[Nfb-seniors] {Spam?} Summer-Fall 2012 Newsletter

[David Andrews]

Blind Senior Perspective

National Federation of the Blind Senior Division

  Summer-Fall 2012

Volume 13 Number 2

President Ruth Sager
7634 Carla Road
Baltimore, MD 21208
Telephone: 410-602-9030
e-mail: RSager at BISM.org

Submit inquiries to Ms. Sager at the above address.

Editor Pat Munson
10501 Lagrima de Oro NE apt 139
Albuquerque, NM 87111
Telephone: 505-291-3139
e-mail: <mailto:pat.munson at comcast.net>pat.munson at comcast.net

Articles for the National Federation of the Blind 
Senior Division newsletter should be sent to: Ms. Munson.

Table of Contents




President’s Message
by Ruth Sager

Minutes, 2012 NFBSD Meeting
by Ramona Walhof, Secretary

Blind Flier Stuck With Fee
by Pat Pheifer

NFB Philosophy, a White Cane and a Determined old “Street Dog”
by Pat Munson

Coffee on the Med

by Nancy Burns

Schreiber Escapes Coming in Last
by Art Schreiber

Traveling with Road Scholars
by Alice George

 From Pat and Jack Munson.




That’s Braille!

by Maxine Schrader

Seniors in Charge Provides Training to People with Vision Loss
Thanksgiving
by Cindy Bennett

This and That



President’s Message

by Ruth Sager
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Hello Senior federationists:

As you read this issue of _Blind _Senior 
_Perspective, you will see what a fabulous job 
our editor, Pat Munson has done in putting 
together a diverse selection of articles. She was 
very prompt and on top of everything.  And, I am 
indebted to her for everything she does to keep 
this publication on track and ready to go on time.

Judy Sanders has been a wonderful president to 
this division and has guided me in many areas.  I 
look forward to these ladies and to everyone 
else, to assist me and make this devision 
grow.  Diane McGeorge joins the Board as our new 
treasurer and she has been a friend and mentor 
for many years.  I am fortunate to work with so 
many talented Federation seniors.

I also know that many of you in your communities 
and states give of your time and talent to reach 
out to the newly blind senior and encourage and 
share your life experience with them and their 
families.  Together, we all are making a 
difference for this growing population of seniors who truly need our help.

At this year’s annual meeting of the senior 
Division two of our speakers presented topics 
that are of special interest to me­they shared 
their work in facilitating conference call 
meetings with seniors to discussed specific 
topics on a consistent basis.  Seniors join the 
call and can listen or participate as much as 
they feel comfortable in doing.  I believe this 
is a great way to reach many people who might not 
otherwise be able or willing to attend local 
chapter meetings or even meet with blind colleagues.

My goal for this year is to promote such senior 
conference calls in as many areas as 
possible.  Some conference calls are more of a 
learning activity while others may have more 
social emphasis.  In order to be successful, not 
only are the seniors needed for these calls as 
participants, but a facilitator with strong NFB 
philosophy and practical knowledge of non-visual 
skills are invaluable to facilitate discussions 
and share practical tips and information.

If you are interested in developing such a 
network of seniors by creating a senior 
conference call in your locality or state, please email me at:
<mailto:rsager at bism.org>rsager at bism.org or call 
me at home and leave a message if necessary at:
410-602-9030.

Joe Ruffalo from New Jersey has been in the 
forefront of developing such a senior 
network.  This fall his seniors are sponsoring 
the state NFBNJ convention and hosting a senior 
Possibilities fair on Friday morning before the 
formal convention begins.  If New Jersey can do 
this­so can we in our state, create a senior 
division, develop conference call networking for 
seniors and, perhaps grow to be able to put on a 
statewide Possibilities Fair in whatever state we 
happen to live. This is an attainable goal.

I look forward to working with all of 
you.  Please share your thoughts and ideas with 
me at the above contact information.

Have a wonderful fall season and, if your state 
is hosting its annual convention, participate and 
enjoy the friendship and talents of your senior colleagues.

