[Ohio-Talk] Some Thoughts and a Song

[Smith, JW]

Dear NFB of Ohio Family, Friends, and Colleagues,
It is so good to hear voices and to interact with people in our building again! You don't know how much you miss something  like that until you do.
I got lost today, which is hard to do in Athens, but I want to share my experience with you. I took a two block walk to a destination that I have visited many times and on the way back I created one of the most common mistakes that some of us blind, and visually impaired, travelers tend to make. As I attempted to cross one of the busier streets in Athens, I let my mind wonder a bit and I ended up on the wrong corner. I continued to walk the wrong way until my senses  kicked in as well as my travel and mobility instincts took over and I noticed that there was two-way traffic on my right, and that should not have been the case. Thankfully, it is a nice day, in terms of weather in January in Ohio, so after wandering around a bit I decided to get serious about finding my way back to my office. I started retracing my steps and I started  listening for a voice or landmark that might give me the answers I sought. A young man said "Hello" to me and I took the opportunity to ask him which way was the particular street I was looking for. He told me and within seconds I was on my way. I just wanted to share this with you to assure some of you that this could, and possibly has, happened to many of us; even those of us that have been traveling independently for many years. The moral of this story is, maintain your concentration no matter how familiar your route - and trust your travel and mobility training and skills. Finally, I had the opportunity to record a video of me singing my version of "America" for a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration held at one of our regional campuses on January 25th. I have shared the audio version of this with you in the past but if you're interested in this recent video version, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioG0RqnxQMA&feature=youtu.be.
Have a great day and a great week!


jw