I used to be considered a really excellent traveller. I would take off and go
anywhere with or without a guide dog. I am somewhat out of practice now
because of lifestyle, but assume I will pick it up again when my boys are a
little older and I will travel more independently.
I loved my compass both in rural and urban areas. Often large buildings or
weather conditions will keep the sun from being a good reference. Besides when
it is in the upper nineties and you are surrounded by concrete, it is darned
difficult to tell where that ball of heat is in the sky. The wind here can
blow so hard that you can not hear the traffic. Yes, you might know it is
blowing from the North, but sometimes it is important to know if you are
vearing off to the East or West in a large open area, especially if there is a
lot of possible traffic you are trying to avoid by staying on a straight line.
A compass is also helpful if you have been wrestling and playing with a child
or dog out in the open field of a park and want to get back on track. If you
know the shortest way to a sidewalk is South, you do not want to go North
across the far side of the park. Especially if said dog is your guide and will
try to take every chance she gets to take you to the duck pond. :) I did have
that dog and the winding paths around the duck pond drew her every time. She
would politely show me every bench we passed trying to convince me to sit down
and let her go play.
The best use I ever made of a compass was in training my guide dog on a Y
intersection that was giving us fits. By the time we had shifted around enough
for me to realise we had taken the wrong branch she had already made the
mistake and it was almost impossible to just get turned around as reversing
meant heading back into that maze of sidewalks. So I used my compass every
little bit and was able to correct her with in a few steps into the wrong
sidewalk. Yes, I could have used some sighted assistance on that project, but
I liked doing it myself, and this let me just do it as part of our regulare
daily routine.
So, those are some of the things I have used a compass for in the past. I have
had both electronic and braille, and found them both to have their benifits.
Jennifer
From: Brice Mijares
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 9:22 AM
Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Braille compass
Can I ask why you'd need a compass? After 25 years of losing my sight at
age 33, I've never had a need for a compass. I depend solely on the
position of the sun, wind, and major traffic flow to keep my directions
straight.
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