Nearing the entrance to the parking garage after a football game, a man stood holding the door for my husband and me.
“Thank you,” I said, as we had almost reached him.
“Is she really blind?,” he asked, obviously speaking to Mister Rain.
I never looked up from the end of my cane on the ground in front of me, but I felt the color rush to my face. What the? Is this guy for real?
We kept walking, my husband now ahead of me, leading me to the car exit rather than the people door. “Yes, she is,” Mister Rain replied quietly. He knows me well enough to clock that this little exchange had made me uncomfortable. Strangers have said a lot of odd things to me since my vision loss; this was a new one and probably in the top three.
And it wasn’t over yet.
Continuing to address his thoughts to Mister Rain, the man said, “She gets around really good.”
My inner thoughts quieted a bit. From this last statement, it was obvious he meant no malice. I have a strong suspicion he had never seen a blind person before. I don’t know how long he had been watching me, there had been a significant distance to cover from the stadium to the garage. If he had been watching me for awhile, he wold have seen the struggle and fatigue on my face.
“Thank you,” I managed. Now well past the man, I felt his eyes still on me.
Those of us with disabilities live among you, apparently, in my case, “really good.” I hope that the man remembers me. I think he will.
After all, you never forget your first.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter #blindnessisaspectrum #blind #legallyblind #lowvision #visuallyimpaired #opticneuropathy #visionloss
