[Nebraska-senior-blind] A Late Valentine - in other words, Valentines and Blindness

[Nancy Oltman]

Thank you Robert for your belated valentine; truly enjoyed it.  I have
to echo Christine's words of praise for your again working on "thought
provokers".  Nancy

On 2/26/18, christine Boone via Nebraska-Senior-Blind
<nebraska-senior-blind at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Robert,
>
> I am really pleased that you are posting your Thought Provokers again. You
> have touched so many people through your wonderfully direct writing so
> artfully wrapped up within a story! This was a great one. Thanks for
> sharing
> it with us!
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Chris
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Nebraska-Senior-Blind
> [mailto:nebraska-senior-blind-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Robert
> Leslie
> Newman via Nebraska-Senior-Blind
> Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2018 3:22 PM
> To: 0senior division listserv <nebraska-senior-blind at nfbnet.org>; NFB
> Senior
> Division list <nfb-seniors at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Robert Leslie Newman <newmanrl at cox.net>
> Subject: [Nebraska-senior-blind] A Late Valentine - in other words,
> Valentines and Blindness
>
>
>
> Hi You All
>
> RE: A late Valentine - read on
>
>
>
> I am in the process of getting my THOUGHT PROVOKER (TP) website back up;
> long story. http://www.thoughtprovoker.info Pardon if you the reader had
> not
> heard of THOUGHT PROVOKERS; they are short-short stories, about blindness
> and life. They are great for topics for a group discussion; educational to
> read; and more. I have 40 TPs back up; finished total will be 154.
> Yesterday I came across one of my THOUGHT PROVOKERS that has a valentine
> theme. And because I did not get the opportunity to share this on
> Valentine's Day, please do consider this post as a late Valentine!
>
>
>
> From my home page, Here is how the menu item reads for this TP.
>
> 130. TO BRAILLE WITH LOVE- Parents of a blind child face the decision as
> parents, if they should learn Braille in order to support its importance in
> their child's life.
>
>
>
> **Here is - THOUGHT PROVOKER 130
>
>
>
> To Braille With Love
>
>
>
>      "Happy Valentine's Day!" chorused Sherry and Tom Hardy to the smiling
> couple who were inviting them into their home. The Hardys and Pam and Rich,
> the Andersons, were members of a support group for parents of blind
> children; the Anderson's were longtime members and the Hardy's were new.
>
>
>
>      "Hey, how was the lunch on this snowy Saturday?" Rich asked. He and
> Pam
> had picked up Tom and Sherry's daughter Kathy and their own daughter Cheryl
> to take both eight-year-old girls to a Valentine party, giving the Hardy's
> a
> chance to go out for a romantic lunch and movie. And now the Hardy's were
> over for a short visit to the Anderson's, then it would be Hardy's turn to
> pick up the girls, take them to their home, giving Pam and Rich their
> opportunity to go out for a special dinner and dancing.
>
>
>
>      "Wonderful." answered Sherry. "We took our time. It's great that
> Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday."
>
>
>
>      "You bet ya!" said Pam. "Come on in. I have a fresh pot of coffee on
> and a plate of Valentine cookies Cheryl made special for us."
>
>
>
>      Seated in the kitchen around the family table, the two couples dug
> into
> their coffee break. "These are fantastic cookies. Your Cheryl is a great
> little cook," commented Sherry, raising a cookie for another bite.
>
>
>
>      "Knew I was smart to pass up the restaurant's dessert--love the pink
> frosting." added Tom.
>
>
>
>      "Oh, let me show you her card." Pam said, getting up and detaching a
> card from a clip on the refrigerator door.
>
>
>
>      "Whoo!" cooed Sherry, looking at and running her finger over the front
> surface of the card, opening it to see inside.
>
>
>
>      "Huh?" exclaimed Tom. "Braille . picture and all?"
>
>
>
>      "Yeah, she made it herself." said Rich, obviously proud of his
> daughter's handiwork.
>
>
>
>      "She used her Braille writer." said Pam, pointing. "The border has
> full
> cells down the sides, then dots 1-2-4-5's across the top, and 2-3-5-6's
> across the bottom, making an even two-dot border all the way around. And
> you
> can see the heart consists of full cells and parts of cells to get the
> right
> shape."
>
>
>
>      "And she colored the heart, too. So creative!" continued Sherry. "And
> this down here?" Tracing with a finger, "Words, I take it?"
>
>
>
>      Retrieving the card, closing her eyes, Pam began reading with her
> right
> index finger. "I Love You Mom, Be My Valentine."
>
>
>
>      "Whoo, I'm impressed! With your finger no less." Sherry said, her face
> showing a self-conscious mix of surprise and maybe guilt.
>
>
>
>      "Oh, Sherry . guess we've talked about this . parents learning
> Braille?" Pam gave her friend a concerned look.
>
>
>
>      "Well yeah, Tom and me, our life's are just so...busy. And, you know,
> with this electronic age, we have a computer in just about every room and
> there's voice mail."
>
>
>
>      Tom added, "my God, Kathy is a wiz on the computer, you should hear
> how
> fast she has that voice cranked! These kids today they've grown up with all
> these electronics."
>
>
>
>      "Rich." Sherry looked at Pam' s husband, her face showing that
> something was still eating at her. "Do you read Braille too?"
>
>
>
>      "Yeah, but I haven't gone so far to develop the tactual sense for
> reading it. I cheat, I read it with my eyes." Looking to his wife for any
> sign of guidance, or a warning perhaps. "With Cheryl's blindness, we feel
> supporting and encouraging her lifelong literacy is ." Beginning to think
> he
> was going too far with his pointed remarks. "Ah, anyway, it's fun!"
>
>
>
>      "Tom spoke up, obviously not offended. "Hey, so the card was for the
> Mom. How about the Dad?"
>
>
>
>      "Oh!" both Pam and Rich chorused with big grins on their faces.
>
>
>
>      "Grab your coats, ladies and gentlemen!" said Rich rising. "We need to
> step out into the back yard."
>
>
>
>      Outside. "Whoo, Whoo, Whoo!" hooted Sherry.
>
>
>
>      "How in the .?" Said Tom. "Did you guys get a picture of this?"
>
>
>
>      Before them the white-blanketed yard spread to the fence and at its
> very center lay a one-foot tall, six-foot across, very pink heart , with
> white geometrical rows of dots on its top surface. Walking up close, it was
> evident that the heart was constructed of compacted snow and the white dots
> were hand-formed snowballs arranged to create Braille letters.
>
>
>
>      "How did she get that snow painted pink?" Tom nearly stuttered.
>
>
>
>      Pam answered. "A spray bottle and one gallon of red Kool-Aid."
>
>
>
>      Standing near the broad part of the heart, Rich pointed. "This single
> dot is a capital sign, followed by the letters in the word. That makes her
> words here, cap L o v e, cap Y o u, cap D a d. Second line, cap I ' m, cap
> Y
> o u r, cap V a l e n t I n e."
>
>
>
> Respectfully yours,
>
> Robert Leslie Newman
>
> NFBN Senior Division, President
>
>