h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well said mini ode indeed...

My circumstances are different, that I got my first wheelchair when I was just 3 years old (a cute little grey and red indoor one for when I went to playschool), but I certainly know the feeling of how 'the piece of metal gets me through'

Before I got an outdoor wheelchair at the age of 5, I was restricted to a big buggy. The buggy was light, so it was easy for my parents to push around, and lift into the car, but I wasn't comfortable sitting in what was a deckchair on wheels, and I always had to ask for help, even if I wanted to move just 6 inches closer to something, as I had no control at all...

The wheelchair heart symbol is great - simple and effective. It's always a pleasure when I see it pop up on Facebook as I know someone who knows the founders of http://www.3elove.com/ I like the way this particular image looks like it has been carved into a pumpkin so it is glowing with the love

Thanks for sharing that, Sasha! Humans, the toolmakers: we have all manner of tools, don't we? We make them, and then they become part of our lives.

I spent most of my life automatically reaching for a pair of glasses on waking. It took a few more years to stop when I got implants... Now it's the hearing aids. Boy, am I grateful for a piece of electronics to stick in my ears. I'm beginning to feel the same way about the wooden walking stick by the door these days for when the 'back goes out again'.

Thinking about your cute wheelchair at 3 reminds me of my sister. She got her (very thick) glasses when she was not much more than 2. Years later, we came across a pair from that time when cleaning house. We all laughed, because they were so tiny....

Yes, I'm very grateful for the tools at our disposal these days that enable quality of life

Excellent about what is available for children, too - I can imagine your sister's tiny glasses These days there are good outdoor wheelchairs for children that are easy for adults to push as well as for the children to move themselves around, but I was glad of my little wheelchair that was just the right size for my friends to push so I could join in with the 'running round' games. I also enjoyed being free to move myself round the room so I could sit at the different tables to play word games and number games or do art. Thanks to the wheelchair I had an excellent time at playschool

My next wheelchair was more clunky and difficult for me to push, although it did go outdoors so I was grateful for not being stuck in the buggy. It was a revelation when I got a Bluebird chair, though - just by coincidence it fitted me perfectly so was much easier for me to push (not to mention being very stylish in grey and marbled blue). When I grew out of the Bluebird I got another large clunky one, so I didn't enjoy that after having experienced how good a wheelchair could be. It didn't take me long after that to discover the joys of properly fitted (albeit more expensive) wheelchairs so now I benefit from an easy to use chair combined with proper back support and pressure relieving cushion. So whether I'm on h2g2, at work, or exploring outside with my Ford Prefect notebook, my wheelchair gets me there

I like how there is a mixture of high and low tech - impressive that there is such a thing as implants, and hearing aids can be very sophisticated these days (although I wonder if you don't need them when you're on the Hammond and you turn the Leslie up to Four!). Then there's the trusty wooden stick, too

Speaking of mechanical things...I will take some pics of the bikes and trikes at this year's YBN rally. Some of the modifications devised to keep disabled riders riding are awe inspiring!

Oh yeah I saw a few trikes when I encountered the Wirral Egg Run a few years ago - awesome indeed, either with the wheelchair stowed on the back, or drive-from-wheelchair!

Oh yeah I saw a few trikes zooming past when I encountered the Wirral Egg Run a few years ago - awesome indeed, either with the wheelchair stowed on the back, or drive-from-wheelchair! I look forward to seeing pics

Yes, me too about the pictures! Awesome idea!

I don't seem to have much trouble with the hearing aids and the organ - though I seem to have a greater tolerance for it on 'very loud' than everybody else.... Beware a hearing-impaired organist.

On the other hand, at the Christmas party, my sister complained the organ was driving *her* hearing aids beserk. I finally figured out what was doing it, and turned off the Leslie, the vibrato, and the other warbly bits... We did a pipe organ/piano solo last year at the church. She warned the choir director, 'Now remember, both your pianist AND your organist are deaf. Send messengers with instructions.'

Mine's not a Hammond, alas. It's a 1978 Lowrey D325, though, which is pretty cool and has the Leslie built in. It's also small enough to fit in the house - I measured, and a full-size Hammond pedalboard would have blocked the kitchen doorway...

Bach moved to composing for organ when he became deaf. I wonder whether his compositions sound like he intended.... Fantasia e Fugue is one of my favourites, multilayered and bombastic.