Is this my World?
What a question to ask, I can hear many of you asking yourselves. Is he finally one of the world’s nutcases? Could well be you know. I have one or two problems that I have noticed since the age of sixty. When I was a lot younger I stood back to allow the Ladies to get on and off the busses or trains. Now I am eighty five I find that even with my walking stick I have to fight my way onto public transport. No it is not just the young people all seem to be in one mad rush to get somewhere and are not fussy how they manage to get on board the transport as long as they get to where they want to go. Do not believe me. Beg borrow or steal a walking stick and try to get on a bus or other means of public transport. We so called invalids do not use walking sticks because we like the look of them they are for us not pretty models to give us a heave up in life. No they are one means of us getting to one place or the other without falling flat on our faces. One is not expected to give up one’s seat for an invalid but it would be nice to have an offer. I myself have for the last thirty five years the illness of Parkinson’s disease. One does not see the shaking or the stiffness in my joints the pain running up and down my spine. Nor does one see the amount of tablets that help to keep me going. Now my legs are becoming affected the pains the twinges are getting worse. The swing has gone from my step. I do not want to run and I have no ambition to win any kind of race. All I want is that when one sees me and the others with their walking sticks Please allow us a little time and space to get on board that bus or that train without making it a race to see who is first.
Cramps are also a small part of Parkinson’s I am not leaning against that wall to stop it from falling over. That wall has just saved me from a nasty fall. For those that do make room and time for us people that do not go around with a badge or some other markings saying that we are invalids, One big thank you some of us do have difficulties with speaking our voices are weak and many do not hear our thanks. Believe me most are more than grateful when we can get from A to B without it being a mad scramble. Thank you to for the seats that are offered one does not have to be old to be an invalid many are still children or quite young with all forms of illness Please keep your eyes open and act like human beings. It will stop people like me asking, Is This My World.
Is This My World:
I liked your prose here, and you have a very important and meaningfull point of view, about the disabled. People should keep in mind that illness cannot be helped, and maybe it's enough to suffer this - than also the general affray in life too. I think it might help older disabled people to have housing developments of their own, specifically designed and only for disabled people and with a variety of retail services and facilities. In the meantime I as a walking stick user have decided to not use the public transport during busy rush hour times. Your prose here makes the reader stop and think what to do about these problems and with better manners life, would be ever so much improved.
http://www.postpoems.org/authours/a.griffiths57