CarrollBlog

Almost every day for years I've passed the blind woman on her way to work. In her right hand she holds a long white cane that she taps in front of her to sort the familiar geography of the sidewalk she must know so well after having walked it a thousand thousand times. I always give her a wide berth because she taps the stick in a continuous sweeping 180 degree semi-circle in front of her-- left/middle/right/middle/left... This morning walking along, lost in thought, I heard a loud clunk. Looking up, I saw that she had walked straight into a large metal pillar that stands in front of a department store. Grinning, she stepped back, readjusted, and went on her way. I stood there sort of shocked. I was thinking how could that be? She's covered this route so often that she must know every half-inch of it. She must also be ten times more careful walking anywhere than a sighted person. Then it dawned on me that perhaps she was daydreaming too. Thinking about something far more interesting than just walking down the street, she went straight into that pillar. I did the same thing a few months back-- broad daylight, daydreaming about something compelling, BONG-- straight into a street sign. No difference at all.