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• Follow Ty Summer, 2013
  

  In Remebrance

  Ross Plunkett

  The first time I meet Tyler was at a Ride for Sight, when they held it in Trenton. Tyler certainly made a lasting first impression on myself and many others . Tyler drove up in his wheel chair van, which remained parked for the rest of the weekend, as he had fabricated a wheel chair side car rig attached to an old dirt bike, which he buzzed around on, having a ball. You were not safe in the Port a Potties with Tyler around, as he rammed a few of them when occupied by a few of his friends, greatly startling the person inside, but fortunately never with enough force to splash the contents or knock over the Port a Potty. When Gord, one of the members of the Yahoo motorcycle club, went to the Port a Potty, Tyler changed tactics and rode his side car rig up and blocked the door and stayed there. When Gord tried to exit he could not open the door. Not knowing Tyler was the cause, Gord pounded on the door, and called for assistance, all the while Tyler stayed put quietly laughing away, with the rest of the Yahoo's watching and laughing from our camp sites. However when Gord finally got so frustrated he proceeded to bend out the top of the Port a Potty door to escape, Tyler wisely decided to vacate the area. For those of you who don't know Gord he is a tall heavy guy, with a long goatee and hair down to his waist, and looks like a guy you would not want to piss off, but fortunately for Tyler, Gord also has a good sense of humour, so there were no hard feelings.
  Later that same day Tyler was in his wheel chair on the paved roads going through the camping area. The local police were riding ATVs through the park to monitor for any safety issues but their frequency of scrutiny was excessively high and unwelcome. Tyler stealthily grabbed the back of one of these ATVs, as it drove by him. Holding on with only one hand Tyler was pulled in his wheelchair, through out the park, waving to all the campers as he zipped by. The campers started laughing and clapping their approval, and the police officers driving the ATV looked quite surprised and pleased by the very positive crowd reaction they appeared to be generating, being oblivious to Tyler's antics behind their ATV. Unfortunately one of the front wheels on Tyler's wheel chair dropped into a pot hole, causing the wheelchair to crash, and Tyler to spill out and skid down the pavement, generating multiple scrapes and cuts. Tyler's spill happened to occur close to the Yahoo camp sites, so his family, and friends rushed over, along with other concerned campers, who had observed the accident. Paramedics were on site, and also rushed over. By the time the paramedics arrived Tyler was surrounded by a crowd of concerned family, friends, and strangers. Tyler was then asked by the paramedics how badly he was hurt, and without missing a beat Tyler looked up and said " I can't feel my legs!". Much to the horror of the paramedics and strangers in the crowd, those of us who knew Tyler burst out laughing. Fortunately the injuries were superficial and I believe Tyler felt that that moment of humour was worth a little road rash. Tyler is not a guy you easily forget.