The Dying Battery

"Your battery checks out fine*.  There is nothing wrong with it.  It must be the brake."  I'd been hearing that since before Maui** even though I had noticed a significant power loss in places where it never happened before. But I figured the manufacturer knew best, so I ignored my nagging unease, got a new brake mechanism and scooted with caution.  The scooter store, Maui, and Central Oregon have something in common—flat terrain and no scooter challenge.  Typical of Western Oregon, Lake Oswego is nothing but hills.

It was the weekend of Earl and Jason's annual three day bicycle adventure.  It was a good opportunity for me to visit with a long time girlfriend—fun for everyone.  I thought a local attraction to share with my out-of-town guest was Lake Oswego's Farmers' Market.  I could scoot downtown, meet up with her there, browse the market, eat breakfast and scoot back.  Although I was working with diminished battery power, I maintained a full charge and had someone available to call if necessary.
After eating pastries overlooking the lake, I headed home on Skeeter and my friend drove back to my house in her car.  It had been two years since I had been stranded without power.  Even so, I chose the less steep route and the route most conducive to being rescued.
The Less Steep route
Too steep
  About a mile from home, Skeeter gave it up on a hill and stopped dead.

I think I can...
I thought, "Don't panic, Tam.  Just power down, rest a bit and she'll start up again."  But nope, Skeeter was not moving.  Fortunately, I had peed before leaving downtown, so I didn't have a full bladder to deal with. Texting my friend that I was stuck and she needed to stand by for a potential SOS, allowed me to relax a bit.  With only a couple of hills left, I was so close to being out of the woods.
Home (eventually)!
Even though it felt like deja vu***, I wasn't yet ready to 'holler uncle'.  Still, sitting stationary on a mobility scooter by the side of the road does look pretty pathetic.  This time, a couple out for a jog stopped, gave me a little push, providing just the boost I needed.  Texting my friend again that I was on my way and she could stay put, I slowly scooted the rest of the way to the house.  She had been tracking me with Find My Friends (there's an app for that) and was relieved to see me (or my blinking dot) moving again in a homeward direction.

No matter what the people at the scooter store said, my days of going downtown on this battery were over.  I thought I was used to some people deciding my physical disability was also cognitive and could take the perspective in stride.  Obviously not, as my inner Elphaba**** emerged.  "Batteries usually last 12 to 18 months", the scooter store woman said.  My battery was close to its second anniversary.
"Really? Is there some reason no one mentioned that to me a month ago?" I said.  To make a long story short, Earl held me back and we got a new battery.  Like night and day, the new one is zippier with loads of power on the hills.  I'm back.



The lesson:  Trust me, I know when Skeeter's battery is dying.


 * Previous post–Battery Hygiene
** Previous post–Skeeter's Rival
***Previous post–Out of Power

 ****Elphaba is a fictional character in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway adaptation, Wicked. In the original L. Frank Baum book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is unnamed and little is explained about her life. Elphaba is modeled after the Witch portrayed by Margaret Hamilton in the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz: Green-skinned, clad entirely in black, and wearing a tall peaked hat. Maguire formulated the name "Elphaba" out of L. Frank Baum's name, taking the phonetic pronunciation of his initials: hence, L.F.B became El-pha-ba.
 

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