[Nfb-editors] New Mexico- Que Pasa March 2012

[Robert Leslie Newman]

Que Pasa March 2012

James Babb, Editor

jim.babb at samobile.net

505-792-9777

(Published four times a year: March, June, September, December)

 

In this issue:

Preamble

Editor's Notes

President's Message

The 2012 Legislative Session

NM Legislative Coordinator's Report

Lucy Alexander

Leadership Seminar

Blindness doesn't slow Boyd down

West Mesa Chapter Christmas party

Red or Green

The Great Chili Cook-off

Good Eating

Useful Websites

Meetings and Announcements

 

 

The National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico (NFBNM) is a 501 (c) 3
consumer organization comprised of blind and sighted people committed to
changing what it means to be blind.  Though blindness is still all too often
a tragedy to those who face it, we know from our own personal experience
that with training and opportunity it can be reduced to the level of a
physical nuisance.  We work to see that blind people receive services and
training to which they are entitled and that parents of blind children
receive the advice and support they need to help their youngsters grow up to
be happy, productive adults.  We believe that first-class citizenship means
that people have both rights and responsibilities, and we are determined to
see that blind people become first-class citizens of these United States,
enjoying their rights and fulfilling their responsibilities.  The most
serious problems we face have less to do with our lack of vision than with
discrimination based on the public's ignorance and misinformation about
blindness.  Join us in educating New Mexicans about the abilities and
aspirations of New Mexico's blind citizens.

(Adapted from NFB of Ohio newsletter.) 

 

Editor's Notes

Something to be proud of. Robert Newman, President of the NFB Writers
Division and coordinator of Affiliate Newsletters, recently announced via
email that there were only 18 Newsletters  from the more than 50 Affiliates.
Of those only 8 were circulated on a regular basis; New Mexico's Que Pasa is
one of those eight! I wish to thank all of you who have helped me by sending
in articles, announcements, poems, recipes and more. 

 

Happy 75th Anniversary to the Randolph-Shephard Program. This Program has
provided great entrepreneur and employment opportunities to qualified Blind
people running cafeterias, diners, vending facilities, Roadside rest area
vending and much more. I had the opportunity and pleasure of working with
more than 60 facilities for more than eight years as Area Manager for
Vocational Rehabilitation in Ohio before retiring to New Mexico in early
2001. For those who have the aptitude and desire for this type of work it
can be rewarding and lucrative.

Warning, legislation proposed at the federal level to privatize Highway rest
areas on Interstate highways could threaten the livelihood of hundreds of
blind vendors operating vending facilities on same. Let us all keep vigilant
and vigorously oppose this legislation.

Also I just learned that the Governor of Missouri is proposing to eliminate
Medicaid for the blind to balance the State budget! What next?

 

At the recent State Rehab Council (SRC) meeting in Alamogordo elections were
held.  Council results were:

Chairman, Bernadine Chavez

Vice Chairman, Jim Babb

Executive committee, Art Schreiber and Christine Hall 

 

Let's all give a hardy welcome to Lucy Alexander, the newly appointed
Director of the NM Adult Orientation Center in Alamogordo. She comes to us
from Tennessee with a lot of great experience. She will be one of our
speakers at our State convention.                    

 

 

President's Message

By Christine Hall

 

At the conclusion of my last President's Message, I promised I would let you
know about our NFBNM members' participation in the Braille Readers Are
Leaders Contest beginning on November 1, 2011 and concluding on January 4,
2012, Louis Braille's Birthday. The West Mesa Chapter had a chapter contest
with two first place winners, Francine Garcia in the advanced category and
Veronica Smith in the beginners. The Albuquerque Chapter members had four
members reading for the National contest, Tara Chavez, Lindsay Sloan, Elisha
Wells and yours truly who read Nancy Burns book, Once upon a Challenge,
Hearing Is Believing.

 

Congratulations to the White Sands Chapter for being the first place winner
in the NFB Meet the Blind Month Challenge. I know all the chapter members
worked hard in making the Blindness Awareness and Benefit Concert a success.
And, once again the New Mexico Affiliate is recognized at a national level.

