<p>It's been three years since muscular dystrophy put 15-year-old Darius Weems in a wheelchair. Living in an apartment on the outskirts of town, where his wheelchair would fit only in his bedroom and the living room, Darius had nothing to look forward to.</p><p>He'd never left Georgia. Never seen the ocean. Would probably never get a car or a driver's license like his friends. His older brother, Mario, died of the same disease five years ago, at age 19.</p><p>Then Darius started watching the MTV automotive makeover show "Pimp My Ride" and he got an idea: If they could glam up old vans and beat-up cars, why not his wheelchair?</p><p>"I want to get some rims on it so the girls at school will be on me," Weems joked. He also wants a portable PlayStation 2 and a flat-screen TV mounted on his wheelchair, along with a flashy paint job instead of the gray-and-black scheme he rides on now.</p><p>It seemed like a crazy dream at first, but then a college student who volunteered at a summer camp with Weems thought, why not?</p><p>Logan Smalley, a 22-year-old special education student at the University of Georgia, went to high school with Mario Weems before he died and kept touch with Darius Weems after being his camp counselor.</p><p>Smalley and some friends called MTV and started raising money for the special RV they would need to take Weems and his mother, Jamie Robison, on a road trip to California. The students decided to film the trip for a documentary. They decorated dozens of clear plastic piggy banks to raise money in local coffee shops and gas stations. They sold Sno-Cones at a music festival. Suddenly everyone in this college town was talking about Darius' dream.</p><p>"The whole community's pumped up about it," said Daniel Epting, 26, one of the volunteers. "I was just at a funeral and afterward people were coming up to me asking how they could help."</p><p>The "Darius Goes West" project quickly raised about $8,000, though Smalley says they need more like $50,000 to make the three-week journey.</p><p>They haven't heard yet whether "Pimp My Ride" will do a show about Darius or whether they could afford to pay for the upgrades themselves.</p><p>Smalley is optimistic.</p><p>"They haven't said no," Smalley said, grinning. "They haven't said yes, but they haven't said no. It's Darius' dream to be on the show."</p><p>Beth Greenwald, senior director for series development at MTV, said producers weren't sure they would do a show about Darius, but would love to meet him and have him out to the shop.</p><p>"It's a great story. We're more than happy to have Darius come on down and meet the guys," she said.</p><p>If Darius' wheelchair never gets "pimped," volunteers said the trip will go on this summer, even if they can only afford to stay in campgrounds and eat hot dogs. Three weeks on the road would be the longest vacation ever taken by Darius and his mother.</p><p>"I've never had a break," his mother said, saying Disneyland is on top of her vacation wish list.</p><p>Dylan Wilson, a University of Georgia senior who will record the trip on camera, said the trip is more important than just getting on MTV.</p><p>"The movie is really just a way to celebrate Darius' life," Wilson said. "It's unfair that he's got this disease but we want to celebrate how far he's come."</p><p>Darius says he's life has been changed already. Kids at school have asked for his autograph. His picture was in the local paper. And he recently had a first date, a trip to the movies.</p><p>"Everyone's been asking me if I'm going to be on 'Pimp My Ride,'" he said, smiling. "I've just been enjoying it."</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cde844)</p>
