipated even though I hardly did anything. Actually, yesterday was my final day of volunteering for the KU ER fall fund Drive. I was so glad to been able to make the last of my commitments. I'd gotten my chair back from the shop on Wednesday and it seemed to be repaired. Actually it's hard to say what was wrong with the chair something to do with the charge of the battery was so low that it would charge or would even turn on which is very weird to me but what's important now is that I'm back in the saddle and getting back and forth to her need to go. So I was a four shifts I have signed up for it was only able to make two and yesterday shift which was from 12 to 2 o'clock in the afternoon I only took two calls, which is pretty bad if you ask me but they are happy as clams that I came in that I volunteered. I am now sort of set up and looking forward to the spring fund drive and hopefully I'll be able to do more shifts and produce better for that project. In the meantime I am going to have to start functioning or figuring out how to get another power chair. It sounds like Alpine is making contact with my insurance and hopefully will be able to work something out. I would like to keep the chair that goes at least 8 miles an hour and possibly with more features as far as the elevator feature in the leg extension feature which I should've gotten on this chair was too dumb to figure it out we will just have to work this one out to the best of our ability. I knew chair I can rely on the go swiftly is comfortable and affordable.

I was a bit taken aback yesterday when I was on the platform waiting for university trained to come in there is a lady dressed in black, a black duster look like a cross between The Wild Bunch and Matrix. She was clearly agitated some form of schizophrenic state of breakdown. It was weird though good and align to be in some control. I was having some problems with my feet I had not tied my shoes are great tight and my right leg and spasmed out I was afraid it was going to lose the shoe but clearly I guess I appeared I was in some form of distress and the matrix lady was able to focus enough asked me if I needed a kind help but sort of surprised me. I assured her I was basically okay that be all right then she went right back into her land of distress and isolation. She was arguing and crying intermittently. She clearly had been in and out of the legal system in jail. She was having some kind of a conversation or argument with the jailer our law enforcement person some sort that would degrade to bursts of anguish and tears about lost children lost jobs lost loves. It was sad and frightening. I figured I was safe I think most people were safe on the train is used to know what to do with. Most elected to give her white birth and leave her alone to her agony but she clearly was gone somewhere. She got off the train at the courthouse station and I wonder if she was playing the further her trip downtown may be going down to Pioneer Park or even out to the Hub to head to points north. What do you do? She had this weird way of staring right at you so you think that she's talking to you directly and I don't think she seeing you at all as much as she is seeing what inside her head having a conversation there.

There was a collective sigh of relief as she opened the door to wrestled her bike and herself,, selves, off the train. She was definitely headed somewhere. I hope she made it.

Only October

It happened once again during the night the month silently changed and now it's October in all its

October glory. I am not ready for October, I really thought I had one more day this month, seriously-31 days but no just 30 days and I'm at the beginning of a new month.

It's a new month and I'm filled with hope especially hope in October, the first full month a lot of when the temperature will get really crisp the leaves will turn a drop in the killer frosts will ensue making summer for sure thing of the past and all things related with that summer particularly vegetables and other items going in my patio garden. I made the call today, they said they would get to my power chair until today Wednesday, so I gave them all morning and called just before noon to get the news. I think it's good news, kind of good news the chair should run and it should charge though I don't really understand why did not charge in the first place. Mario said something about it was only at 50 V and that 50 V it is not enough for the charger to sense that the charger needs to charge the batteries…? What is this mean trying to follow his explanation in the kind of makes sense in a hopeful sort a way. So I don't know why the voltage of the battery got so low it may be the charger I just don't know but we will see now. I will no longer use the old charger and rely primarily on the “new” charger that came with the chair and hopefully that will make the difference allowing me to charge the battery as it should. Somehow though in the back of my mind I don't think that's going to do the trick I think there's still something else wrong with the chair. Mario did say one of the motors on th chair is going out which could be costly. I'm crossing my fingers and holding my breath that the two motors I purchased a couple years ago, used will be a fit for the motors that seem to be going out now. I was very sure at the time that these motors would work now I just don't know. And actually Mario is going to check with the company/insurance to see if there's any way my insurance might cover part of the cost of a new motor or two. If they weren't that would be a riot however is a set of cross my fingers holding my breath that these other motors will work. And hopefully I don't think that sure is going to fail soon only if it does I will go to this backup plan. Until then, I hope to use my chair as I have been I just need to remember not to run the chair totally flat out not to burn the motor up.

I put away my summer close today Dianne's help, all the short sleeve shirts and all the shorts were put in Big Blue bags that the fall and winter clothes were stored in. We also put some clean on the room which is very much appreciated… Since we had the extra room with the big power chair being gone right now. So I'm officially ready for October and the rest of the winter that's pretty exciting. So whatever happens with the power chair good bad or in different I am ready