[Blindtlk] Walking Straight Without a Shoreline

Sun Apr 27 22:17:31 UTC 2014

Oh, sounds like you'll do fine.  The more you do it, the easier it will get.

Judy

-----Original Message----- 
From: Brandon Olivares
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2014 3:34 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Walking Straight Without a Shoreline

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Before today, I had only gone twice, once with my mobility instructor, and 
once with my wife, and with her we practiced it a couple of times.

So today I decided to try it after church, because we needed a couple of 
small items. Getting up to the parking lot went perfectly. Crossing it didn’t 
go terribly, either. I followed the sound of traffic to my left, which is 
something my mobility instructor recommended, and some of you here said too. 
That worked, although the only confusion was when a car pulled into the lot. 
The only thing really that happened is that I hit a parked car’s tire with 
my cane, but then I adjusted my path and I was OK. I successfully got into 
the store and up to the service counter.

I live in a small town here so most people are very nice. I had some trouble 
finding the door and 2-3 people were trying to help out. :)

I think with some more practice I should do better. But I’m happy I was able 
to successfully get there.

Brandon
On Apr 27, 2014, at 4:11 PM, Anita Adkins <asadkins at frontier.com> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> First, my name is Anita, and I am fairly new to the list.
>
> I have taught some cane travel. Some of what I am going to say has already 
> been said. The sun and wind can be clues. For example, if the sun is to 
> your left when you start, it should stay on your left until you get there 
> if you are intending to walk straight. If the breeze is in your face, it 
> should stay there if you are walking straight. Of course, the same thing 
> works with slopes and the like. Any stationary sound clue should also 
> remain in its current direction, for example, sound traffic should stay on 
> your right if you started with it there. Traffic is a great assistant when 
> traveling straight because you can use the traffic direction as a clue, 
> but of course, other helpful sounds are useful too. Also practice is 
> wonderful. Also, learning to trust yourself is key. I can remember when I 
> first decided to see where I would end up if I decided to keep walking, 
> even though my every instinct told me to veer this way or that, hoping all 
> the while I would end up straight across from where I had started. And, 
> guess what? I stayed straight. Sometimes, we feel we are veering and we 
> decide to correct ourselves, when it isn't necessary. So practice this 
> skill in a very familiar area where you know it is okay to veer anyhow, 
> and then try it on this parking lot. You will find that in this case, it 
> is still probably okay to do some veering, but resisting the urge to go 
> with your instincts and correct your steps will probably keep you from 
> veering in the first place. Also, remember that the goal isn't getting 
> from landmark to landmark, but getting to the building. Buildings are 
> pretty big, and so even if you land somewhere farther to the left than you 
> intended, you are still highly likely to locate the building at which 
> point you can walk along the building to the door. Finally, it is 
> important to pick your feet up, walk with good posture and look in the 
> direction you intend to end up, even if you can't see. Learning to form a 
> mental map during travel will also help you keep on a straighter path. 
> Remember it is ok to make mistakes. That's how we learn, and once you 
> aren't afraid to make a mistake, you will make fewer mistakes anyhow. Know 
> that you may only need to use one of these techniques to get to your 
> destination, or you may use a combination of them. Good luck!
>
> Hope this helps. Anita
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Brandon Olivares
> Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2014 9:51 PM
> To: Lloyd Rasmussen ; Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Walking Straight Without a Shoreline
>
> Thank you for your reply.
>
> The parking lot is probably a couple hundred feet long. The only landmark 
> is a pole after you’ve crossed the street. After I hit the poll, I know I 
> have to turn 90° to the left. After that is the difficult part with the 
> wide open parking lot.
>
> There is a street to the left, with a good bit of traffic. I’d not say 
> constant, but at least every 5-10 seconds there is some traffic.
>
> Finding the building itself is easy. Once it gets close enough, I can…hear 
> it I guess, if that makes sense.
>
> All the cars are too the right, pretty far over I think as I’ve never run 
> into any of them.
>
> I think you’re right that it’s going to be impossible to stay within the 
> lines. It is good to recognize that I think. As long as I stay out of the 
> way of any cars coming into or out of the parking lot, I should be fine.
>
> Thanks,
> Brandon
> On Apr 26, 2014, at 8:50 PM, Lloyd Rasmussen <lras at sprynet.com> wrote:
>
>> There are a number of things you are not describing well enough for us to 
>> give you good advice.  Is the distance across the parking lot a hundred 
>> yards or 50 feet.  If 50 feet and the parking lot has a cement surface, 
>> you could tap your cane and get an echo from the grocery store building. 
>> How full or empty is the parking lot when you are crossing it?  In which 
>> direction are the rows of cars (and the little curbs that mark the center 
>> lines between two rows of cars (parallel to or perpendicular to the path 
>> you need?)  Does a street run parallel to the direction you need to 
>> travel, on your left or right, and does it have enough traffic for you to 
>> judge what direction it is running?  Are there sounds from your side of 
>> the grocery store (delivery trucks, shopping carts, outdoor P A system 
>> announcements, etc.)?  Can the slope of the ground or the direction of 
>> the sun give you any clues?  None of us is likely to walk within the 
>> lines in a large, open parking lot.  Instead, the objective is to find 
>> the grocery store, going from one landmark to the next to the next. 
>> Sometimes, when covering longer distances in open spaces, you will get a 
>> better understanding of the environment if you walk fast rather than 
>> slow. Travel is not necessarily easy, but it can be empowering when you 
>> can go out and do things on your own.  I have been using a long cane for 
>> 53 years and using my ears for outdoor travel for about 65.  Go for it!
>>
>>
>>
>> Lloyd Rasmussen, Kensington, MD
>> http://lras.home.sprynet.com
>> -----Original Message----- From: Brandon Olivares
>> Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2014 7:41 PM
>> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
>> Subject: [Blindtlk] Walking Straight Without a Shoreline
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I’ve been learning the route to our local grocery store. Most of it is 
>> easy, but the last part is somewhat difficult. After I cross the street, 
>> I turn left and have to walk through a parking lot for a while,then the 
>> building comes up. Once I’m to the building, it’s easy, but there are no 
>> distinct markings showing where to walk. There are painted lines on the 
>> ground, but nothing else.
>>
>> I didn’t know if anyone might have any ideas of how one might tackle 
>> something like this, or perhaps it is just a matter of practice. Any help 
>> would be appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Brandon
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindtlk mailing list
>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> blindtlk:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/programmer2188%40gmail.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> blindtlk mailing list
> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> blindtlk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/asadkins%40frontier.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> blindtlk mailing list
> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> blindtlk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/programmer2188%40gmail.com

_______________________________________________
blindtlk mailing list
blindtlk at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
blindtlk:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/jtj1%40cableone.net 