I should be ashamed of myself!

Opening my car door the other day in the Capital Village here in the Shire, I heard a voice saying: "You should be ashamed of yourself."

Curiosity, being a natural function of cats meant I was compelled to turn round and see who the person was talking to.

"Yes! You!" was the triumphant exclamation that greeted my gaze! "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"What? What are you talking about?" was my extremely civil reply.

"You have no right to be parking in that space. It's illegal and I will report you to the police."

"Umm... I don't follow..." By now, I was almost on my last breath and was in no mood to listen any more to such a person.

I opened the door and fell into my seat gasping for air but ex-Sargeant Major Snodgrass wasn't letting up.

"These spaces are reserved for disabled people only, which means you are parking illegaly. You can not just 'borrow' a blue-badge permit so you can park anywhere you like, you know."

"But it's not borrowed, it's mine, so just go away and leave me alone." I muttered.

He wasn't believing, even on the photographic evidence, that it could be a genuine 'Blue Badge' and carried on. "What's wrong with you then? Doesn't look like much to me."

Well, being a giant of a cat, with a large mane, I can understand that I may not look disabled. Not on the outside, mostly. But inside is another story!

Hidden away in my chest is a chronically diseased lung and, in my head, a brain that suffers from an extreme and chronic neurological condition. I think that qualifies as quite severely disabled in fact. But on the outside my mask is secure and few know what lurks beneath my skin!

That was the point where my patience wore thin. But I kept cool, due to this being the [insert a number between 20th and 50th] time I've heard this!

Many, many years ago, I learned that one ought 'never judge a book by its cover', an expression that is so very true.

Society appears to be turning ever more 'suspicious', ever more distrustful; so much so that the distrust feels almost palpable these days.

Even in a comparatively tranquil and civilised place such as the Shire, it now appears that even my fellow 'not quite as able' types now distrust each other to this level.

I told him not to worry... "I'll get a wheelchair in a couple of years when I'm ready to give in. In the meantime I'll remember what you told me and you never know, you might get to read about it one day."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"That I should be ashamed of myself, of course."