Just For Fun

It always surprises me to realize things people notice.  I grew up in a different time, yet, if people noticed as much as they do today it alluded me.  When I was in school at the Governor Morehead School often bus loads of visitors from schools all over North Carolina unloaded their cargo right in front of the building (Lineberry Hall) where we were in class.  Usually they would be escorted into the auditorium where they were seated and a blind individual would be taken from class to talk to them about being blind, show them how we read Braille, answer questions and often would play the piano or sing for them.  I loved to be asked to do this, and was asked quite often until one day when I didn’t want to.  We were planning our graduation that afternoon, but reluctantly I walked into the auditorium and presented the usual speech.  Someone then asked me if I could play the piano or sing.  I had heard all kinds of stories from former students who did crazy things for the visitors. 

There was a story of one boy who was asked the question about how blind people eat.  He misinformed them saying that blind people tie a string to their front tooth and run it down to the plate and the fork followed the string up and down. 

My favorite story was one boy who walked up to the stage, with which he was quite familiar.  Yet, he ran into things he knew were there on purpose.  Finally he found the Baby Grande and played Mozart without missing a note.  After this he went to the edge of the stage, jumped off and ran out of the auditorium without hitting anything or anybody.    

This day I wanted my own story, so when I was asked to play and sing, I did so, and played and sang:

“Amazing grace how sweet the sound

That saved this little lamb.

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind and I still am.”

The visitors, who were middle school ages, thought it was totally funny.  However, my principal did not. 

 

If visitors pulled onto our campus when we were not in class, we tried to do other obnoxious things.  Our favorite thing to do was to put a sighted girl up front.  We were all skaters and skated in a line,holding on to each others’ waists, with as many as six to eight.  We would start at the top of a hill which would lead right past all the parked buses and students trying to get in them to go home.  Students would scatter as we sailed by all the way down the street until we ran off on the grass past the infirmary, which was the other end of the campus. 

 

Yet, today, it always surprises me when my grandchildren get annoyed because people are staring.  Most of the time they are staring and smiling at my guide dog.  If we are walking somewhere and I know people are staring, I always hope the dog will behave like a pro.  Usually I get so nervous the dog picks up my mood and does something extremely stupid. 

It does still surprise me about things I miss at times.  One day a lady at our pool snapped at me when I bumped into her table.  Jonathan laughed as he informed me that I should be ashamed, that lady was reading her Bible. 

Just yesterday Brittany and I took Brittany’s dog Luna, and my guide dog, Vivi to the dog park.  I was fixing to correct Vivi for not playing nice with another dog when Brittany told me quietly that that particular dog that was bothering Vivi wanted more than just to play.

I was often show and tell for my children in elementary school.  One day I got the bright idea of taking the large Braille writer with me, letting each student sit with me and help him or her write their name.  They loved this until they inadvertently laid their names down.  Kevin and Christi came home with pockets full of Braille names for me to read so they could print whose name it was.

 

Now there are smart phones and cameras everywhere.  I have just decided to go right on walking as though I am in front of a group of visitors at school.