[Blindtlk] Introduction.

[Hyde, David W. (ESC)]

Hi Mary. You and I sound of an age, since I too remember the IBM typewriter, and the many manual ones I used before it. The people you said that gloves are worn for examining sculptures are right. This seems to be the practice. Now the hardest job to fill, is the fellow who is supposed to diaper all those birds so their deposits don't damage the sculptures. This must be a hard job to fill, since I see the results of their nonfeasance where ever I go.
the N.F.B, is doing a history project. I believe there is a list for it. I am sure that 
Curtis and Peggy Chong can tell you all about it.

I never had the opportunity to take formal training with Dr. Jernigan, but I always got the informal kind whenever I worked with him. He really made a difference for me, and I believe that what success I have achieved is in part due to him, and in the main due to those of us around me who encouraged me when I needed it, chastised me when I needed it, and praised me when I earned it.

Welcome to the list.
-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mary Mc Gee
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 11:37 AM
To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Introduction.

Hello, Fellow Federationists!  

            I'm new to this net, so I want to introduce myself and ask any of you who wish to do so, to either post a response or email me, as I'd like to take my desire to correspond into the twenty-first century.  

            I practice law in Des Moines, Iowa and have done so since 1992, when I became licensed.  Prior to that, I worked for an insurance company because I had to work for the money to pay for the law school without taking loans.  Before that, I trained at the Iowa Orientation Center when Kenneth Jernigan was Director there.  

            It might be interesting to note that, when I was in Orientation, we had no computers-we had IBM Selectric typewriters.  At the insurance company, I used one of those MagCard machines to do policy administration.
The Kurzweil Reader was only an experiment then.

            I had the segregated education of the Iowa Braille School for ten years, then finished public school with no accommodation whatsoever.  

            As you can tell, I'm fairly "old".  Consequently, I wrote a narrative for the Iowa History of Blindness project, which the Department is currently doing.  Isn't the N.F.B. working on something similar?  

            Believe it or not, I don't own a cell phone!  Can you believe it?  I just don't see the economic feasibility of it, since we have to keep phones turned off in court, etc.  I guess I figure, if someone wants to find me, they can leave a message on my regular phone and I'll return the call.  

            Since I have some vision, I never learned Braille at the Braille School.  Sounds strange, doesn't it?  Anyway, I learned it at the Orientation Center, but let it go over the years.  This winter, I'm relearning it so I can actually read it fast.  

            I'm currently Chair of the Access Advisory Board of the City of Des Moines.  The Board's function is to advise the Mayor, City Council, and the public with respect to accessibility matters in City programs and facilities.  Right now, we're working with the Art Center and I.D.B. to post a tactile map at the entrance to a sculpture park so that blind people will be able to get a full perspective of the park when they visit it.  

            There's one aspect of the art park that I haven't really figured out yet.  We're not supposed to touch the art.  The excuse is that the oil in human skin will damage the finish.  What?  This doesn't make sense to me because I can testify that the birds touch the art and they leave deposits behind that you'd think would be more damaging than skin oil.  Go figure!  

            The assistive tech I use includes a Freedom Scientific Topaz CCTV, ZoomText with Speech, and some kind of genius device that lets me use the Topaz screen as a monitor for two computers.  Michael Barber and Curtis Chong know everything there is to know about this tech stuff, believe me!

            I live only a few blocks from the I.D.B., so I walk there to check out and return library books.  

            As I said, I'd be interested in hearing from any of you.

Sincerely,

Mary L. McGee, Attorney

mmcatitude at gmail.com

mlmcgee at q.com

 

 

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