Remember that time I was going backpacking in Europe and
promised to keep a blog for those keen on following my adventures (hi mom)?
Well, now that I’m roughly 2 weeks into it, I figured it was high time to get
the ole ball rolling. In the coming posts, I will include plenty of pictures for the TL;DR types.
For the rest of you, while photos may be worth 1,000 words, you know I’ve
always leaned pretty heavily on words themselves, so you know what to expect…
This story begins at the beginning, as so many stories do.
The beginning in this case, being my arrival at the Ottawa International
airport, and the subsequent 36 hours spent in transit. Truthfully, there’s not
much of interest to report on during the first 15 or so hours, other than a
mostly sleepless night during a painfully long layover spent on a padded bench
in the Asian airlines section of the Toronto airport. This was of course
followed by a 13-hour layover in Newfoundland with ZERO WiFi and no cell
services (not the norm, as I’m given to understand, just a temporary problem).
Do you know how long 13 hours is without the Interwebs to keep you company or
to access scores of useless information and entertainment? I mean, I love
reading, but even I can only manage to stay engaged for so many hours,
especially when I’m tired and headachy.
In any case, at least St. John’s had a little excitement to
offer. In addition to seeing a member of Canadian band the Great Big Sea try
(unsuccessfully) to slip out of the airport incognito, I had the fortune of
witnessing the fandamonium that surrounded one young man in a wheelchair.
Through the rumblings of the crowd, I was able to ascertain that it was Liam
Hickey, a wheelchair basketball player en route to the Paralympic Games in Rio,
and something of a local athletic star. I was moved by the building crowd
gathering round him, giving him a hero’s send off, and the strangers running
over to take pictures with him. In particular, a youth soccer team, returning
from a tournament abroad was keen to be photographed with Liam. Hearing them
speak to and about him, it occurred to me that for them he wasn’t just some
source of inspiration porn for overcoming obstacles (amputated leg)—a tendency
that is all too common when we are faced with individuals with disabilities.
Rather, they respect and admire him because he is an elite athlete, about to
represent Canada on the world stage. It made me wish that we were all a little
better at seeing people first, rather than their disabilities.
Anyhow, by the time I boarded the flight bound for London I was exhausted and more than ready to go. I could tell the toddlers on my flight felt the same way, by the increasing frequency and intensity of their squeals and cries. I honestly wished it were socially acceptable for me to do the same. Fortunately, I was afforded a few hours of fitful sleep before we touched down in London, and the adventure could truly begin…
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