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I've had several blind friends. Here is a story of one of them. Gary was once upon a time an articulate, committed, and compelling advocate for the blind, but he fell from grace like many other activists by the usual routes of drugs and alcohol. Just as he had been so fierce in the political avant guard of the day, so he became just as fierce an agent in his own self destruction.
One night as I was coming home from my studio in my wavering pick-up, loaded to the gills and looking out for cop cars, I came to a belated stop in the middle of University Ave and Grove St to keep from hitting a strange figure wondering in the middle of four lanes. He had a paper bag with two six packs in it and was desparately trying to keep from losing hold of it and failing in the task. In a last critical moment the balance was lost, the bag hit the pavement and a dozen Coor's talls went careening and rolling off into the night. One or two had broken their seals and were slowing rotating on their own axes as foam spewed forth in lazy archs. It was Gary, lost to speed, making a midnight beer run. Poor bastard, slowly and carefully he collected most of the run aways, tucked under one arm and wondered off into the gloom swinging his cane as if to club any bystanders. I didn't say anything, because I knew it would just distract him from his desparate purpose. He could track a Coor's at night like a Bushman following an antelope.
Now a year or so later I was over at Gary's doing just what he did for Fourth of July, getting high on drugs and hammered stupid on beer when two of his blind buddies came by to share fireworks. Yes, the blind love fireworks. But I think I can safely say, where there are blind people with fireworks, there is trouble.
Trouble is they can't see where they are throwing them. They are also lousy at guessing how long the fuse takes to burn. It's trial and error. Bottle rockets, fire crackers, sputtering mass packs like the Chinese use, cherry bombs, roman candles, sparklers for the little kids (yes, kids were there. laughing, wild brats with blind parents) the whole show. We had a great time. Only a few second degree burns, maybe a shortened finger, but what the hey. Scariest and funniest Fourth I ever spent.
So, yes. I think the blind can handle guns just fine. Of course they can. Just pull the trigger. It ain't rocket science, is it? I am reasonably certain the discerning blind sportmen of New Hampshire prefer shotguns.
CG