To me, if you walk with a cane, and don't put very much weight on it, yet you walk at a very quick pace… why walk with a cane at all? Do you just keep it with you so you can beat unsuspecting observers? I could see very clearly in the example I'm speaking of that it wasn't a walking stick, but a cane - and the lady was moving fast. She sort of had one of those hunched-over walks that says, "Best watch yourself, since I'm coming through, and if you get in my way… I'll thwack ya' good!" Go figure. (on a side note, I'm pleased to say that my spell checker acknowledges 'thwack' as an actual word)
That reminds me of a guy I used to see walking around with a walker. He would walk at a rather fast pace and the walker would be swinging in the air. Similar to the motion that you swing a big stick that you find on a hike and use as a walking stick. Very odd...why have one?
I've seen a guy like that too! It hardly, if ever touched the ground, but the dude moved really quickly. I really do think he just kept it with him to wield as a weapon against the defenseless.
So much for the cane. I think it was just used to make people get out of her way. I'd like to see her live without it, and then see how she does. She'd probably have more people get out of her way without it.
Today, outside the library, I saw a lady with a guide dog. But, she wasn't blind! I know it was a guide dog because it was wearing something official-looking with a guide dog patch embroidered on it. Maybe the dog was for defense too.
Pres. Hinckley uses a walking cane as a pointing device.