Yesterday I got stuck in traffic and I noticed three young blind women trying to maneuver down the sidewalk with a seeing eye dog.

They were walking beside one of the  busiest streets  in Nashville, Hillsboro Road, which many of us  locals refer to as “the parking lot”.

I was mad at myself for not taking the side streets out and for getting glued to one spot near an intersection where traffic was at a standstill.

But when I saw the girls I stopped  fumbling my satellite radio stations,which is something I do when I really get bored.

The blind girls  had been to a restaurant nearby because they were carrying a box of food.

They had to stop at each curve.  One of them would crouch down and feel the shape of the curve with her fingers before they attempted to cross  in front of  each business.

 The dog was their eyes and signaled them it was okay to cross each time.

I want to share my feelings about this because I suddenly found myself overwhelmed and ashamed while watching them; a privilege they don’t have because they couldn’t watch me.

Those of us who have our eyesight can never imagine what the blind go through to do simple daily tasks.  We often take  seeing  for granted.

Petty problems such as getting stuck in traffic made me feel very small.

The young blind women could not drive.  They had to walk with their only tools being their dog, walking sticks and their hands to feel the curves. 

Getting around for them is a painstaking process, slow arduous and often dangerous.

 I thought about our elderly who often  go blind in their later years. 

My Grandmother Morton was blind for the last four years of her life.

I wish I could go back  and help her more than I did.  I wish I could go back over the years and comfort her more than I did. 

But I can’t.

What I can do is help those who are blind now.

That’s one thing we can all do, and I don’t think we have to do big feats.  The small things we do for them will mean the most.

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