Leading the Blind

Yesterday I made a quick stop downtown to talk with someone whom I thought could give me insight into a project I need to work on.  As I hurried down the sidewalk, I came up behind and walked around a man with a white cane who seemed to be pausing.  I don't know how he knew I was there, but he called out to me, "Can you tell me where the Arcade is?"


I stopped and said, "You are right in front of it."  Actually, he was just a few steps beyond the open entryway.  So, I added, "Turn around and walk about 4 steps in the opposite direction.  Now turn to your left.  The door is straight ahead of you, but there is a sign on the ground you will have to walk around."


I waited for him to navigate around the knee-high tent sign which was definitely a hazard for a blind man.  "OK, you are at the opening."


He put a hand on the open door frame and turned to thank me.  "I used to be able to find the entrance, because there was an awning over it.  I could tell the difference when I walked under the awning, but they have taken it down, and now I don't know where the doorway is."


I cannot imagine what it would be like to be blind.  The idea of attempting to navigate the world without sight is terrifying to me.  Obviously other senses become keener to compensate, but even so, the world is full of hazards and changes from day to day.  Just when you think you have it figured out, someone takes down the awning!


An awful lot of people in the world are figuratively blind and losing their way.  They can't find the door, because someone has taken down the awning.  Something that should be there for protection, but that also provides guidance, is missing.  I don't know if the awning on the Arcade will be put up again, but typically figurative awnings once removed are not replaced.  So, we live in a world with fewer and fewer awnings, resulting in greater and greater moral confusion.