Ruth Sager
President
National Federation of the Blind
Senior Division



Minutes, 2012 NFBSD Meeting

by Ramona Walhof, Secretary

The general business meeting was called to order 
on July 2, 2012, at 1:55 by the President, Judy 
Sanders, following rather active bidding on 
auction items donated by seniors.  The meeting 
started with the sale of two high-bid auction 
items.  Minutes were approved as printed. The 
treasurer's report was read by the president in 
the absence of the treasurer.  Balances: savings 
$2413.32; checking $493.45.  The report was approved.
Judy announced that she will not be running for 
President, and Paul Dressel is not running for 
Treasurer.  The new Treasurer will receive a Ray McGeorge wallet for use.
There has been a contest for naming our 
newsletter.  The new name will be "Blind Senior 
Perspective." This idea came from Pat Gormley of Maryland.

Speakers from American Foundation for the Blind 
in Dallas were Judy Scott and Priscilla Rogers. 
They again reminded us of their special services 
unique to Dallas, and invited us to visit their 
special house for seniors losing vision.

NFB President Marc Maurer came and auctioned off 
two bottles of wine donated by Art Schreiber and 
a pair of his own cufflinks that he donated and 
used to wear.  He raised $195 for 
us.  Dr.  Maurer welcomed us to the Convention and was very entertaining.

Milton Taylor from Utah spoke about dealing with 
spouses of blind seniors. If the spouse losing 
vision discontinues to carry on part of the 
chores, the other partner can become very unhappy.

Mindy Jacobsen spoke about University without 
Walls.  She also told about activities of the 
Imagination Fund during this convention.  She 
announced that 85944 is a number to text $10 
donations to during this convention.

Ellen Ringlein spoke about items that may be 
particularly interesting to seniors handled by 
the NFB Independence Market. The recorder by 
Wilson and the Pen Friend are two items which are 
rather simple to use and allow the user to keep data in recorded format.

Adelmo Vigil spoke about independent travel for 
seniors. Some blind seniors need a support cane 
besides the white cane and they might need to 
follow walls and so on because of hearing loss.

There was a panel discussion on 
transportation.  Its members were Dave Hyde, Ruth 
Sager, and Mary Alexson, BISM student, who spoke on her training.

Eileen Ley asked people to participate in a 
survey for a fee of $10; contact her in room 508. 
She is working on a project which would provide 
prescription data verbally recorded on each 
bottle which is very helpful for blind seniors.

Duncan Larsen from Colorado spoke on senior 
programs there, and her student Geraldine Jones spoke on her experiences.

RESULTS of the NFBSD election: President Ruth 
Sager, MD; First VP Art Schreiber, NM; 2nd VP 
Judy Sanders, MN; Secretary Ramona Walhof, ID; 
Treasurer Diane McGeorge, CO.  Ramona Walhoff 
moved; Art and Diane seconded that we give $200 
each to the tenBroek Fund, the Sun Fund, the 
Jernigan Fund, the White Cane Fund, and the 
Imagination Fund.  The motion passed.

Some of the auction items were: hand-knitted bags 
full of products from Idaho, home-grown dried 
herbs, a wind-up music box, candle with lid, 
coffee, soap, bags full of candy and nuts, 
homemade cherry brownies, home-made peanut 
brittle and many others. We thanked the generous 
donors. The division collected around 
one-thousand dollars in auction and dues money.

The meeting adjourned about ten minutes til five.

Respectfully submitted,
Ramona Walhof, Secretary



Blind Flier Stuck With Fee
by Pat Pheifer, Star Tribune

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the 
regular Whistleblower feature of the Minneapolis 
Star Tribune on September 4, 2011.

Since Delta is the dominant airline here with its 
purchase of Northwest, this is relevant to all of 
us. If you use Delta's telephone reservations, 
remember Chris Danielsen's statement.)

Susan Barton is legally blind and uses a 
wheelchair, a result of her 40-year battle with 
multiple sclerosis. But she doesn't let her 
disability hamper her love of traveling with her husband.

So her dander rose when she tried to book two 
tickets on Delta Air Lines for a long weekend in 
Chicago this past June and the airline told her 
she'd have to pay an extra $50  $25 per person to 
buy the tickets over the phone instead of online.

After Barton explained that she was blind and 
couldn't use the website, the call center 
representative insisted that the fee couldn't be 
waived.    That person's supervisor said the same 
thing. So did the two people she called at the airline's Atlanta headquarters.

"For years I've been arranging our travel and 
doing it by phone," said Barton, 64, of 
Minneapolis, who retired as director of human 
resources for the Prudential Insurance Co. 
"Northwest charged me $5 extra for arranging 
those tickets by phone.   [Delta was] going to 
charge me $25 extra for each ticket. That just 
seemed, quite frankly, outrageous to me."

