Yesterday I had to head over to the Augusta VA to collect my new wheelchair. Jeebus was it hot! Thank you for A/C! It was in the 90’s when I left at 10:30 and it was 100 when I got to Augusta. I usually keep the A/C on 72 in the GOCmobile, but halfway to Augusta when my back was still wet from sweat, I turned it down to 70. I dried off by the time I got to the Augusta VA.

This wheelchair was my third attempt. The two previous wheelchairs that Ashley got for my were experimental designs and they were both really cool. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get parts for the first chair when I had a problem with it. I tried in Atlanta. No help. Ashley tried in Augusta. Same lack of success. Then Ashley got me a really lightweight carbon fiber chair. It weighed 8 pounds without the wheels. Awesome chair! Unfortunately, it tended to be a little fragile and it only took me a year to destroy it. We finally decided to go with the tried and true. Hopefully, the third time is the charm. She has been really great working with me.

I gotta make sure I say nice things about her since she occasionally reads my blog, but I would do it anyway. I have nothing but good things to say about the Augusta VA and all of the people I have dealt with there. She’s done a great job working with me. She also suggested I try Duke’s mayonnaise which she claims is the best on the planet. So, when my tomatoes come in within the next few weeks, I’ll give it a try on my BLTs. Had she delayed my pickup a few weeks I could have brought her some fresh tomatoes from my garden.

After I tried out the chair and took a few swings around the gym, I deemed it a success and I was ready to depart. Ashley had a nice intern working with her and she was sweet enough to follow me out to the GOCmobile and help me get both my old and new chair in it.

I love Augusta! It’s still a southern city, unlike Atlanta. I can go days in Atlanta without hearing a southern accent. That’s because so many people have moved her from other places. Back when I still worked at IBM in education, almost all of the people who worked with me had moved from other places. Pretty much the only people from Atlanta were those people in administration.

When I got back to GOC Central the temp had gotten back down to the 90’s. Atlanta is usually cooler than Augusta with less humidity. Hit rush hour traffic but it was still early so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. One of the nicest things about retirement is not having to fight Atlanta traffic twice a day.