<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Oh, that’s almost hilarious! He didn’t even know what to call it! Pam.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sent from <a href="https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986">Mail</a> for Windows</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='border:none;padding:0in'><b>From: </b><a href="mailto:blindtlk@nfbnet.org">Judy Jones via BlindTlk</a><br><b>Sent: </b>Friday, September 1, 2023 9:36 PM<br><b>To: </b><a href="mailto:blindtlk@nfbnet.org">Blind Talk Mailing List</a><br><b>Cc: </b><a href="mailto:sonshines59@gmail.com">Judy Jones</a><br><b>Subject: </b>Re: [BlindTlk] Strange Stuff</p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Years ago at a Lions banquet, the person that gave the invocation, meaning to pray for the blind folks there, asked God to, quote</p><p class=MsoNormal>, "bless the unsightly among us," end-quote. 😊 </p><p class=MsoNormal>Judy</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“Embrace each day with His mercies and blessings.”</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>-----Original Message-----</p><p class=MsoNormal>From: BlindTlk <blindtlk-bounces@nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Mark Tardif via BlindTlk</p><p class=MsoNormal>Sent: Friday, September 1, 2023 3:25 PM</p><p class=MsoNormal>To: Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk@nfbnet.org></p><p class=MsoNormal>Cc: Mark Tardif <markspark@roadrunner.com>; NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List <nfbf-l@nfbnet.org>; NFB Talk Mailing List <nfb-talk@nfbnet.org></p><p class=MsoNormal>Subject: [BlindTlk] Strange Stuff</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Alright, friends. I’m going to tell you something that will either leave you laughing or crying, and it is to demonstrate that no matter how well educated you are, if you are not familiar with blindness, well, you can still come across as, to put it politely, not the brightest light in the room. The other day I saw a doctor I had never met before. He had never spoken with someone who was born blind, and I suspect he had never spoken with any blind person. Anyway, he saw my long white cane and, get this, asked if this was my “eye stick.” Yes, that was the term he actually used, “eye stick.” I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to just moan with sadness, but one does need to remember manners in this situation, so I told him that we call it a long white cane and told him what it was for. He actually asked a number of good questions about blindness, which I thought was good, but it was clear that he needed much educating. He seemed surprised I can actually walk around town independently. I guess we have a lot of work to do, still, to put it mildly. Also, I must say that while people up here are often extremely nice and courteous, they seem to pride themselves on being quite insular, even more than the rest of Maine, which is my state incidentally. I say that because along with the term “eye stick,” I’ve often heard some very strange and, frankly, primitive ideas that I won’t actually go into here, but I do often think that holds us back in a lot of ways. Anyway, I just thought I would share that bit of strangeness. </p><p class=MsoNormal>Mark Tardif </p><p class=MsoNormal>Nuclear arms will not hold you. </p><p class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________</p><p class=MsoNormal>BlindTlk mailing list</p><p class=MsoNormal>BlindTlk@nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindTlk:</p><p class=MsoNormal>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/sonshines59%40gmail.com</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________</p><p class=MsoNormal>BlindTlk mailing list</p><p class=MsoNormal>BlindTlk@nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindTlk:</p><p class=MsoNormal>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/pammygirl99%40gmail.com</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>