Lyle and I went shopping in Great Falls.
This is not my favourite activity. The goods on the shelves are a blur and I
need to rely on Lyle to find any items I have on my list. I remember when my
sight first changed that Lyle was quite hesitant about checking prices and
sizes in the women’s lingerie departments. These days, he shows not a flicker
of embarrassment, and turns over labels of the most delicate items in order to
get the shopping done as quickly as possible.
It was while we were in Great Falls
that a fellow shopper stopped with a friendly hello. It was obvious that he
knew us and I heard Lyle greet the man in return. Because I can’t see faces,
recognition on my part was non-existent. I was just trying to figure out whom
we might possibly know in the city, when our friend identified himself as Theo’s
father. Do you remember Theo from last week’s walk in Hanna? The meeting was
unexpected and so it was really helpful when Theo’s father identified himself. I
am always pleased when anyone begins a conversation with me by saying who they
are. Really, it’s almost a matter of courtesy to do this when you know that the
other person can’t see the face and is relying on the sound of the voice alone to
figure out who they might be talking to. Theo’s father understood this.
From Great Falls
Lyle and I continued on to Helena, Montana’s
capital city. We wanted to take the tourist trolley ride
which began near the State Capitol
Building. However, we were in the
motor home and needed to park several blocks away. This was when I noticed the
audible traffic signals at the three different intersections. When I first
pressed the pedestrian button, I was instructed to “Wait. Wait.” When the traffic stopped, the signal then
announced the number of the avenue before telling me that I could cross. The
only other difference I noticed was the colour of the bubbled patches that led
from the sidewalk to the road itself. Instead of the bright yellow which I find
relatively easy to spot, the few that I noticed in Helena
were rose. I thought it was an interesting choice of colour.
The drive between Great Falls
and Helena was very picturesque. We
took the Old US 91 secondary highway for part of the way and stopped by the Missouri
River for a picnic lunch. Although the following photo has nothing
to do with white canes, I am including it here because it was such a lovely
area. In the picture, I am standing
beside the river and the Tower Rock
Mountain is in the background.
 |
| Sue beside the Missouri River with Tower Rock Mountain in the background |
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