Hello, I am a little boy who only sees right with his heart...
Which doesn't make my parent's daily life any easier. So I'm blind and different (mentally speaking).
This blog was born in french during autumn 2003 and is now progressively being translated in your language.
New articles will therefore appear on a regular basis.
DISCLAIMER
... my apologies to the people who hadn't understood this yet, all articles on this website are created and written by myself (his dad).
Lou is currently unable to do it,, just like he is to this day unable to grasp the concept of a "computer", "internet", or to focus for a long period of time on a conversation. Only time will tell us if we manage to integrate him completely in the world in which he lives.
Therefore all stories, despite relating actual facts, are obviously biased by my interpretation of his behavior. But having known him for over five years, I don't think I'm getting it wrong.
Thank you to the "Roi Baudoin" foundation ( "Parcours hors pistes" ). The new design, hosting and translations were partially made possible by their financial support.
Many thanks to Marco Pappalardo et Laetitia Bouet for the translation.
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monday 20 june 2005
105. Colours without seeing them ! (colours 2)
As amazing as it may sound, colours have meaning for blind people ! My parents for example know a sweet blind person who loves to wear a red sweater because it's "warm and flashy". So despite appearances colours have codes : cold, warm, flashy, discreet, etc... You seeing people tend to forget that kind of perceptions ! We can nonetheless "feel" the colour of our clothes by the way they absorb sunlight : try wearing black and standing in the sun on a hot summer and you'll see ! The opposite is also true for white.
Speaking of which, attached is a picture of a painting that decorates the living room of my house. This painting was made by a blind belgian shaman / artist living in California (Josée Andréa). She paints "by touching" and picks her colours by "feeling". In the case of this particular painting, the hair is golden blond. This was specifically chosen by JosÈe. And truly it is an astounding colour : it changes from "gold" to "blond" according to the light.
Just goes to show that you can see things without seeing them !
The other day Eva asked mommy if she could do some painting. As soon as I heard that I demanded to be allowed to do the same ( whereas at school Marie-Anne must sometimes fight for me to agree to do some.) So I painted my first "picture" by chosing the colours myself : "Mommy, I would like some... green, orange, and red..." And here's the result. I really liked it !
If you are long time readers, you must know I love playing with words and sounds. Being at the countryside, last week, daddy told me a little reptitive story that was really in context : the cow ! Do you know it ?
"The cow has two byproducts : milk and dung. Milk ? Doesn't matter, but dung is either one of two things : it's either on the field, or on the road. If it's on the field, it doesn't matter. But if it's on the road, it's either one of two things : it's either dry, or it's fresh. If it's dry, it doesn't matter. But if it's fresh, either one of two things can happen : you can either see it, or you can't see it. If you can see it, it doesn't matter. But if you can't see it, either one of two things can happen : either you don't step on it, or you do step on it. If you don't step on it, it doesn't matter. But if you do step on it, either one of two things can happen : you either don't notice, or you do notice. If you don't notice it doesn't matter. But if you do notice, yell : the COW ! ... has two
byproducts : milk and dung. " (and here we go again) I love it ! Daddy explained what dung was (and the rest) so I could get a vague idea of what the song is about. Since then, we regularly tell the "cow" story together. Daddy starts one sentence... and I complete it : Daddy : "Milk ?" Me : "It doesn't matter !" (etc) Sometimes I even do it on my own. I must admit I do get confused though. Me : (...) " it's either in the field, or on the road. If it's on the road it doesn't matter, but if it's on the road, either one of two things can happen, you either step on it ... (etc)" My favourite moment ? The transition when we loop back to the beginning of course ! Me : " ... if you notice yell (and I yell) The Cow ! (I leave a blank, then get back into it) ... has two byproducts, milk and dung ..."
(the drawing is from a children's tale realised and illustrated by daddy) : See the tale (in french).
Daddy tried using his explanation about leaves falling as an excuse to make me appreciate walking around on them. Kids love it... so why not me !
The first experience wasn't exactly thrilling : I walked a little on this unstable ground. It's just like sand : most blind or visually impaired people don't like walking on "soft" or uneven surfaces. Makes sense. On the other hand I loved hearing daddy's footsteps as he kicked leaves around while walking in a circle around me. Another one of his brilliant ideas, he's not about to give me a break !