Last night/evening I felt the strongest urges ever. I discarded all my worries and fears and actually wheeled in public in the city I live in. I checked the movie schedule on the internet and proceeded to my room to get ready. I decided I didn’t want to have a whole heap of stuff in my lap so I got resourceful, and this time the effect was much better than the “net” I tried to make for Wellington. I grabbed my backpack and completely undid the shoulder straps. I wound the padded parts of the straps round the back rigidiser bar until the bag was tightly secured and not touching the ground. I then rethreaded the other part to the shoulder straps onto the padded straps and tied them together to keep them tight. I thus had a nice looking backpack tied to my chair and it wasn’t going to come off. I’m actually too scared to take it off now in case I don’t get it back on right.
I put a book, jersey and my wallet in and pushed my wheelchair out the door and sat in it (too scared to drop myself out yet). I rolled across the road and through the rental car park. Although this route was shorter it had quite an incline so I got my exercise for the day. I noticed I rolled a lot better this time than when I first headed out in Wellington. The practise must have done me good. It took me about twenty minutes to get to the mall where the cinema complex is. I got onto the elevator and pressed the button that said “_____ Cinemas” on it. When the doors reopened all I saw was a car park. I was thoroughly confused and spent another two minutes pushing buttons before I realised there was a door in that car park that lead to the cinemas. I went and paid my ticket and headed up the ramp towards the theatre that the movie was playing in. I’d gone to see “Rumour Has It”.
There were ushers there and they ripped my ticket. I headed to the left through the door when one of the ushers came along and told me to go to the right. She asked me if I sit in my chair or the movie seat. I told her the seat, it’s far to uncomfortable to sit in the wheelchair through a movie (the floor is slightly inclined). She checked to see that the seat next to the wheelchair bay was empty. It was, considering I was the first person there. I transferred to the seat and turned my chair round to once again admire my handiwork. I pulled my cell phone out of the bag and proceeded to play tetris. An older lady came into the movie theatre about five minutes later. She noticed me sitting there at the back and she wound her way round the seats and came and sat next to me. We talked about how nice it is to not be by your self at the movies. For a little while we were worried no one else would be coming but then people started piling in. I counted there was a grand total of two guys there, definitely a chick flick.
Overall it was a really good movie. Basically this 20 something year old guy sleeps with a 40 year old woman in 1963. Then two or three years later he slept with the woman’s daughter. The daughter then got married to another man and they had their daughter. One of the men (I forget who) then wrote a book called the graduate based on this rumour. People bought it, watched the movie and the talk over who the characters really were died down. Thirty years later we see the youngest daughter flying home and not too sure whether she belongs in the family.
While I was sitting in the movie theatre, I thought about things (no steam didn’t come out of my ears). I decided that although it certainly helped to get my heart rate up, the actual thrill of pretending when I could be discovered isn’t what I enjoy most out of going out in my wheelchair. I can see myself in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Although it isn’t possible at the moment, when I go out in my chair like i did last night, I got a glimpse of the life I want. People accepted me as a wheelchair user and I was left to my own demise to wheel how I wanted to. No one offered to do anything for me and I liked to be able to do things on my own. Although pushing my self up the hills etc was tiring, it was rewarding, and it’s the life I want.
The movie finished and I wheeled my way back home. To get into my flat there aren’t any steps as such. There is just a slightly high ledge. Sean had told me if I could get my casters up the ledge pulling my self through the door would be easy. Unfortunately I didn’t get past the caster bit, and I was worried I’d make too much noise and people would come out to see if I’m ok. So I got up and pulled my wheelchair in. I sat back in it and got ready for bed as a paraplegic.
I can’t begin to tell you how satisfied I was when I finally got to bed without having to use my feet once.