I lived in Decatur, Georgia in the 70s. Lived in a $90/month apartment in a newly "mixed" neighborhood, had to put up with some stuff, but there was no place cheaper and it was worth the various hassles.

Rode the bus into Atlanta to the central bus/MARTA train depot in Central City Park each morning, and transferred to the bus that took me to work.

On my street (Columbia Avenue) was the bus stop, a concrete post set on the curb. Every day, right up the street, a blind guy would step out of his little house, someone from the house would let him know when to cross the street, and he'd walk down the sidewalk with his stick, feeling for the bus stop post. Small, thin guy with pale skin and startling black hair. Strode right along, no hesitant shuffling. At first I wondered whether he could see a little or not, but one day I got a look behind his glasses as he adjusted them, and he had NO eyes at all. Probably a congenital defect, but he sure couldn't see.

I'd say good morning but I suppose he had other things on his mind, because once he found the bus stop, he'd stand next to it with his stick held out over the curb and gutter. When the bus came, it would hit his stick, he'd feel for the open door, climb in, and sit down in the front seat opposite from the driver.

He was riding to a college library every day in downtown Atlanta, I forget which one - Morehead or Clark or Georgia State. At his stop, the driver would reach around and tap him on the knee, and he'd get off and walk down the street to his destination.

I mentioned to the driver once ... "That's a brave man to tackle this trip blind every day". And the driver said "You don't know the half of it; he was born blind AND deaf, can't hear anything OR see anything."

I think about this guy every time I hear someone whine about how they can't work or can't do something because lactose intolerance or migraines or my knee hurts. "My wife she ..." "My dog it .... ", every excuse in the world. This guy has excuses to top every bum and snowflake and panhandler on earth, and he's out there in the world, doing it for himself with an occasional tap on the knee from a helper

....

I wish there was some way I could tell him how much his example has probably helped a LOT of people. But I don't know how ....

Recognizing and Surviving the Condition of Anarcho-Tyranny