Helping out at Regina’s Canada Day in Wascana Park I met a young gentlemen who was volunteering for the day. Blain, a quick-whited kid, just a bit younger than myself, had an adorable dog named Dewey with him at all times.
Just after sunset in the park, a man rushed over to Blain and I, he had a severe problem on his hands. Here is how the he started the conversation, “I have to go to the washroom but when you close the outhouse door you can’t see anything in there and the Legislative building is locked, I need to go to the washroom, what should I do?!?” Without missing a beat in a condescending tone Blain snapped, “well I could guild you!” Trying as hard as I could not to laugh at what just occurred in front of me, I helped this guy explore his washrooms options, apologized to him for not having lit outhouses, and he went on his way. It was a very interesting moment for me.
You see, Blain is blind but that doesn’t really stop him from doing anything. He can golf, get to and from places on his own (via talking GPS device), volunteers in the community and can go to the washroom in the dark on his own. Blain doesn’t complain very much and he makes the most out of life. I think if we saw the world through Blain’s eyes we wouldn’t be so quick to complain over a dark jiffy biffy.
So smile, we have it pretty good.
Photo Credit: Steven Wilde “Fireworks” from the Regina Canada Day Facebook groupRelated posts:
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- How to Have the Best Day Ever
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Hi, I'm Jeph. I love helping people make smarter business decisions. I consult, speak, facilitate and do project work on new marketing strategies (It's a cross between word-of-mouth and social media). I'm currently a working on a brand new marketing company and freelancing with a few special clients. The marketing industry is changing very rapidly and the only way to stay on top of it is by a philosophy of continuous learning. Do you have an information strategy? Are you learning faster than the world is changing? If not, we should talk. Follow me @JephMaystruck
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Last time I was in Montreal, there was a restaurant my friend raved about but we could not get it due to high demand. The restaurant is called Noir. Now the interesting about Noir is that all customers eat in the dark and are served by blind servers. According to my good friend, he says that the experience was unreal and one that everyone should experience. This gives people who love and live life the same way Blaine does an opportunity to work in a cool setting that allows sighted people the opportunity to see life through their eyes.
http://www.onoir.com/
Wow! Cool story Scott. I definitely want to check that restaurant some day. I’m going to use this story as an example of catering to specific needs of people to create something amazing.
Thanks for sharing!