Joan: Miami, Florida, April 9, 2015

Because I am now paraplegic and the motorized ramp on my wheelchair van is broken and difficult to open manually, when I pull in to a gas station, many of them have placards on the pumps with phone numbers to call for those with disabilities to get assistance pumping gas. But this is not a sure thing. Often, either the number is wrong, or, there is the placard but no number, or, when someone picks up if there is only one person on call they cannot leave the register to come out. And I've been to a few places where they just flat out rudely refuse. But this one particular gas station in Aventura is in a class by itself. I have received assistance one hundred percent of the times I have gone there, without hesitation. Lately, Joan has been helping me and we speak with familiarity and friendship. She tells me how she walks four miles every morning. "That accounts for your smile and positive spirit!" I say and with which she agrees. Here, she catches me sneaking a photo of her in my rear view driver side window. "Did you get me'" she smiles. "I gotchya!" I say back "Is that okay'" "Of course." she smiles. Over the course of weeks in our brief gas fill-up encounters, we speak about life, family and the world. Today she confides about a problem at work, but I know that Joan will not let it get her down, and her daily therapy of walking will empower her to move through and rise above it.Robert@robertzuckerman.comwww.robertzuckerman.com -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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