"I asked, isn't there an exception for someone 
who's handicapped? Their response was, isn't 
there a family member or friend who could do it for you?"

Barton said her husband, Vincent, a retired 
Prudential executive, will be 80 later this month 
and isn't adept at navigating the airline's website.

When Whistleblower called Delta's corporate 
communications office in Atlanta, spokeswoman 
Ashley Black said the four people Susan Barton spoke with were wrong.

"Our policy is that any customer with 
disabilities that cannot use delta.com, that fee will be waived," Black said.

Black later sent an e-mail saying, "While it's 
unfortunate this incident occurred, we are using 
this opportunity to improve our 
processes.   We're working with our agents to 
ensure that they are aware of and in compliance with this policy."

Chris Danielsen, director of public relations for 
the National Federation of the Blind, said 
Delta's refusal to waive the fee violated federal 
law. Under the Air Carrier Access Act, an airline 
must waive call-center fees for a blind person if 
they cannot use the airline's website. An airline 
also must charge a blind person the same fare 
that is available on the Internet, he said.

Delta is hardly alone among airlines for refusing 
to waive fees for a blind passenger. Jonathan 
Lazar, a professor of computer science at Towson 
University in Maryland, led a study of airlines' 
compliance with the Air Carrier Access Act. The 
study, which did not include Delta, found four 
U.S. airlines whose websites could not be read 
with screen readers, and thus were not accessible to the blind.

When researchers posed as blind customers, three 
of the four airlines refused to waive the 
call-center fee in anywhere from two to six of the calls.

Last week, a quick survey by Whistleblower found 
that American Airlines, United Airlines and U.S. 
Airways all charge a $25 per ticket fee to make 
reservations by phone, but all said that fee is 
waived for customers with disabilities. Southwest 
Airlines said it does not charge a fee to make phone reservations.

Barton's case is just one in the string of 
incidents in which Delta was faulted in its 
treatment of passengers with disabilities.

Earlier this year, Whistleblower described how 
Carrie Salberg, who has muscular dystrophy and 
uses a ventilator to breathe, was kicked off a 
Delta flight from New Orleans to the Twin Cities 
after the airline told her she couldn't bring her 
medical equipment on board. A month earlier, 
Delta had told her that her equipment met the company's requirements.

In February, Delta was fined $2 million by the 
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) after the 
agency reviewed 5,000 complaints filed by and on 
behalf of disabled passengers. The fine was the 
largest the DOT has ever assessed against an 
airline in a case not involving safety violations.

Susan Barton said she and her husband travel four 
or five times a year, spending a
few weeks in Palm Desert, Calif., Sanibel, Fla., 
or Hilton Head, S.C. Most of their flights are on 
Delta, and, once they get to the airport, the 
airline has been "really very accommodating," she said.


NFB Philosophy, a White Cane and a Determined old “Street Dog”

By Pat Munson

Editor’s note: I wrote the following for a White 
Cane Day writing contest. Although the following 
took place decades ago, I thought our readers might find it interesting.

I yanked myself out of my chair and marched to 
the door. I grabbed my long white cane and opened 
that stupid door. At that moment I hated all my 
friends because they had one by one told me that 
they were not going to drag me around one more 
time. They had seen other blind students on our 
college campus getting around just fine with a 
cane, and they said I could do the same.

But, the same friends had not met all my pals 
from the school for the blind. They constantly 
made fun of blind persons who used a cane. They 
shuffled around as best they could but thought 
they were really cool without that dumb long 
white cane, which just told all the world that 
the user was blind. They had gained their 
spectacularly sad attitudes from their teachers 
and others at the school, and I did too.

Everything was against me on that fateful day; no 
one was there to help me cross four streets and 
board the first of three buses which would get me 
to the school where I was to student teach. Even 
the weather was at its worst. I did not even have 
the door open all the way before the wind grabbed 
that cane and almost whipped it out of my 
hand.  The door slammed behind me and so did part 
of my negative attitudes about blindness.

At the door I had made up my mind that I was 
going to make this trip by myself or die trying. 
My career as a teacher would not exist if I did 
not have the guts to get to that school and act like a competent blind adult!

By the time that first bus arrived, my dress, 
shoes, long hair and makeup were ruined from the 
wind and rain, but what did it matter, my body 
was still intact and that wonderful, long white 
cane was doing what my friends used to do for me; 
it provided me with my tool for independence.

