On my daily commute to work, I always meet this blind gentleman who happens to travel at the same time too. It has been a pattern lately and my guess being that he has to commute to his workplace as well, judging by his attire.
It's a routine to see him enter the tube station accompanied by his female companion who makes sure he is not lost. After reaching the right platform, she bids him goodbye with a kiss before embarking on her own journey. In the next two odd minutes when we board the tube, he is at ease about orienting himself with his trusted white cane and I do gather in the next half an hour in our journey that he is genuinely a happy soul, with no stress of leaving home to his work. I do believe that he is totally at comfort performing his routine for the rest of the day on his own.
It is quite engaging to look at him being at ease among the stressed co-passengers, all the while maintaining a firm grasp on his humble white cane that is ready to be unfolded any moment he wishes it to. Those tensed fingers around the cane do give away his casual demeanour though. It is quite certain that his whole feeling of self reliance is based on the presence and functioning of the cane.
It is very fascinating to realise how autonomous one could be by being dependent on a small gadget. I am sure that the existence of his female companion in the equation has more to do than just guide him to the right platform, but the necessity of that white cane in the whole story is merely to aid him being independent.
That is when it dawned onto me how dependent a person can be to a certain baggage in a bid to be independent in life. I am certain that it is not just this blind gentleman's case on point, definitely not!!!
It's a routine to see him enter the tube station accompanied by his female companion who makes sure he is not lost. After reaching the right platform, she bids him goodbye with a kiss before embarking on her own journey. In the next two odd minutes when we board the tube, he is at ease about orienting himself with his trusted white cane and I do gather in the next half an hour in our journey that he is genuinely a happy soul, with no stress of leaving home to his work. I do believe that he is totally at comfort performing his routine for the rest of the day on his own.
It is quite engaging to look at him being at ease among the stressed co-passengers, all the while maintaining a firm grasp on his humble white cane that is ready to be unfolded any moment he wishes it to. Those tensed fingers around the cane do give away his casual demeanour though. It is quite certain that his whole feeling of self reliance is based on the presence and functioning of the cane.
It is very fascinating to realise how autonomous one could be by being dependent on a small gadget. I am sure that the existence of his female companion in the equation has more to do than just guide him to the right platform, but the necessity of that white cane in the whole story is merely to aid him being independent.
That is when it dawned onto me how dependent a person can be to a certain baggage in a bid to be independent in life. I am certain that it is not just this blind gentleman's case on point, definitely not!!!
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