So,
did you think about the question of my last post and did you come up
with the subject of travel? Lyle and I love to travel, so in a way you
are right. For us, it’s not just the different places we like to see
and visit, but for us travel means new experiences and interesting
conversations. This post is about one of those travel conversations.
Two
weeks ago, Lyle and I were on a flight from Edmonton to Vancouver. We
had pre-boarded and our carry on and my white cane were in the overhead
luggage bin. I was tired and I closed my eyes as other passengers
boarded. Suddenly I felt the presence of someone hovering close by. I
opened my eyes to see a flight attendant crouched in the aisle beside
me.
”Mrs. Boman?” she queried, and I nodded my
head. She continued, “I thought it might be you. I knew there was a
blind passenger on board, but then I wasn’t sure. You were in the right
seat, but I thought it couldn’t be you. You look so … so … so normal.”
I
refrained from asking the young woman what she thought a blind person
should look like. Do you have an image in your mind of a “typical”
blind person?
A few days after this incident we
were at a comedy show where the performer asked the audience if we had
heard the latest conspiracy theory about Stevie Wonder. It was
rumoured, he said, that although Stevie Wonder looked blind, perhaps he
could actually see.
Now I know that Stevie
Wonder has ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). This condition occurs when
an oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator damages the optic
nerve, causing blindness. This was a common hospital practice for
preemies in the 1950’s, but is not so anymore. Stevie Wonder is totally blind.
How
ironic then to think that although Stevie Wonder might look blind,
rumours circulate that he might be able to see. On the other hand, I
don’t look blind but often other people don’t realize how little I
actually do see.
Image
- an interesting word with interesting connotations. What do you
picture in your mind’s eye when you think of someone who is blind or
partially sighted?
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