A Costa Mesa regular

Deirdre Newman

Bruce Wylie’s face is a familiar fixture in Costa Mesa.

On any given day, you can find him hanging out in his wheelchair

at his favorite spots like the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Bay

Street or 19th Street and Newport Boulevard.

Wylie -- who has spina bifida, an often paralyzing spinal

condition -- said he enjoys sitting on the corner, watching the

people and cars whiz by. He just wishes people would acknowledge him

every once in a while.

“People walk by me and won’t even talk to me, I think they’re

afraid or feel sorry for me, “ Wylie said. “I don’t feel sorry for

myself. This is me.”

Wylie, 44, was born with the condition and has lost the use of his

legs. His parents moved from Southern Illinois to Santa Ana when he

was 4 so he could attend a school for disabled children.

Wylie started using a wheelchair when he was 18 and started

wheelchair racing in 1989. He competed in the Long Beach Marathon six

times. He then became inspired to try the Los Angeles Marathon after

seeing it on TV.

“The marathon was on TV and my mom came in my room and showed me

how it was going and I said, ‘I can do that’ and did it seven times,”

Wylie said proudly.

In 1997, he came in 55th in the wheelchair division, finishing in

two hours, 23 minutes and 19 seconds.

Wylie said he used to practice three times a week, rolling from

Newport Beach to the Huntington Pier and back -- a 30-mile trek

round-trip. Once he pushed himself all the way to Long Beach and

back.

The wear and tear on his shoulders eventually took its toll,

though, and Wylie tore his right rotator cuff while he was practicing

in 1996. He had the option of repairing it with surgery, but opted

against it because the doctors told him he would run the risk of

re-injuring it.

So he lives with the pain on a daily basis.

“Sometimes it’s a lot, sometimes it’s a little,” Wylie said. “It’s

like a headache in my shoulder. Some days it’s like a migraine.”

After he hurt his shoulder, he also started suffering from

arthritis.

To ease the pain and prevent more tearing, Wylie’s doctor

recommended he switch to an electric wheelchair. But Wylie’s

independent spirit prevailed, as did his need for speed.

“I just don’t give up,” Wylie said. “An electric wheelchair is too

slow for me.”

Wylie has worked in the past. He did a stint renting out movies at

a record store but said he was laid off because he was computer

illiterate. Since then, he said he has been afraid to apply for

another job.

But he says he has no desire to learn computer skills, he’s a

people person.

“I like people, but people don’t like me too much,” Wylie said.

Wylie said he doesn’t participate much in any support groups for

paraplegics because he is totally accepting of his condition.

“I’ve met a lot of people who have had motorcycle accidents,”

Wylie said. “They have this chip on their shoulders. I handle it

better than most people who have walked before.”

Wylie said he is content to live his life the way he sees fit --

watching the steady stream of traffic as people flit back and forth

absorbed in their daily routine.

“I like the way I am,” Wylie said. “It doesn’t bother me a bit.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.