Sunday, March 24, 2019

Rarely, But Sometimes It's True, The Remarkable Occurs

To this personal juncture, I have never used any GPS-type navigation system guiding me to an address no matter however unfamiliar it might be.  Maps, I utilize maps, using my old Rand McNally Thomas Guide plus two newer Brand X map books to show me where that crazy address is located in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. For that rare longer trip, I have an AAA Washington/Oregon map on hand, because I never know what is coming next.  Most often, the passenger usually knows how to get home but not always, which is why I come prepared to find where we are going regardless of any outside assistance.  But Friday I encountered a most unusual situation, when a sight-impaired passenger, originating from Seattle's Lighthouse for the Blind, and going all the way southeast to Covington, knew the way as thoroughly as someone fully sighted.  Though I consulted my Thomas Guide, it proved unnecessary, first knowing the exit off State Route Highway18, and then saying "now turn right and turn right again on SE 168th," this guy knowing his route home completely by feel and knowledge of the roads.  Remarkable, I say, and something worth noting because, too often I have encountered the opposite, passengers theoretically whole but cognitively fractured, disinterested in applying the mental glue necessary to repair what has become for them an almost instinctual disconnection to apparent and functional reality.  This Covington-bound gentleman instead embracing life, and despite his disability, finding joy in the moment.  Remarkable!

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