My dad, author of The Sidecar Kings (<- click to buy, proceeds benefit the MDA!), has been doing lots of writing lately… about me. When I started reading his stories, I will admit it was a little weird, seeing my life through someone else’s eyes. After I got over that tiny emotional hiccup, something else occurred to me: his stories were excellent.

Without giving too much away, I’m excited to announce that my father and I will be working on combining our collective experiences of my life into a book! We both agreed that a book offering two unique viewpoints of my unique situation will have a much better chance of success than if either of us tried to write a book on our own. I’m better at handling the comedic aspects of my life, and as you’ll see in a minute, my dad is better at the emotional.

So without further ado, here is a story from my dad’s collection. Take a few minutes to read it, and if you would like to contact him about his book, our book, this story, or life you can email him at jsbur886@aol.com

“This past May, Ride for Life was at Hershey Park. There aren’t too many rides Shane can go on because of his inability to control his balance, but there are a couple. One of them is a giant Ferris wheel, the kind with circular gondolas.

As is the case with every amusement park, the handicap accessible entrance is always the exit of the ride. This ride was elevated, so we had to go through the exit gates. At the gates a group of kids were waiting for their friends to come off the ride. They inadvertently blocked our way and when they saw Shane, they peered at him like he had just fallen from the sky. We all got used to that “circus is coming to town” look long ago, but it’s still something we’d rather do without.

Anyhow, once we got past the gawkers, we continued on up a long switch back ramp and finally ended at the ride exit platform. Some riders were just getting off as we approached. Since it was the first weekend the park was opened for the season, the ride operators were still going through their learning processes. They were also cognizant of handicapped riders. As soon we appeared, one of the operators instructed us to park in a safe spot away from the ride. On the opposite side of the ride were throngs of people waiting to board… watching.

In most parks we‘ve been in, there is an unwritten “no waiting” rule for handicapped riders, so we didn’t have to wait long to get on the ride. I noticed Shane looking over at all the people and then looking away. I could tell he wasn’t comfortable, as the throng began staring, knowing we were going to be next in line, ahead of them.

When it was our turn, the operators helpfully opened the gondola door and held it open for us. Andrew hopped in first. I picked up Shane, cradle fashion and carefully stepped onto the swinging gondola. I have done this several times and have gotten pretty good at it. It’s easy to fall. I’m fortunate that I have not yet. Once in the gondola, I had to place Shane on the circular bench seat next to me, a hard plastic affair without any side support. It took several minutes to get him squared away. I awkwardly held him the best I could.

Funny thing about throngs… invariably there’s always one asshole within. Sure enough, we could clearly hear someone complaining about how long our loading took. I shot a glance in the direction of the voice but no one would look me in the face. It appeared one collectively embarrassed the all.

Once finally underway, we rose into the sky. Shane was stable enough that he was able to look around and take in the scenery high above the ground. He loves high places. Since the wheel was still loading, we stopped frequently. During one of our stops, a large hawk flew into view. The majestic bird circled around the wheel a couple of times, tipping its wings, appearing to dance on the wind currents above us. It was beautiful, close enough to see its piercing eyes looking us over. Then it disappeared, as quickly as it came.

Shane looked up at it and just above a bare whisper, he longed, “Wish I could fly like that… to be free.” I promptly looked away, my eyes immediately moist. Andrew caught me and asked what the matter was. I told him the pollen was very heavy and it was making my eyes water.

We rode the rest of the ride in silence.

Once the ride ended, we reversed the loading process, which took even more skill than loading. I managed to make it painless for Shane and once in his chair he complimented me on my acrobatic one-handed lift and grab. Two rarities, a pain free transfer and a compliment to boot.

He and Andrew raced down the ramp they came up, testing limits of tires and sneakers through the turns. 

Freedom to dance on the wind… Lord let it someday be.”