[Blindtlk] Grilling question

Ray Foret Jr rforetjr at comcast.net
Wed Aug 25 23:11:48 UTC 2010 

In short, Mari, it's human nature; or, to put it more precicely, the purversness of human nature.  Can't really add much more than that to what Gary and Mike have already said.  Between those to posts of theirs, I reckon we have the makings of a complete "Braille Monitor" article.


Sincerely,
The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!

A Very Proud and Happy Mac User!!!

E-Mail:
rforetjr at comcast dot net
Skype Name:
barefootedray

On Aug 25, 2010, at 5:53 PM, Mike Freeman wrote:

Mari:

I wholeheartedly agree with Gary's ruminations and advice below. He has written so well that I suspect that anything I'll say will be either superfluous or overkill. Nevertheless, i have a few observations and, perhaps, a slightly different take on the situation.

You ask how we have gotten over the roller-coaster of feelings you're currently experiencing respecting your blindness. The short answer is that not all of us have and even for those of us who largely have gotten off the ride, there are days when most of us would rather not be burdened with some of the nuisances of blindness, if only because most of the world is sighted. It's an interesting speculation as to whether if most of the world were blind, would the sighted feel occasionally frustrated. (H.G. Wells, anyone?) The experiences of sighted people at NFB conventions might be of interest but even this doesn't answer the question which, in truth, can never be answered and therefore provides fodder for the #ingalt_history_what-if Usenet newsgroup. (grin)

I certainly do not minimize the difficulties blindness occasionally entails. But the secret to getting beyond the preoccupation with the problems of blindness is to come to the realization that blindness is not the only characteristic of people that can engender difficulties. That's where NFB philosophy is unique: we assert that blindness is like any other trait of humanity. Like anything else, it's a burden sometimes and, if not a blessing, at least neutral at other times. It's easier to talk about this than to actually wrap one's mind around the concept, especially when one experiences problems in a given situation as you are experiencing re transportation. It may help to realize that anyone without a car might have the same problem in your area, be such person blind or not. The fallacy many of us blind persons fall into is the assumption that were we sighted, we'd all be driving.

The person who said that blind people on their own may be more limited than are the sighted in choosing where to live is also right, at least if one assumes that all sighted persons necessarily drive (which ainT necessarily so). There's no question that a blind person often must be a bit creative and may have to do things in a different way from the sighted. But this isn't necessarily all bad. But that's hard to grasp in your situation, I am sure.

The best medicine I can think of for the ups and downs is to realize that it's not the blindness per se that's the problem but rather circumstances surrounding it and that these may be gotten around with a bit of imagination.

You might want to look up Dof. Ternigan's speeen: "The Nature of Independence" on the NFB website.

Now I'll get off my soapbox before I suffer from foot-in-mouth disease.

Best of luck.

Mike Freeman

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Wunder" <gwunder at earthlink.net>
To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wednesday, Aug 25, 2010 5:44:39
Subject: Re: [Bltlk] Grilling question

