The One About the Wheelchair...

I usually catch the 517 Jordan Meadows bus leaving downtown SLC at 8:10pm. By this time, I’m completely exhausted and desperately want to get home and in my bed. Within the last month, a wheelchair passenger has been boarding the 517 within the outskirts of downtown. Have you witnessed the multiple time-consuming steps required to loan a wheelchair passenger? It takes ten minutes but feels like an hour... Like those dream within a dream sequences from Inception... Can you tell I’m obsessively impatient? My mom reminds me of this development area every couple of months…

A long day of work coupled with gym time means an even shorter fuse. As I watch the driver slowly extend the ramp to the curb, I can feel my face slip into a disapproving glare. My mood fails to budge after seeing the passenger clumsily maneuver his wheelchair into the designated disability area. Three point turns are clearly not one of his strengths... I finally have to focus my attention elsewhere if the driver cannot properly secure the seat belt... Yeah, I'm probably going to hell.

Last Sunday, I walked into church and sat in my normal seat (near the back). As we transitioned to Sunday School after the service, I walked to the classroom door and politely held it open for my classmates. My self esteem was magnified by the smiles and gratitude expressed by others. As the crowd thinned, I barely recognized the dressed up man pass me on his wheelchair. He nodded at me and headed for a woman eagerly awaiting his arrival. I swear the sound of my ego collapsing sounded similar to a balloon letting out air. My wheelchair passenger was not only a member of my church but completely unaware of the angry thoughts and emotions I internally lashed out Carrie-style.

With today being Easter Sunday, I cannot help by wonder how many personal developments remain. But I'm optimistic. These improvements lie in hidden places anxiously awaiting discovery. Probably in the same manner that ornately decorated eggs would feel during a Easter hunt. Grabbing my basket and heading out now! But first, I have to learn how to thread a seat belt through a wheelchair...