CARE AND FEEDING OF THE LONG WHITE CANE: Author's Introduction

CARE AND FEEDING OF THE LONG WHITE CANE: Author's Introduction

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Author's Introduction

This booklet contains the experience and observations I have gained over many years as
a cane traveler. My hope is to share these experiences and observations with you. But the
booklet cannot go with you to say, "You are doing that right, but you need to do it
twenty-five or thirty times, not just two or three times." It cannot say, "Swing
your cane farther to the left, but not quite so far to the right." The booklet cannot
follow you around the block to say, "Yes, this block really does have four corners,
but you were off course when you went around one of the corners, and you didn't recognize
it." The booklet cannot tell you at which moment it is safe to cross a street, nor
should it try to tell you where particular obstacles are. To become an independent
traveler you must, and I believe you can, learn to take care of yourself. The best thing
this booklet can do for you is to help you come to the time when you don't need it.

A skilled and knowledgeable teacher might help you learn that combination of skills
that make up cane travel, and the process might go faster. Such a teacher could present
new challenges at the right time or help review persistent problems. I think of this part
of the process as "guided practice," and it was very helpful to me. If you had
such a teacher, you might not be reading this booklet, so let's get on with the process.

In avoiding the discomfort of fearful feelings you also eliminate the opportunity for
courageous actions, ... and the emotional maturity such action develops. If you happen to
feel fear, and who doesn't, don't duck it; use it.

--Nancy Mairs. Carnal Acts. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.

We should use technology only where it's necessary. Throughout my career in this field
there have been flurries of interest in mobility devices, and I've always felt that the
ordinary cane, which is technologically simple, is, in fact, very sophisticated and
sufficient for the job.

--Raymond Kurzweil. Technology Producers Present Their Views, Remarks by
Raymond Kurzweil. The Braille Monitor, January, 1992, p. 22.

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Copyright National Federation of the Blind 1993