 

In January, the state affiliate hosted a statewide Leadership Training
Seminar facilitated by Nancy Burns and Caroline Benavidez. There were a
total of 27 people in attendance who had an opportunity to learn more about
the philosophy of the organization and tips on running a chapter meeting and
officers' duties such as taking minutes. The feedback from some of those
attending was positive and they expressed the desire to have similar
trainings at least once a year, preferably in the fall.

 

Preparations are taking place for our up-coming state convention the weekend
of April 13, 14, 15 to be held at the Sheraton Uptown in Albuquerque. We are
delighted that this year our national representative is Dr. Marc Maurer. The
agenda committee has met and, I believe, is putting together a convention
that will be informative and fun. The pre-registration form should be to you
soon.

 

Seven New Mexico Federationists attended Washington Seminar this year
meeting with our two Senators and Representatives' staff members. We were
greeted by Representative Ben Ray Lujan as he was running out of his office
to vote in the House Chambers and Representative Steve Pearce who met with
us for about three minutes. In my opinion, it was three minutes too long as
he was very opposed to HR 3086, The Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities
Act of 2011. This bill would phase out Section 14-C of the Fair Labor
Standards Act which allows employers to pay sub-minimum wages to workers
with disabilities. We will follow-up with Congressmen Heinrich's and Lujan's
offices to encourage them to sign on as co-sponsors of HR 3086.  Senator
Udall, once again, said he would be happy to sponsor our Home Appliance
Accessibility Act (HAAA) as soon as we have a Republican willing to
introduce the bill. Those attending from New Mexico were Adelmo and Gabriel
Vigil, Amanda Youngblood, Monica Martinez, Susan Martinez, Art Schreiber and
Christine Hall. Affiliates from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto
Rico were represented at the seminar, and we were told it was the largest
participation by Federation members since 1974 when the first Washington
Seminar took place.

 

In January, Caroline Benavidez was chosen to attend the Jernigan Institute
Teacher Leader Seminar.  She will be presenting on this topic at our state
convention.

 

On Saturday, February 11, 2012, Caroline Benavidez and I were unanimously
confirmed in the full senate to serve on the New Mexico School for the Blind
and Visually Impaired Board of Regents. We are please to have two blind
people on this board and Christine serving as president and Caroline as Vice
President.

 

See you at state convention, if not before.

 

Christine 

P.S. I just received good news from Congressman Ben Ray Lujan office. The
congressman has signed on as a co-sponsor to our Fair Wages for Workers with
Disabilities Act of 2011, HR 3086.

 

The 2012 Legislative Session: A Story of Rare Success 

By Greg Trapp, J.D.

 

Each year the Commission for the Blind must submit a "request budget" to the
legislature. The process actually begins about six months before the start
of the legislative session. In August, the Department of Finance and
Administration issues directions to executive branch agencies regarding the
"request budget" that is to be submitted to the legislature. The budget is
due on the first of September, and is heard a month or two later at a
hearing conducted by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC). The LFC is
comprised of members of both the House and Senate.  In recent years,
agencies have been directed by the Department of Finance and Administration

(DFA) to either cut their budgets, or to hold them flat.  As a result, the
Commission's budget has been steadily cut, and the number of authorized
positions has been reduced. However, the 2012 legislative session would turn
out to be dramatically different from previous sessions.

On January 10, the Commission went before the Advocacy Committee, a
relatively newly created subcommittee -of the House Appropriations and
Finance Committee (HAFC). As Executive Director of the Commission, I am
required to present the "Request budget" to the legislature. I am also
expected to make a report on agency performance and identify specific budget
issues. At the same time, I am also required to abide by the DFA directions.

Making the hearing process even more difficult is the fact that the
Commission is subject to extremely complex federal funding rules.

 

The budget begins in the House side of the legislature as House Bill 2.

Accordingly, the January 10 hearing before the Advocacy Committee was
especially critical. Art Schreiber, Chairman of the Commission was present.

Jim Babb was also present, as was Kelly Burma. Jim is Vice Chair of the
State Rehab Council, and Kelly is Council Secretary. Christine Hall had
attended the LFC hearing in October, but she was out of state and unable to
attend the Advocacy Committee hearing.  Jim Salas, Deputy Director for
vocational rehabilitation, was present, as was our Director of Budget and
Finance, Michael Stanton.  Virginia Murphy, our Deputy Director for
independent living, was also present  

 

The most interesting and productive part of the budget hearing process is
usually the question and answer session that takes place after the formal
presentations that are made by the budget analyst and agency director. This
year, these questions were primed by an especially passionate plea from
Chairman Art Schreiber on the needs of the older blind population.

