Hand Signals

Almost every day after work I drive through downtown Minneapolis on my way home. I've started to notice some of the same people walking down the streets past me, which makes sense since we probably all leave our jobs at pretty much the same time each day.

There's this one guy who sort of seems to be missing an upper lip (not, like, due to a horrible accident or anything - I think he just kind of bites his upper lip while he's walking), and I usually pass him in about the same block every day. Except today, because I got out of the garage a couple minutes early, so I passed him farther down the street than usual.

But, anyway, that's the kind of thing you notice while you're sitting in traffic, going either low speeds or being stopped at lights. Or at least it's the kind of thing I notice.

Today, though, I noticed something different. An older couple were walking along the street at a pretty brisk pace. At first, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary as they were passing my car, but then I noticed that people coming toward them were stepping out of the way.

The man was walking while holding a white cane out in front of him in his right hand, obviously checking to make sure he wasn't going to run into anything. And, with his left hand, he was reaching out and touching the woman's arm. All-in-all, it seemed pretty normal for the situation - someone with low vision being guided by someone else.

Then I noticed that, instead of holding her by the elbow, or the shoulder (as you often see in these situations), he was reaching out with his left hand and she was holding it in her right. It was a light touch - they weren't clasping each other tightly, his hand was merely resting in her palm - but it was enough for the two of them to speed past me on the sidewalk, then turn and cross the street in front of me all before the light changed.

As they stopped on the other side of the street to cross the next side of the intersection, I noticed that the woman took the moment to slide a little closer and take a slightly more firm grip of the man's hand. Then, after a quick glance was exchanged, she checked the traffic and they were off again - his hand resting ever-so-gently in her palm.

I get kind of excited when I see people walking hand-in-hand down the street. I love that visible, tactile representation of a connection, a relationship, a kinship of some kind. I fully admit that I get a little mushy when Christopher and I are walking together and he takes my hand - and I can still remember the exact first time he ever did it. That moment of "We're in this together" is pretty cool.

But what I saw today was kind of incredible. The gentle way that the two of them connected without grasping or clinging, and yet being so obviously connected. There was something in it that made it clear that they had been together for many years, and that they would be together for many more. It was both "I'm here" and "I'm not going anywhere without you."

Yeah. Sometimes you see pretty cool stuff while driving through downtown on the way home after work.