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At a high school prom in Worcester County, England, which was held after being postponed several times due to the pandemic, a 15-year-old girl arrived not in the usual limo, but with an escort of nearly 300 hundred bikers.
Felicity Warburton has dyslexia and Asperger’s syndrome and has been mercilessly bullied since she was 7 years-old. According to Daily Record, the harassment had become so overwhelming recently that Felicity was even contemplating suicide.
Her mother sent out an SOS on Facebook in August, asking the WAC Motorcycle Club to help her daughter enjoy her party and put insults and teasing to rest once and for all. Her appeal reads, in part:
I am after a bit of a favour… my daughter currently goes to school – Blessed Edward is in Worcester – but has been bullied from her very first day of primary school all the way through into her last weeks of high school.
My daughter Felicity is 15 and has dyslexia and she is currently being diagnosed with Asperger’s so she finds making friends incredibly difficult.
The one thing she has excelled in is judo and is a world adaptive silver medallist for her age and weight.
Felicity has been looking forward to her prom as she feels that this will be the point where she can show them (the bully’s) that they can’t hurt her anymore.
They have been bullying her so much she is even contemplated suicide in the past year, so I really want her prom to be everything she wants and needs it to be.
This is where I’m hoping you guys can help me I am looking for an Escort of bikes to accompany her to her prom at the Worcester Warriors on Tuesday 7th of September.
Her appeal met with an enthusiastic response. One comment on a post about the event said, “Looking forward to it, making a young lady feel supported, and letting the bullies know they are wrong. My Son had similar issues at school during his first couple of years. He will be my pillion tonight as he wants to show his support. Happy Prom night Felicity!”
Many other people expressed support and sympathy as well, some sharing their own stories of overcoming bullying in their youth.
Two wings… or two wheels?
Apparently, angels don’t always have two wings — sometimes they have two wheels.
Felicity’s parents couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw nearly 300 bikers arriving for their daughter from all over England. Felicity’s father, Rich Morrish, told Worcester News, “We were only expecting about 10 or so people, and there were already about 50 bikes, and then they just kept on coming batch by batch to the point that they were all lined up on the grass verge, it was mind-blowing.”
Speaking to Daily Record, he added, “There were so many bikers you couldn’t even see Felicity in the middle of them all.” So, Felicity and her best friend Emily arrived at their destination on a trike (three-wheeled motorcycle) after riding the five miles between the girl’s home and the school with an impressive procession that took thirty minutes to reach its destination.
Their presence had the desired effect on Felicity’s self-confidence. Her father said, “To see her light up like a Christmas tree was absolutely fantastic… When you’ve got someone crunching you down time and time again, you don’t see any good in yourself.”
Every so often we have to let ourselves be overwhelmed by beauty, by friendship, by the gratuitousness of gestures from strangers who ride up on our street just to remind us how valuable we are. Sometimes, like Felicity, we need that kind of over-the-top display that reminds us that life is abundantly wonderful.
And today we celebrate...