I was accused of LYING!!!

Just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it isn't there..

I posted the following on my Facebook page, but think it might be of interest here.

Two days ago, when a friend and I went to a local drug store to get our flu shots, a stranger accused me of lying!

My good friend and I were seated, waiting our turn, and were filling out some papers. A man came over and sat down next to me. He noticed my long white cane, then said, "I KNOW you are not blind. I saw you walk into the store, and walk around as good as the other lady, and fill out some papers".

At least he knew what my cane signified, but I DID have to explain that a person does not have to be totally blind to be legally blind. I explained that I became legally blind 9 years ago this month, and told him about what usable sight I have (good usable sight in one eye, but only straight ahead, no depth perception and almost no peripheral sight), plus the fact that over the years, I've learned to compensate. Hopefully he believed my explanation, which was of course true. I wouldn't know the man again.

I'm sure that Molly C. Corum, Lee Ann Brooks, and a few other of my friends have had similar comments once in awhile though I know I have more usable sight than they have. And Charlotte and Ken Osbourn live alone, and sometimes keep their grandson.

 

Molly is early 60s, retired, is a 4^th generation Floridian and lives in Tampa. I didn’t know her when I lived in Tampa. She has Usher's Syndrome. a hereditary problem that over the years causes both blindness and deafness. She still has a good bit of usable sight but, like me, does have to rely on a long white cane. Without her cochlear implants, she is totally deaf now. We met at the national convention of the Hearing Loss Association of American last June when it was in Providence, RI.

Lee Ann is about 50 and is almost totally blind, due to birth problems caused by Rh blood incompatibility. The doctor thought she'd be deaf, blind, and mentally retarded. She has her master's degree and works full time as a councilor here in Birmingham with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services. She wasn't my councilor, but became a friend.

Charlotte and Ken have been married almost 40 years. They both were born totally blind due to having been premature. They met at the Alabama School for the blind in Talladega. They live in Irondale (a suburb of Birmingham). They have 3 daughters, all fully sighted. Ken is the current president of the local chapter of the American Council of the Blind, and is also state prez. He has worked in radio and TV all his life, mostly voice-overs, some locally, some nationally.

Molly, Lee Ann, and Charlotte all commented on what I wrote, as did Cheree and Sandy, friends of mine who both who are fully sighted.