A parade rolls with a purpose

When being dropped in hot water, the potato got soft, the egg became hard-boiled and grumpy, and the coffee bean, she said, changed the water.

"The coffee bean made a difference," she said. "I'm trying to be a coffee bean."

So, Redding, whose post-polio and myasthenia gravis condition sometimes limit her to a motorized wheelchair, organized an ad hoc group of wheelchair-using residents of the John Knox assisted-living complex on Thursday.

The team's mission? Navigate the 1.4 miles of city streets - including Second Avenue N - to Straub Park where a picnic and celebration awaited them. The goal, Redding said, was to show that a life of possibilities exists beyond the confines of a wheelchair.

Robert "Red" Damico, 69, got the message. He said that even though he gets out a lot, the Free to Roll team allowed him to see more of St. Petersburg.

"You can't keep me down," the Chicago native said. "I still like to rock 'n' roll."

Dorothy Blase, 77, was the team's only walker. Remarkably, she led the pack of motorized chairs for a good portion of the trek.

Blase has been at John Knox Apartments for nine years and said that when she walks downtown, it's usually solo. "It's nice to be with a group," she said.

Though the expedition began with apprehension and a few white knuckles, the team triumphantly traveled down Second Avenue N.

Redding credits countdown boxes at city crosswalks and places to recharge motorized scooters in city parks for making the voyage a bit less daunting.

"Those are just wonderful," she said. "They really help."

After triumphantly rolling into the park, participants were rewarded with gold ribbons emblazoned with the phrase "Free to Travel: I Made It. I Go Anywhere."

The team was entertained by teenage members of the Group Workcamps Foundation, a nationwide Christian mission intent on assisting people with spiritual growth.

Joshua Cantrelo, a 14-year-old volunteer from South Carolina, praised the John Knox staff for its hospitality.

"People here are nice," he said. "John Knox leaves a good impression."

Redding hopes the program will spread to more of John Knox's residents and eventually catch on in other assisted-living facilities.

"Today John Knox, tomorrow the world," she said.