1. My Saturday dash through Walmart was running smoothly—until a broad‑shouldered stranger planted himself in front of my wheels.
2. “Hand it over,” he barked, jerking a thumb at my chair. “My wife’s exhausted.”
3. I smiled politely, explaining I’m not on a joyride—this chair is my only set of legs.
4. He scoffed, called me “too young to be crippled,” and accused me of faking for convenience.
5. Voices rose; carts squeaked to a halt. That’s when Miguel—the skinny associate with the walkie‑talkie—strode over like a referee.
6. “Sir, mobility aids belong to their users,” Miguel said, steady as granite. “They’re not shareable like shopping carts.”
7. The man huffed, pivoted to protest—and promptly tangled his feet in a pyramid of canned beans.
8. He face‑planted once, scrambled up, slipped again—twice the crash, double the symphony of rolling cans.
9. Shoppers gasped; a neon‑vested stocker sprinted with a “Wet Floor” sign.
10. Red‑faced, the man’s wife whispered an apology and tugged him away, leaving Miguel to calm the chaos.
11. “You okay, boss?” Miguel asked me, already radioing for cleanup.
12. I nodded; he grinned and slipped a coupon for a free box of cereal into my hand—“Management’s peace offering,” he winked.
13. At checkout, a curly‑haired girl tugged her mom’s sleeve, eyes wide at my chair’s joystick.
14. “It’s like a spaceship!” she breathed. I let her honk the horn; her giggle filled the lane like confetti.
15. Her wonder reminded me some people approach difference with curiosity, not contempt.
16. Rolling toward the doors, cereal balanced on my lap, I felt lighter than any canned‑bean avalanche could make me.
17. Yes, one loud bully tried to claim my wheels—but a kind employee, a laughing child, and gravity itself teamed up for swift justice.
18. The lesson? Stand firm, stay patient, and watch life handle the rest—sometimes with a slapstick twist worthy of aisle ten.
