I do a lot of reading, so Joan and the girls will pick up books they think I will like from garage and rummage sales. After I read them, or decide not to, I donate them to the local Friends of the Library.

A couple of weeks ago I took a load of books and wheeled down to the library book shop. After dropping off the books, I returned to the street and there was a senior citizen in a chair almost like mine. He seemed to be waiting on me. The store is not made for wheelchair access, but I make it in and out. That is what he noticed.

He asked, �How long have you been a wheeler?�

I told him since 1988. He said, �Man, you got that thing down pat. Getting in and out of there is a close one.�

I told him that I still had use of my �good� leg, and by pushing the front of the chair up, I could get over humps as high as five inches. Then I asked him how long he had been riding. He said, �Since Okinawa�

He did not look any older than I, so I asked, �You mean WW II?�

He said, �Yes, I remember going there, but I don�t remember leaving. I went to sleep and when I woke up, I was in Texas with no feet. They said I had slept all the way across the ocean. I must have been very tired.�

The guy had a grin on his face, and I told him he must have been very young. He said he was 82 years old now. I told him that he didn�t look any older than I and he said that�s because he hasn�t done much walking since he was a kid�

He said he was out testing his chair because a lady had ran into it and bent the caster. He had just got it out of the shop. �Cars and wheelchairs don�t get along too well� he said.

This started us talking about hazards we encounter, then he said, �The worst scare I ever had was one time a big dog, I mean BIG - dog ran out toward me, barking and growling. Scared the hell out of me. I didn�t know if I was going to be eaten or peed on.�

Well, needless to say, I laughed. Then he said, �There I was, sitting in this chair, could not get out of the way, and if that huge animal had heisted his leg, I would have drowned!�

I laughed all the way home