Traffic lights

Morning all, I know what you are thinking, I don't write for weeks then there's two in one weekend! That's because I was sitting here thinking about out visit to Brighton, and then I was thinking about how many beautiful places there are in this country and I want to go and see them all, then I started thinking about how long it would take to visit all the lovely places and how much I could cram in before my sight deteriorates further, then I remembered that I have to go back to work next week, all this started to put me in a dark mood, so I went back to thinking about Brighton!
I was thinking about what a difference the white cane makes to me and people around me, I know people move out of my way, but its still a funny thing, some people, gently side-step you and hurry past, some leap out of the way like you are about to give them an electric shock, others give you such a wide path like I am a very wide load moving down the path, some parents grab their little ones and yank them out of the way while others scream...MIND OUT FOR THE BLIND LADY!!!! while their child continues on its path.
What I find amusing is the amount of people that just stop and stare at me, they look down at the cane and then their gaze travels all the way up to my eyes, where then I have a awful temptation to shout BOO, but I find it funnier to smile and say thank you for stopping and then swagger off swinging the cane with way too much exaggeration!
This brings me to traffic lights, which I find very amusing. so, technical stuff first. there is different types of traffic lights for different areas, some beep, some don't, some count you down, some don't bloody well work, but nether the less, they all do the same thing (except the ones that don't bloody work, they are shit and I try not to use them)
Next time you find a set of traffic lights, as you stop and press the button you will find little knobbly bits under your feet, this tells me that not only have I reached the traffic lights but the edge of the path is some where near by,  then if you feel under the box there is a little knob, if you gently hold the knob it turns when the lights change to green to tell you when it is safe to cross!
      
I had always been one for running across roads, a younger better sighted me would never have entertained waiting at traffic lights in order to cross the road, but things change, and I have become a user. If I stand there waiting for the lights to change when I haven't got my cane, people tutt, nudge past and rush across the road, the cane does a funny thing to people, I can feel people dying to run across between the streams of traffic, but because I am standing there holding on to my knob with one hand and the cane with the other, people fell they should wait too, and because I am a evil old bitch, it brings a massive smile to my face that I am making people feel uncomfortable at the traffic lights!
Having said that, the traffic light situation did bite me on the bum a couple of weeks ago when I was shopping in Letchworth with youngest daughter and my partner. For people that don't and never will know Letchworth, its a cute town with a big Morrison's supermarket and a nice selection of shops, pubs, places to eat and a cinema, Parking in the Morrison's carpark, you can walk through into the town, crossing a road of one way traffic, then a wide island of greenery that runs the length of the road with a few benches so you can sit and watch the errr traffic I suppose, then the other side of the island is another road with traffic running in the opposite direction. For as long as I can remember there was like a pelican crossing on both sides of the road, the traffic stops to let you cross, clearly I haven't been to Letchworth for a while, because as I approached the road, slightly ahead of my bickering family, I stepped out onto the crossing only to find a car being driven at me and a woman shouting out of the window that the lights were on green you stupid bitch.....well stupid bitch or not, I didn't see no mother chuffin traffic lights, as I turned back towards my two loved ones, they both stood there with eyes wide and mouths hanging open, I instantly tried to make light of the situation and held my hand s in the air and said, what???? where's the traffic lights then? Then this little voice pipes up and this cute little sixish year old girl holding her mums hand, points up to the traffic lights and says, 'there they are lady', that's when I noticed the path was packed with shoppers, all staring at me, so I just shrugged and said, oh well, at least I will know they are there next time, turn on my heel and marched off to our car....bollocks, that'll teach me for coming out without the cane, marching off in front of my family and not paying attention to my surroundings, maybe one day I will learn from my mistakes...maybe!
Speak soon xx