In case you missed the original 354 story, you may want to get the context. Be warned, however…it’s gross.

Okay, so, this is my second favorite 354 story that I mentioned on Monday but didn’t blog yet.

So, I have this friend, we’ll call him Scooter. A couple years ago he was in a rough accident and was paralyzed (initially) from the neck down. The doctors didn’t give him a very good prognosis, and I beleive he’s been told he won’t live much longer about five times now.

Nowadays, however, he drives (he’s got a nice Dodge station wagon), he has good mobility in his arms and torso though he still can’t turn around at the waist yet, and he’s determined to walk again regardless of what the docs tell him. I find him, in addition to being a funny guy, very inspirational when it comes to having a positive outlook.

At any rate, we went out for dinner a while back, to this Japanese restaurant in the neighborhood. Afterwards we decided to go to our fave bar for a few drinks. I had a bit of a headache and so I told him I would swing by my house and then meet him there. I helped him get in his car, stuck his wheelchair in the trunk at his request, and took off.

So I get home, let the dogs out. I take some aspirins. I discover my makeup needs to be refreshed, so I do that. In basically dinking around singing to myself when I realize I need to go 354. I debate briefly whether I would feel comfortable doing 354 at the Thunderbird and decide not, so I take my book and do my thing, and before you know it, 45 minutes have gone by since I got home. So I hustle out the door, and on my way I call him, feeling bad that he’s been sitting at the table in the bar by himself while I’ve been 354’ing in the safety of my own bathroom.

I apologize profusely to him for the delay and he’s saying it’s no problem. I realize that it’s very quiet in the background and I wonder whether it’s a slow night at the ol’ Thunderbird.

“Wow it’s totally quiet there! Is it dead or what?”

“No, I’m still in the car.”

“You are? Why? Watching some porn?” (He’s got a DVD player and TV screen in his dash.)

Pause.

“No. My wheelchair is still in the trunk.”

DOH!