[BlindTlk] [NFB-Talk] Strange Stuff

[Raul Gallegos - NAGDU]

Hello Mark. That’s a new one for sure.

On a different but slightly related note, I went on a cruise earlier this year.

Upon my re-entry back onboard the ship after indulging a nice and long day of sun and adult beverages, the security folks wanted to check my cane before letting me on the ship. I politely declined and told the nice security person that my cane posed no threat and that I could just walk through the gate and that I have done this many times. He was rather insistent, however. So, the compromise was to let me walk through, then they would check the cane anyway. Considering I was tired, and a little, well, happy, and I didn’t want my good mood to be ruined, I let the security folks check my cane after I walked through. Here is where the funny part comes in.

As I am standing in front of the nice security person while my cane is getting checked for contraband, he puts his hands under mine and tells me that it is all going to be okay, and I can just lean forward on him, and he will make sure I do not fall. I instantly figured out that he honestly thought my cane was for balance, not guiding. Instead of educating him further, I grabbed his hands and started dancing with him. We twirled around a few times, and as we danced, I educated him that my balance was better than fine, and that my cane made a great dance partner when my wife was not around and when my cane wasn’t doing its real job of guiding me.

In the end, it was a funny time, and hopefully, this nice security cruise ship person received a little education in a positive way.

 

--

Raul Gallegos

 

 

From: nFB-Talk <nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Mark Tardif via nFB-Talk
Sent: Friday, September 1, 2023 5:25 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Mark Tardif <markspark at roadrunner.com>; NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>; NFB Talk Mailing List <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [NFB-Talk] Strange Stuff

 

Alright, friends.  I’m going to tell you something that will either leave you laughing or crying, and it is to demonstrate that no matter how well educated you are, if you are not familiar with blindness, well, you can still come across as, to put it politely, not the brightest light in the room.  The other day I saw a doctor I had never met before.  He had never spoken with someone who was born blind, and I suspect he had never spoken with any blind person.  Anyway, he saw my long white cane and, get this, asked if this was my “eye stick.”  Yes, that was the term he actually used, “eye stick.”  I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to just moan with sadness, but one does need to remember manners in this situation, so I told him that we call it a long white cane and told him what it was for.  He actually asked a number of good questions about blindness, which I thought was good, but it was clear that he needed much educating.  He seemed surprised I can actually walk around town independently.  I guess we have a lot of work to do, still, to put it mildly.  Also, I must say that while people up here are often extremely nice and courteous, they seem to pride themselves on being quite insular, even more than the rest of Maine, which is my state incidentally.  I say that because along with the term “eye stick,” I’ve often heard some very strange and, frankly, primitive ideas that I won’t actually go into here, but I do often think that holds us back in a lot of ways.  Anyway, I just thought I would share that bit of strangeness.       

Mark Tardif 
Nuclear arms will not hold you.