The Adventures of the Runaway Wheelchair: Into the Atmosphere (Paperback or Softback)

Although handicapped, young Mikey is optimistic and never sees his condition as an obstacle in life. He always looks on the bright side and is always curious, so when he starts learning about global warming in school, he's fascinated. He had no idea the environment was so fragile, so he decides to use his smarts and his imagination to find a way to help.

Mikey and his friends investigate real science, beginning with the atmosphere, and soon learn how humans can negatively impact the Earth. Instead of harming Earth, Mikey thinks we should live in harmony by being mindful of the choices we make and living symbiotically with the environment while brainstorming new ways of thinking about conservation.

The intention of Adventures of the Runaway Wheelchair is to spread scientific awareness in an entertaining way. For many young students, learning science is tedious and boring. Using a mix of whimsy, comedy, and fantasy adds an entertaining balance between fact and fiction. We all must learn the importance of our world and that it could be in grave danger unless we change present behaviors to alter the future.

Born (1949) and raised in the Bronx, N.Y.. Received a B.S. degree in science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in N.Y.C.. After graduation, I was employed by the same college in 1971, in the science department, as a laboratory technician/adjunct lecturer in Natural Science and Forensic Science (Criminalistics). I worked in this capacity for over 12 years. I met my future (Patti) wife at the college, who worked at their business office. We became engaged in the spring of 1981. In the summer of 1982, (two days before our wedding day), I had a catastrophic car accident, that left me totally paralyzed from a spinal cord injury. I literally had turned in grades for the class I was teaching that summer to focus on wedding and vacation. My whole world was turned upside down, as the wedding had to be cancelled, with little hope for the future. My job was put on hold, as was a Master of Science degree I was just short of completing. After three operations and nine months of rehab, I was sent home, only to face a new life experience. Although, I improved physically, I have only regained 60 percent of my body.

Happily, I married Patti in 1985, (and I was able to walk her down the aisle with assistance), and we were blessed with a son in 1986, and daughter in 1989. Since I was too disabled to work at the college, I was a stay at home dad, and was lucky to see the children grow up from the very beginning. The children are grown now, and living their own lives.This has allowed Patti and I to follow other pursuits. For me, it immersed myself in storytelling. I wanted to bring all of my experience and talents to create a story that would motivate, educate and maybe make a difference. The debate for global warming is making headlines, and I hope to be part of that conservation. This story teaches real science through the eyes of a handicapped young adult, who has a huge imagination. Readers will learn about the world they live in, how civilization has negatively impacted it and what we need to do to remedy the situation. Many teens are turned off in science as it can be tedious and boring. My approach is to present science in a light and entertaining way, where the reader is sort of eating their vegetables without realizing that they really did eat them. I hope to have achieved that goal. Finally, I am in my senior years now, and wish this story to become my legacy that may be used by home-schooled kids, middle and high schoolers, and adults.