Dreamy
In my household, we have both the Luck of the Irish and Murphy’s Law. I would say though we are very lucky people. We joke about Murphy’s Law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Anytime someone comes to work on a project at our house we remind them they are in the Murphy household. But by far the luck of the Irish outweighs the bad luck of Murphy’s law. There have been many times things could have been worse or gone wrong but they did not, especially with Dreamy, our big blue van.
Roadtrip Rhode Island
Many times during our road trips to see family or vacation we traveled with Dreamy. The big blue van with an under-the-vehicle lift. Packed to the max with stuff. No matter where we went we could depend on the lift acting up or something going wrong. At my cousin's graduation in Rhode Island. We had just visited the Vanderbilt Mansion, It was so cool. I highly recommend that when touring the Mansions of Newport that you get the audio recording. This helped me see what my eyes couldn’t. I listened to the kid's version and got such fun facts about the various scene and wallpapers in each room. The elevator was the coolest, built in 1895 it still worked. Anyway on our way to dinner, Dreamy started making noises and acting up. Murphy’s Law. I don’t remember exactly what was wrong but do have the pictures to prove something was wrong. But the Luck of the Irish prevailed and it was soon fixed enough to get us to dinner and home the next day.
Kalyn's graduation from URI. Daddy and Uncle Pete fixing the van. Inside the Vanderbilt Mansion.
Roadtrip Maryland
Multiple times visiting Aunt Candi in Maryland the lift would act up. It would get me out of the van but didn’t want to be stowed away until the next day. Funny though one time we were trying to fake the lift out and told it we were going to visit Melissa. Remarkably every time we mentioned her name the lift worked fine, so we called Dreamy’s lift Melissa.
It was Christmas eve, we had just arrived in time to take Nana and Papaw to church. We had never been to this church so we had to use GPS to find it. It took longer than expected but we finally made it and mom pulled the van right up front to drop us off. Up and down the lift went, first with Nana and Papaw and then me. On its final descent, it had enough and decided it wanted a break. The lift would not move. It was outside for all to see and trip over. Murphy’s law. Christmas Eve mass was about to begin. We were visitors and knew no one. Nana wanting to get inside took control of my wheelchair and grabbed Papaw who had already begun to wander into the church. At the same time, mom made a panicked phone call to dad and Uncle Brian to come to help us. The van was illegally parked in front of the church with the lift out. It was misty, foggy, and rainy and mom was afraid someone would get hurt or worse yet they would tow the van while we were inside. Murphy's Law. It was like the midnight ride of Paul Revere, I was terrified Nana was so focused on where Papaw was going I felt like I was going to run over people that were innocently in the way. Thankfully mom secured the van as best she could and found us flying through the aisles of the church. Thanks to the luck of the Irish… No one was hurt nor did they lose any toes. Once daddy and Uncle Brian got there mom ran out of mass to give them the keys. She told them to do whatever was needed to get the lift stowed and working by the time mass was over. If there was any time we needed the luck of the Irish it was right now. With his handy dandy bolt cutters, Uncle Brian cut the cable that enabled the lift to be secured. Now we only had to pray the lift did not come flying out like it did within the first 6 months of getting the van.
No Left Turns
Up until now, I forgot all about that one. I learned how many people it takes to put a 300-pound under-the-vehicle lift into the van, 4. I also learned what it was like to be taken out of my wheelchair and heaved over the front seat and out the driver's side door. Mom and I were Christmas shopping and had been having trouble with the lift. Since it was Christmas week the shop was closed and they told mom not to worry they would get me in as soon as they could. We circled the parking lot, found a spot, and shopped. When we were leaving, for the first time all evening we made a left-hand turn and this awful noise of metal against metal, worse than nails on a chalkboard, and a loud thud. Mom stopped the van on the side of the road only to find, the 300-pound under-the-vehicle lift was no longer under the vehicle and had instead decided to take a vacation at the mall on the side of the road. Murphy’s Law… It was black as black could be and the lift was on the side of the road. To say I was panicked is an understatement. The Luck of the Irish… out of nowhere a security car arrived, the young man thought he could lift the lift back into the van. He couldn’t but called for back up and before I knew it there were several good-looking guys hulking the lift into the van. The only problem was now the lift was not only blocking my safe exit, I couldn’t use it to get out of the van. Mom assured me that she would get me out of the van and not to worry. I am sure she had no clue what she was going to do but as luck would have it, she figured it out and hoisted me over the front seat to safety. We left getting the wheelchair out until the next day.
Roadtrip Florida
Another time, while visiting Nana in Florida, the lift had acted up the entire ride down but worked every time. The luck of the Irish won over Murphy’s Law. That was until we got to Nana’s. We decided to go out to dinner. We parked in a handicapped spot, let the lift down and Murphy’s law took over. The lift remained out and would not stow. We called for help, but really what were they going to do? A tow truck could not have safely tow the van as the lift was hanging out at least six feet on the side. Talk about a wide load. But as Luck would have it my Aunt had connections to wheelchair repair people and he knew exactly what to do. He came over and yanked on a cable and the lift was stowed. Mom and dad didn't even know that cable exsisited. We had to use it in manual mode but at least we all made it home, not to mention we had a wonderful dinner. The next day and the rest of the trip the lift worked perfectly. I guess it too was finally enjoying a little sunshine.
Fun Facts
So all in all I think I am one lucky Irish lady with the last name of Murphy. For those of you who don’t know, St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. It is said that although he was British, he had been kidnapped at 16 and brought to Ireland as a slave. He escaped and later returned to Ireland bringing with him Christianity. Originally March 17, St Patrick’s day was a holy day in which all bars were closed. That all changed in the 1960s. The first parade was actually held in NYC, not Ireland.
Shortest St. Patricks Day Parade
Who doesn’t love a parade? Speaking of parades, I have the honor of being the Grand Marshal of the shortest St Patricks Day Parade in New York. Our parade route, sponsored by Bourbon Street Bar and Grill in Monroe, NY, is a whopping 306 feet. If you are late you will miss it. It is an honor to lead this parade. Every year there is something different but I can always count on a police escort and bagpiper. This year a lot of people turn out for this event. I have to say that this was the biggest turnout they have had since I started. People go all out, with their Irish sweaters, tammyshanters, and green. One gentleman went as far as to dye his goatee green. So on this St. Patrick's day, please drink responsibly and sláinte (that’s cheers in Gaelic).
Thank you for reading until the end!
This is the view from my wheelchair, where miracles can make a difference. Always Strive for the Impossible. Come back next week to see what is on my mind and watch the fun in disability and The View From My Wheelchair.