I remember finally climbing up those school steps 
and thinking that I had made it. I looked as if I 
had just climbed out of the shower, but my goal 
was to meet the faculty and my master teachers.

I took off my dripping coat in the office and 
hung it up. I rang out my long soggy hair and 
entered the faculty meeting. Later the teachers 
told me that they had never seen anyone with such 
a determined look on her face. They did not know about the NFB.

I did complete that student teaching and got a 
job, but only because of the work of many in the 
National Federation of the Blind.

Until a few years earlier, those in charge of 
teacher credentials said normal vision was 
required to teach in the public schools in the 
United States. NFB members knew this was simply wrong.

Many, many members of NFB introduced legislation 
in every state eliminating the vision requirement; this took years.

I was one of the first to take up that white cane 
and march by myself into a job in competitive 
employment in the public schools in the USA.

As a member of the National Federation of the 
Blind I gained a job, blindness skills and the 
philosophy to lead a normal life in the 
mainstream of society.  Sometimes it is not easy 
to be a Federationist when sighted folks 
endlessly try to think they know what is best for 
us, but I love being a part of the mainstream so 
I do what I must to change people’s attitudes 
about what it really means to be blind! I’m like 
a very determined old “street dog”, but I have an 
NFB smile on my face! As Dr. Jernigan said many 
times, “We know who we are and we will never go 
back.” Now I wish I could thank all those NFB 
“street dogs” who helped me be what I have been and am!



Coffee on the Med


By Nancy Burns

Editor’s note: The following came from the NFBNM newsletter.

My heart was doing the happy dance as we packed 
and prepared to fly to Barcelona, Spain which 
would be the first stop in our dream 
vacation.  We stayed three days in Barcelona; 
tasted tapas, sea food, and sampled Ca va, a 
Spanish champagne.  We also strolled down Las 
Ramblas purchasing souvenirs and stopping for a 
cold drink and more tapas.  On the third day in 
Barcelona, after taking several tours, we sailed 
into the Mediterranean.  Many exciting ports and 
adventures were soon to be experienced.
The huge cruise ship sailed past a lighthouse on 
the port side and glided into one of the most 
beautiful ports of our extensive cruise.  Kotor, 
Montenegro was a mix of modern and ancient 
buildings.  The backdrop of Kotor was steep and 
tree-laden mountains.  Don and I left the ship 
and walked toward the city.  The main business 
section was in an ancient castle, complete with 
drawbridge and moat.  After making some 
purchases, we stopped in a café for lunch.  The 
menu seemed to be mostly pizza and sandwiches so 
we chose a pizza, not real sure as to what 
exactly we would have.  I opted for lemonade 
which was warm and quite tart.  After asking for 
ice, a chilled glass was as good as it got.  The 
pizza turned out to be pepperoni and quite 
tasty.  In typical Medieval style, Kotor’s narrow 
streets and squares were planned with dual 
purpose; aesthetic beauty and an attempt to thwart possible invaders.

Each day we docked in a new location which 
provided us with another chapter in our fairytale 
cruise. Initially, we were concerned that 21 days 
at sea might be a bit longer than we wanted.  It 
proved to be just right.  It was quite long but 
not too long. Residing on a cruise ship for three 
weeks is exciting enough, but to throw in 16 
cities in 7 different countries was just the frosting on the vacation cake.

The weather was warm and quite humid.  The 
Mediterranean was calm throughout the 
trip.  While at sea we enjoyed ship-board 
activities and mixing and mingling with other 
passengers.  During one of the first evening 
meals, we had the good fortune to sit across the 
table from a delightful couple who we soon 
considered as friends.  We hung out with Ben and 
Marilou and went on some of the same group 
tours.  A nightly ritual for Don and me is to 
stand at the fantail and listen to the powerful 
movement of the ocean beneath.  Ben and Marilou 
would often find us at our favorite spot where we 
would stop and discuss the day’s events or make plans for the following day.

One of the organized tours was the unforgettable 
trip to Pompeii.  This was the most awesome and 
the most challenging tour of them all.  We were 
advised that we would be walking on cobblestones 
which we felt was of no consequence.  The streets 
of Pompeii are definitely not cobblestones.  We 
stepped from boulder to boulder, stepping up 
sizable steps and dropping down from ledges.  The 
term (cobbleboulders) was coined.   Our cane skills were tested to the max.

