Mistaken Identity


               Now that  I am an adult I much  more able to understand that
          others will make fun of people for no real good reason especially
          those of us whom  are blind.  I am totally blind now, but most of
          my life I was high partially sighted and at the high end of legal
          blindness.  moreover, Now that I am a older and wiser, I am  able
          to laugh  at myself when funny things happen.   I have a few good
          stories as a legally blind child growing up that are funny.  Yet,
          at the time, they never seemed funny.

               My  family  and I  moved around  a  lot, and  have  lived in
          several places.  In Junior High we  lived in Ontario Canada.   As
          you know, the winters are very  cold and they get a lot  of snow.
          It often snows, and the winters are bitter cold.  One day, we had
          3 feet of  snow.  Of  course, it looks  beautiful with the  white
          packed snow covering the ground, and the trees partially covered.
           We lived close enough to the school that my sisters and I walked
          to  school.     My younger  sister Tara  was ahead  of me,  and I
          followed behind.   I  could not see her so I figured  she ran way
          ahead of me.  I shouted out her  name so she could hear me.  But,
          she did  not answer.  I began to get mad!So, I ran ahead to where
          she was.   As a legally blind  person you often find  someone you
          know, by their height and what they are wearing.  I ran up to her
          and started yelling " why did you not wait for me, i  called your
          name  and you  did not say  anything"   Why?" When she  would not
          answer again, I got closer to where she was.  At this time, i was
          a few feet and suddenly ---realized I was talking to an evergreen
          tree.  I couldn't believe my  eyes when I saw the Evergreen  tree
          instead of my sister.  My sister was the same height  of the tree
          and she wore a coat that was Evergreen color.  So, it was easy as
          a blind person to mistake it.   However, I felt like such a fool.
          I looked around to see if anyone was watching me--and saw no one.
          Thank god.  Then, I ran off to school as if nothing happened.  

          Karen Hughes