If anyone can be a tiger and a pussycat at the same time, Ruth Watkins can.
County transportation chief Carl Balser called her "a very sweet woman, yet one of our harsher critics," and Courtney Watson, County Council vice chairman, said she is "so kind-hearted, yet sharp and tenacious."
Watkins, 83 and legally blind, is well-known for her staunch advocacy for seniors' issues in Howard County. When a speaker informed a meeting of Watkins' Low-Vision Group this week that the new operator of the county's bus system might not be able to provide charter service to the annual Possibilities Fair, sponsored by the National Federation for the Blind in Baltimore, Watkins spoke up.
"Here, again, is an example of the county not considering seniors' needs," she told the small gathering, adding that participants might have difficulty attending the highly anticipated event Oct. 18.
"Now, don't go throwing out the baby with the bathwater," said Karen Hull, county mental health coordinator, to Watkins' concern over this potential glitch. "This is being checked out and should it prove true, I'm sure the county can find an alternate plan."
"If they don't work this out," Watkins said with a smile, "then you-know-who will be raising a little Cain."
Known to raise more than a little ruckus at times, Watkins has been the facilitator of the 12:30 p.m. meeting of the Low-Vision Group each Tuesday at the Ellicott City Senior Center for about five years.
The 14 members have vision impairments of varying degrees and depend on Watkins' concern and perseverance to help them get the services they need. The Ellicott City site also hosts a Tuesday morning session, and low-vision groups meet in Glenwood and the Bain Center in Columbia.
Watkins was invited to take over the group soon after she began losing her sight to macular degeneration. She said her left eye hemorrhaged in 1998, eclipsing her sight by leaving her with a large black spot in the midst of a corona of vision. A year after that, her husband, Roland, died.
"This group was my salvation at that time in my life," Watkins said with emotion. Her right eye hemorrhaged last year, but newer medications have allowed her to retain some central vision in it. "I often use a cane, but I get around well, and I believe that God has put me here to help others who can't help themselves," she said.
