[il-talk] Here is yet another reason why our work in the NFB is necessary. Read this article and the attitude displayed by the subject of the article.

Tue Dec 3 19:08:30 UTC 2013

A black cane?  That makes no sense to me.

I won't paint my cane.  No way.  Maybe doing stuff to the handle is ok.

RH

On 12/2/2013 4:49 PM, Nicole Marler wrote:
> I can understand the reason. If a blind individual has a painted black cane and uses it at night, how can they expect a driver to see them. Makes no sense to me.
> On Nov 30, 2013, at 11:30 PM, Glenn <glennmooreiii at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> I didn't realize we could be sued, if someone uses a cane but paints it black or otherwise (I have seen black, and even pink sparkle coated canes at national convention)
>> Glenn III
>>
>> "Robert Hansen (NFB Related)" <roberthansen33 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Yup.  There would be an investigation and if she is found to be blind,
>>> yes, she could be sued and safety issues will come up.  Like I said
>>> earlier, she needs to hit a rock bottom and then want something out of life.
>>>
>>> RH
>>>
>>>
>>> On 11/19/2013 5:00 PM, Pittman Enterprises & Associates wrote:
>>>> All I can say is she needs to know if she gets hit by a car and she is not
>>>> using a cane she can be sued.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: il-talk [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of NFB Related
>>>> Robert A Hansen
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 2:02 PM
>>>> To: Jemal Powell; NFB of Illinois Mailing List
>>>> Subject: Re: [il-talk] Fw: Here is yet another reason why our work in the
>>>> NFB is necessary. Read this article and the attitude displayed by the
>>>> subject of the article.
>>>>
>>>> the thing is, none of her neighbors will mind if she uses a cane or not.
>>>> this is simply her thinking.  eventually her neighborswill think there is
>>>> something wrong with her if she does no find something and soon.  I find
>>>> that most people have better things to concern their time with.  She acts
>>>> like her eye sight loss is temporary.
>>>>
>>>> RH
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 11/18/2013 6:33 PM, Jemal Powell wrote:
>>>>> ----- Forwarded Message -----
>>>>> From: NFB-NEWSLINE Online <nfbnewsline at nfb.org>
>>>>> To: Jemal Powell <derek2872 at yahoo.com>
>>>>> Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2013 11:49 AM
>>>>> Subject: Article from New York Times National Desk 2013 11 17
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> THE NEEDIEST CASES: SIGHT LOST, SIGHT RESTORED. A Tool Meant to Keep Her
>>>> Safe Makes Her Feel Like a Target. By JOHN OTIS. Cynthia Gibbs-Pratt would
>>>> rather walk into walls than use a cane to guide her. And often, she does.
>>>> She had 20/20 vision most of her life. Last April, Ms. Gibbs-Pratt, 47,
>>>> learned she had macular degeneration, a progressive disease that robs those
>>>> who have it of their sight.. 'If somebody came to you today with this cane
>>>> and said you had to use it, would you accept it? she asked. Pride plays a
>>>> clear role in Ms. Gibbs-Pratt's unwillingness to embrace her disability, but
>>>> fear is the more potent force girding her stubbornness. She believes that
>>>> walking the streets of her Bronx neighborhood with the cane would present
>>>> her as weak, that it would provide a bull's-eye for anyone seeking an easy
>>>> target. 'I feel vulnerable, because people always see me by myself,' she
>>>> said. 'I don't want people to know I'm disabled. It does not help that her
>>>>>    neighborhood is unfamiliar, and so very far from her family in Brooklyn,
>>>> where Ms. Gibbs-Pratt spent most of her life. She moved into her current
>>>> apartment with her husband after they wed two years ago. The two separated
>>>> in February, shortly after he revealed that he had cancer. Ms. Gibbs-Pratt
>>>> was confronting her own significant health issues at the time, including
>>>> chronic bronchitis. 'He said it would be too much for me, to deal with what
>>>> I'm dealing with, and take care of him,' she said. 'He didn't grow up with
>>>> the same family values I grew up with. I just pray, 'God have mercy on his
>>>> soul.' Last summer, Ms. Gibbs-Pratt's misfortune was further compounded when
>>>> she fell behind on bills after her illnesses kept her out of work for three
>>>> and a half months. She holds a job as a food stamp eligibility specialist
>>>> and received $1,400 a month from her union while on sick leave, which was
>>>> significantly less than her usual income. She was unable to cover her
>>>>>    $1,071 monthly rent or her Consolidated Edison bill. No assistance was
>>>> offered from her absent husband. Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York,
>>>> one of the agencies supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund,
>>>> provided $351, applying $200 to Ms. Gibbs-Pratt's back rent and $151 toward
>>>> her electricity bill. Her rent troubles may be behind her, but Ms.
>>>> Gibbs-Pratt still lacks the financial stability to move back to her old
>>>> neighborhood. Coupled with her deteriorating eyesight, her seclusion has led
>>>> to mounting paranoia. She covers her reduced-fare MetroCard to hide her
>>>> disabled status when swiping it. As she fumbles to fit her keys into her
>>>> door, watched by a cluster of marijuana-smoking neighbors, she fears for her
>>>> safety. Despite her isolation, Ms. Gibbs-Pratt has no shortage of support.
>>>> Two cousins, who regularly trek in from Harlem and Coney Island, provide an
>>>> immense amount of help. Her husband's aunt, Sharon Bouyer, whom Ms.
>>>> Gibbs-Pratt
>>>>>    calls Mama, offers telephone counsel from Jacksonville, Fla. And her
>>>> biggest source of support, she said, has been Catholic Charities Guild for
>>>> the Blind. The agency helps her acclimate to her new world, teaching her how
>>>> to traverse the city's streets by using landmarks and counting steps. The
>>>> guild has fitted her desk at work with a special computer station and
>>>> provided her with other items, like a talking watch. And a mobility
>>>> specialist, who often visits her home, has equipped her kitchen with
>>>> Braille-like bumps that allow her to safely use the knobs on her stove and
>>>> properly work her microwave. But she has yet to warm up to that cane. 'I'm
>>>> not totally rejecting it, because I know at some point I'm going to have to
>>>> use it,' she said. A recent series of near-misses forced Ms. Gibbs-Pratt to
>>>> confront the dangerous consequences of her stubbornness. She was nearly
>>>> sideswiped by three different vehicles in one week. Acceptance of her
>>>> impending blindness
>>>>>    comes in dribs and drabs. Tears come whenever she dwells on her fate,
>>>> but so too does a mustering of courage. 'I used to do so much,' she said. 'I
>>>> was the one always running and jumping for everybody. I still don't want to
>>>> accept it. But God brought me through so many things. This vision thing is
>>>> only temporary. PHOTO: Cynthia Gibbs-Pratt (PHOTOGRAPH BY MARILYNN K.
>>>> YEE/THE NEW YORK TIMES). This article is provided to you as a courtesy of
>>>> NFB-NEWSLINER Online for your sole use. The content of this E-mail is
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>>>> The
>>>>>    NFB-NEWSLINER Team.
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