 

Representative Danice Picreaux took up the challenge, and asked me a series
of leading questions about what was needed to better serve the independent
living needs of the older blind population. This opened the door to a long
discussion of the issue. It resulted in decisive bipartisan support from
legislators that included, in addition to Democratic Representative
Picreaux, support from Republican Representative Yvette Herrell, Republican
Senator Sue Wilson Beffort, and Democratic Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino.

 

On January 10, The Commission received a recommendation of a budget of

$1,900,300 which represented an increase of $50,000 in total funds, and an
increase of $10,900 in the all important state general funds. As the session
continued, we provided additional information in response to the questions
from Representative Picreaux, which eventually resulted in the legislature
appropriating the Commission an additional $130,000 to fund two additional
independent living positions. With these increases, the Commission's budget
will be $7,700,700 for the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2012, compared to
$7,520,300 for the current fiscal year. This is a total increase of
$180,400, with $140,900 of that being in state general fund, representing a
general fund increase of about 7.5 percent. This is a rare accomplishment in
such difficult times, and will enable the Commission to better serve its
independent living consumers, and especially the growing population of blind
seniors. 

 

 

New Mexico's Legislative Coordinator's Report on Washington Seminar, 2012

 

            As the Legislative Coordinator, I was honored to attend the
Washington Seminar for 2012 and help support our delegation from New Mexico
on Capitol Hill. This year the NFB focused on three very important
initiatives; The Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act, the Home
Appliance Accessibility Act, and The Americans with Disabilities Business
Opportunity Act. We met with our two New Mexico Senators in order to discuss
each of these issues. The first initiative was, The Fair Wages for Workers
with Disabilities Act of 2011, (H.R.3086). The NFB's goal concerning this
act was to emphasize the importance of phasing out Section 14c of the Fair
Labor Standards Act, which allows employers to pay disabled employees
sub-minimum wages. Passing this bill will lead to ending exploitative
practices and guarantee disabled workers the equal opportunity to earn the
standard federal minimum wage. The second initiative we discussed was, The
Home Appliance Accessibility Act (HAAA) that focused on the issue of the
inaccessibility of digital home appliances, flat panel and touch- screen
home devices. The issue is although non-visual access technology exists,
most home appliances are not accessible. The HAAA calls for a standard
minimum of non- visual access for home appliances, so the blind can continue
to be independent in the age of digital technology. The third initiative
was, The Americans with Disabilities Business Act (ADBOA). Currently
two-thirds of disabled Americans are either unemployed or socially
disadvantaged. This act focused on Section 8a of the Small Business Act,
which allows socially disadvantaged groups that own businesses to acquire
federal contracts. Our objective was to have section 8(a) of ADBOA amended
to include people with disabilities to the list of socially disadvantaged
Americans.

            In addition to the three initiatives, we also attended an
important hearing on February 7, 2012. Mark Riccobono, Executive Director of
the NFB, Jernigan Institute testified before a hearing of the Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The hearing titled "The
Promise of Accessible Technology: Challenges and Opportunities," was
assembled to discuss the challenges and opportunities that Americans with
disabilities face with technology. Mr. Riccobono testified in favor of
assuring that technology be made accessible to students, K-12 and
post-secondary educational institutions. Mr. Riccobono emphasized this point
by saying, "If we fail to include accessibility in that technology, we will
set this generation of students with disabilities back decades." Marc
Maurer, President of The National Federation of the Blind, opened his
statement by thanking Senator Tom Harkin and the HELP committee members. He
then emphasized the importance of equal access to technology for the
disabled by stating, "It is clear that an equal education for the blind will
not be possible without access to the many technologies being used in both
brick-and-mortar and virtual classrooms today." Mr. Riccobono also suggested
four important policy recommendations to the committee. These main
objectives included: 

Stronger oversight and accountability in government

Strong, functional, rigorously enforced standards

Projects to collect, develop, and disseminate best-practice tool 

Improved protection against inaccessible technology in education

 

Amanda Youngblood

 

Lucy Alexander

On January 9, the Alamogordo Orientation Center welcomed Lucy Alexander as
its new director.  Lucy and her two sons, ages ten months and seven years,
moved from Nashville, Tennessee, their home state.  Originally from a small
town, Columbia, Lucy and her family are very pleased to be in Alamogordo and
are adjusting to the drastic changes in elevation, terrain, and climate.
She admits to loving warm sunny days but would prefer a little more rain.  

