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Getting Grounded at Dialogue in the Dark.
The other day I had the opportunity to attend the exhibit Dialogue in the Dark at the South Street Seaport in New York City. My takeaway from the exhibit can only be described as “WOW.”
A little about the tour:
When you enter Dialogue in the Dark, you are handed a cane and placed in a group with a grand total of ten people. You first enter a softly lit room where you are instructed to sit down on small illuminated cubes, and the florescent lights in the room slowly dim. When the lights are fully off, the tour guide enters the room and introduces himself. The guide moves through the room with ease (as the rest of us cannot see an inch in front of our faces), all the while getting to know each of the ten attendees on a personal level. After the intros and explanation of the exhibit, you begin an hour long tour through “the streets of Manhattan.” The interesting and amazing detail that I have yet to mention is that our tour guide was himself visually impaired. His name was Romeo Edmead, and he had been blind since the age of two. So a door opens into more darkness, and Romeo then leads you on a nerve racking guided excursion of a simulated Central Park, Times Square, a Fairway grocery store and the like. After a few minutes, you begin to feel incredibly trusting and comfortable knowing that Romeo is with you and guiding you through these unexplored areas. He asks questions about what you are hearing, smelling, feeling and gives specific instructions on ways to navigate each location. As the tour came to a close, we were able to sit down with our guide in a diner atmosphere and ask any question we had ever wondered about being visually impaired. Romeo was gracious and open, and it was incredible seeing how the tables turned for so many of us and how our levels of respect drastically increased by gaining a bit of understanding of what the visually impaired go through on a daily basis. When all was said and done, and the lights came back on, I felt emotional for an array of reasons and was ultimately moved by Romeo Edmead and the wonderful things that he has done and will do with his life. I was also reminded of how precious life is. I was actually so moved by the exhibit that I cried for about ten minutes after – and I’m not afraid to admit that… I just felt so thankful. I highly recommend Dialogue in the Dark to anyone that needs some perspective.
