August 9 - You never know!

You never know, or at least that is the way it seems to me, when I will next meet a fellow white cane user. Certainly the unexpected happened again the other day when Lyle and I were indulging in some wine tasting at one of the many South Okanagan wineries. There were only a very few of us in the tasting room when Lyle noticed  someone with a white cane come in and sit in the chair right next to me.  Naturally, I began a conversation with her.

Tammy and her husband were from Oregon and were in British Columbia for a short holiday. Tammy was completely without sight with two prosthetic eyes. I would have liked to chat with Tammy more about this, but in the limited time we had for this chance meeting, we talked instead about her white cane.

Tammy’s cane, which she had bought in the US, was both long and light weight.  Also, it folded into itself much like a telescope.  When it was stretched out to its full length, each segment needed a slight twist to lock it into place.

Tammy said that she really liked the cane for travelling. The light weight made it so easy to hold when she wasn’t using it.  Also, the long length gave her good warning of objects in front of her stride. Judging from what Tammy said, I think that she liked to walk quite quickly. It was in that context that she told me of one of the disadvantages of the cane.  She told me of crossing a street and when her cane hit the opposite curb, it twisted into the unlock position and the segment in question folded immediately back into itself. 

I am sorry that I didn’t have our camera with us at the time of this out of the blue meeting.  I liked talking with Tammy and I think that our meeting simply reinforces the idea that people who are blind or partially sighted are part and parcel of everyday life in all sets of circumstances.