We were surrounded by historical tragedies.  Mt. 
Vesuvius threw molten lava on the city for two 
days and two nights in 79AD.  Much of this 
hardened lava has been chipped away revealing 
homes, stores, and other buildings.

Our tour guide for this trip was knowledgeable 
and he shared a wealth of information.  At the 
end of the tour he provided us with some of his 
philosophy saying that he enjoyed drinking his 
morning coffee while looking out into the 
ocean.  He told us “It is important to enjoy life 
to the fullest.”   Don and I couldn't agree more.

Civitavecchia was the port in which we docked in 
order to get to Rome, which was amazing.  During 
the hour and a half drive to Rome we passed many 
olive groves, vineyards, fruit trees and 
vegetable gardens, reminiscent of the Southern 
California vineyards.  Our first stop after 
reaching Rome was the iconic Trevi Fountain where 
we did the traditional coin toss.  I was so 
looking forward to entering the Sistine Chapel 
and was honored to do so.  My disappointment was 
because of the crush of people who shared my 
desire to visit the Chapel.  We were also in awe 
of the magnificence of the Pantheon and the breath-taking view of the Coliseum.

Ancient ruins, a blend of colorful cultures and 
languages greeted us at every port.  Valetta, 
Malta provided us with a page of history in the 
making.  We had observed a number of military 
planes flying overhead and learned that they were 
NATO bombers refueling in Malta on the way to the 
Liberian conflict. The ports in Greece presented 
another blend of beauty along with a look into 
incredible historical significance.  Katakolon 
was the port stop for Olympia, the location of 
the Doric-style Temple of Zeus built in 472 
BC.  Near the temple of Zeus is the stadium which 
seated 40,000 spectators.  The first Olympic games were held in 776 BC.

Several more ports in Italy were explored; each 
with an abundance of beauty and history.  Our 
final port was Marseille, France.  As 
anticipated, the food was wonderful and the 
people were friendly and helpful in spite of the 
language barrier.  As the ship steamed toward 
Barcelona, and the end of our fantastic cruise, 
we reminisced about ancient churches, castles, 
statues, and that well-known Leaning Tower, we 
knew we had only touched the surface but realized 
that we had a glimpse of that part of the world 
we would never forget.  We repacked but this time 
with dirty clothes, souvenirs, olive oil and 
limoncello.  We then met Ben and Marilou on the 
Lido Deck for that final cup of coffee before the 
long flight to Albuquerque. We also brought home 
with us a treasure trove of happy memories and 
the contact information for some new 
friends.  This was our 8th cruise and one of the most unforgettable.



Schreiber Escapes Coming in Last

by Art Schreiber

Another Duke City Marathon and its many events is in the record book.
I, for the second year, entered and finished the 
20 K walk.  Last year the walk was a half 
marathon, which is somewhat farther than a 20 K.

Last year I finished 209 out of 209 entrants, but 
was first in my age group because no one else was 
in my age group.  My time last year was 5 hours 
and 57 seconds.  This year my time was 4 hours 
five minutes and 14 seconds.  Race officials this 
year eliminated walkers being forced to walk on 
the dirt path adjacent to the bike path North of 
Central Avenue.  This year walkers were routed 
South on the bike path through the bosque and for 
us 20 K'ers we turned around at Rio Bravo.  This 
year, in addition to my friend Rick Walsh guiding 
me I had another friend, Janet Trujillo, join 
me.  Janet is a physical therapist at La Vida 
Llena, where I live.  I told her she would make a 
great prison guard who yielded a large 
whip!  Janet kept calling out, "Art, you're 
slowing down.  Pick it up."  During the final 
mile, my nearly 84 year old knees were screaming 
and telling me to quit.  Janet and Rick kept 
urging me on to the finish line.  Next year I 
hope a few NFB'rs will join me and my goal is to get under 4 hours.

Final stats:  150 individuals finished the walk 
and I was 141.  This year a 30 year old woman 
came in last.  One individual was 40 plus me at 
83.  Come on, get your parents and grandparents to join me next year.



Traveling with Road Scholars

by Alice George

One advantage of being a senior is having the 
opportunity to participate in Road Scholar 
Programs – formerly Elderhostel. Traveling the 
world with others with similar interests promotes 
lifelong learning, personal growth, and new 
friendships. Each year, thousands of seniors 
stretch their minds and bodies by engaging in 
stimulating, educational, and challenging 
adventures throughout North America, abroad, and 
afloat. Shouldn't blind seniors do the same? Yes, 
of course, they should, and I did.

