The Midnight Warriors

In my hometown cars are parked everywhere: on pedestrian crossings, on pavements, on bus stops, in the middle of the road, in the narrowest of streets...On average, a family of four owns at least two cars and a motorbike. "Public transport? You must be kidding! The last time I took the bus I was half an hour late! I am not doing that again!" You can imagine the chaos that reigns in the city centre. Although I've lived abroad where people accept the fact that rules exist to be followed and not to be broken, I know I cannot expect people to be so enlightened in my hometown. Here the only rule you must abide by is "an eye for an eye". It's the survival of the fittest. So when you cannot get on the pavement because a car has parked where it shouldn't have, you must react. I started off lifting the windscreen wipers of all the cars that were in my way in sign of disapproval. In the beginning it was fun, I must admit, but soon I got tired of it. Two years of UWC and the "peace and international understanding" philosophy have borne fruits. I am a convinced pacifist and I see no point in getting in a bad mood because of a bunch of insensitive lazy people.  What goes around comes around, right? No, not for my parents, or, as I sometimes call them, the midnight warriors. Of the two, my mum is the feistiest. One you end up in her claws she won't let you go. I have witnessed a number of very embarrassing situations, including my mum having a rant at the police for not doing their job properly or walking up to people who had parked on a disabled parking lot without a permit and shouting:"Well, you don't look disabled to me!", to which my dad usually replies by rolling his eyes and turning to me: "Ah, women! I really don't get them, do you?" (forgetting that I am a woman myself!). My dad's reaction is much more discrete. For years now, he has been taking photos of anything which might make my life more difficult (from high pavements to inaccessible buses). He does it abroad too and often asks me to pose for him next to a fancy bus with a ramp or a nicely laid pavement. "We'll soon have enough material for an open letter, you'll see." The circle of warriors has been expanding faster and faster: every person I meet, every friend I make is a potential member of the club. I still remember a Halloween when all of my friends refused to enter a club because it had no wheelchair access (I was actually the only one who didn't really care how I got in, all I wanted was to dance!) or the time when a friend got into a big argument with a hostess who didn't want me to take the plane on my own because I was in a wheelchair. As for myself, I'll continue being a pacifist...at least until I get my own rugby wheelchair :) I'll write more about rugby in my next post. Have a great weekend, people!