Lucy enjoys reading, playing goalball, swimming, riding horses, learning new
sports, spending time with her sons, and working with the Federation.  she
served as the secretary for the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the NFB, state
board member for the NFB of Tennessee, Assistant Director of Sports for the
Tennessee Association of blind Athletes (TNABA), grant writer for TNABA and
for the NFB of Tennessee, and coordinator for the Senior Insight Seminar and
exhibit hall held at the NFB State Convention as well as a member of several
other committees.  

Prior to coming to New Mexico, Lucy worked for nine years as a Vocational
Rehabilitation Counselor serving a general case load and for three years as
an Independent Living Instructor traveling to people's homes and teaching
blindness skills.  She is passionate about her vocation and her work with
the Federation.  She looks forward to meeting her New Mexican family at our
State Convention in April when you will have the opportunity to hear more
from her as she is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the welcome
luncheon on Friday and will provide a report from the Center on Saturday

 

Leadership Seminar

by Pat Munson

 

Saturday, January 21, 2012, at the New Mexico Commission for the Blind was
the time and place of yet another NFBNM leadership seminar chaired by Nancy
Burns and Caroline Benevides.

One of the major problems with one of these events is having to limit
attendees. There were no empty chairs in this beautiful new conference room
at the Commission.

Nancy commenced the meeting with a history of New Mexico and the
establishment of an NFB affiliate. New Mexico was chartered as an affiliate
of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) in 1956. One of the major
leaders was Pauline Gomez of Santa Fe.

A major part in our becoming a Federationist is learning that it is
respectable to be blind, understanding the philosophy and practicing it in
our lives. We cannot control what sighted folks say to us, but we can choose
how we as blind people respond.

Here are a few of the issues we discussed, all having been said to a blind
person: You cannot serve on this jury. You are blind; I cannot rent this
apartment to you, you might fall down the stairs, I cannot sell you
insurance, you are too high a risk, You cannot ride on this cruise ship
without a sighted guide, and I have to take that long white cane and put it
away, it might fly up and hit someone on this airplane. 

Someone can say the above to a blind person; however, by law the blind
person has the right to partake in all of them. Of course, the laws were all
changed by Federationists who one by one took these issues on and settled
them in courts.

What the blind person hears far too often, but has to learn how to respond
to positively are the following: How long have you been this way? Why would
they hire you when so many sighted people are looking for work? Why are you
in this museum. You cannot see anything? Let me take your blind grandma and
you to the head of the line at every ride in this amusement park. Visually
impaired people do not have to stand in line. 

Some answers might be: Are you asking how long have I been blind? Many folks
are simply curious; think about what you might say. About the employment
issue, I stated that I was hired because the district looked at my
credentials and did not think blindness had anything to do with teaching and
of course the district was correct. Guides in museums are usually excellent
at describing paintings or other items which cannot be touched, but many
places have audio and Braille self tours. In NFB we are teaching our
children and so on that we can stand in line at an amusement park or
wherever with everyone else; we are blind, but, our legs work the same as
anyone else's.

One of the biggest problems blind people have is changing, or trying, to
change family members' negative attitudes about blindness. Some of us have
had to simply limit our involvement with our family because they refuse to
improve, making being with them too stressful for us. Other families
understand our changes in attitudes and accept them. 

Many of us in NFB have our blind mentors. Lots of times we run into problems
that can best be discussed with another Federationist. Once when I was
walking to a bus stop with major streets to cross, my cane tip rolled away.
My mentor suggested I always carry at least one spare tip, but when the
metal tip rolls off that turning the cane upside down and using the damaged
tip end as a handle is better than nothing. 

