Does One Need Glottal Stops for Drain Repair?

I was watching a samurai film last night, the name of which I can’t remember…something in Japanese, and I’m not good with foreign languages. I think it translated to something like No-Tongue Warrior. Anyway, it was about a roaming samurai who travelled the land in search of justice, and he was a mighty warrior despite one fatal flaw: he couldn’t taste anything. His taste buds…did not work. And yet, his swordsmanship was unparalleled.

It made me think about life in general, jobs and such, and how we discriminate against people who can’t do things. Like, why shouldn’t we allow blind people to play Olympic tennis? Why can’t people born without taste buds be beer tasters, or dead people be DJs? I work for the city council, and there used to be a fellow in Melbourne who did boundary trap replacement, despite having a speech impediment that meant that ‘sh’ sounds were difficult for him to pronounce. His courage in the face of adversity was inspiring, even though I can’t imagine the discrimination he must’ve faced in his job. Just think of all the people who turned him away, just for being different! Think of all the drain replacement bosses who would’ve refused to hire him because of his disability. And yet he forged on and made a career for himself, because he was just that good at boundary replacement.

It’s an inspiring story that shows you can overcome any obstacle with a bit of hard work and determination. Or rather, a LOT. The ‘sh’ sound comes up a lot in the English language if you really think about it, so I can’t imagine living life like that, trying to be a faithful drain unblocking person. Just think of all the people in similar situations who deserve an award-winning biography, or a made-for-TV movie about their struggles. Maybe someday, things will be better. The Melbourne drain repair industry was good enough to hire this poor man…perhaps they can be an example to the rest of us.

-Marissa