Never Walked In High Heels

              I don’t think anything in the city of London can cause more mayhem than the Tube being partly suspended. Unless, of course the ENTIRE SYSTEM has been suspended due to an employee strike.  

              I don’t exactly know why the employees are on strike. I just know because there have been signs announcing the exact dates of the strike posted everywhere for the past month. By the time this article is posted, the strike will be over regardless of if any negotiations have been reached. For weeks, cycling shops have had ads running that read “beat the strike… buy a bike!” Now if I were planning an act of civil disobedience, this wouldn’t be the effect I was going for. 

              Everyone knew it was coming. 

              And even though everyone knew it was coming nobody did anything about it. The streets have been filled with people glued to their London A-Z more closely than American tourists in high summer. Suddenly the truth comes out. Nobody knows how to get around their city above ground. Given that the Underground may as well not exist for those of us in wheelchairs, it is particularly frustrating. I’m now the directional expert and Londoners are begging me to tell them which way to Oxford Street and Big Ben because they’ve never seen this part of London above ground. I feel like I’ve acquired native status. 

              And still, with over one month’s notice, nobody dared to look on a map how to get home. They just waited for these 48 hours to pass muddling through on buses or in cars. Some friends stop me and say “I can’t believe you’re on the streets fighting this everyday. Being underground is loads easier.” 

              I bit my tongue to keep from saying, “its much faster when you lot aren’t up here clogging up the works by standing around befuddled by the map.” 

              On my way home I got on the ferry where I was greeted with nothing but smiles and even a few empty seats. I asked the captain why he was so happy. 

              “This is better than Christmas! We’ve sold more tickets these two days than we sell in a month. Its been crazy at the docks, but we were prepared.”