Saturday, September 22, 2012

Hallmark vs Watermark

On our way out yesterday we left the building and Joe, who was wrestling the bundle buggy, stopped or organise himself for a moment or two. I went ahead and, like a kid excited by the opportunity, ran the chair through a fairly deep puddle of water and listened, satisfied to the splash. Joe was taking longer than I expected so I turned to see what he was up to. Just as I turned he was on his was again so I kept turning and he joined me as I straightened the chair out. Joe noticed, and pointed out to me, that my wet tires had made a lovely and quite graceful circle on the dry pavement.

We went shopping because this morning we are going to make a great cauldron of soup. The grocery store was a ballet of cooperation. Joe got the turnip, I got the parsnips, he sought the potatoes, I selected the carrots. The bag grew in size as he picked up this and I picked up that. We found some cereal that we thought the kids would like and as we are seeing them on Sunday, in the bag it went. Soon the bundle buggy was full, the bag on the back of my chair could hold no more, so we headed to the checkout counter. The line up was long so I went scooted round to the other side and sat waiting for Joe and watching people in the food court.

The way home was made difficult by the surprising number of people out on the street. Joe with his buggy and me on my buggy made for a lot of negotiation but everyone seemed in good humour. A fellow, drunk to the point of foaming at the corners of his mouth, approached me to tell me how pleased he was to see that I was out and about, I couldn't return the compliment and the red light I was waiting at seemed to stop and stare at our odd interaction. Finally it changed and we were on our way again. Joe reminded me of a fellow wheelchair user who said that a wheelchair was a magnet for social inappropriateness. We laughed.

There is construction on our street so I zipped head on the road, the sidewalk being completely blocked. Joe, pushing the cart, laden with beans and bananas, was a little slower. I had an inspiration. I rushed ahead and parked my chair dead centre in the puddle. I looked at the lay of the land and knew it could be done. I went back and forth slowly in the water making sure that my tires were completely coated with water. Then, I began.

I drove up, made a turn, made another turn, and headed straight back to the puddle. I turned around to see and sure enough I'd traced out a wheelchair heart on the dry pavement. I didn't say a word as Joe approached, but when he saw it his eyes lit up and he said, simply, "A heart!"

Who said romance was dead?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Touching story Dave - the teamwork, the thoughtfulness, and of course the heart. I'm sure it delighted Joe's heart. Don't you just love those little moments that end up actually being big? I hope both the soup and the cereal are good!!

Bubbles said...

Ahhh, how sweet! It's a lost art, my father still buys my step-mother roses regularly but that is such a rareity, romance seems to be dead everywhere else in the world Dave! Glad to see you still got it!

Tamara said...

Sweet -

When we get a little snow, and the paper delivery guy pulls in and out of our driveway, they leave a heart - unintentional, but always makes me smile -

Andrea S. said...

I like that heart! Wish you could have taken a picture!

Lene said...

what a lovely gift you gave to Joe…

Your post made me think of two things. I love the comment about how wheelchairs attract social inappropriateness. So true. Once, when waiting for light to turn green, the guy next to me told me all about how he was being treated for syphilis. As soon as the light turned green again, I booted across the street as fast as I could, yelling, "have a nice day" (because I am, after all, Canadian).

If you have a tendency to go through puddles - and who doesn't, this is Toronto - make sure you get the connectors on the bottom of your chair greased (you may already be doing this, but no one ever told me and I paid for that). If not, water gets into things, which will cause your chair to become fairly dead until it dries out again. Ask me how I know this. Which reminds me, I need to book an appointment to winterize my chair

Tara said...

Where's the "like" button??

Kristine said...

Sweet!

That makes me think of.... Well, I'm going to email you a photo of some wheelchair art I made. :)

Anonymous said...

Lovely, ilustration of "love" expressed between a couple who's been together for a whie. Reminds me to celebrate
1)""we still have it going on"

2) It's the little sweet things that matter.


Shan said...

Ha ha, good idea!

I think the drunk guy who was pleased to see you out and about qualifies as Cool...he might have said "Who do you think you are, out and about?"

Glass half full!!

S
PS: Want some soup now.

Kristin said...

I love that you made a heart.

Liz Miller said...

That is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

<3 the <3. It really is the simple sweet gestures that matter the most.
Mich

Anonymous said...

As someone in a new relationship, romantic stuff like this really gets me going. I just sent this post to my sweetie as a gift. Thanks for faciliating my courting!