[Blindtlk] Cool news during Christmas

[Mark Tardif]

Oh, that sounds wonderful!  I think you gave yourself a nice Christmas gift 
this year.  Big parking lots can be intimidating, that's for sure.  If I 
move to another area, I too do not wait for a mobility instructor before 
exploring the area.  If I did that, I might be trapped in the house for 
weeks.  But I've had some adventures doing that, too.  When we moved to 
Florida in April, 2007, I knew I would have to get more climate-friendly 
clothes, as it was already very hot.  So I got some directions from our 
property manager and walked up to Bell's, a clothing outlet in Florida which 
sells clothing at discount rates.  When I left the store is when the 
adventure really began.  First of all, foolish man that I was, I was not 
wearing sun screen and the top of my head got scorched.  That subtropical 
Florida sun is not terribly forgiving.  I had no clue about landmarks and 
was asking people where my particular apartment complex was, and nobody, and 
I do mean nobody, knew.  This had capped off a very frustrating week, and in 
desperation I called my girlfriend who was home and asked her to call the 
local police so they could find me.  The police were worse than useless, 
asking her what I, a blind man, was doing walking by myself on the street. 
It could have been an opportunity for education, I suppose.  Finally, I 
literally stumbled into my complex and there was the property manager 
outside ready to greet me.  Obviously it got much better as time went on, 
but when I got home that time I said to my girlfriend, "Let's take a cab and 
go out to eat, I'm finished with adventures for today."  But it was worth 
it, because I found landmarks and never had that problem again on that 
street.



Mark Tardif
Nuclear arms will not hold you.
-----Original Message----- 
From: Tom Cramer via blindtlk
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2014 2:14 PM
To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Blindtlk] Cool news during Christmas

Hello.

I wanted to write the list to let you know about something cool that
happened Christmas eve!  It goes back to a conversation we had on the
list a few weeks ago when I was asking about canes and independent
mobility.

I needed to buy a final gift for a family member and Amazon told me
they wouldn't deliver till after Christmas.  Since it was a CD I
figured that some nearby stores would have it.  My parents were
working and I didn't have much in the way of quick transportation and
would have to take a taxi or something to get the CD, and the more
stores I called the less luck I had.
I finally got one store that had it but it was on a different side of
town.  I figured I'd put my travel skills to use, and I called to find
out what buses I'd need to get to that store.  Turns out that if I
took onebus, it would turn into a different number at some point and
literally take me a couple of blocks from where I needed to go.  Why
not?  I needed to practice doing this anyway.

With cane in hand I found my way to the us stop and took the bus to
where I needed to go.  I walked the way I was directed and did get
slightly confused, but someone helped me out. He even made sure I
crossed a pretty long street.  I continued asking people along the way
when I needed clarification and found the music store.  I went in and
they had the CD waiting for me.  I even got another one for me.

Before  I left I asked about how to get out of that weird parking lot,
and following the directions they gave me I made my way back to the
street and sidewalk and back to the bus.  I did worry a little bit
because I thought I had missed the stop due to walking a long time and
not exactly knowing where the stop was.  As I began to second guess
myself, I found the gus shelter and asked a passer by if I was where I
needed to be.  About ten minutes later the bus came.

I was home before the rest of my family came back from work.

When I told my family, they were surprised.  I'm on my way to being a
better traveler!  I need to practice a lot and not just wait for o&m
instructors to come every once in a while.
My mom and sister are still apprehensive.
That was the coolest Christmas I gave someone this year.
Tom

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