Today was a decent day despite the cold temperatures.

Bob went to his day program in his new wheelchair; and, I decided I should meet with the staff and demonstrate some of the features of his chair. My two main contacts that I usually communicate with were very overjoyed to see Bob in the chair. They were truly awestruck with the features I demonstrated. One of the most fantabulous moments was when Bob literally did a 360 degree turn in one spot. That single effort will help greatly in maneuvering into tight spaces such as the doctors office or getting into position on the bus. Another feature the staff was impressed with was the tie down slots to secure the chair during transport. The slots were specifically designed for such tasks as opposed to the previous chair by finding what could possibly considered a secure tie down point. All in all, the staff was pleased, Bob was thrilled to have such attention, and I was simply happy everybody was in good spirits.

The rest of the day was interesting as well. I had to complete and sign out my timecards; but, it was the drive back from dropping off the cards when I encountered the following descriptive:

I was at the final stop light before getting to the onramp to the freeway. I happened to look into my rearview mirror and saw a college aged female pull up behind me. She was leaning forward slightly straining against the shoulder strap of the seatbelt operating her cell phone. I did not think too much of the overall scene other than she did arrive rather fast behind me dividing her concentration to her cell phone and driving. The light changed to green and I proceeded and accelerated to the necessary speed for the onramp. This particular onramp slots the driver into lane 5 which also happens to be the lane oncoming trucks need to be in to exit so they can arrive to the truck weigh station. Sometimes ;especially during evening commuter traffic, vehicles both entering and exiting lane 5 can be rather tricky. Drivers both need to be aware of the entire situation, yet sometimes that is not always the case. I have no doubt there have been many close moments of a bad accident; but, to the best of my knowledge, there has not been an accident.

Anyway, I had accelerated on lane 5 yet there was not an opening for me to slide into lane 4. As I continued to accelerate, I did the necessary scan in my rearview mirror to make mental note of all the positions of the vehicles. I noted that a small cargo truck was trying to slot in behind me then realized that the girl from the intersection was matching me in speed and seemed either oblivious or not caring that a bigger vehicle than she was trying to exit. Instead of slowing down to give right away to the truck, she continued to block the driver's efforts. The driver had to slow down so the girl could continue to accelerate and the girl's response was to blast her horn then roll down the window and flip off the driver. She eventually slotted into lane 4 then continued to accelerate past me. I have read a great many times of how people are using cell phones while driving. I have heard the arguements regarding the topic. It seems most of the driving related accidents among teens and young adults has some significance of cell phone use. I can honestly say that I try to avoid using the cell phone while driving. I do not have anything so important to say to anybody that it can not wait until I stop driving or unless I am very confident of the situation to use the phone while in motion.

Well, it was an interesting day.