My blind girl stories

Accessibility: Antonia sitting on a park bench on a sunny day. Her cane is leaning on the bench.

If you are blind or legally blind, you become very comfortable with awkward. The fact that you can't see or pick up on someone's nonverbal cues can get you in some really sticky or embarrassing situations... You can do two things: 1) You can hate yourself for that (not too healthy!) or 2) You can laugh it off and decide that this is what makes life interesting. I decided to do the latter.

I laugh at this situations, usually once I realize what's happening. However, that being said, not everyone is like me. Please, don't assume that if a visually impaired person gets themselves into a similar situation as me it is Ok to laugh -it's not! Wait for a cue from the person so you know how to react.

So, I hope you will join me for some laughs in what certainly are cringe-worthy situations I have gotten myself into because I am legally blind.

Is this not the girls' bathroom?

My parents signed me up for swim lessons at this brand new swim club. So new, in fact, that they hadn't put up proper signs for the men's and women's changing rooms. There was a piece of paper on the door that said 'MEN' or 'WOMEN.' The first day, I walked into the changing room with my mother and it was all good. The second day, my mother dropped me off at the door and I was left to find the changing room by myself. I was 90% sure it was the door on the left so... I walked in and started changing. At that moment, the lady from the front desk knocks on the door and asks me to come out, As I looked up, I realized I was in the men's room and that it was full of boys! I can now laugh at it, but eight-year-old me wanted to die!

That's not the restroom...

A recurring theme with many of my stories! This was before I started using my cane. I was out on a date with a fairly new boyfriend. He knew I was visually impaired, but I am not sure he understood how much... Anyways, we were in this small restaurant which was pretty empty. I asked the waiter where the bathroom was and he told me the generic 'Over there" with a slight head nod (honestly, that doesn't mean anything for those of us who are blind. Please, give us specific directions if we ask). This was a fairly new relationship so I didn't want to ask further questions. I set out walking in what I thought was the right direction and walked into this patio and then into the only door that was there. I noticed right away I was in the kitchen but, of course, the waiter was right behind me telling me I couldn't go that way. I just responded, 'Well, I thought I would pay for our dinner by doing some dishes.' That boyfriend became my husband and, to this day, he still makes fun of me for walking into the kitchen!

Waiting for nothing

This was my first time on a two decker plane for a transatlantic flight. I was upstairs where there were some coach seats (where I sat) and then there were some premium economy seats. The cabin was separated by a curtain. I had to use the lavatory and I know that they are usually located both at the front and back of aircrafts. Also knowing that flight attendants usually want you to use the lavatory in your cabin, I headed to the back of the plain upstairs. There was a group of people standing there, so I just stood there with them. They were all talking and I would smile and, eventually, inserted myself into the conversation.
I thought this plane had such friendly passengers for a random group of people to start chatting like that! And, boy, who was in the lavatory? They were taking forever! At some point after the six or seven minute mark, the flight attendant asked me if I needed anything, I said no, that I was just waiting to use the restroom. Well, I was informed that the lavatory was in the front of the cabin and, apparently, I had totally imposed myself on a group of friends who were just stretching their legs and having a glass of wine!

Don't worry, I won't report you to HR..

Usually, when I greet someone approaching me, even if I am pretty sure of who it is, I only say 'Hi!" instead of saying hi+name, because I never know if I will get it wrong... Anyways, I had this job in a really small company. There was maybe 15 of us in the building and only two men (an old skinny guy and a slightly buff guy in his mid-thirties). So I felt confident greeting the men in the office using their name. When my new boss started, he had the same hair color and similar body shape as the younger guy in the office. He knew I had a visual impairment.
One day, I see the younger guy approaching and I say "Hi, [insert name of guy]', as he was getting closer, I realized it was actually my boss! Thinking he would be funny (probably) he asks right away, 'what are you? Blind?!' 'Actually, yes I am!' I answered. I could feel the tension in the room, none of my coworkers (or my boss were making eye contact with anyone. So, after about ten seconds of that unbearable silence I said as I was winking, 'Sorry, my blind is showing today!' and everyone sighed with relief.

Oops, I don't need you to stop!

I was at the bus stop and the sun was shining bright in my eyes so I couldn't see anything at all. I heard the bus approaching and hailed it, only to realize too late that it was a FedEx truck! Most embarrassing part is that they actually stopped. I had my cane with me at the time so the driver was super sweet and asked if I needed any help. I told him what happened and it was all good. Anyways, whatever happens I knew they could get me to my destination in 24 hours!

Look where you are going.

So I think this is my favorite blind story -and I didn't even make a fool of myself! I was out and about one day when this guy on his phone popped out of nowhere, tripped on my cane and dropped his cell phone. He was all mad and started telling me how I should look where I am going. I apologized, but he kept going on about how I need to pay more attention. Again, I said, 'Sorry, I didn't see you.' It didn't matter, he was so mad and was yelling at me, saying how I would have to pay for his cracked screen repair... At that point, his friend (I imagine) grabs him by the elbow and tells me, 'Don't worry, we will get his phone fixed, but I don't think we can fix stupid...' and drags his friend away as he was still fuming under his breath. Oh, what I would have given to be a fly on the wall when the friend explained to this guy why he was acting like a moron!

These stories are shared in good fun. However, if you see a blind person in a sticky situation like this, don't laugh, rather ask whether they want any help. If you are blind, I am sure you have your fare share of stories. Don't be ashamed, laugh it off and move on. A little self-deprecating or blind humor can go a long way to defuse an otherwise very uncomfortable situation and to show others you are ok with your disability. If anything, these moments make for really good stories at parties.

Do you have any cringe-worthy blind moments? How do you deal with them?

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