On the prowl on Main St., in Bradenton FL, I saw a woman using a walker very slowly heading my way. She had white hair, and I mistakenly thought that she was quite elderly. I stood where the light looked favorable, and approached her in the right spot. I thought.
At first, she refused to be photographed. She held up the walker and looked at it as if it were an ugly dog that followed her home. I assured her that I did head shots and the walker wouldn't show. Then I showed her my Photostream on the phone. Finally she said OK, IF I I could tell her how to find an address. I rolled my eyes and told her that I was from out of town. She said that she had to find the courthouse. Aha, that I knew. I began to motion the directions, but finally said, “C'mon, I'll walk with you and we'll find it.” Tina said, “Sorry, I am very slow with this thing.” I assured her that a family member used a walker and I am familiar with the challenges. The sidewalk was composed of brick pavers – pretty, but not walker friendly. Tina recently had a total hip replacement, but now her knee was bothering her.
As we approached a corner, I pointed to the courthouse across the street, but we were next to the Administration building and Tina thought that it might be where she needed to be. We found some steps, but no ramp. Surely there was one around the corner, but she was done walking. I offered to take the walker, hold her hand, and guide her up the steps. Tina said “No thanks, I can do this.” I suspect that she was afraid of me stealing her purse, or creating some other mischief. As we got to the top, she turned around and said “Why not get the picture now?” A I asked her to step a little to the side to get into shade, and clicked away.
