Out with the love game, in with the cricket
Deloris Smith was “not interested in sports” when she and a number of other women tried out for Jamaica’s Visually Impaired Cricket team in 2004.
But she can now boast being the only female on the team to eventually win the West Indies Blind Championships held in Barbados in July. There, Jamaica defeated Barbados for the trophy after rolling through Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and the Windward Islands.
It was during a match at the Salvation Army some time ago that Smith signed up for the team, after an announcement was made for fresh talent to the squad.
“They announced it . and I put my name on the list,” she said. “I wasn’t interested in sports before, I wasn’t. But I just felt like I should have taken part and it happened.”
In this form of cricket, the ball used contains metals that give off a sound when rolled along the pitch so that the players, who are fully and partially blind, are able to locate it.
“I love the game now,” Smith said. “I have been injured more than once and each time it happens I say I’m not going back out there, but I find myself going back because I love the game.”
Coach Vivalyn Latty-Scott was not surprised that the former nursing student made the cut. “She learnt the game quickly and doesn’t miss practice. She is willing to work and has a good team spirit. We are happy to have her and I know she will improve,” she said.
The 48-year-old – who started losing her sight in 1982 – is however humble about her accomplishments. When asked about her contribution to winning the championship, the grandmother of two gracefully praised her teammates.
“I feel good playing among the men . more women should try to make the team to show that women can compete with the men,” she said.
Out with the career and the love
One casualty of Smith’s condition was her first love – nursing. Smith’s sight started deteriorating after completing a nursing course in 1982. She however landed a job at Primrose Healthcare Centre but was forced to give it up, as she was unable to see to sign her name or file reports.
“I had to make friends with some staff members to help me sign my name,” she said.
Smith never had the money to undergo an operation and after awhile she was told that her condition was way too advanced for corrective surgery.
“I feel disappointed,” she said, “knowing that I wanted to do more than I’m doing now.”
Now, she is only able to read large prints, and has resigned herself to a future totally in the dark.
“My sight is not getting any better. I just tell myself that anytime is anytime – it [total blindness] can happen at anytime. If my sight remains as it is I thank God,” she said.
She explained that her children were nearing adulthood when she started going blind, and so they were not affected much. They went to live with their father in the US.
With her spouse’s desertion – one which came when she started losing her sight to glaucoma – Smith decided to place a moratorium on her love life. The couple had been together since the early 70s.
“At first he started staying out late . I decided that I would talk to him about it and when I did he just left,” Smith said. “It hurt me so much – especially because of how long we had been together.”
Now, the fear of not finding a ‘Mr. Right with sight’ has led to her deciding to stay single.
“Who want me, I don’t want them and who I want maybe don’t want me. For instance, it is mostly blind people who want me but I don’t want any blind or partially blind person. If I’m with a blind person it means that three of us would be involved because somebody would have to be there to read for us. And the people who can see maybe wouldn’t want me or wouldn’t treat me right,” she mused. “To tell the truth, I’m not looking for anybody. I’m just trying to live happily,”
Smith can be seen along King Street, downtown, with the Falcons, a group of blind musicians.
She also keeps busy with the National Cultural group at the Jamaica Society for the Blind. She is a trained telephone operator and has a certificate in information technology.
