Friday, June 15, 2007

First Flow Sock Finished........Also a long Rant About "Special" People..........

The toe is kitchenered closed and the second sock is cast on................ Hopefully, number 2 will work up a bit faster and with less issues than the number 1 did. I have all the bugs worked out of the pattern now, so it should be o.k.

I am patiently waiting for 2 skeins of hand dyed yarn from Lime N Violet's store. I haven't picked out a pattern yet. I need to actually see the yarn so it can tell me what socks it wants to be.

I went to the grocery store tonight after work. As I shopped, I saw a former patient I knew from my facility. I have not really had much to do with him, because I never worked in his building. He is now living in an apartment on his own. He had mental health issues and spent a considerable time at the hospital. When he saw me, he asked me for a dollar, and then asked me if he had enough to buy the food he wanted.

While I was talking to him, store security came up to us. The security person was in regular clothes to blend in with the shoppers. Apparently, T had asked other people for help or a dollar before he saw me. Security identified himself and told T he could not bother other customers and to leave the store. Obviously, he had been following him around for a bit.

When I said I knew T, the security person asked if I was sure he was not bothering me. I assured him this was the case. Then I handed T a dollar, helped him with his food choice, and told him not to ask any one else for help. Just go pay and leave the store.

I looked around the aisles as I headed for check out, but, did not see him or the security person again. Hopefully, T did as I said and left. Hopefully, the officer did not detain or bother him again. I wanted to explain about T to him, but, could not do this, because of his privacy rights.

I think it's sad that as a society, we judge people before understanding them. It is obvious this person had issues. He looks o.k., but, if you speak to him, you can figure it out. I also have a family relative with mental illness who is living is supervised housing. My husband takes him to the stores and runs errands with him. I wonder how many people look at P and veer away since you can tell he has some issues. He is completely harmless and timid. Actually, he is more afraid of others then they need to be of him. The other side is people can be cruel and mean to these unfortunate people. Don't get me wrong. Sometimes they are very invasive and can be abusive. Not the usual case.

I also had a mentally challenged and physically handicapped sister who died several years ago. Her disabilities were obvious if you saw her, especially because of her speech problem. She was not a stupid person, just slow. On many occasions, I saw people look upon her with almost disgust because she was different.

I always think, but for the grace of God, there goes you or I. Please think twice before turning away from, or ridiculing someone with a disability, immediately obvious or not. No one chooses to have to live with these problems. Actually, I admire them for their perseverance to get along with their life in spite of the restrictions and challenges their problems present to them. Sometimes I think they are stronger because of them.

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