Just got back from Vancouver.
I wanted to stay for the Gold Medal Hockey Game, but Canada is going to lose to Slovakia. Plus, they said they didn't have any tickets left. I asked if they had any tickets for Canadian heroes who may be in wheelchairs. They said they'd check.
Then they said no.
Sorry for not getting back to any of you sooner, I probably should have checked my e-mail while I was out West. I had like 120 messages waiting for me when I get back.
To kill multiple birds with one stone, yes that was me carrying the Olympic torch. Yes, I was at the Opening Ceremonies. Yes, I was in a wheelchair. No, I am not disabled.
But to be fair, they didn't ask me that. All I said was that I was in a wheelchair, which was true. I was IN a wheelchair.
I thought about getting up and doing a dance after my leg of the Torch relay was done and proclaiming that the spirit of the Olympics and all Canadians had healed me.
But then I thought that that would be disrespectful to all of our special Paralympic athletes and the handicapped community as a whole. Plus, I was strapped in there pretty good, so I just wheeled my way across the finish.
I won an essay writing contest to get to carry the torch. I wrote two essays, one with me in a wheelchair, and one with me as regular me. Guess which one won?
One Spoke At a Time : A Rope of Sand
by: Brent "Wheels" Wilson
My name is Brent Wilson. I am currently in a wheelchair. My whole life, my one sole dream has been to carry the Olympic torch and to get lots of attention. It's technically two sole dreams.
When my doctor told me "Brent, you may never walk again. You may technically be situated in a wheelchair in 2010 during the torch relay. You should quit on life and give up both your two sole dreams."
(Conversation may or may not have occurred in actuality.)
Well...that lit a fire inside me. That fire burns with the passion of a single torch. A single torch attached to a pole. A pole connected to my wheelchair since I would need both hands to wheel the chair. Wait, would I? Is pushing a wheelchair hard? Can I request that my relay leg is slightly downhill?
In summation, I'll show you Dr. Guy. I'll never give up and/or stop pushing for my DREAMS! CANADA! DETERMINATION! TECHNICALLY IN A WHEELCHAIR!
Heroically yours,
Wheels.
Here was my rejected submission.
Dear Olympic people,
I think I'm losing my hair. I could really use a pick-me-up.
Your pal,
Brent
