[stylist] cane technique in the snow?

Thu Dec 18 01:41:23 UTC 2008

okay,
shelley, now you have to tell, where was the snow in southern cal?
jc

Jim Canaday M.A.
Lawrence, KS

At 07:19 PM 12/17/2008, you wrote:
>Snow is closing down a very well travelled route here in southern 
>Cal, not close to me but it's been rainy and wet and commuting by 
>bus has been interesting, an accident this morning made us walk two 
>blocks in cold, wet rain and getting home was interesting a very 
>busy street crossing I had trouble telling the light change because 
>of the sounds, we had really chill hard wind, but here I am safe and 
>sound. In one particular area today the only mode of transport for 
>blind and sighted alike was the train. The train saved the day! That 
>just shows you that we don't like snow or rain around here it makes 
>everyone a little crazy. And cudos to the train.
>Shelley J. Alongi
>Your Lifelong Pampered Chef Consultant With Bells On!
>Home Office: (714)869-3207
>Start your holiday shopping now with great quality tools from the 
>pampered Chef
>http://www.pamperedchef.biz/shellbellskit
>
>**
>
>*
>To read essays on my journey through Metrolink 111 or other 
>interests click on 
>http://www.storymania.com/cgibin/sm2/smshowauthorbox.cgi?page=&author=AlongiSJ&alpha=A
>
>updated Dec 7, 2008
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
>To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 5:12 PM
>Subject: Re: [stylist] cane technique in the snow?
>
>
>>Thoughts on cane technique in the snow:
>>
>>The basic technique needed for snow travel is the same for non-snow travel:
>>arcing the cane a little wider than your body is always needed. Centering
>>the cane at the mid point is still relevant. The stride and ark coordination
>>of ... With the tap at the right, the left heel is coming down and next as
>>the right leg is coming forward the tip is now arcing to the left, with the
>>left tap comes the right heel striking the ground and on and on. But what is
>>different is that the snow is covering the surface we are traveling over and
>>so it impedes the arcing of the tip, and muffles the tap and changes the
>>feel under foot. And so each of us tends to find that special balance in
>>movement of the cane and body to still get the needed info we require to
>>travel on at speed and safety. So an arching of the cane can be "grosser" as
>>in higher, with more wrist and arm put into it. Then of course, to get a tap
>>that tells you something, the tap requires a much harder force and the
>>result is not so much a tap that will yield a sound that will travel out and
>>about to give echoes to go by, but may, if it successfully reaches down
>>through the thickness of the snow to the surface, it can tell you if it is
>>concrete or dirt or grass. And sure, if the snow is quite thick, the cane
>>wielder may use a modified "Grab and Stab" technique; grapping the handle of
>>the cane like you would an ice pick and were going to stab it down into a
>>bloc of ice, in this case of course, through the blanket of snow down to the
>>walk; this technique employs a lot of arm movement from left to right, for
>>going the general rule of keeping the cane/wrist centered.
>>
>>Then for what you encounter under foot- In general it is not to hard to
>>figure out if under the snow is either a once scooped walk or snow matted
>>grass. And if indeed you are traveling down a walk that once was scooped,
>>yet is now covered, there will be the "walls" of accumulated snow on either
>>side which have never been cleared and left to pile up. And yes, slants down
>>can be trickier to find, drop-offs too. And if you have piles of snow that
>>have been thrown up by snow-removal equipment, these obstructions can prove
>>to be puzzling; depending if they consist of frozen hard pack snow or
>>something you can kick your toes or heels into to gain purchase as you go
>>over them.
>>
>>A very good rule (one that is not only for snow travel), but keep a
>>conscious ear on your surroundings and use it to guide your direction. For
>>it is not uncommon to get so engrossed in the struggle to work through what
>>is immediate to our front, that we lose track of our place within the larger
>>picture. In fact, sometimes in snow travel, you may go for quite a distance
>>without having the opportunity to touch base with all the normal touch
>>points such as a good tap for echoes, or feel for drop-offs,  that we
>>normally rely upon, and so some travel is by what we call "dead-reckoning"
>>(this should be the right direction based upon my best guess). And so, it is
>>important to frequently take stock of what you hear in the far to middle and
>>near by distances, judging distances and/or angles of various sounds to you.
>>Like, reading and tracking your movement thru the auditory landscape; paying
>>attention to paralleling traffic, that you are walking toward a particular
>>sound or away from it, etc.
>>
>>And so ... That is about enough for now. Got to go and shovel some snow; had
>>our first measurable accumulation needing my attention.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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