In these days when police are getting bad press all the time I felt it prudent to relate this story to you.
This happened to me on a warm and sunny day early in the month of May. First, let me say I am totally blind and have been all my life. I’m also very independent and have excellent mobility skills. I am a cane traveler and just recently moved to a very unfamiliar town, Hamburg. I have been using an app on my IPhone called BlindSquare to help me get around town. This app is incredible. It tells you what street you are on, what intersections are coming up, which way you are traveling, how fast, and all kinds of other information. Without this app I’d have great difficulty getting around since there are many areas where no sidewalk exists.
From my home to the bus stop is a little more than a mile, about half of which has no sidewalk. On this particular day I was coming home and traveling up Port Clinton Avenue looking for the intersection of Williams Street. I know now after further traveling that the reason I didn’t find the intersection was I was on the wrong side of Port Clinton Avenue, but on that day I couldn’t find the intersection and my battery on my phone was getting down to ten percent. When you’re using BlindSquare you don’t want your batter to go to ten percent. It’s a battery hog and that ten percent will go very quickly. So, I really didn’t have time to try and look for this intersection again and again. I’m a Boy Scout and I had not followed the Boy Scout motto which is “Be prepared.” Prepared I was not. And, if the battery ran down getting home would be difficult. It was about 6 in the evening.
So, after weighing my options, I felt the only thing to do was call 911. I didn’t consider this an extreme emergency but it was the only thing left to do. I made the call and the 911 operator found me using my cell phone. I knew I was on Port Clinton Avenue but not sure exactly where. Anyway, the 911 operator found me and in less than five minutes a Hamburg policeman showed up. He asked me a few questions to see if I was coherent or not and then I rode home in the back of a police car. Both the officer and the 911 operator were fantastic!
So, using 911 is an option if you have no other choice. Now I know the mistake I made and why I couldn’t find the intersection so it shouldn’t happen again. Also, don’t be afraid to use modern technology to help you get around and be independent. It sure helps me and will continue to help me. By the way, the back of a police car is not really uncomfortable – especially when you’re not in handcuffs.
Roy McCutcheon lives in Hamburg and is a member of the Greater Berks Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. Submitted by the Greater Berks Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, 610-376-0010,
