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Rebel in a Wheelchair Amidst the crazy antics over the years, John still maintains the calm demeanor he had when he broke his arm at three years old—unwavering even when he is at the height of an exciting story. Even if the tone in his voice is lighter and more vibrant, John’s composure remains fairly the same— hunched over, with a readiness to read a person’s body language and listen intently to what they’re saying. John doesn’t have any speech impediments but he is slow to speak. Some people get all riled up when telling a story, but not John Box. His appearance changes slightly and his face lights up, but he doesn’t talk exceedingly loud or fast. There is a certain lagging speed to what John says. *** Colours offers around seventeen different wheelchair models in total, with categories like Everyday, Sport, and Children’s and names like Shockblade, Spazz, and Tremor. One might wonder where these names come from. John claims they throw around names at Colours meetings and the names that garner the most enthusiasm are chosen. At the Colours headquarters in Norco, California, they manufacture and assemble the wheelchairs to custom-fit every buyer. If someone were to enter the warehouse part of the building they would see cubicle assigned for different tasks. Right in front of the doorway, colorful rolls of material and sewing machines make up the upholstery area; to the right of upholstery are rows and rows of all kinds tires, ranging in thickness and color: blue, yellow, red, black; and on the farthest right is the assembly and shipping area where the wheelchairs are put together and boxed for delivery. Directly in front of the assembly and shipping area is the welding section, where Mike is usually found with a black mask on and a torch in his hand, welding together pieces of lightweight yet sturdy aluminum rods for the frames of the wheelchairs. Before the wheelchairs are shipped out, they go through a rigorous checklist in the assembly area, consisting of multiple pages of measurements and diagrams that need to match up accordingly with each chair. All the parts of the chair are made in the U.S. A lot of businesses in the U.S. have started outsourcing to lower labor costs, but John does not import any parts, even if it means less profit for Colours. He is proud to have all the parts made in the U.S. *** John has a lot of sayings, but his most notorious line concerns people not in wheelchairs—the able-bodied community. John Box refers to able-bodied people as T.A.B.—temporarily able-bodied persons. People that can walk are “just waiting to be like us” John has said. It is just a matter of time before people end up in wheelchairs, whether that be through old age or accident. “You just never know,” John says commencing with an anecdote about a man who woke up one morning to find out he was paralyzed. Although this T.A.B. idea, which he calls “tab” for short, may seem a cynical viewpoint, to John it is his reality. It might lie more along the lines of dark humor, or it may be as a sign of his pragmatism, but either way John likes it and he’s sticking with it. So he hopes you see the wisdom or humor of it when he tells you about it. John enjoys himself often because he has a good sense of humor and he likes to think he’s funny. Although most times he indeed is funny, sometimes when he mistakenly thinks he’s funny he will start to develop this slow smile that creeps over his whole face. At the start, his mouth slowly opens and his teeth begin to show. Gradually his smile curves into an open grin —at this point his eyebrows are slightly raised and his eyes are glowing out from the yellow ring in the middle and into the light blue shades of the outer perimeter. He leaves his mouth open for awhile, to illustrate for the person he’s speaking with what a response is supposed to look like. That’s it…start with a smile and then open your mouth…a little more…a little more. Ok, perfect. Now laugh. And while this is going on you’re thinking to yourself What is he doing? Why won’t he close his mouth? Jeez, what a weird--Ohhhh ….I get it, he wants ME to laugh! His open mouth doesn’t laugh, but it waits for its audience to laugh. If the other person doesn’t conjure up the sound for a laugh, even a smile suffices for John. After all, John does need an indication that he was funny. At least give him the benefit of the doubt and smile for goodness’ sake. *** John recently received a ticket for not making a complete stop at the sign in his neighborhood in Norco. While driving one night to dinner at Claim Jumper’s, he recalls the event. He was totally “P. O.-ed” at the motorcycle cop for citing him just because he didn’t stop for a full three seconds at the stop sign. The police officer turned on his lights and John rolled down his window and awaited the “B.S.” he’s was about to get from the cop. The cop told John that he didn’t stop at the stop sign. He imitates his angry response to the cop: “Do you do that? Do you really expect me to believe that you stop like that at a stop sign?” John says, referring to the three-second rule at stop signs. Then John proceeds to mimic the policeman’s pompous reply: “Yes sir. I do.” John says. “That’s B.S.!” John says, snapping back into his own feelings of anger and hitting the steering wheel of his white Ford Excursion. Moments later, he calms down and says,
A few days after the incident, John saw the same policeman once again. The officer saw John and waved at him. John cringed on the inside. He had to settle a score. On the car ride back home from dinner, John starts to plot. He has a brilliant idea: He’ll go buy the cop donuts in the morning and then he’ll give him a business card and tell the policeman:
After all, the guy is on a motorcycle. John’s lazy smile registers triumph. *** John has lots of sayings; almost any conversation can yield some catch-phrase. He has a mental library full of phrases that he waits to drop on different occasions. And if it’s not a catch-phrase, John has the ability to make it feel philosophical—either way, it’s a conscious effort to grab intellectual brownie points. In the office his saying is, “if you want something done, ask a busy person.” To the able bodied it’s his T.A. B. theory. At dinner his saying is a question: “Eat to Live? Or Live to Eat?” He says Mary lives to eat. But he doesn’t try wild food combinations or daring side dishes. When out to eat, a baked potato and some ribs will do just fine. While wheeling himself out to the car after dinner John mentions that maybe to an Italian “Live to Eat” is more representative of who they are, but to him food is more of a basic necessity to survive. Then, he lifted himself into the driver’s side of the car and Mary came up behind and scooped up his empty wheelchair. She loaded it into the back of their SUV and got in the passenger’s side. ***
He doesn’t talk about weather (unless in relation to something else) and he doesn’t gossip. For the most part, there is one of two things going on: linear speech or a joke in the making. When going to eat lunch one grey afternoon at Islands, John wheels into his spot at the head of the long table on the outdoor patio. A waiter hands him a menu. John sets it down and looks up at the waiter:
Most people don’t tell the waiter their own names, or even bother to find out the waiter’s name. But John has this simple straightforwardness when speaking that comes out as a formulaic politeness. Part of keeping it simple is his straightforward attitude—even his jokes have linear qualities. I was sitting in his office one day discussing with him sayings and odd theories that I have. I was supposed to conduct an interview with him that day, so I had my three-by-five notebook out. I like smaller notebooks because they are easier to hold in the palm of my hand. He told me I needed a bigger notebook and then continued talking with me. At one point he cut me off and told me his impression of my theories:
After which he gave me a smile that slowly started to creep over his face. Yes, that one. Except this time it looked a little apologetic at the same time—like it’s funny, but I know I’m making fun of you. (conclusion on page 4) |
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