Watching the cars go by

This was indeed one of my favorite pastimes as a child, watching the cars go by! I used to sit for hours on end at our window watching as they either idled by or zoomed past our house. I loved to look at them especially so for their various colors and sizes. I was never bored and never really told anyone how much I used to enjoy watching the cars go by.

I had a little vision in those days so I used to appreciate the world of color whenever I could. I loved to imagine that I could drive one of them but most of all I used to make believe that I owned them all.

Of course, I was never able to decipher the makes and types of my beloved cars but that was okay. Memories of the big yellow bus, large red truck, and fast moving little blue car still resonate in my mind as I write this. Then there were the motorcycles and bicycles mixed in between. O so lovely to behold!

It did not matter whether or not it was at night, in the late evening, or anytime during the day. My cars going by were always a great pastime for me. Forever preserved in my memory bank.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and learn more about the world of blind persons by visiting www.rnib.org.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan.
Or you can chat with me on Skype at habsfan0526.

Avoiding the Wrong Car

Now, here's a bit of humor for you.  How do I go about avoiding the wrong car?  When I had vision enough to see, I used to depend on color and size of the car but now that I have lost most of it and not enough to see the car, I have to use other methods. 

 

First, I listen for the sound of either the approaching or idling engine.  In almost all cases, I ask those picking me up to blow the horn a certain number of times when they come to meet me and this works very well.  However, if for some reason the horn strategy does not work and there is more than one car waiting out there, I then have to deploy different tactics and it comes down to teamwork between me and the one picking me up.

 

When I was able to see, and if it was dark, I had a prearranged light signal but now the one picking me up has to come out of their car and call to me.  If I am unlucky enough to walk towards the wrong car then I have to use my sense of smell.  That is, upon opening the door, I have to make sure that the smell is familiar enough to me.  Failing this, I have to use my sense of feel and touch to quickly seek out familiarity with regard to the feel of the car.  Things such as; the feel of the door handle, the seat belt, the seat itself, and anything else that would help me to identify things quickly. 

 

The strategies used to identify the right car to get into depend on the level of vision.  If one has enough sight to identify color and shape, then these are the strategies to use but if one does not have enough sight then strategies outlined above would surely work.   If you would like to learn more, then please visit www.nfb.org.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.