Corky took his white cane along for the ride, but was not using it to guide his way. He was tagging along with his sighted roommate, Harry, lightly holding his elbow, sometimes a more efficient way to travel. Harry instinctively slowed just a bit when approaching an up-curb or a down-curb, and since he was always a half step ahead of his blind roommate, Corky "got the message" and accommodated. They zipped right along, chattering and excited.
At least Corky was excited. He had burst into their dorm room a half hour before, shouting, "Harry, Harry, are you here? I just got my fucking keys!"
Harry replied, "What is this country coming to? You mean you have to get keys for fucking now? I'm telling you, man, that Bush has got to go!"
Laughing, Corky continued, "You know what I mean, asshole. I just came from the Housing Office and they gave me the keys to my apartment in Dutchman's Village. I can move in any time."
"I'll miss you, old buddy," Harry said, more seriously. "When are you going to leave me?"
"Shit," Corky said, "I don't even know where it is! I was hoping I could get you to walk over there with me. What do you say? You busy?"
"You mean right now?" Harry asked.
"No, man," Corky replied. "I was thinking like maybe ten minutes ago!"
"If I go over there with you," Harry continued, "can you get back okay by yourself? I got a physics lab in an hour, so if that works for you, it works for me."
"Fantastic!" Corky said. "let's go. I can't wait to see the place. I'll get back okay, don't worry about that. I'll drop bread crumbs on the way over or something."
"You'd do better dropping text books. Nobody ever picks up a fucking text book around here. The birds and squirrels will get your bread crumbs."
The apartments for married students, Dutchman's Village, was a grouping of a half dozen two story buildings, each with three apartments having their own exterior entrances from the street that ran along one side of the campus. To reach it, the two needed only to walk along a walkway to the campus entrance, turn right, and proceed several hundred yards to where the Village was located. Along the way, Harry occasionally mentioned a landmark he thought would be of interest to Corky.
"You're in luck, my friend," Harry said. "Looks like you won't have any streets to cross between the Village and the rest of the campus, although it will be a kind of a hike in bad weather. And hey, it just dawned on me, this place is half way to the Willis Hospital where your girlfriend Joyce is a student nurse."
"Oh man," Corky groaned. "She's ancient history ever since I met her friend Billie."
Harry continued, "Looks like about six buildings here, and there's a driveway you want to find. It goes in from here, and after a short way it turns left, goes past all the buildings, and then it seems to turn left again and come back out to the street up yonder a ways. That shouldn't be too bad, huh?"
"Sounds cool," Corky said. "Sidewalk too?"
"Yup," Harry said. "But just on one side of the driveway."
"Which side?" Corky asked.
"The right side," harry explained, "no sidewalk on the left, just bushes and parking and shit there. The buildings are all off to the right, so that's where the sidewalk is. It just goes past all the buildings and keeps on going, looks like from here."
"That's perfect," Corky said, "I hate roads with no sidewalks. Let's go find my castle."
"I got news, old buddy," Harry said, "there ain't a castle in sight anywhere in these parts. I wouldn't exactly call these places a slum or anything, but they sure ain't castles, either."
They proceeded down the walk, followed it to the left, and paused before the second building.
"What are you?" Harry asked, "number 5 did you say?"
"Yes, number 5," Corky replied.
"Seems to be the middle door here," Harry said. "You got three doors off of a common porch, and you got 4 first, then 5, then 6. You want to go ring your door bell and see if you're home?"
"They told me it was vacant," Corky said. "let me take it from here and you watch in case I get the wrong door and somebody shoots me, okay?"
"Sure," said Harry, "but if you could see what I see in the window of number 4 there, you might just want to make a mistake on purpose some day. That lady is stacked, my friend, and she's sort of curious about us, too."
"Fuck you," Corky joked, "I don't believe you for a minute! And besides, it's me she's curious about, not you."
Using his cane more effectively now, Corky left his friend and headed toward his porch. He ascended a couple of wooden steps, and trailed leftward, passing one door marked by a fuzzy doormat in front of it, and stopped at the second door. He turned to gaze questioningly at where he left his friend, and heard his distant reply.
"You got it, buddy, and I got to run."
"Thanks, Harry," Corky called, and he was on his own.
* * *
Corky had been living in his small "married students" apartment for nearly two weeks. He had not neglected his studies while hustling up furniture, having a telephone installed, figuring out mail delivery and garbage pickup, stocking up his small kitchen, and experimenting with the microwave, crock pot, and stove. These were all simple things for most people, but Corky was blind, and they all presented a little additional challenge on that account.
One day, Violet left her #4 apartment by the kitchen door, and went across the back porch to #6, her neighbor Rose. She paused as she passed #5 to see what she could see,but it wasn't much. In fact it wasn't anything.
Rose heard her tapping on the kitchen door, and invited her in for their daily coffee clatch and gossip session.
"Well?" asked Rose, without fanfare, "What's he doing this morning?"
"Nothing I could see," Violet answered, "he must be doing it in the bathroom, I guess."
They both laughed, and Rose continued, "Well, he seems to be living alone in there, although how he does it, being blind and all, I'll never be able to figure out."
"It's not that hard nowadays, I suppose," Violet said, "what with microwaves and crock pots and all."
"I suppose so," replied Rose. "He does get around good with that white stick of his. You should see him go out of here sometimes, headed for class, I guess."
"Yes, I've seen him," Violet answered. "He's something else, all right. And he does seem friendly enough, if you chit chat him up a little, you know."
"So then what are you saying?" Rose asked. "Do you think he would go for that idea of yours? Being a judge for our girls?"
"I think we should just ask him," Violet said. "If I were a single guy I would jump at the chance, and him being blind is perfect for this little job."