04/06/2025
The first house John and I lived in together had a very interesting neighbor. Interesting was one word for him!
For months, we noticed that every time John was outside, our neighbor would mysteriously appear...on a ladder. Not fixing his roof. Not trimming a tree. Just…watching. At first, we thought, Well, maybe he’s just really into clouds? But no. Turns out, he was conducting a full-blown investigation, trying to “catch” John faking his blindness.
Why? Because, according to him, John was too good at being blind. Too confident. Too independent. And his biggest piece of “evidence”? One day, he swore he saw John reading People magazine. Case closed! (John, for the record, has never read People magazine in his life. But funny enough, he’s actually been in People magazine, when they did an article about him! So maybe the neighbor was just ahead of his time, predicting John’s celebrity status. If only he’d asked, we could’ve given him a copy.)
Now, this is hilarious to us, but it also highlights a real issue. A lot of people assume blindness means total darkness or constant helplessness. But blindness is a spectrum, and many blind people, like John, have had training in mobility and orientation skills that help them navigate the world. John memorizes spaces, uses sound cues, and has an incredible sense of spatial awareness. None of this is magic (though, if John were a wizard, I feel like his wood shop would be a lot cleaner).
The truth is, people with disabilities constantly deal with skepticism, whether it’s about their abilities, their access needs, or, in John’s case, his very blindness. So if you ever find yourself thinking, that blind person is doing things too well, take a step back. Maybe they’re just skilled, experienced, or have adapted to their environment.
Or maybe… you’re the guy on the ladder. 👀
Photo Description: John holding a copy of the People Magazine article featuring him.
