Posts Tagged ‘blind’

Today, I was looking up into the trees at a local park. There is a bird call that I hear all day long here in Delhi. Belongs to the Brown-headed Barbet. A small bird with a green body.

Took this photo a couple of days ago. Not great quality.

barbet

For some reason I associate this bird’s sound with the noise at crosswalks. The one which signals blind folks that it is safe to cross the road.

So all day, like the Pavlovian dog, I just keep wanting to cross the street. Safely. Thank you, barbets.

I looked up trying to find the little sucker.

Imagine my surprise when this is what I see. In the middle of the day. Again, not the best photo taken with my phone. But I think you can figure out what it is.

owl1

Then I realize there are two sets of eyes on me.

owl2

Definitely not barbets.

So cool.

I was laughing because I attempted to take photos at different angles. In front. Behind. Didn’t matter because his eyes were always on me. Sort of like Jesus’ eyes in a picture my Aunt Rose Marie use to have hanging in her house. Always following. I thought of the old saying, “Eyes in the back of your head.”

It really is fascinating how their heads can do the 360 degree turn thingy.

The first time I have ever seen an owl, outside of captivity, was this past January. My husband and I attended an event at a place in Providence, Rhode Island. A Snowy Owl happens to reside on the roof. We caught sight of him while we were leaving.

Owls are cool.

To me.

I remember when my friend, Maria-Ann, and I ran a resale charity shop for a short while in Kuala Lumpur. We had a cute, wooden owl statue for sale. None of the Chinese customers gave it a second glance.

My friend mentioned that it didn’t give off positive vibes in the Chinese culture.

A lot of folks (from my part of the world) associate owls with age and wisdom.

Plenty of owls (with black, thick rimmed spectacles) on graduation cards in the United States. Every May stuffed owls or statues appear on the shelves in Hallmark stores. Ready to be purchased for the graduate-to-be.

Chinese do not have the same association. Believe owls are bad luck.

I get it. Everyone is different.

Here in India?

Owls are thought to bring good luck around the Diwali holiday.

That’s nice.

If sacrificed.

What?????

Folks looking to improve their financial situation think that the sacrificing of an owl will help.

India protects all of the species but there is a bustling black market that exists. Selling owls for hefty fees. All year round for different cures or luck but especially around the holiday.

You can even pay to have someone do the killing for you.

Now, we all have our beliefs, superstitions, etc. but I’m thinking if a person has to kill a living creature to enhance some aspect of their own life maybe a little regrouping is in order. A look at alternative, legal options in that quest for good luck.

Leave the owls alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A while ago Rory and I had dinner at Opaque restaurant in San Francisco for a pitch black dining experience. Where the servers were blind.

I thought it was a fabulous idea. That someone who had an impairment could put in an honest day’s (or night’s) work and earn a decent living on their own.

Same in Southeast Asia. A lot of the blind people here are trained in the art of massage. Which is a very big thing here for anything that ails you.

Fine with me. I have no problem with that. I would prefer that not everyone have a look at me. Bad enough someone has to feel what I look like.

I was in Phuket, Thailand this past weekend and just had to laugh. I spied a billboard promoting massage. It boldly stated, “Massage by blinds people.” With an “s”.

God forgive me. I had visions of a fellow hanging the blinds and/or curtains and then as he was finishing that job turning to me and saying,”Alrighty then, hop on the table. Time for massage!”

Of course, I know English is not Thailand’s first language and in their quest to cater to the endless English speaking tourists they are bound to make an error now and again. So, I am not laughing at them. I am just laughing at the crazy visions in my head. Of which there are many.

Seriously, though, I really applaud them for providing opportunities for people with visual impairment to make a living. There is nothing crazy about that vision.

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