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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>Thanks for sharing. Sums it up nicely, and inspiring.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>Bridgit<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> Community-service [mailto:community-service-bounces@nfbnet.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Darian Smith via Community-service<br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, June 22, 2015 6:11 AM<br><b>To:</b> Community Service Discussion List<br><b>Cc:</b> Darian Smith<br><b>Subject:</b> [Community-service] Reflecting the Flame<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The discussion currently being had on the list about how we as blind people work through barriers we find seemingly impossible got me thinking. I had been re-reading a speech by Dr. Maurer called “Reflecting The Flame” He talks about how too often we believe what others think we capable of and in so doing sell ourselves short.<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal> This speech may be familiar to some, but I’m including it if not.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> Reflecting the Flame<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>by Marc Maurer<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>We in the National Federation of the Blind believe in teaching one another. We believe in this so strongly that it has become a hallmark of our organization.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>There are enough odd-ball notions about blindness abroad in the world that we find it necessary to keep our minds alert. We want to be able to accept ideas about blindness that make sense and to reject those that don’t.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>It has been argued, for example, that the blind (simply because of our lack of sight) possess a more thoroughly developed sense of smell than sighted people, and that blind people have a more sensitive sense of touch than their sighted neighbors. Those who have argued that we have a better sense of smell than the sighted have, think we would be exceptionally good perfume testers. The people who claim our sense of touch is superior to that of the sighted assert that the blind are better at kissing than other people because we are not distracted by visual images. Although it might be nice to believe that blindness provides these advantages, our experience suggests otherwise.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>I met Dr. Kenneth Jernigan in 1969; he was then President of the National Federation of the Blind, and he continued to be a leader of the blind until his death in 1998. Dr. Jernigan, himself blind, was directing a rehabilitation program for blind adults, and I was accepted as a student. I had graduated that spring from high school with good marks, and many people had been telling me that I was bright enough to do well in college. By observing my patterns of behavior and thought, Dr. Jernigan formed the conclusion that I had been told I was bright so often that I had come to believe it.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>A bright blind kid is sometimes praised in greater abundance than is warranted. Dr. Jernigan suspected that I had been praised out of all proportion to my performance because I am blind. He thought that I needed to learn better. If I accepted the undeserved praise without trying to understand what it meant, then I would accept less from myself than I could produce.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>A counselor in the rehabilitation program believed that I was a sharp cookie. Dr. Jernigan made him a bet. The two of them selected ten words, which they thought any moderately bright, reasonably well educated human being would know. For each word that I could not define the counselor would pay Dr. Jernigan a dollar. If I did define the word, Dr. Jernigan would pay the counselor two dollars.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>The first word they gave me I missed, and Dr. Jernigan collected a dollar. When I missed the second word, Dr. Jernigan collected another dollar—and seemed amused. When I missed the third, Dr. Jernigan chuckled as he collected his dollar. When I missed the fourth, Dr. Jernigan rubbed the dollar between his hands and laughed out loud. When the fifth word was presented, the counselor was so disappointed at my missing it that he began to swear. After I missed the sixth word, the counselor paid Dr. Jernigan nine dollars to buy his way out of the bet.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Then, Dr. Jernigan told me what it all meant. The competition for positions in colleges and universities, for places of employment, and for assignments in government is fierce. Those who want to excel must learn to use their heads. It is not enough to be pretty good. First-class achievement demands excellence, and I had been lazy. I had not demanded all that my mind could perform.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Not all of Dr. Jernigan’s teaching was of the academic sort. He showed us how to shoot firecrackers safely, and how to cook over an open fire.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Some people, who shoot firecrackers, light a match, and (while holding it in one hand and the firecracker in the other) bring the fuse of the firecracker to the flame. This is not the way it should be done. The firecracker and the unlit match should be held in the same hand with the fuse of the firecracker and the head of the match protruding between the thumb and finger. When the match is ignited, this lights the end of the firecracker fuse. The flame, traveling along the fuse, cannot reach the firecracker unless it passes between the thumb and finger. Consequently, the person holding the firecracker will release it before it goes off because the fuse will be too hot to hold. As soon as the sputter of the fuse tells the blind person it is alight, it is time to toss the firecracker away. The technique is simple and safe.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Then there is the cooking of steaks over an open fire. Dr. Jernigan taught us that this could be done, and we experimented to discover the most effective method. The best steaks are cooked over an extremely hot fire so that they will be juicy and tender in the middle and charred on the outside. One time Dr. Jernigan tried using an acetylene torch, a device designed for cutting metal with a flame. But the steaks that came off the fire had an acetylene taste which is positively awful.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>The method we eventually adopted cooks an excellent steak. The steaks should be one and a quarter inches thick. If they are thicker, they will not be done in the middle; but if they are thinner, they will be too done. First, build a hot charcoal fire. It takes about an hour for a charcoal fire to reach the intensity that is needed. Two or three minutes before cooking the steaks, add a substantial number of thin, dry, hardwood sticks to the fire. Walnut, pear, apple, hickory, oak, or cherry are all good. This dry hardwood makes a hot flame. The moment before the steaks are to be placed on the fire, sprinkle a double handful of wet hickory chips over the flame. This creates smoke, but dampens the enthusiasm of the fire.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Now, it is time to put the steaks on the grill. I use a rack with a long handle so that I can turn the steaks all at once. As soon as I have the rack of steaks positioned over the flame, I pour a cup of vegetable oil over them. This causes an immediate and dramatic impact on the fire. Flames boil out of the grill and shoot into the air. Depending on the heat of the fire, I cook the steaks between two-and-a-half to three- and-a-half minutes per side. They are nice and crisp on the outside and tender and juicy in the middle. Sometimes, when the fire is particularly hot, I use welding gloves to handle the racks of steaks. These gloves protect my hands from the hot fire.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>In 1969, Dr. Jernigan, whom I had just met, showed me that it is possible for a blind person to cook over an open fire. Now I do it regularly and as a matter of routine. But not then. I was eighteen, and I was blind. I thought that the flame of a grill or a campfire was too much for a blind person to handle, but I was wrong. This lesson helped me to understand that I had underestimated what blind people are able to do. It helped me to have a greater belief in myself and my blind colleagues.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>I have carried on the tradition—the teaching over the charcoal. I have brought blind students to the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore and taught them the technique for cooking a good steak. In the process, I have not neglected the mental exercise, either for myself or for my friends in the Federation. We challenge each other to think, but we also challenge each other to find methods and techniques for doing what we thought could not be done. And above all else, we challenge each other to believe in ourselves and expand our horizons. Just as in a fireplace one log by itself cannot burn, we have come to understand that one good mind cannot build the future. The intensity of ideas must be captured and reflected to keep the flame of opportunity alive. We at the National Federation of the Blind are doing exactly that, and we enjoy a good steak cooked over a hot fire. <o:p></o:p></p></div></div></body></html>