November 6 - What Does a Blind Person Look Like

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?