Shallow Me

I have been a gimp and a gimp advocate for almost 40 years! 40 years, that is a whole life time. I know of what I speak when it comes to disability issues and problems. Well, I have noticed a problem with in myself, I thought I had come to grips with long ago but obviously I have not.
Dianne and I went to Flight Plan yesterday. We worked hard in the morning cleaning out the garage and then rewarded ourselves by going out to the Free movie theater. When I say “free movie” I mean a real theater group in town which lets you and a partner into to watch any and as many movies as you want, anytime that you want. These are multiplexes; I tried to find out why the movie folks started this but could not get anyone in their organization to talk with me…I assume the letting people with disabilities AND their guests in free is some sort of penance, a court settlement or something. I would think if this were the case there would be something printed somewhere in the INTERNET or in the disability magazines. It was like a conspiracy. You would show up at the ticket window and the ticket person would slide the tickets to you and you guest very covertly—like you had a secret. Those days are over! Some one spilled the beans now every crip and their dog(literally are showing up at the movies! Remember the scene in “Invasion Body Snatchers” when they show these possessed folks just walking aimlessly round the city? It sort of like that except there are power wheelchairs from all direction converging on the movie theater. This is no kidding when we pulled into the parking lot I counted no less then five jazzy type power wheelchairs coming in from as many directions to the theater! There of course is no disabled parking left—but that’s ok—I can live with out disabled parking—in fact " disabled parking" is a whole another blog entry in and of it self. And, the sly covert scenario is gone. The ticket guy just whips out an ink stamp and stamps your guest’s hand. They’re letting gimps in like a Louisiana Levy in hurricane.

We have learned, if we get to the movie by the time the newspaper advertises the movie is due to start then we have to endure anywhere from 20-30 minutes previews. We have been coming even a bit later then the advertised time and done just fine. Something has changed, now gimps everywhere are coming, and coming early and taking all the gimp seating. It was bad enough when you had to throw a fat person out of one of the seats by a “cut-out” so your partner could sit next to you. (Really this id getting as ridiculous as disabled parking.) I swear yesterday there were crips in the all the designated seating, crips out of there chairs laying on the floor—in fact, I think they had jumped out of their chairs and stacked, or had someone stack their chairs in the seat cut outs for people in wheelchairs to seat next to their AB’s! It was like the scene from “Shrek” where all the fairy tale characters had taken over Shreks swamp.

There a couple of CP mumblers who came alive and bumbled to someone after every huge scene and to my rear left was at least one venerator maybe two—sounded like a Darth Vader Con. The worst part was me! I kept sliding further and further down in my chair hoping not to be noticed—I was not aware of this at first then I began realizing I was becoming self conscience—realizing I was a gimp like everyone else here which, I realized, was beginning to make me ill at ease. Was I so welling to go to a movie free I would go to the gimps parade. Truly this did not bother me when there was just me and a few other gimps on any given day but things they are a changing. Maybe this is another case “formula access” : if there are “X” amount of seats then there has to be “x” amount of designated parking or seating or what ever. So once the few set asides are gone then everyone is on their own. I guess I should be glad they have not just decided to just seat those with disabilities the theater has designated spaces forand turn the rest away.

Anyway, I having to rethink the whole “crips get in free trip” at least for me. However, I did notice that the price is now $8.00 a person!!! Maybe I should just shut up and get in line