Tales from the Crip(t)

The other day my wheelchair was making a noise that sounded like a dungeon door opening.

This type of noise coming from a wheel just doesn't inspire confidence.

I couldn't figure out what was causing the noise. I knew the wheelchair was out in bad weather, in an unexpected downpour with rain and mud, so I figured out that was probably behind the noise.

There wasn't much I could do about it however.  I tried tweaking different parts of the wheelchair and the noise seemed to vanish and then mysteriously reappear, just like it happens on cars.  Most of the noise vanished when ever there were people around.

"I don't hear anything," they would say.

I didn't either - until they left. Then it was as if the crypt reopened and a gnarly hand snuck out - eek-eek-screek.

The cats ran away from the wheelchair and me, so I knew I wasn't imagining the noise.

I went to the door to get a UPS package and the delivery guy said "you really should get that chair looked at". 

Right.

But the noise kept eluding everybody I asked to look at the chair.

Finally, after several days, the chair made noise when I opened the door to let my aide in.

"What's that?" he asked.

"What?" I said, not wanting to go through the 'can you hear what I hear' scenario again. I was also starting to have trouble hearing after rolling around listening to eek- eek-screek.

"Your wheelchair. What's wrong with it?"

Finally, I thought. 

He worked on the chair for about a half-hour. The noise went away and hasn't returned.  The cats are no longer huddling together, staring at me as I approach.

And now I have all kinds of ideas for stories about wheelchairs on Halloween.