After break we discussed some proper formatting of chapter meetings. Most
chapters start the meeting with each attendee giving his name and a bit
about something. Some then play Dr. Maurer's presidential release next or
have it somewhere else in the meeting.

The secretary reads the minutes and then the membership is asked if
corrections are necessary. After any changes are made, the minutes are
approved; the treasurer's report is next followed by old business and then
new agenda items. 

An NFB chapter meeting must always have time for philosophy. The topic might
be something a member wishes help with, something from the Braille Monitor
or a story from one of our books. 

Elections are important. If officers are doing a good job, they should be
asked if they want to run again, but this should be done before the meeting
at which the election will take place. If an officer publicly states that
that person does not seek reelection then it is time for members to ask
others to serve. But, one must ask persons who have shown they have the
knowledge to carry out the work of that office. These meetings many times
have guests so the blind want to demonstrate we can carry a meeting well.

Committees should be chosen by the president of the chapter so much of the
work can be done outside the meetings with short reports given at the
meetings. One of the most important of these committees is the fundraising
committee. Some fundraisers NFB members have found successful are:
walk-a-thons, 50-50 drawings, bake and candy sales. NFB chapters make money
and educate the public. We never are out without NFB literature to
distribute widely.

Time ran out, so the seminar had to be brought to an end. Our NFB work is
that way. We plan to hold many more of these gatherings to continue our
progress for all blind persons. Hope more of you will be able to attend for
together we are changing what it means to be blind.

 

 

Blindness doesn't slow Boyd down

Visited with Kay Hampton Boyd recently in her home. 

Kay shows determination and some humor in living with her blindness. We
talked about how people respond when they find Kay is blind. Sometimes
people talk louder when they discover Kay is blind; she explains she is
blind, not deaf. 

Roy and Kay will go to a restaurant and when the server learns Kay is blind
the server starts talking to Roy about what Kay wants to eat. Then Kay says,
"Hey, I can talk and I can decide what I want to eat." 

Kay and her sister Claudette are both blind. Both sisters were sick when
they were young and the doctor determined both had the flu. The family
thinks the girls each had a light case of polio. Claudette is younger and
her eyes deteriorated more rapidly than Kay's. In the middle 1950s the
family was living 

in Hagerman and decided to move to Alamogordo since  Claudette was attending
the New Mexico School for the Visually Handicapped (now the New Mexico
School for the Blind and Visually Impaired). There was no main streaming
then; this was 1956, so all of Claudette's classes were at NMSVH. Meanwhile,
Kay was attending Alamogordo High School starting in her freshman year. Kay
was losing her sight. Her condition is retinitis pigmentosa. This starts as
a narrowing of the vision field at the periphery. Kay would view things as
if she were in a tunnel. That tunnel opening continued to shrink. While Kay
still had vision she learned to drive. She says, "I had visual limitations
from the side, so I went very slowly." She was able to receive a driver's
license because at that time only a written test was required. Kay was a
compulsive reader and enjoyed high school. The first person she met at
Alamogordo High School was Diane Abbott. David Newell was her homeroom
teacher. Having moved here from a smaller school in Hagerman, Kay at first
didn't adjust well to the larger school in Alamogordo. First she had trouble
locating her locker. She would move slowly through the halls and the
classrooms until she acclimated. 

Kay recalls there were some temporary classrooms on the campus; her
navigating to those could be an adventure. Even with retinitis pigmentosa
Kay took college prep and was elected to the National Honor Society. Kay was
in Future Teachers of America and did student teaching part of her junior
year at North Elementary School. She worked with Mrs. Bortman there. Kay
says her favorite teachers were Mr. Townsend and Mr. Spicer. She was busy
with classes and school activities. Kay says, "I cried when I graduated from
high school." This was in 1960. The Hamptons discussed Kay's plans after
high school. Resources were limited and Kay knew time was not on her side.
Kay entered Eastern New Mexico University in 1960. She received her
associate's degree in 1962. Kay loved Alamogordo and after receiving her
degree she returned home. Her parents and sister were still here. Kay
secured a job at Sacramento Peak Observatory. Kay and her father lived at
"The Peak" where she was a switchboard 

operator. Soon she added purchasing agent to her duties. Kay worked at Sac
Peak for five years. While there she met Roy Boyd and they married in 1964.
Kay says, "I didn't  use my eyes as an excuse not to work. I liked to work."
After their son was born in 1967, Kay returned to work at SIC on 10th
Street. 

