One time in school I talked to a blind man and it totally blew my mind.

It was a long time ago when I was still in high school or maybe even middle school. So, a long, long, LONG time ago. James Knox Polk was president and the world was a much simpler place.

He was visiting our school for some reason. I don’t really remember the context. I think it had to do with tolerance or awareness or something. He seemed really old then, but I was a kid and thought most people were old, even college students. Looking back on it, he was probably in his 40s, so not old at all.

He gave a talk to our class and then took questions. He was very funny. I remember he had a cane which he tap-tap-tapped out in front of him like a bug antenna. One of the girls in my class asked him if he had a seeing-eye dog and he said no. Other questions revolved around his daily life, questions like: How do you make phone calls? How do you cook supper? How do you go to the bathroom? and so forth. I remember he made a joke about having a really, really low electric bill. “I only turn on the lights if I have company.” It was one of the benefits of being blind, he said.

I remember liking him and thinking how cool it was that he found humor in his blindness. He was blind since birth, he said, and had never seen anything ever.

"Had never seen anything ever"….Those words affected me deeply for some reason. Wow, I thought, he doesn’t even have memories of sight. He dreams only in sound. I raised my hand and the teacher, who was sitting in the corner, called on me.

"Is it dark?" I asked him.

"No," he said. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a black cloth sack. He held it out and told me to come get it. I did.

"Mike," he said. "I want you to put the sack over your head." I did so, as the rest of the class giggled.

"What do you see?"

"Nothing."

"Is it dark?"

"Yes."

"Now I want you to take the sack off your head and put your hand in it." I did so.

"What does your hand see?"

"Huh?"

"Is it dark? Is your hand afraid of the dark?"

"No, I guess."

"Your hand has never seen anything ever either."

I just remember being blown away by that, all these years later. Actually, I still am. It was, like, one of those quintessential moments where you can actually feel your mind expanding.