Hearing voices.

The other day, while in a crowded room, I heard a familiar voice.  I said to my sighted friend who was with me, "Oh there's..."  They said, "No."  I said, "Yes." and then they spotted the person.  I was right.  Then, she asked me, "How did you do that?" "What?" "Hear that person in such a crowded noise filled room?"  Well, I guess it is because I focus on voices.  It always amuses me when I pick up the phone and say, "Hi there (name inserted here)"  And the person on the other end seems a bit surprised.  After all, I am at an advantage on the phone.  I can't see faces.  No one can on the phone.  but I identify people by their voices.  So, just as my friend would glance across a room and see someone, so I listen and hear them if they are talking.  It isn't always perfect.  There are some people who sound a great deal alike.  I  had twin friends once and it was very difficult for me to tell their voices apart.  Sometimes too, if someone comes up to me in a different environment from what I am used to knowing them in, I get confused and have to think for a minute.  Generally though, I am pretty good at it most of the time.  I  have to be.  Now, if someone is sitting quietly in the cafe reading, I won't know they are there.  Tomorrow a funny story about a friend waving at me from afar.

My morning walk. The sounds I heard. The things I felt. The smells.

The other day at our accessibility training, I was asked to have a speech about a day in my life.  How I do things.  How I adapt things.  I did that.  I do that in this blog a lot too.  I thought then that I could go through some things in more detail.  Explaining how things are as I move around the world.  So, I will talk today about our walk to yoga this morning.  We set off about 8 AM to walk the 20 or so blocks to yoga with a meeting at starbucks with a friend on the way.  I put Tulia's purple pawz boots on, her leash and harness, and off we went.  Tulia eager to walk.  I was too.  It was clear and quiet outside.  Tulia stopped at the top of our outside steps and off we went.
I love the noise of Tulia's boots shuffling along the sidewalk.  Shuffling like people wearing bedroom slippers.  They made a shh shh noise along the sidewalks.  Tulia stops at each down curb and at each up curb so I can listen for traffic.
As we moved along, I felt a little sun on my face but also the cold wind.  Someone passed us pulling a cat with squeaky wheels going the other way.  I sang a little bit as we walked.  Tulia wagged  her tail against my leg.  Someone moved past us talking loudly on a cell phone I imagine.  Then, at a corner, I heard someone's music through their head phones.  As we passed a coffee shop I know, Tulia turned her head left and looked.  The door squeaked open.  I heard the feet of someone coming out and smelled coffee and heard a bit of music.  We passed a bakery and I smelled bread.  Traffic was quiet and predictable.  A cyclist went by.  I heard the tires shh shh in the slush and the squeak of brakes.  Someone's car was running in their driveway.  We stopped and waited.  But he was scraping his windows and said he saw us and to go ahead so we did.  I heard birds chirping and realized I haven't heard them much in a couple of months.  A lovely sign.  We neared the starbucks.  tulia pranced to the door wagging herself.  As I pulled it open, the warm coffee shop air came out to touch my face and hands.  In we went.  Tulia stamping her feet like a little pony.  "Get my boots off please.  We're now inside."  I obliged.  Our friend soon arrived and we chatted and laughed and then went to yoga.