After months of researching travel agencies and 
programs, I decided to explore Seattle, WA for a 
week with Road Scholars. A distant long time 
friend from San Diego joined me there. However, 
prior to my arriving in Seattle, the tour guide 
strongly voiced her apprehension about a blind 
person joining the group. She felt she may have 
to take care of me and lead me around the city 
for a week, which she could not do. I learned 
from the Road Scholar staff they had never 
knowingly had a blind or low vision participant, 
nor had they ever considered offering accessible 
programs for blind seniors. It was obvious I had 
to educate the tour guide about the abilities of 
blind people so I could participate in the 
program for which I had already enrolled and 
paid. Months prior to the program starting, I 
called the tour guide three times and emailed her 
numerous reassurances about my abilities to 
participate in the program. The tour guide also 
called my friend to be sure she would provide 
whatever assistance I might need. Finally, the 
tour guide accepted me into the Seattle program, but with reservations.

When departure day arrived, I was ready to go 
with a detailed plan in hand. Pre-arranged 
airline assistance directed me through security, 
plane changes, and to departure gates or baggage 
at three different airports on my way to and from 
Seattle. The first night in Seattle, the group of 
23 Road Scholars gathered for dinner and 
introductions. I introduced myself as a blind 
woman, described my life and where I live, and 
stated some courtesy rules of blindness. 
Throughout the following week, most participants 
were considerate, followed my courtesy rules of 
blindness, and kindly offered their help. Only 
one person (an older lady) tried to speak for me, 
tell me what to do, and take care of me. She 
refrained from doing so after I thanked her for 
wanting to help and explained that I could do 
things just fine on my own. Several participants 
avoided me and my friend; however, these people 
were observed as being quite unfriendly to everyone else.

Each morning began with an early buffet breakfast 
in our downtown Seattle Red Lion Hotel. 
Activities from early morning to late evening 
focused on learning about Seattle’s history, 
heritage, art, and culture. We toured many 
museums, Pioneer Square, Pike Market, Freemont, 
West Seattle, the Space Needle, the Boeing Plant, 
and much more. By week’s end, we had fully 
explored Seattle by foot, bus, rail, and water taxi.

As the week ended, several participants thanked 
me for joining the group and shared their 
expanded awareness of blindness and the abilities 
of blind people. It was obvious I had changed 
some people’s view of blindness and also gained 
some friendships along the way. The tour guide 
was now friendly and even treated me like an 
equal in the group. Upon departure, she thanked 
me for joining the group, said she had learned a 
lot about blindness, and encouraged me to enroll 
in another one of her programs.

The Road Scholar experience was very exciting, 
stimulating, and enriching. Most participants 
treated me as an equal in the group and were 
comfortable practicing my courtesy rules of 
blindness. I did not expect nor receive any 
special treatment from anyone. I was totally 
dependent on my skills of blindness, and they 
were tested throughout the week. As a result, I 
improved my travel skills, mastered unfamiliar 
environments, and gained more confidence. As is 
often true, the experience is what we make it!

We look forward to traveling, learning new 
things, and meeting new friends just as much as 
sighted seniors do. If you are interested in 
travel programs for seniors, please call Road 
Scholar at 1 800 454-5768. Current Road Scholar 
Programs can be found at 
<http://www.roadscholar.org/>www.roadscholar.org. 
Come on 
 let’s travel and have fun, too!



 From Pat and Jack Munson.

This past year has been unique! After all the 
years in CA, we moved to NM where we plan to 
stay. Moving is for someone else! We had to 
change banks, find doctors, a dentist, a lawyer 
and on and on.  The following paragraphs were 
written as they occurred; I should have dated them, but was too lazy.

This past week has been very interesting. Besides 
our usual shopping and classes, we went on the 
bus to the New Mexico State Fair. It had been 
many years since I had been to a fair of any 
kind. Oh, the weather has cooled to about 15 
degrees C in the morning and about 20 in the 
afternoon. We have had some rain, but not enough. 
We were worried we might be rained out the day we 
were to go to the fair, but the skies cooperated 
nicely. The first place I wanted to go was the 
petting zoo. After asking a number of people we 
finally found it. We petted a number of sheep, 
goats and a small horse. The highlight was 
Goldylocks, a beautiful cow. She was as sweet as 
a cow can be! Then we hit the food stands. We 
bought four pieces of different pies, they had 
about twenty-five, Indian tacos which are made 
with their special fried bread, we ate those 
there, and more sweets we brought home and froze. 
By the time the rides started up we had to get 
back on the bus so Jack will have to hit them 
next year. There were many other animals, but 
they were not available for petting and many 
buildings housing fine arts, flowers and you name it!

