These past three weeks I have been in Australia
visiting family. During my time away, I often needed to be out and about by
myself. Mostly this was in unfamiliar places. I was surprised by how awkward
this felt. I was also surprised by offers of assistance from strangers.
Sometimes these offers were very helpful and at other times, not so much.
For instance, one day I had gone for a
short walk in the neighbourhood where my sister lives. I was concentrating on
my location and heading back to her home when from across the street I heard a
male voice shouting out an offer to help me across the road. This was so
unexpected that it took me a moment to realized that the young man was speaking
to me. I did manage to thank the helpful stranger and continued on my original
path. I’m still unsure as to why he thought I needed to cross to the other side
of the street.
While this offer was a bit of overkill, I
then remembered sitting near another young man in the airport lounge. There was
nobody around to direct me to any of the goodies available there and I was very
thirsty. I asked this stranger if he could perhaps get me a glass of water. He
obliged but did so without uttering a word. He then sat in the chair next to me
eating and drinking his own coffee and ignoring me completely. Perhaps he was embarrassed by my
helplessness.
My best experience was at the Sydney
airport. My guide had obviously had some training in helping folk with visual
challenges. She identified herself by name and then asked me, “Now, how can I
best assist you?” The airport that
morning was exceptionally busy with an industrial action which led to long
line-ups and crowds of people milling about. With my assigned guide’s simple
question, I was able to briefly describe that I did have some limited vision,
that I preferred to take her right elbow and that it was best if I stayed quite
close to her. Her question and my response immediately took the stress out of
what could have been a very stressful situation.
While these instances are at different
points on the continuum, they have given me cause to ponder. While I might know
precisely what assistance I need, people who don’t know me or my sight
challenges, are only able to offer assistance from their own experience and
perspective. I think that my own response to these situations is to be as
gracious as I can be in acknowledging the concern that has been shown to me.
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