Eighteen months later she returned to Sac Peak. Roy went to work at Los
Alamos in 1973. Kay was homesick for Alamogordo and her family. She worked
in Los Alamos as a property specialist. Her vision was going fast, but she
compensated in several ways. Kay says, "I tried never to go to a new place
by myself. When I got used to an office or routine I could do my job after
learning the physical area. I just always moved slowly." Kay remembers, "The
vision loss was gradual so I didn't always realize my limitations. I used my
mind to work within the system to do my job. I learned to concentrate and
compensate." 

"We always wanted to return to Alamogordo," she says. 

In 1989 Kay returned to Alamogordo and took classes at the Commission for
the 

BlindAdult Orientation Center  (located on White Sands). Her classes
included 

using machinery in the shop  class. During Christmas holidays,  Kay injured
her right hand in a car 

accident. She was reticent to return to the Commission for the Blind. Her
friend 

Veronica Smith encouraged her, "Come back now or you won't return." Kay
returned and learned to read and write Braille.   

She  finished her classes in Cane Travel. Some of her favorite teachers were
Barbara Hudman and Joe Pattison. Her roommate was Twana Gill. Her good
friends were Veronica Smith and Mike 

Hernadez. One of her classmates, Carlos Servan, went to UNM Law School. "I
loved 

learning Braille. Now I could read again," Kay says. 

In 1990 Kay moved back to Los Alamos. She and Roy returned to Alamogordo in 

2002. In 2003 she worked at the Commission for the Blind as a home
management 

teacher. Kay says, "That was lots of fun. I did evaluations and class plans.
We usually had around 18 students." 

Kay has been active in the National Federation of the Blind. Kay is the
Vice-president of the White Sands Chapter; she says, "I'm available to talk
to individuals or groups about blind issues." 

Kay's reading still continues with books on tape and books downloaded on her
computer. One book source told Kay she had read over 2,000 of their books.
Kay and I stopped there and talked books. We read some of the same authors.
Kay's computer has a screen reader that reads aloud all that appears on the
screen. With "Speech access to go" Kay can use her computer anywhere.  

Kay closes by saying, "Being blind is part of what I am. It is not who I am.
I 

do things that keep me active-talking books, computers, music and keeping up


with friends and family I also watch television. Roy can tell me certain
things 

I don't catch I like mysteries and particularly `NCIS' on television." Her
motto 

is: "Attitude is everything as long as it is positive!" 

 

 

West Mesa Chapter Christmas Party

Submitted by Veronica Smith

 

The West Mesa chapter had a marvelous Christmas Party on Saturday, December
10 at Mimmo's Italian Restaurant.

  

The party goers were escorted into a private dining room where we found 3
long tables that each sat 15.

37 RSVP, but only 31 peeps arrived for the fun.

We feasted on Spaghetti and Meatballs, Spinach lasagna or Fetuccinni
alfredo.  All meals were reported to be scrumptious.

 

I feasted on the Spinach lasagna and oooh, wow, was it ever good and almost
too much for me to finish.

Along with each meal came a salad and nice big pieces of garlic bread and
the desserts were heavenly; Conoli, Almaretto tiramisu, regular Taramisu,
lemon torte with a cream filling, cheese cake with strawberry sauce  and a
gigantic brownie with ice cream, fudge sauce and a cherry were some of the
choices.  I'm not sure how they were as everyone who had one of these
delectable treats were too busy devouring them to report on their goodness.

  

Nancy wrote a special Night before Christmas which was very very very cute
and Caroline brought her guitar and we all sang a multitude of Christmas
songs.

It was super nice that some of the Albuquerque chapter members joined us and
made our celebration just that more enjoyable.

 

We also had the opportunity to share in celebrating ShaRon Dandy's birthday.
The waiter, Andre, brought out the gigantic brownie with a burning candle
and we all sang happy birthday to her.

I heard from some of the staff that our music carried into the restaurant
and the peeps had smiles on their faces as they too sang along with us.  It
does sound like a good time was had by all.