Also, next month we hope to attend an opera here. 
The symphony ran out of money, so they are now 
trying to find funding so they can continue. Boy, 
these are hard times for so many.

Next week will be the hot air balloon fiesta. You 
most likely can find film of it on the internet. 
This morning the balloons could not ascend; it 
had rained most of the night. Speaking of rain, 
we witnessed the first storm which made us think 
we were back in CA. The temperature dropped to CA 
levels and it continued to rain for hours. This 
is so new to us, that is to have such dramatic 
weather changes. Jack thought he would like to go 
to the balloon fiesta until he saw all the folks 
at the balloon park on TV. He is not one who 
likes being in big groups of people so he is 
watching them out our window as they drift by. 
There have been some balloons that have drifted 
close to where we live. They are many different 
colors and shapes. We think one had to land near 
us but it was behind some trees so we are not sure.

Our first trip out of the city limits was to a 
very small town called Madrid, on what is known 
as the Turquoise Trail. This road was made by the 
Spanish centuries ago. This small town was, like 
many, a mining town. All the coal has been 
extracted so now it is an art center. One can 
purchase most anything painted or made by hand. 
One outdoor business we really liked sold 
fountains of all sizes. Most were made of stone. 
They were all turned on so the sound was very 
interesting. We are thinking of buying one for 
our patio. One interesting feature is many 
establishments have their sleeping old dog out 
front. Of course, I had to pet each one.

We had lunch in a very old wooden building. It is 
what you would expect; all the tables and chairs 
were old wood which made them quite homey. The 
southwestern menu had lots of tasty items. It was hard to make one selection.

Besides walking along the two-lane road, Jack and 
I journeyed up a number of side roads that seemed 
to lead to private homes. We found a B-and-B so 
thought we might make a return trip before 
winter. The only problem would be not eating too much of that wonderful food.






That’s Braille!


by Maxine Schrader

Editor’s note: The following is from the Winter 
2012 newsletter of the NFB of Minnesota.

My six-year-old great granddaughter A’mya is the 
inspiration for this article.  Whenever she sees 
Braille ­ in elevators, on doors, signs, ATM 
machines, and so forth ­ she loudly and proudly 
announces to the public “that’s Braille; my great 
grandma can read it!”  What a little advocate she is.

Eighty-one years ago at the age of five I touched 
my first Braille dots, and the magic began and 
will never end.  Just like A’mya, I said, “that’s 
Braille!”  At her age, I could read and the whole 
neighborhood knew it.  The kids gathered on my 
porch and I read the book Old Mother Westwind and 
the Seven Little Breezes.  After all these years, 
I can recall that book and wonder if it still 
exists.  I made sure that everyone on my block 
knew about Braille and its importance to my education.

Back in those days, the textbooks were all 
Braille ­ no tapes, computers, CDs or any of this 
modern stuff, so there was no question or fuss 
about teaching Braille in the schools.  Everyone 
learned to read and write Braille and were all the better for it.

As a teenager, I read Gone with the Wind, the big 
book of that time.  Because of Braille, I could 
stay current on the latest books and magazines and never miss a beat.

Now at 86, I continue to be independent and 
people kid me about all the Braille-marked things 
in my home:  appliances, files, clothing, canned 
goods, albums, even lipsticks for their various 
shades.  You name it; Braille is there.

Now when A’mya says “that’s Braille; my great 
grandma can read it,” I say “YOU BETCHA!”


Seniors in Charge Provides Training to People with Vision Loss

A trip to the grocery store? An email 
communication? Not a big deal, right? Not the 
case for seniors with vision loss. Keeping up 
with changes in technology is a challenge. Add 
blindness, vision loss, or a variety of other 
sight-related diseases to the equation, and the 
outcome is typically frustration and discouragement.

