My whole life, I was athletic. I spent so many afternoons playing basketball at the nearby school. I was a dancer. I rode my bike or walked to and from school. I took classes at the YMCA. In college, I did ballet, rowed on the crew team, did yoga, did aqua aerobics, and played on the basketball team - all in 2 years! Maxed out my PE credits. Now, with years and injury and arthritis, walking and standing are very painful for me. This is very hard for me to accept, given said athletic history. It leaves me pinned in place. I have a car, of course, but it feels weird to drive to the front of the complex to get my mail, because I can't walk that far and back anymore. Or to the 7/11 or the fruit stand at the end of the street. I even used to walk to the grocery store half a mile away, in nice weather, get some sun and air and all that. Now, that store might as well be on Mars for all that I could walk there. I might like to take the bus to the acupuncture clinic sometimes to save on gas while I'm on unemployment - but even if the bus stops right at that corner (which I think it might), crossing that huge intersection and then walking past a few big stores in the strip mall to get there is totally out of reach for me. My family lives in Ashland. I would love to spend some time wandering the downtown blocks, there are such lovely little stores. And I don't dare. There was this holiday thing we were talking about going to at Christmas a couple of years ago, and I was SO worried about bring on my feet that long. I wasn't sure I could. And that sucks! I wouldn't want to keep them from seeing it just because I can't go, but it would also suck for them to go while I couldn't, and it's just so hard. I'm looking at the TravelScoot mobility scooter (the Escape model). I've looked at quite a few different mobility scooters, and this one is hands down the best. It is small, light, and folds down so that it can fit in the trunk of a car! There are some videos on the website of people putting them in various car trunks. It weighs about 33lbs, I can still lift that easily and get it in my car. This would open up the world to me again. Pride, Renaissance fairs, the zoo (they have mobility scooters there, but first come first served), the county fair, I would have options again! They are headquartered about 2 hours away, so I went up to the office and got to test one out. They're fun to drive! The guy walking with me was having to jog a bit to keep up with me at times, so I could go out with friends and not slow them down. You have full control over your speed, so I promise not to make y'all run to catch me. The batteries are safe and allowed on airplanes, so if I were to travel for derby tournaments, I would still be mobile. Heck, the wheel base is narrow enough to fit through the doors on cruise ships, so they tell me. I'd love to go on a cruise again... It costs about 3K. All of the ones I found were in the 3K-4K price range, so it is fairly priced. I actually applied for a credit card with 21 months 0% APR financing, but they didn't give me a high enough credit limit. If y'all could help me out even part of the way, I can make the rest happen. Thank you for reading my novel. I love you all. Oh, and local friends, I promise to let you ride on it if you want!
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