Next time I’ll leave the cane in my bag

The teachers at Longfellow Elementary School in Oak Park had already read Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound out loud to their students before we arrived yesterday.

Knowing the kids would already be well-versed in how a Seeing Eye dog works, then, I packed my white cane for the trip. In addition to showing off how beautiful a dog Hanni is, I’d explain that guide dog users are also encouraged to use our white canes from time to time.

”Sometimes our dogs get sick,” I said. “As long as we keep our white cane skills up, we can use a white cane to get where we absolutely need to go while we let our dogs stay home and rest and get better.” I whipped out my cane then.

It’s a folding cane, kind of like the stakes some people use to put up tents. An elastic cord inside helps fold it into a neat portable bundle about a foot long, easy to store in my bag.

Note to self: during school visits, that’s where my white cane should stay. In my bag, I mean. The kids couldn’t have been less interested. And Who could blame them? The bundle of sticks in my hand was no match for the bundle of fur lying there at my feet.

“How old is Hanni?” “Does she like to play with other dogs?” “How does she know where you’re going?” “Is it scary crossing the street?” The Longfellow kids were great fun, they were very curious about how Hanni does her job, and how I manage to do all the things I do without being able to see. The hour flew by, all in all a great kickoff for our new season of school visits.

This afternoon Hanni and I are off on a train trip to Champaign. We’re visiting four schools in Champaign County in two days! Better get packing…