After I arrived home and changed, I headed out in my wheelchair. I took the elevator down to the lobby to check my mail. I realized it had been a few days and as expected, the box was full. My mailbox is at a good height from my wheelchair, as I can see inside and make sure I’ve retrieved everything. I put my back pack on my lap and stuffed all my mail inside. There is a recycling bin right there, but I decided I’d sift through the junk later as I wanted to head outside. I threw my back pack on my chair, and stowed my keys.
The ramp is right ahead of me and heads down to the lobby. I try to look away from the security guards as I wheel through the lobby, as I’m sometimes seen walking through the lobby. Most times, they are more interested in watching the television and pay no mind to me anyway. I push the automatic door opener twice to get through the double doors and I am outside.
There are several structures in my complex and they all converge in this area. The lobby entrance is the on the high ground and I usually head left around the corner. I like to start my evening wheel heading down that hill. It’s an exhilarating start to my adventure, and as I wheel more, I allow myself to go faster. There’s a curb cut halfway down the hill and I have to wheel around a structural column so the curb cut doesn’t flip me out of my chair. I’ve not dumped yet, and I’m hoping to put it off as long as possible.
At the bottom of the hill, I headed around behind the building on my right. I’d never wheeled back that way before and wanted to check it out. Instead of taking the sidewalk, I wheeled through the street. There is only a small parking lot back there, so not much automobile traffic. It’s harder to wheel in the street as it dips along the sidewalk, and it’s more of a workout, particularly in my folding chair.
Behind the building there was little activity. The building is long and skinny and the back side is the long stretch and I thought I’d wheel to the other end as I know there is a sidewalk between this building and the next. I wheeled to the end and saw the sidewalk, but there were three steps. Yikes. I was not about to get out of my wheelchair, so I turned around and went back the way I’d come.
I went up onto the sidewalk and down the block. I passed the park and there was a group of children playing. It was far too late for the urchins to be out, but they paid little mind to me and I passed by them. I took the short path through the park and looped back around behind my building. I could have gone in the back door to the lower lobby, but decided to head around the other side and up the hill to the main lobby.
Halfway up the hill there is a curb cut and I had to stop for a moment and reposition myself. I broke my tailbone some years ago and my bottom reminded me of that. Adjusted, I headed up the steeper part of the hill. It’s still a bit of a workout for me, but it gets my heart pumping and I enjoy that feeling. I wheel around the corner to my left and back to the lobby. The automatic door opener to enter the building is in an awkward spot, but at least there is one, so no complaints.
Through the lobby, I pull myself up the ramp using the handrails, and head down the hall to the elevator. Not much adventure on this evening trip, but enjoyable nonetheless