Going back in time.
I was in the fortunate position to be able to sit and watch three youngsters dragging their soapbox up the hill to the designated start point, where the assault on their version of the land speed record would begin. This “chariot” in my opinion deserved nothing better than to be placed in a place of honour, on top of the weekend barbecue fire.
The steering was done by pulling on a rope made from old neckties that the boys must have liberated from a life of boredom in their father’s cupboards. Bright green, red and blue ones knotted together with huge knots that would have made any proud boy scout feel nauseous at the sheer amateurish way this was done.
The brake was just a piece of plank on a hinge, that the driver of the contraption, could push down onto the road with his foot, thereby creating drag and slowing the machine to an eventual stop. The three engineers were extremely proud of this gadget even though they had not yet put it to the test. The design element was virtually nonexistent and aesthetically it lacked even rudimentary design. The whole chariot looked thrown together in gay abandon and was equally as dangerous.
The three adventurers must have drawn lots or else the bigger two cajoled or conned the smallest of their band to be the test driver. He sat in the driver’s position and readied himself while the bigger boys checked to see if any cars were approaching, then with shouts of glee and much laughter the little one was pushed to get him going down the hill. The little guy was wearing the end off his brake, while his mates screeched at him to take his foot off. He sat there with a terrified lopsided grin pasted on his face, his eyes unblinking as he brought the rickety vehicle to a slow stop, not that it had been given any chance of reaching top speed on this run anyway. Once he had come to a stop he jumped off and ran around screaming how cool he was and how fast he had gone, and once he had suppressed his excitement he set about pulling the cart back up the hill.
I had been watching with baited breath, expecting the contraption to disintegrate at the slightest bump. I started to relax a bit after the first adventurer came to a safe stop. I was told at this point that this feat of mechanical engineering had actually been constructed to carry the entire gang of three so that it would be easier and less tiring to share the load of a drag back to the top. Having watched the assembly process, I had my doubts if the machine would travel more than two metres before snapping in half, but I didn’t want to spoil their fun by interfering. I was sure that aside from a few cuts and scrapes, they would be fine. Needless to say that if there was any mother in the vicinity, I would have been shouted at and had my sanity questioned, for allowing them to try.
The vehicle was made ready and the three excited boys made ready for the ride of a lifetime. They were convinced that it would be better than any roller coaster ride. The only difference to the first ride, was that this time they would ride on the sidewalk to avoid being mown down by some speeding motorist. The jabber of excited voices debating who would drive eventually subsided when it was decided that the strongest and biggest boy would have the honours.
Into the seat he went, with the second biggest tucked in behind him with a leg down each side of the driver. Once settled and ready they gave the go ahead to the little guy who pushed up to speed and then jumped on and tucked in behind the second boy. I am still not sure whether it was because the driver kept his foot off the brake or whether it was the combined weight of the boys but the machine got up to a considerable speed very quickly with the two boys on the back screaming for the driver to apply the brakes. He was laughing hysterically and ignored them, or was so scared that he didn’t hear them anyway. The cart shot down the sidewalk and seemed to be working perfectly. The flaw in the plan soon became apparent as the kids had failed to take the driveway dip in the sidewalk into account and also that the paving changed from cement slab to gravel and sand soon after the driveway. There was a crack as they hit the dip and another as they hit the rise, but amazingly they kept going. Two of the boys had nearly come unstuck over the driveway but had managed to cling on.
Then disaster struck. The front wheels dug into the sand, twisted and locked in the hard right position. The cart snapped in the middle and the three boys were ejected as if from a supersonic jet aircraft. They flew through the air and landed with a simultaneous thud interspersed with screams and cries of anguish. They skidded along the sand one on top of the other until they came to a stop centimetres from a pile of fresh doggy doo.
After all of the commotion, a deathly hush descended on the scene and then with grunts of pain and hysterical laughter they started to disentangle twisted limbs and got unsteadily to their feet. After a few moments of feeling and touching all sore spots it was discovered that there were no broken bones and apart from a shattered cart and cuts and bruises it was mainly their ego that had taken a beating. The loud laughter coming from me was the last straw and they slunk off with their damaged cart, to lick their wounds.