 

One of the things the West Mesa Chapter does at this time of year is to
collect gifts for Joy Junction.  In our big tote, there were board games,
mittens, hats, fuzzy socks, food, and lots of toiletries.  Susan Martinez,
our POBC President, volunteered to take our donation to them.  I'm sure our
kindness made someone very happy.

 

Submitted by:

Veronica Smith

 

Red or Green  by Veronica Smith

 

I attended the NM Orientation Center for the blind in 1989/1990, where I
learned how to be blind.  "How to be blind," someone might say, "you are
blind, how can you learn that?"  It is a reasonable question from one who
knows nothing about being blind.

  

Of course, I already knew how to cook and clean and sew and I knew how to
get around my yard, my drive-way, even my neighborhood, but did I really?

 

I have to say yes to the cooking, cleaning and sewing, but could I really
get around my neighborhood.  If you can call scooting my cane along the curb
and counting steps to the mailbox, getting around my neighborhood?

 

When I began at the Orientation Center, Sharron Duffy was my cane travel
instructor.  She started out by sending me around the inside of the
building, then outside the building and around the dorms, then around the
block.  I thought these exercises, though a little scary, were easy.  They
became so much harder when she assigned me to go find this or that.

 

One afternoon as I was on yet another mission to find radio shack which was
located somewhere downtown Alamogordo, I tapped my cane to the left and then
to the right and looked and looked for the long narrow rug.   I had been
downtown and felt the rug many times and knew it was long and narrow. I
tapped to the left and then to the right, slowly searching for  the rug in
front of the door.  I finally stopped, reached down and touched it.  I was
so excited and said quietly, "yea, I found it."

 

I heard a voice from behind me say, "I meant the red one."  I was surprised,
not knowing that she was even behind me, "isn't this the right rug?" I
asked.

 

I turned and faced her, I said, isn't this the right rug and again she said,
"no, the one you are looking for is red."  I still laugh at the story, 

Red or green, they feel the same!"

 

Submitted by Veronica Smith

President, West Mesa Chapter 

THE GREAT CHILI COOK-OFF

By Nancy Burns

 

Don and I are fairly comfortable with food preparation, even cooking for
large groups of people.  This Chili Cook-off, however, was a little more
challenging to us.  It was sponsored by the Paradise Hills United Methodist
Church was provides a meeting room for the monthly meeting of the West Mesa
chapter and has allowed the use of the Fellowship Hall for Meet the Blind
Month and other NFB events.  We felt it would be a good as well as fun way
to participate in church activities.  

 

The three categories included red chili, green chili, and salsa.  I signed
up for red chili and Don for salsa.  Our grocery list included, among other
items, 8 pounds of ground beef, a bag of green peppers, two bags of
tomatoes, along with jalapenos, cilantro and other seasonings.  I have a
large pot which has been used for batches of chili or stew.  I began cooking
the day before and refrigerated the chili overnight.  The next day, the day
of the cook-off, I warmed it back up and adjusted for seasonings.  I used
more red chili pepper than usual as I knew there would be people accustomed
to spicey food.  

 

 

That evening a friend picked us up and my  crockpot  full of chili joined
the many others in  anticipation of expert judging.  The serving bowls,
provided by the church, were uniform which made dipping easier.  I used a
one half measuring cup and was able to fill the bowls with my chili.  There
was mild, medium and hot and mine came in around the medium taste.  

 

Don made his popular pico de gallo and waited until the morning of the event
so that his contribution would be fresh.  He hand chopped tomatoes,
jalapenos and cilantro along with the other ingredients.  Presentation was
important so his salsa was in a glass bowl and the tortilla chips were in a
colorful basket.  

 

Although neither of us came home with a first or even second place honor, we
had a great time and were pleased to have participated.  As we left the
hall, the woman in charge said to us, "See you next year".  

