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Photo by Bill Wagner
Patricia Boyce sinks into a sofa at her Longview home last week. Even though she can no longer see the pieces she's displayed - she lost her sight about 12 years ago - Boyce works to keep her home visually interesting. 'I love beautiful things,' she says. 'It's a reclection of who I am. I'm always glad when other people see it.'A feel for beauty
Tuesday, January 27, 2004 7:37 AM PST
By Cathy Zimmerman
Printable version
E-mail this articleThe house displays an obvious mastery for color and light.
In the living room, Patricia Boyce has placed black and gold pillows and a chenille throw of dense red on the white sofa, which is also set off by several black lacquered Chinese chests in the room.
Pleated opaque shades drench the space with natural light that's bright and soft at the same time. And Boyce has chosen to wear a red sweater and black slacks. Rather than overstating the case, the decision speaks as softly as she does.
"I love beautiful things, said Boyce, 72. "It's a reflection of who I am. I'm always glad when other people see it."
She herself cannot see it. Boyce has retinitis pigmentosa, which destroyed her peripheral vision in stages until all of her sight was gone. "It's hereditary," she said. "When I was 28, the doctor told me I was already legally blind and that I had 10 more years" of seeing.
"I thought I'd have more, and I did."
She hesitates, then shares an experience that happened when she first heard the diagnosis.
"When he told me, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders, and a voice said, 'This is my purpose for you. This is not a burden, and you will never suffer.' And I never have.
"Maybe I had a few moments, the natural grieving that I'd never (again) be able to see my children's faces and my grandchildren's faces, that I couldn't sew any more."
She went completely blind at about 60. "It happened. And I was so at peace."
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The mother of eight children, Boyce is a world traveler who owned her own Seattle travel agency. After her father's stroke and her mother's dementia, she moved back in with her parents several years ago and cared for them until they died, she said.
She moved to Longview a year ago.
"I had a very little family money, and I located where I could buy a house," said Boyce, who has been divorced for 28 years. Her cousin, Longview business owner Gary Elsey, and good friends Kathy Thompson and Steve Pulliam invited her to consider Longview.
"I just find it a very charming place," Boyce said. "But it always comes down to the people. ... There are a lot of interesting people here, and I've only just begun."
Thompson, a real estate agent at John L. Scott, has known Boyce for 23 years. "She's not the least bit handicapped," Thompson said of her friend.
"Once, we were meeting at the Seattle Center for a celebration. I thought we should stay downstairs so we could go up in the Space Needle with her. My husband said, 'Kathy, she's leaving by herself to go India for six months. I think she can make it to the top of the Needle.' ...
"We often try to take care of people who don't need to be taken care of," Thompson said. "I've learned so much from Patricia. ... She sees things that we don't see."
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Since relocating in Longview, Boyce has joined Toastmasters. "I love the challenge of that," she said. She wants to explore classes at the college and activities at the senior center. And she plans more world trips.
Even in this, the age of empowerment, Boyce is somewhat startling.
"I don't think blind," she said. "That makes a difference for me.
"I feel blessed. I have had the privilege of seeing what the blue sky looks like and the green trees look like. I have seen the beautiful mountains. I definitely see this as an advantage. But the majority of people I have met who are blind for life" are just as content as she is, she said.
Blindness "can be a mind set," Boyce said. "It doesn't define me. People respond to us based on how we are responding to them. I hope people who meet me feel comfortable. And most do."
That comfort, she said, comes from journeying out, and journeying in.
"My first trip aboard was with a friend, to Spain and Denmark," Boyce said. "While I was seated on the plane, I realized that at the other end, I could be anybody I wanted to be. It was my first time away from being identified by my parents, my family, my teachers ...
"I soon discovered that that was true anywhere. I didn't have to be anybody else but me."
Boyce has traveled to Mexico, South America, England and China, twice to Russia, and six times to India, which is her favorite.
"I have a spiritual interest in India," she said. "I met someone there who had wisdom to impart. ... I learn from everyone, but he is one of the many teachers I've learned from."
Sathya Sai Baba reinforced the message, "live in love, serve all ... let go of judgment," Boyce said. Sai Baba is a guru, or teacher, with several ashrams in India, a culture known for its many centers of spiritual learning.
Merely being in that country changed her, she added. "I have a love-hate relationship with India. It's harsh in many ways and exquisite in others. It's like meeting a new person. Who am I to judge how they should act?
"There are parts of India that are uncomfortable for me. But I simply accept them. I let them be. I learned that from Sai Baba. Through his message and others, I've come to a place of peace."
Boyce has traveled alone since her total blindness, she said, and will do it again. "I have to be a bit cautious, but I don't have a problem at all. ... Wherever I go, everyone wants to help. People reach out a hand. I find Americans the same. It's intrinsic in everyone's heart."
For now, she's focused close to home. Boyce is seeking a way to "read" the local paper. "I can get the New York Times on tape, but I'm here in this community. I want to be more aware of it."
She's also working with a mobility instructor to walk to the lake and back. "Each city is different," she said. "I have to find a way to figure out when I've arrived home. I told my neighbors if they see me, I've gone too far. ...
"Up to now," Boyce said, "I've relied on friends or the taxi, but I'm studying the neighborhood so that I'll be able to walk. And I want to get acquainted with downtown."
As spring approaches, Boyce has designed a courtyard garden for the backyard that has already been dug up and prepared for roses, dwarf fruit trees and a fountain. "I'm so fortunate to be able to pursue my passions," she said, "my family, my travel, my friends. ....
"To me, life is spiritual, but the spirituality comes from experiencing all of life."
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