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

Wed Feb 28 02:19:24 UTC 2018

I add my thanks. I look forward to future thought provokers as well.

Barbara 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 27, 2018, at 10:35 AM, Nancy Oltman via Nebraska-Senior-Blind <nebraska-senior-blind at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 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
>> 
>> 
> 
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