The moral of this story is “why not ask the nice old man in the wheelchair for advice?” He also was a young adventurer some years ago and could maybe come up with a better design.
Maybe once the adrenaline has subsided and the wounds have healed we can try to build a stronger vehicle.
I will await their invitation for advice.
Years of experience with Disability, it’s complexity and survival are tackled head on in these articles. Roly has been wheelchair bound with myositis for some 10 years now and he has numerous articles published in magazines in South Africa and on various sites on the internet. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/disabilities-articles/going-back-in-time-1518040.html
Related Posts - Disability Equipments that Help Restoring Independence Mobility scooters are the ideal way out for the persons having some mobility problem. It enables its rider to move indoors and outdoors frequently and without any reliance on some one other. You can even use these scooters at a few slight slopes and on lawn and roads. It enables......
- Disabled Access is a Top Priority at Newmarket Racecourse Restaurant Newmarket is the UK’s historic home of horseracing and has two prestigious courses, the July Course and the Rowley Mile. The July Course hosts the illustrious Darley Cup during the summer months and attracts thousands of visitors each year. It recently opened new restaurant facilities, which incorporate two movemanSKG......
- Stairlifts, how you could benefit from the affordable solution to problems with your stairs Many people struggle during their daily lives with moving from place to place, especially when stairs are involved. What should be a simple task, such as walking up and down the stairs, can seem extremely daunting. This shouldn’t be the case, especially not in your own home so here’s one......
- Who Could Benefit From a Stairlift? Once it has become too difficult to climb stairs, you might decide that the house must be reorganized so that there is a fourth bedroom and bath down, or if you decide to go to a bungalow with no stairs to climb. Another option is a stairlift. Ladder can provide......
- Wheelchairs – Transportation & Life insurance Wheelchairs – Transportation & Life insurance The determination to stay mobile has had it’s trials and tribulations since being advised that I have a disease called Inclusion Body Myositis. I have been a very wobbly walker for the past eight years or so and progressed from wobbly unaided to wobbly......
Related Websites - The Natural Way To Clean Everything In Your House. A reader emailed me about the best way to clean something in her house, and I pointed her to one of my posts about natural cleaning. But then I though I maybe should create a single post with all the natural cleaning information I had collected and written about, so......
- What We're Looking To Do With Our Finances In The Next Year (And A Contest) Free From Broke is about to turn a year old (October 4th to be exact). A lot has happened in the past year: I took the jump and started my own site. We decided to live off one income so my wife can stay home to watch the kids. ......
- Random Thoughts Music can bring on many emotions and memories. It's funny how you can hear a certain song, and that song transports you back in time to a certain place, or event, or even remind you of another person. Well today I was riding in my car, listening to Sirius 9 "The Pulse"......
- Retro Style In Bluetooth Technology When I hear the term "retro", I tend to have mixed feelings depending on the style they are referring to. For fashion, my stomach turns at the thought of bellbottom pants, french-rolled jeans and the "Madonna" look. However, when the music industry attempts to bring a classic rock sound in......
- Stay! Ahhhh, just a little bit longer... Jersey Boys is a musical, styled like documentary, produced by Joe Pesci, yes the actor, based on the lives of the Four Seasons and I'm in love with it. Literally....
Related posts:
- An Acorn Stair Lift - A Source of Independence in Your Home Are you desperately seeking a way to stay in your...
- Bruno Electra-Ride Elite Stairlift Bruno Electra-Ride Elite Stairlift is meant for physically disabled and...
- Saving on a Mobility Adapted Vehicle for You and Your Wheelchair The first thing many first time wheelchair users realize once...
- Different Types of Disabled Vehicles Available The reason for having disabled vehicles is in order for...
- Swivel Seats Disability Aids In the last 25 years, the design and manufacture of...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
