[blindlaw] (no subject)

[James Pepper]

Last year I was at the NFB convention escorting people around the Dallas
Anatole Hotel and for the day that you all had the walk across Dallas, I
figured they needed the help that day!  We had quite a few people using
their canes.  Generally poeple knew what they were doing and were gentle
with the cane, but there were a sizeable amount of people who were swinging
that thing around so violently that when it hit it was actually painful.   A
lot of bruises after that event!

And what was interesting was that some of these people who were swinging
simply didn't care at all about what they hit, some through lack of
experience, but there were some who appeared to be doing it on purpose.  The
"In your face" type of thing, but the problem was the people they were
hitting were hotel staff and volunteers like me who came down to help out at
the convention.  We all got to know who was violent with the cane and
avoided them.

So if you were escorted around the Antatole on that day, chances are that
was me. Also I stood in front of that post between the staircase and the
main ballroom and announced the post when people were coming into the main
sessions in the main ballroom so you all knew there was a big post blocking
the way because people were having to find it to navigate around it. And
with a few hundred people with canes it caused the crowd to get held up.   I
suggest in future conventions that they get some volunteers to do this
because it really saves time in moving crowds of people if there is someone
standing in front of an obstacle to announce it.

James Pepper