Every Friday morning, I spend 3 to 4 hours volunteering at a vision rehabilitation center located in downtown Fort Lauderdale. People who are blind or visually impaired constitute the bulk of their clients and surprisingly, a good portion of their staff as well. Although most of the time I help as a receptionist clerk at the front desk, I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the happiest people I've seen in a very long time. It's quite the experience during every conversation. The fact that they cannot see allows them to describe memories, people, and past events in a very charismatic way. Their storytelling is artistic and almost theatrical in nature. I can almost vividly see the roadtrips they describe, the places they've traveled to, the person who they fell in love with, their ideas of a sci-fi future world, their mistakes, regrets, and advice...all painted on a mental canvas as if Da Vinci's soul had given them sight.
Then there is Mr. Raspberry, a former preacher who became blind three years ago. Usually, you can find him here bright and early, sometimes two to three hours before an event. If he is not snoring away on the white couch across the front desk, he is sure to tell another story. The rehabilitation center is located on Sistrunk next to the railroad tracks. When a train came roaring through this past Friday morning, I mentioned to him how I used to love seeing them pass by as a child.
Boom. He wakes up and not to my surprise, he begins another story...
"Back in 82', I had the opportunity of taking a train across the country. We started in New York and headed west along the great continental divide. We went to Washington State, California, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and circled all the way back to New York...The most beautiful places were Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming. You can see the mountains, hills, and deserts...absolutely beautiful...absolutely serene...I went by myself. Though I'm sure it would have been more fun with a group, exploring by yourself is a totally different experience. We stopped in every major city, partied downtown, went back to the train and knocked out. The best thing was that when you wake up, you're already in route to a different city...it was a two month trip and it only cost me $989.00...easily one the best things I ever did in my life...glad I did it while I still had sight."
After about 20 minutes, he realizes the Book Club Meeting, the event he originally came here for, had already started. He gets up and slowly walks his way towards the dining room, hands reaching for the wall for guidance.
It amazes me every time. This place. These people. You'd think that it would be a pity party 24/7, but it is quite the opposite. It's been a real humbling experience. Most of society, including myself, have placed an unfair stigma on blind folks. The stigma that people with a walking stick are sad, helpless, and a burden to the rest of us. In actuality, these people have learned to persevere. They are the proud product of what this rehabilitation center strives to do throughout the community. They are independent and a family to each other. Most importantly, they are happy and in fact, happier than most people I know with sight. Mr. Raspberry is just one story amongst the many I have heard and have yet to hear. I'm fortunate to who have encountered this organization as it is simply more justification on why I am pursuing the ultimate goal. The greatest lesson to be learned here is that happiness is a choice, a choice made against the persuasion of circumstance. Sight is a strength in the majority of cases, but in many ways a weakness here at the rehab center. You learn to live with more when you are without. And when you are without, not even sight, not hearing, and not touch can help you reach your promise land. It is a personal journey where only hearts sing a motivational tune and your mind be the opera house. About a month ago, there was a box of donated books sitting under the front desk. I picked one up and read the first 23 pages.
I'll leave you with a paragraph that has stuck with me since:
"Happiness is a butterfly-the more you chase it, the more it flies away from you and hides. But stop chasing it, put away your net and busy yourself with other, more productive things than the pursuit of personal happiness, and it will sneak up on you from behind and perch on your shoulder."
God bless, good health, good style
Life is always free...with a smile :)
-Jeff Villena
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