I’ve discovered that our disabilities are providing us unique ways to meet people-

Sitting outside a coffee shop, my wife and I sipped on our favorite hot drinks while we breathed in the gorgeous Fall morning. Suddenly, my white cane leapt from my lap.

Surprised, as I’d heard no one approaching, I was about to start searching  when I heard-

“No Lucky, that’s not yours, we need to give it back.”

And so I met Lucky, the Labrador puppy, who’d decided that the red ball on the end of

my cane was something he had to fetch. His apologetic owner and I had a good laugh.

My wife has her own way of getting attention., as demonstrated by this encounter in front of the same coffee shop-

“Hola Abraham!”

“Excuse me?”

The young man stopped in front of the door and turned to face my wife.

She repeated, smiling I’m sure, “hola Abraham!”

Seeming to understand, the young man moved closer to her and said, “hello, how are you?”

She unleashed a torrent of Spanish babble.

Unperturbed, the young man graciously replied, “thanks, it’s a pleasure to meet you too,” and continued inside.

Such happenings are more frequent now, where my wife mistakes others for our son or daughter, who, living in other countries, are nowhere near our neighborhood. She’ll jump up, wave, call out expectantly. 

The responses are varied. Some ignore her, some wave back and continue on, a few, like the young man mentioned above, graciously stop and talk with her. Occasionally, I’ll share that she has dementia and thank these kind folks for stopping.

Such experiences are among the side benefits of living with blindness and dementia. True, none of these brief acquaintances have become friends, but the graciousness of some has given my wife precious moments of happiness.

We’ll take all we can get.

tio stib

You might also enjoy: Flavors of Friends, My Dementia Diary