 

 

GOOD EATING

 

(Submitted by Veronica Smith)

 

Shamrock 'n' Roll Shake

PER SERVING (entire recipe): 175 calories, 4g fat, 150mg sodium, 29g carbs,
2g fiber, 13.5g sugars, 7.5g protein -- PointsPlusT value 5*

 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. sugar-free French vanilla powdered creamer (like the kind by Coffee-

mate)

3/4 cup light vanilla soymilk

1/2 cup fat-free vanilla ice cream (like Breyers Smooth & Dreamy Fat Free)

1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

2 drops green food coloring

1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda or Truvia)

1 1/2 cups crushed ice (8 - 12 ice cubes' worth) 

 

Directions:

Combine creamer with 1 tbsp. hot water and stir to dissolve. Transfer to a
blender. Add all other ingredients to the blender, and blend at high speed
until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

 

MAKES 1 SERVING

 

BTW, if you make this with light ice cream instead of fat-free, your shake
will have 190 calories, 7g fat, and a PointsPlusT value of 5*. Not bad.

Happy

St. Patrick's Day, people!

 

Banana Daiquiri

Don't let the rum sneak up on you in this refreshing tropical drink. Serve
in cold glasses with a wedge of lime.

>From the book

"Lucinda's Authentic Jamaican Kitchen,"

by Lucinda Scala Quinn (Wiley).

Ingredients

Makes 2 8-ounce servings

3/4 cup rum (6 ounces)

1 1/2 ripe bananas, peeled

Juice of 1 lime

1 strip lime rind

3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

10 ice cubes

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender jar and blend on high speed
until the texture is smooth. Serve in glasses with a lime wedge and an extra
splash of rum.

 

Submitted by:

Veronica Smith

 

 

Grilled Veggie Wraps

 

2 cloves garlic, crushed

 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

 

6 ounces Portobello mushrooms, sliced

 

2 Roma tomatoes, sliced lengthwise

 

4 large flour tortillas

 

4 ounces mixed salad greens

 

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled and at room temperature

 

4 ounces roasted red bell peppers

 

in water, drained and cut into strips

 

8 dashes raspberry or white wine vinegar

 

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

 

Combine garlic and oil in small bowl. Lightly brush one side of mushroom and
tomatoes slices with some of oil mixture. Grill until done, approximately

 

3 minutes per side for mushrooms and 1 minute per side for tomatoes.

 

Meanwhile, lay tortillas flat and brush top side lightly with remaining oil
mixture. Divide and spread greens, goat cheese and roasted 

 

pepper

 

strips on lower half of each tortilla. Top each with a quarter of grilled
mushroom and tomato slices. Lightly sprinkle vinegar over all and roll the
tortillas

 

like you would for a burrito. Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and bake
for 5 minutes, until warm.

 

Cut each tortilla roll in half on a diagonal and place on warmed individual
plates. Serve immediately.

 

Makes 4 servings. Enjoy

                        

            

MEETINGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

March 31, 2012 National College Scholarship applications due to National You
have just a short time left to apply for these valuable scholarships ranging
from $3,000. to $12,000. Go to the website www.nfb.org/scholarships for
rules and requirements.

March 31, 2012 Dr. Jacob Boliton Award Applications due

 

April 13 to April 15 NFBNM Convention Albuquerque

 

June 30 to July 5 NFB National Convention, Dallas Texas

 

The West Mesa Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind meets the
second Saturday of the month.  You can find us at the Paradise Hills United
Methodist Church at 4700 Paradise Hills Blvd. N. W. from 10 a.m. to noon.

We are located right next to the Pino Post Office.  If you need more
information about our meetings, feel free to call Veronica Smith, President

(505) 892-3212 or email me

Madison_tewe at spinn.net

 

The next NMABS membership meeting will be Sunday March 18th at 7:00pm via
teleconference. The call in information is: (218) 399-2699 access code:
725279 pound sign.

Also, our next Albuquerque chapter meeting will be at Ihop on Menaul and
Pensylvania from 6:00-8:00PM on Tuesday March 20th. Please contact me, Tara
Chavez for either of these at either nmabs.president at gmail.com for NMABS or
tmatzick06 at hotmail.com Thank you, Tara PS. I will send you the flyer for the
student division if that is ok. It's our main recruiting tool right now.

 

 

 

 

Robert Leslie Newman

President, NFB Writers' Division

Division Website

 <http://www.nfb-writers-division.net/> http://www.nfb-writers-division.net

Chair, Newsletter Publication committee

Personal Website-

 <http://www.thoughtprovoker.info/> http://www.thoughtprovoker.info