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<TITLE>New THOUGHT PROVOKER #139- Is There Redemption for a Blind Chicken</TITLE>
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<P ALIGN=CENTER><B><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Deafblind members</FONT></B></P>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><B><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">RE: </FONT> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">Is There Redemption for a Blind Chicken</FONT></B></P>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><B><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">#139 is a THOUGHT PROVOKER about a woman who is struggling with her blindness, but its message hints at a coming change. See if you have been where the main character shows us to be where she once was.</FONT></B></P>
<P><B><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">If you have not read the PROVOKER, it follows. Recall that I collect responses and post them upon my web site for all the WWW to read and learn from and that URL is- </FONT></B><A HREF="http://thoughtprovoker.info/"><B><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman">Http://thoughtprovoker.info</FONT></U></B></A><B><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> If you wish to receive THOUGHT PROVOKERS sent directly to you, just write me and ask, at- newmanrl@cox.net </FONT></B></P>
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<P ALIGN=CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">THOUGHT PROVOKER 139</FONT></B></P>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">Is There Redemption for a Blind Chicken</FONT></B></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">Co-authors-</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">Virginia </FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Sblendorio</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">Robert Leslie Newman</FONT>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">“Want to go for a ride?” The voice on the phone was my older sister, who had recently moved within a few miles from me. “I have to run to the supermarket and pick up a couple of things.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">“Sure,” I said, I didn’t need anything from the store, but not able to drive any more, I relish any opportunity to go for a drive no matter how mundane the trip.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">Hearing my sister’s car pull into the driveway, I flipped on the light switch for my porch light as I stepped out, fingers brushing the handle of my white cane where it rested upright in the corner. It would be twilight or even dark by the time I got home. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">“Hey little Sis, where’s your cane?” asked my older sister as I slipped into the front seat? “I saw you feeling with your feet for those steps.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">“Oh, just going to the store with you I don’t need it.” My answer was of course to put her off. I wasn’t going to share with her the extent to which I resented my cane. I rarely used it. It made me stand out in a crowd in a way I did not care for.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">At the store’s parking lot we found it to be nearly full and it was necessary to park a long way from the entrance. On the way in we cut through rows of cars, which worked well for me, because it put my sister in my best visual range and easier to follow. However, nearing the doors there were people going every direction, and I lost her in the crowd. But I made it inside okay, but the inside lighting was so bright compared to the rapidly dimming outdoors, I was essentially blinded.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">“Little Sis, if you had that cane, you wouldn’t have to just stand there,” said my older sister. </FONT>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">I clutched my older sister’s arm as she snagged a shopping cart and together we went up and down the aisles in tandem.</FONT>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">In the meat department, we found a manager’s special on chickens. “Little Sis, you love chicken. You should pick up a couple of these,” urged my older sister and I agreed. I selected two packages, tore the coupons off, and pressed their sticky sides to my forearm. Since my sight began to fail me, I have found many ways to “remember” what I cannot see. I have often purchased things with “redeem at register” coupons attached, only to realize after I got home that they were not redeemed. Now I take them off and stick them on my forearm so I do not forget.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">We finished shopping and headed to the registers to pay. Realizing my items were to be first, I spoke up. ”Those are the chicken’s which were on sale.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">“Ah, I don’t see the…” the cashier began.</FONT>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">“Oh, here they are,” I informed him, peeling the stickers off my arm. Relishing the opportunity to educate, I politely told him that I was visually impaired. I explained why I stuck the coupons to my arm.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">“Well ah...I’ll have to call over a manager. Ah, company policy.” </FONT>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">When the store manager arrived, I again explained myself. </FONT>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">“Interesting, but removing the coupons voids the discount,” the manager said and his tone left no doubt he was not going to budge.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">I was speechless and angry and my thoughts ricocheted in my head like a trapped bird. I thought about leaving the chicken and store immediately but with my fierce pride, I was not going to ask my sister to leave that store to go to another after filling a cart with groceries. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial">Perhaps I should have had my white cane with me. Perhaps I should have laughed it off. Ultimately, I felt powerless. I felt like a coward. I felt ashamed of being blind, ashamed of allowing my emotions to get the better of me and ashamed of being bullied. I paid for my order and went home with a bellyache and a very angry sister. Stupid cane!</FONT></P>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Robert Leslie Newman </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Email- newmanrl@cox.net</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">THOUGHT PROVOKER Website- </FONT>
<BR><A HREF="Http://www.thoughtprovoker.info"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Http://www.thoughtprovoker.info</FONT></U></A>
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