[nfbmi-talk] Mobility and Snow

[Christine Boone]

Larry, 
This is a great point. Generally we plan our workshops for the summer because they happen at NFB National convention, or because the workshops are for beginning travel skills. If Doug were still here in Michigan this winter, you can be sure that we would be planning a travel workshop for this month some time. This is the first winter in a long time when the snow has stuck around continuously so we could have planned a date and been virtually assured of having some great snow cover and plenty of plowed up mountains to climb over at street corners. I will not ever forget my first really snowy winter in Nebraska, when the side sgtreets were curb deep in steep, icy ruts made by the tires and plowed snow mountins were so high on the corners that I literally had to climb over them using my hands as well as my feet just to get up one side and down the other. I was stunned that I would actually need to go through such acrobatics just to travel around. The other thing is that sighted people are forever grabbing us and teling us that it is really dangerous for us to be out walking in deep snow or in the road. Well the reality is that there truly is sometimes not a choice. No we are not thrilled about walking in these places, but short of staying home or finding enough money to pay for cabs everywhere, this is our only choice. It is getting really hard to travel on sidewalks now because, even if you are willing to walk on the unplowed snow, there are walls of snow between sidewalks and streets so it is difficult to hear the traffic on the other side of the snow wall.  I use my feet a lot, to feel for the paths that foot traffic has made where home owners and business people have not shoveled their walks. This helps a lot. It is really no longer a good idea to walk along the streets because the volume of snow has made them quite narrow. This means that the cars are nearly driving right up against the snow bnanks. Also the high snow piles at corners, driveways and walk ways make it very hard for drivers to see pedestrians. 

Adding to all of this, our temperatures have been so cold that it is difficult to stand outside waiting for a bus unless you are Really dressed for the weather. 

Rule #1 Dress Warmly- wear mittens or gloves, and wrap a scarf around your head and ears. It is easier to hear through a scarf than through a hat, and yet it will keep your ears warm. 

Rule #2. Use your feet to feel for packed down snow along paths where people have walked. 

Rule #3. When you reach a corner, you will need to make sure you are visible before crossing. Do not stand behind a plowed up mound of snow; Listen for where the cross walk will be and then climb over the snow so you can stand in a good place from which to start your crossing. 

And the most important rule of all: don't be a hero. If you can afford it, pay a friend, hire a cab. And don't beat up on yourself too much for not being a super ice traveller. 


Hope this helps. 

Warm Regards,
Christine
unsafe  

Boone Christine Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 10, 2014, at 9:25 AM, "Larry D. Keeler" <lkeeler at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> I find it interesting that most mobility workshops are planned for the spring or summer. These are great times to go for a walk and really comfortible for us to check things out. But, its a whole different ball game when the world is cold, snowy and icy. When your ears are bundled up in hats and your face is hidden in layers of clothing. I'm convinced that a whole different set of skills are needed. And, this year, even Atlanta has to deal with snow and ice! What are those blind southerners going to do! I would imagine that some of them haven't had the experience of a good Michigan winter like this one! 
> Intelligence is always claimed but rarely proven!
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