Saturday, February 12, 2011

Great things about being blind. Walking through crowds

Somehow when you travel with a white cane or especially with a guide dog, it is much easier to find your way through crowds. I remember once a friend of mine was on crutches and she was having a hard time getting people to move out of the way for her. My guide dog and I went ahead of her and the crowds just parted for us. As a cane traveler, people would see me coming swinging that cane back and forth and literally leap out of the way as if the cane was a poisonous snake or sharp sword. I don't know why the cane worked better than the crutches. I would imagine that working through crowds is tough for guide dogs. All they see is a sea of legs. They seem to like it though. My first guide dog (black lab Gwenny) worked crowds like a football player. Her whole purpose was to get to the front of the crowd as quickly as she could. And she was purposeful about it. She would whack people's legs with her little black lab head. She loved it. We would fly through crowds with barely a bump. My others have been a little more polite in crowds, tending to hang back until they see a clear path. But it is nice to move through crowds fairly easily and with dignity.

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