[nfb-db] My trip to Seattle for the Washington deaf blind citizens meeting.

Tue Apr 15 13:29:12 UTC 2014

Good morning, Maurice!

At the Lion's Convention in 1925, Helen Keller said "I suppose you have heard the legend that represents opportunity as a capricious lady, who knocks at every door but once, and if the door isn't opened quickly, she passes on, never to return"; indicating that opportunities should be seized or they will disappear as quickly as they come.  I've often asked myself, "What would HK think of the world today?  What would she think of all the technology, the vast differences that the school that is named after her has done?  Yes, it has done a tremendous amount of service to the Deaf Blind Community.  

I commend you for taking those capricious ladies that you've had come your way, Maurice...you are learning ASL and you attended the event in Washington!  Great opportunities to explore a whole new world.  Continue to seek...and I do agree that there are two sides to a story...so I would recommend you contacting your local HKNC representative.  Who would better know what is happening at Helen Keller National Center than those who work for them?  

Another thought, to this is that if we look at history; even HK's life, we can see that our world as Blind and Deaf-Blind indivuals are a vast improvement from then.  Much is happening to improve the quality of our lives and it will continue...with the right education, the right advocating and right tools.  Many Deaf Blind have taken the first step of acquiring knowledge and then implementing it in our lives; slowly the world is seeing it.  

I encourage all to continue to exploring what is available in your journey. Reach out and grab the hands of those capricious ladies before they move on and you will never know where she will lead you, nor can we imagine the amazing events that will unfold!

(smile)
☺  Darlene

‘God wants to breathe new life into your dreams. He wants to breathe new hope into your heart. Don't give up. Hold on and you'll begin to see Him do amazing things’ ~ Joel Osteen

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-db [mailto:nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of maurice mines
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2014 12:08 AM
To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List
Subject: [nfb-db] My trip to Seattle for the Washington deaf blind citizens meeting.

Hello, I just wanted to drop everyone a line letting you know how a trip to Seattle Washington went on, this was to attend the Washington state deaf blind citizens general meeting.

I just would like to share some thoughts and asked a couple of questions of the group to gain some understanding of a couple of issues. One I found everyone to be very cordial. I found the volunteer interpreters to be extremely helpful at times. Now onto the first of my two questions, is it normal to have major problems toward applying people to find qualified medical interpreting? My next question takes on a potentially much larger issue, if one goes to the   website, www.deafblindpower.com ,  what do you think of the site? Also is there really a large problem with Helen Keller? Because if I’m reading the site right, the deaf blind coalition is advocating for a deaf  blind executive director? Any thoughts on this one? Also a lot of the updates on the site there’s some discussion about the US Department of Education as it relates to Helen Keller international, I know that there are always two sides to every story, is there another side to this story?

Aside from the things I’ve already mentioned, I noticed that the meeting were quite in-depth on Washington state citizens internal operations. I really do think this is a good thing. In closing, it is a very good thing that I’m learning sign language, because before the afternoon session ended the battery on my Bluetooth system that allowed me to hear the voice interpreter using the PA system, the battery ran out. This of course left me with hearing that some pieces of the voice interpreter and reading what the interpreter was signing to me tactfully, of course since I am just learning I missed quite a few signs, but put together with what I could hear of what was going on I seem to keep it all straight in my mind. This also begins what I think is the in-depth education on current depth blindness issues at the Washington state level. I have already possibly, gotten approval to get preliminary approval to attend their October meeting.

I hope all is well with everyone on the list, and I will be reading your responses? Now here comes my signature file.

Sincerely Maurice mines.
Student accessibility aid.
Voicemail phone, 360-524-0791.
School/work email address, Maurice.mines at PCC.edu.
Amateur radio call sign, kd0iko.
Note I'm using Dragon dictate version 3 for the Mac to dictate the contents of this document, or email.
Please excuse any errors as they may be the result of the software, or the dictation process.

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