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JUlY 2004 She likes a slow pace, loves adventures, is softâ€" spoken, a non-smoker and doesn‘t drink much but can entertain a party of five without a problem. She has a shiny complexion, stands about 6 1/2 feet tall. has black shoes and will never say no to cranking up a good tune. "Wilda" for short but only on the days that she is behaving,"Wilda-beast" on the days that she is not. Ladies and gentlemen... boys and girls... let me introduce to you my new van. Wilda came from a small-town in eastern Québec and was delivered to me here in Toronto by a not so typical car salesman named Mike and his sidekick Frank roughly one month ago. Mike is also quadriplegic but has slightly more mobility in his wrists and arms which allows him to drive using fairly basic control adaptations. With Mike driving his own van and Frank driving mine they pulled into my driveway like a couple of speedy delivery couriers. They swiftly pulled into the visitors' lot and enthusiastically started presenting the ins and outs of Wilda After a signature session and some deal-sealing handshakes the flying Frenchmen were back on the road. Unlike some of the other vans that l have tried my van has a very functional folding ramp made out of aluminum. a much sturdier and user-friendly system than the old stack of scrap wood. The ramp can be folded down automatically once the passenger's side sliding door has been opened. As a luxury feature the ramp can be made less steep by hydraulically lowering the rear suspension. by Luke Anderson My cont'ortionist career is over because the floor of the van has been dropped 12 inches which creates all kinds of headroom. Once inside the van I make a tight right turn and park myself where a passenger seat would normally be. A plate mounted on the bottom of the van floor grabs a bolt that is fixed to the bottom of my chair and automatically locks me in place. No broken photocopiers or piles of crusty old coffee cups. this van is clean. The last ingredient to an enjoyable outing is a buddy. preferably licensed, insured and sober. to perform the piloting duties. Apparently Wilda could be outfitted with all of the electronics necessary for me to be able to drive her. For a mere $80,000, special adaptations such as electronic steering, brake and throttle control as well as voice recognition features for wipers, lights and temperature controls could be installed. Being the French lady that she is i am guessing an extra translator feature would also have to be included! For the time being it looks like adventures will be had with at least a threesome (including Wilda) and maybe in a few‘years time and a couple of French courses I will be piloting a van all by myself. It is so amazing to have some spontaneity back in my life. I still try to use the.transit system as much as I can and on warm sunny days you would be surprised how far my chair can go. especially in fourth gear and on a soy protein diet! However there is little that beats being able to call up a friend on a whim and hit the road out of the city. imam Emmmw mum m .memm Listings Needed” Market Extremely Ham Call today for a FREE PROPERTY EVALUATION. A musical evening, set for Wednesday, lune 30 at Stouffville United Church, will open the 2004 Whitchurch-Stduffville Strawberry Festival. Musical evening will kick-off Stouffville’s Strawberry Festival The concert, schedul- ed for 8 p.m., will include the Men of Note, a 35- voice choir; the Men of Note quartet; soloist Susan Brown and a ladies' trio comprising Wanda Stride. Sharon Baxter and Kathi ’5 Phillips. Also featured will be the Presentation of M the annual Music Town, Ontario. award to this year‘s winner, Wayne Hill, founder and president of the York- Durham Academy for the Performing Arts. Mr. Hill. former music department head at Milliken Mills and Markville High Schools, retired from teaching two years ago and moved to Stouffville. YDAPK pro- ductions have included "WHITCHURCH-SLQQEVILLEMEMONIH" - loseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamwaf‘ Oliver, The Wizard of Oz Chorus Une, Charlie Brown and Peter Pan. Wanda Stride. "last year’s award recipient. will make the presentation. Those who have been similarly honoured are Lorne Boadway and Jim Rehill, I99]; Clarion Baker and lean Hammond. I992; Alma Oldham and 1 The Wright Boyd, 1995; Lawnie Wall-ace. I996; lean Thomas, I997; Kathi Phillips. I998; Don's Harvey, 1999; Ann Gage. 2000; Gary Burke and Vince Parry. 200i; David and Sharon Baxter, 2002. V ‘ Stouffer and lulia Topping, x I994; David The evening's free-will offering will go to the Music Scholarship Fund. Donations will also be received for the Whitchurch-Stouffville Food Bank. "1‘6 m in». Will mum 16 (3th SM SWIM"! 925..” Family, 1993;