The Wheelchair

Dad: Grandma K gets around just fine most of the time, but for the walking we did in Paris we decided to rent a wheelchair for her. Mom inquired at the Pharmacy on the first day we were here, and the pharmacist said he would have the next morning and that it would cost "not very much". True to his word it was there the next morning. We took it away without leaving so much as a deposit, name, phone number--nothing. We asked again about the cost: "Not very much." We needed the chair, so we took him on his word.

The chair was great for getting us around, but the Metro was difficult. We developed a system of splitting into two groups and loading through separate, but adjacent doors. This way we could all get on or off before the dreaded buzzer and the very strong closing doors. Paris Metro (and City) has lots of stairs, and while there are ramps in many places, they are often hard to find or even hidden.

We started with a rule that the kids could not use the wheelchair at all (push or ride). Mom offered to let the kids each have a turn with the chair before we returned it if they obeyed the "no playing with the wheelchair" rule. They did a good job of restraining themselves, so they got their reward.



C: I think it was fun to play in the wheelchair.

Mom: What if you had to be in it all day and couldn't get out of it?

C: That would be even more fun...until I got bored of it.

Dad: What about after you got bored of it.

C: Then I would just be wanting to get out.

Dad: Was it easy to steer the wheelchair and make it go?

C: Making go was pretty easy, but steering wasn't.

Sam: I thought steering it was pretty easy--you just turn one wheel and not the other.

Sam: I got out of it in the middle of my turn because I didn't want to go out in public in the wheelchair.

Grandma K: It was a big help to me!

Dad: Sam, would you use the wheelchair if you had to choose between going out in public or staying home all the time?

Sam: I'd use it then, because then I would have a reason.

Dad: Which would be more embarrassing to you: If someone saw you in the wheelchair and thought you were disabled, or if a disabled person saw you and thought you were making fun of them?

Sam: The second one.

Dad: We returned the wheelchair after four days and paid the pharmacist 20 euros--"not very much." The pharmacist was very kind and patient and trusting of us. Being a consumer in Paris was very different from our experiences in California. Prices here are high, things come in small packages, and with the exception of travelling to a supermarket, a shopping trip includes lots of stops. But people say hello, and in the case of the pharmacist, care to provide good service. Grown ups work in retail and service businesses, and seem to survive. At home price is the only factor and service is a childhood memory.