About Us

This blog is about how the world is viewed by the visual and the visually impaired. The intent of this blog is to bring the two worlds together. It is administered by two fabulous sisters, Toni, who is sighted and Robin, who became visually impaired in 2002 at the age of 18 due to misdiagnosis.



Thursday, December 15, 2011

Pardonez Moi.....

OK readers I need you to help your girl out! I am baffled and need some understanding. Is common courtesy nonexistent? I mean if you saw someone in your path with a bright white cane, wouldn't you think to move out of the way? Remember this blog is based on the perceptions of 2 sisters; one blind, one sighted; Robin seemed to find my irritation funny, but I was quite flabbergasted! I was not a happy shopper and usually shopping brings me great joy! Here's what happened, *sigh*, so we're at the mall getting our mom's Christmas gift, Thursday evening, the mall wasn't too crowded, normal mall crowd and people still continued to walk straight into us. WTH?! Not just once, not just twice...multiple times! This girl had to pull her boyfriend out of the way! We're walking, they see us...keep walking...I'm thinking are they gonna shift to the side...nope, they keep coming. I'm telling Robin, "These people see us, headed straight towards us and they are not gonna move". Robin's laughing, "Yeah, it happens all the time." So, now I'm at the point where I'm refusing to move, they are going to have to get out of our path. Can you believe these people still would not move?! They got right up on us to the point we're all doing a two step shuffle to get around each other! Again, WTH?! Maybe I'm a bad guide. I know, I know, Robin's talked trash about my guiding skills, but I've gotten better! Seriously, I have lol! I don't know, maybe I'm confused, maybe I missed the memo that courtesy went out with last years fashion. Call me crazy, but doesn't it just make plain ol' good sense for someone to go around if they see someone is blind? Or were we supposed to move out of the way? Oh pardon me sighted person, although you see us and are walking directly in our path, let me guide my blind sister around you at the last minute to not inconvience you. All you, sighted person, had to do was take a few steps over to the side, while I have to direct my sister to go to the right, keep going, oh wait, hold on here's some more ding dongs who don't want to move out of the way...geez! My thinking is whoever has to make the less effort should move. If I see someone with a stroller, in a wheelchair, that's blind, on crutches, or someone who has shopped until they can't shop anymore and has more bags than they know they need, etc., I'm moving out of the way because it takes less effort for me to move than to make them move. C'mon people, let's keep down all of the unnecessary scuffle...share the mall hall! It could just be that some people are just rude and are that way regardless and it's more noticeable when their rudeness is towards someone with different abilities. They better not be shocked when they find a lump of coal in their stockings this year, lol!

It's the holidays, so while out and about, be kind, be courteous and most of all be fabulous! Smooches!!!