[nagdu] mobility-the deciding factor?

[cheryl echevarria]

very true. I am still learning braille, I wish I could go to one of the schools but my life is to busy, I learn at my own speed. Always did, I learn fast at other things.  Loved to cook as you know I have the blind cooks list, and lots of suggestions on there, I am a jack of all trades where it is boredom or when or was my health seems like I have worked in the same field either customer service or admin, which of course is helping me with my own business now, but I think we go through what we know how to do and not how to do and judge ourselves as well.

Always loved to travel and never let anything stop me.  My vision issues are different from the rest of us.  I lost my vision from Diabetes as you already know and I was on dialysis 5 of the years I was losing my vision so I prayed to wake up every morning over trying to learn Braille or other skills, besides being to sick to do anything else, but once I had my transplant and with the help of David Stayer who is my mentor, and Ed Bryant who recently passed away and my family I picked up speed and learned to use a cane and 2 years later got a dog, etc.  Losing 5 years of your life you look at it in a whole new light.

Cheryl Echevarria 
Independent Travel Consultant
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  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Julie J<mailto:julielj at windstream.net> 
  To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users<mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
  Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 4:27 PM
  Subject: [nagdu] mobility-the deciding factor?


  Some of the recent discussion got me to thinking about how we, as blind people, perceive independence or who is more capable than who.   It seems that we always use travel to judge who has better skills than who.  I know we have discussed this before, but I still have no clue why we don't use Braille or cooking or something else to base our judgments on.  I'm guilty of it too.  I've caught myself thinking if not actually saying that so and so isn't as well adjusted as they could be because they are always needing help to get places.

  I happen to be a very good traveler with cane or dog.  But you know what?  I read Braille at about 40 wpm.  By any measure that's slow, like incredibly, snails pace slow.  But no one has ever said to me, "You know, you should really attend a center where you could get better Braille skills so you could be more independent."  

  Then there is the kitchen...I really like to cook.  Generally I'm okay in the kitchen.  I cook most meals from scratch.  But, getting the meat, especially the chicken, thoroughly cooked is a constant stress for me.  I'm frequently freaked out about whether or not there is any pink in the meat.  I know the skills.  I know how to check nonvisually, but I totally and completely lack chicken confidence.

  Am I crazy?  or don't you think that blind people always judge other blind people on the basis of travel skills and virtually nothing else?  

  thoughts?
  Julie
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