FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Erica and Daniel Jenkins are a blind married couple who decided to figure out exactly how sighted people lose personal possessions.
“It’s unfathomable,” said Daniel, sitting in his living room. “What even happens? Swivel that head around. Don’t your eyes just tell you where things are?” Raising his voice, he asked, “What am I missing?!”
Erica put a hand softly on Daniel’s shoulder. She calmly explained, “It’s just we have meticulous organizational systems that govern our lives. So we’re really curious about — ”
“How these buffoons never know where their keys are,” interrupted Daniel.
“So,” said Erica pointedly, “we decided to develop a little empathy by leading with curiosity toward our neighbors.”
“This guy Doug at a neighborhood barbecue said he lost his wallet,” explained Daniel. “I laughed and asked how, since there are only two places to search: the sole location he keeps the wallet at home, and the one secured pocket in his bag or on his person where it is at all times when he’s out. Get this — Doug said he doesn’t have those! Is the AirTag attached to his wallet dead? Doesn’t have that either! So I was like, ‘Well then, whose fault is this?!’”
“I walked by that house today and definitely heard the sounds of another barbecue,” sighed Erica. “We weren’t invited.”
The couple’s blind 9-year-old daughter, Amanda, is proud that she hasn’t lost a single possession since she was a toddler.
“I think sighted grownups are pretty much the same as blind 3-year-olds,” said Amanda.
“Sometimes, my brother and I play a game called Sighted People,” she volunteered.
Five-year-old Aden perked up: “I’m a sighted person,” he said in a mocking voice, throwing toys around the room. “Who even cares where these go? I can just see them.”
“We had to stop Aden doing that at school,” said Erica, groaning.
Tension between the Jenkins and their neighbors is mounting, not least because of Daniel’s comments on Doug’s Nextdoor posts about his missing wallet.
At press time, Daniel was being questioned by the police after commenting, “Maybe someone took it to teach you a little personal responsibility, you seeing slacker!”