Is there any better time than National Eye Health Week to stop looking and start seeing than #EyeWeek?
Did you know that a red and white striped cane indicates that the carrier is actually deafblind? Why no, I didn’t.
And nor did anyone else apparently.
When a friend posted about it on Facebook, more than one commentator said they thought it was the universally accepted symbol of a blind barber. Or even a candy-cane version of the traditional cane. Be mindful then of wasps. And hungry pedestrians.
Unlike the relative anonymity of dark glasses – or Blind Pugh’s, as my mother calls them – any cane is a clear signal. Most people know that the carrier has a visual impairment.
And that’s all we have to know.
We don’t need to speculate on the tragedy behind the sight-loss. Nor do we need to jump aside theatrically. Any competent cane user can work around the orbit of your thighs.
“Just because I don’t see as well as you, doesn’t mean I can’t see through you.”
Careless words make for cynical girls. Blind people can see a little or quite a lot. 93 percent of blind people can see something. Some see colour, some don’t. Some have a constantly moving image, some don’t.
There’s no cookie-cutter for normality. And anyway, the best cookies are always the irregular ones.
So now you know – can you spread the word?
In our posts we will try to explode a few myths, highlight a few trends and talk about new found interests, art and friends that have inspired us.
And maybe annoyed us too.
We’re mavericks.
