Talking to Big Kids

I must admit that when Bracha goes to lecture to kindergarten kids, I get a little bored lying on the floor quietly listening. But talking to ninth-graders is a different matter altogether. They were sharp. Bracha asked them really hard questions, and they had some really interesting things to say. I kept myself awake because I didn't want to miss a thing. And when the lecture was over and Bracha took my harness off, boy did I get a petting!
Bracha: When you think of a person who can't see, what kind of connotations come to your mind? You can say negative things, too. That's OK. We need to talk about this and we'll work on it.
The kids: Bind people need help. They are helpless. They depend on others. They are smart. Their other senses are sharper than people who see.
Bracha asked them how they felt if they saw a person with a cane and a person with a dog.
The kids: When someone has a dog people keep away more. Some people don't like tampering with dogs. A blind person walking with a dog walks faster. Walking with a dog is safer because the dog will bark if something is wrong. (Bracha explained that I rarely bark, but it was a good thought.) Someone with a cane has to feel their way along. The dog knows where it's going.
And Bracha got a lot of tough questions to answer, too:
How do you cook? How do you know when the gas is on? (Bracha: Go home, get a plastic knife, close your eyes, and try cutting an apple or a tomato. You'll find that if you are careful you can do it.)
Why can't you wear glasses if you can't see? Wouldn't that help?
How do you tell bills apart? What if someone wants to cheat you? (Bracha said there were dishonest people everywhere, and sometimes people even try to cheat people who see, but cheating someone who doesn't is even worse.)
What happens when you go somewhere you've never been before? How does your dog know where to go?
Well, they kept at it for a long time, and Bracha told them about the time I pushed her out of the way of the man on a bike on the sidewalk by the highway, and I was so proud! She explained to the children that I have something called in tell a gent diss oh bee dience. I think that means that if Bracha tells me to walk into the street and I see a car coming, I'll disobey and not go. Anyway, I'm glad I have it because it sounds like something useful to have. And she told them about how dangerous hybrid cars are because they can't be heard, and how difficult it is for me to tell when the street begins if there is a ramp and no curb to stand on and wait. I hope we get to talk to some more big kids. They are so interesting!