> 
> 
> Hi Mari. I think the way most of us get over the ups and downs is by living
> with them so long that they go away, or mostly so. I think there are times
> when everyone of us goes through a day when we say "man, I wish the
> transportation system were better for blind people. What a bummer it is not
> to be able to drive my own car!" For many of us, however, we've simply
> learned to plan, to work out arrangements where we pay people to do things
> we can't do or trade them volunteer activities so that what we need gets
> done. It isn't always easy, and it certainly isn't intuitive. It is
> something one has to learn, and sometimes it means that we who are blind or
> less spontaneous about things we do. If, for example, you are going to use
> the pear transit system. You won't decide today at two o'clock that you are
> going to the mall and be there by 3:30. You will decide today that you would
> like to go to the mall, and you will go there sometime tomorrow. If you get
> a stack of mail and don't happen to have technology that will let you easily
> read it, you put it in a mail basket and you wait for your weekly visit from
> someone who can sort through it and help you make appropriate responses.
> These things won't seem normal at first, but they will over time, and they
> are techniques which have been shown to work.
> 
> If you can arrange it, I think going to an NFB center is a splendid idea.
> You will learn many techniques, but more importantly you will learn a
> different way to think about being blind. I think it is a stretch to say
> that I think of blindness as a blessing, but it is no exaggeration to look
> at my life and admit that though blindness has cost me some opportunities,
> it has also given me some. It has limited some of my decisions and has made
> others possible. I don't know if I would have gone to college were it not
> for the vocational rehabilitation program that offered to pay every red cent
> that it took to get me through school. I doubt that I would have the current
> job I have, or probably even the jobs before it. Most likely I would have
> followed in the footsteps of my father who ran a successful excavating and
> construction business, and who knows where I would be now. I might be
> substantially better off based on thirty-five years of building a quality
> business, or I might be suffering through the significant recession which
> now finds many people in the construction industry out of work and fighting
> to keep their own homes.
> 
> I think the key to being happy is captured, at least to some degree, in the
> words of the serenity prayer, and then having the humility to be thankful
> for what one has. Maybe if I could write all of the specifications God used
> before placing me on the earth, I'd have designed a human being with the
> brains of Bill Gates, the looks of Brad Pitt, and the sincerity of Jimmy
> Stewart. As it is, God did the designing, so I'll just do my best to be Gary
> Wunder.
> 
> It is very nice to meet you, Mari, and you'll make it through this
> transition just fine. You have brains and a good heart. Those two assets are
> golden.
> 
> Gary
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Mari Hunziker
> Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 6:13 PM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Bltlk] Grilling question
> 
> Thank you so much for sharing that Mike. I would love to learn more about
> the NFB centers. I am now needing more assistance in finding creative ways
> of finding transportation for my son to get to and from school each day. Not
> being able to drive or to do other things is a constant struggle. I wish
> there was someway to get over the emotional roller coaster I ride every day.
> Some days thinking its a blessing to be blind and other days it is a curse.
> How have you all gotten over this?
> Thanks,
> Mari Hunziker
> 
> On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 4:35 PM, Mike Freeman <k7uij at panix.com> wrote:
> 
>> As a matter of fact, one of the things done at our NFB centers is to 
>> do some grilling and other chores that involve working with fire 
>> precisely to get people over their fear of being burned. It's not 
>> thatanyone wishes to be burned but (a) blindness doesn't increase 
>> one's risks assuming one is careful and (b) we want to turn that fear 
>> into what might be termed healthy respect for fire which still allows 
>> one to work with it. At the end of the day, it becomes another lesson 
>> that blindness need not prevent us from leading normal lives.
>> 
>> Mike
>> 
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
>> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 1:22 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Bltlk] Grilling question
>> 
>> 
>> A totally blind person can grill or smoke.  i have a gas grill, and a
>> ar large off-set smoker and use them regularly.  I have also grilled 
>> ar with charcoal -- although the gas grill is easier.
>> ar
>> ar There are lots of techniques to do stuff.  One good source is our 
>> ar blind cooks list
>> ar
>> ar http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-cooks_nfbnet.org
>> ar
>> ar Dave
>> ar
>> ar p.s.  You mentioned a "fear of getting burned."  Just like with an 
>> ar oven, a pot of boiling water, a gas stove etc., you can get burned if 
>> ar you don't do stuff carefully and correctly, but like with the other 
>> ar things there are ways.
>> ar
>> ar
>> ar At 08:42 AM 8/24/2010, you wrote:
>> ar
>>>> Was anyone of you grillers afraid of the fire and the potential for 
>>>> getting burned. That is what keeps me from doing it. We have a 
>>>> charcoal grill/smoker. My brother, father and husband have mastered 
>>>> the great taste of grilled food. I have always thought that I could 
>>>> not grill or do things of that nature because I am blind(visually 
>>>> impaired). I now think it might just be a fear of getting burned. I 
>>>> do cook fairly well in doors, I never thought about trying it 
>>>> outdoors. The next time we grill out. I will have to pay more 
>>>> attention on how it is done so that I may someday try it. Who knows, 
>>>> I may like doing it.
>>>> 
>> ar
>> ar                        David Andrews:  dandrews at visi.com Follow me on 
>> ar Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/dandrews920
>> ar
>> ar
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>> 
>> 
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