I'd had a particularly dark moment. I was coming into the elevator on my way home, I was fighting tears, things seemed very bleak. The door closed behind me and even though Joe couldn't see my face he could tell how I was feeling. Although we both know that the elevators all have cameras recording everything that happens behind closed doors, he reached down and took hold of my hand.
This is a nice gesture.
It was supposed to be.
There was a problem.
My hand was resting on the joystick controller of my power wheelchair. It is very, very sensitive to movement. The slight weight of Joe's hand pressed my hand down on the control and my chair leapt into action and I crashed into the wall in front of me. Joe was startled but instead of letting go, which would have been nice, he pulled his hand back and I careened back into the door behind me. This caused him to shout and pressed my hand again. Again I shot back into the wall in front of me.
This all happened so fast and I was so startled that I couldn't yell, 'Let go of my hand!' But I gathered my wits which had been shaken, not stirred, and yelled 'Let go for God's sake.' Joe dropped my hand and my chair came to rest. Joe fell back against the wall laughing and when the door opened there were two people waiting to get on. They had to wait as I could no longer drive as I was rocking back and forth with laughter.
Finally I got off the elevator and then stopped to wipe new, fresh, tears. Even though we were still in the hallway, I felt the sun was shining again.
Darkness, though it seems impenetrable, though it seems like it has full control, is extremely fragile. A giggle can crack it, a laugh can blast it away. I need to remember that humour is a powerful, powerful tool. Humour is a wonderful, wonderful gift.
There has been sunshine every day since.
10 comments:
The scene in the elevator sounds like something out of a movie! Too funny. I can just see the expressions on your faces as you play bumper cars in the elevator.
I'm glad crashing into walls made you feel better. ;-)
The title of this post - brilliant! I love it.
My personal quote for this week as I face some challenges of my own, I share with you:
"Square your shoulders to the world, be not the kind to quit. It's not the load that weighs you down but the way you carry it."-- Anonymous
Good carrying, Dave. :)
LOL! I can completely empathize, as my chair is the exact same way. Usually, though, the Bumper Car Game is accompanied by the Ow My Toe! Game. Both equally fun for me, but not so much for my companions. :p
YOu should seriously see if the building you were in has a video tape from the elevator. That way, any time you have a down in the dumps day, you can grab the joy stick and be happy again.
It was hilarious to picture this happening. I laughed as I read it and am so glad that laughter erupted in the elevator! I had a comic moment last night but I did property damage in the process, so I can't think how to write about it without sounding as though I think it's funny that I did this. Stay tuned. I'm sure it will out, eventually.
Humour is what gets me through the tough times... thank god that I still have it:)
LOL!! I'm so glad that such a moment could shake the darkness. :) I love those moments! The most dangerous for me is when somebody gives me a hug. I'm usually quick at turning the chair off first. But if I don't, they'll end up leaning into the joystick, so my chair leaps back, they fall forward, and... yeah, it's quite the show! :)
Thanks for sharing your laughter with us Dave - I hope you don't mind but you had me in tears of laughter too! My daughter is learning to drive a power wheelchair, so have also made a mental note ; )
Liz
You had me at "my chair leapt into action"! Still giggling at the site you two must have been. Wish I could have been there when the elevator doors opened. Seriously, Laughed Out Loud! Thank you!
Yeah you have to be careful with those joysticks, that happening at the wrong time can be incredibly dangerous. My problem is that I have really big boobs. Especially the left one. And I'm left-handed. So if I don't watch out, my left boob drives my wheelchair. Me and my friends call it "tit driving".
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