Day 3 - Sometimes you want to go, where everybody knows your name

Its like being the elephant in the living room.

Riding the special bus in the morning was a bit intimidating at first. But with the support of a nice friend and a warm smile by the bus driver I began to feel at home and comfortable. The bus was rather nice I may add.

When you are temporarily handicap you need to re-arrange most of your daily activities in a way that's more efficient and easier for your handicap. As soon as the bus rode away I found myself having to plot out my walking paths or should I say crutching paths.

It was nice for a change to have women and girls hold the doors open for me as I walk. And much to my surprise the mother instinct is evident in about all women to some degree. Guys, they don't really care and why should they, but the girls- well lets just say everyone loves a temporary handicap.

This realization was important because it helped me understand why my male friends were acting the way they were. It was simple jealousy. Phrases like "You're not even that handicap," or "you're injury isn't even that bad," stung me like 500 yellow jackets in the same spot with vinegar raining down on the wound. Ignorant morons. Actually I take that back, with a smile, instead I truly feel bad for those that felt that way last night. I guess I wasn't kidding when I said that being a handicap lets you see people's true colors.

Outside of this love palace I call an apartment (minus the few bad apples that need counseling or psychiatric help) it was nice to know that the majority of strangers seem to empathize and often (it seemed today) want to have carnal knowledge of a temporary disabled man. This all left me feeling to good and with a honest belief that these eight weeks were going to be just fine, how could this day possibly get any better?

The bus ride home.

I wasn't expecting to meet any others with a condition similar to mine, but I did! Turns out there are a lot of other just like me. There was something comforting riding in a bus where everyone else had crutches. Conversation was flowing like we were all best buds who haven't seen each other for over a year. The ease of conversation and the number of things we had to say, simply blew my mind. Even the bus driver joined in to chat about college basketball and rugby. There exists a special bond between riders of the special bus. I am not sure what it is or if anyone really understands it, but we all know it exists. Maybe its the comfort we seek in each other, maybe its the deep understanding we all have for one another's suffering that two legged folk don't seem to get, or maybe its the fact that on our special bus, we are all, equal.

To those people who aren't as in touch with themselves and have trouble expressing their emotions properly. Or are simply to ignorant to think before speaking, I forgive you. I forgive you for your shortcomings and for not being able to accept my injury. I'll leave you with this:

A wise man by the name of Josh McDowell once told me that "forgiveness is the oil of a relationship." And as my dear friend Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, the great Russian thinker once said, "let us forgive each other- only then shall we live in peace."