But not for the seniors who participated in 
Seniors in Charge, a three-day program offered by 
the Colorado Center for the Blind at no cost. 
Seniors with varying degrees of vision loss took 
part in mobility, home management, and technology 
training. "The goal of the program is to keep 
visually impaired seniors living independently 
for as long as possible. If blindness is the only 
factor impacting the person, there is no reason 
he or she can’t live independently," says Duncan 
Larsen, senior services coordinator for the 
Center. Participants received an introduction to 
Braille, adaptive technologies such as electronic 
readers and screen readers, then traveled with 
the assistance of a white cane, a tool used by 
the blind to navigate their surroundings safely.

Often seniors feel disconnected to friends and 
family. With technology taking over routine, 
daily communication, they often feel left out. 
Colorado Center for the Blind steps in and 
provides basic training in these skills. "I 
didn't think I could even use a computer, and now 
I can use one without a screen," said one participant.

"This is often the case with the participants. 
They come with all sorts of misconceptions of 
what they can and can't do. They leave the 
program with a new understanding of what 
possibilities exist," explains Larsen. In 
addition to technology class, several outings 
were planned throughout the three days. A trip on 
the Light Rail from the Littleton station to 
Downtown Denver. For some, the trip was filled 
with firsts--the Light Rail, the 16th Street Mall 
Shuttle, an escalator, and the first time in a 
crowded buffet line navigating a tray of food--all without sight.

Inclusion of family members is a key component of 
the program. On the final day the participants 
prepared a meal for their family and friends. 
Seeing what their loved ones accomplished in such 
a short time provided hope and a glimpse at what 
can be achieved with practice, the proper tools, and training.

The program's success was summarized best by 
Brent Batron, youth services coordinator: "Our 
seniors in this week's program have raised the 
bar for all of us here at the Center." Telling a 
group of twenty and thirty-somethings they had 
been outdone by a group old enough to be their 
parents or grandparents provided ample motivation 
for them to work harder. More Seniors in Charge 
training sessions are planned. For information 
call (303) 778-1130 or visit 
<<http://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/Publications/bm/bm12/bm1202/www.cocenter.org>www.cocenter.org>.


Thanksgiving

By Cindy Bennett

Editor's note: Cindy Bennett is from North 
Carolina and has recently graduated from 
Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND), 
Inc. In this article, she writes about the annual 
Thanksgiving feast the BLIND, Inc. students 
prepare for their instructors and how that activity builds self-confidence.

Thanksgiving with my family has always been just 
that, very family oriented. We used to travel but 
have taken to hosting the dinner and housing up 
to 16 guests in our 1900 square foot home. So 
this meant that Thanksgiving was filled with 
wonderful chaos, chaos that often left me at a 
loss for how I should help out. I took to the 
tasks I knew like the coveted potato peeling or 
before-dinner-even-begins dishwashing. I had 
always been curious about turkey preparation, but 
in my teen years, and OK maybe still, I had never 
been ambitious enough to wake up at 5:00 A.M. or 
courageous enough to interrupt the chaos to ask 
questions. So everyone left the turkey roasting 
to mom, and the turkey frying to the boys outside.

At Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND), 
Inc. however, the students prepare a giant 
Thanksgiving meal for the staff, and the staff 
repays us with a holiday dinner. So we began with 
a plan to map out a menu, decide who was going to 
do what, and what to prepare beforehand. We 
wanted to fry and roast turkeys, and I was 
excited to assist with both processes.

I first carved a turkey and realized that the 
artistic connotation that carving gives is not 
accurate. It was actually quite easy to feel 
where the various parts of the turkey such as the 
legs and wings bent and joined with the 
mid-section. I cut the legs, thighs, and wings off before slicing the breast.

The morning of the dinner, I prepared the fryer 
for turkey. I examined its pieces before hooking 
up the propane tank. It was quite simple to feel 
each end and connect the tank to the fryer. I 
have worked with matches, but I was a bit wary of 
lighting one so close to the propane tank. I used 
the match to find where I needed to light before 
doing so, and I listened for the fryer to light 
before removing the match. The oil has to heat to 
325 degrees, and for the amount we used it took 
about 45 minutes. Typically, before you fry a 
turkey, you displace it in water to figure out 
how much oil you need. You can do this by filling 
the fryer with water the day before, and placing 
the thawed turkey, still wrapped, inside the 
water. After all of the excess has spilled, you 
can measure how much water remains to determine the amount of oil to use.

A turkey must fry three minutes per pound, so 
this meant that our 12-pounder needed to cook for 
36 minutes, but before that could even start, we 
had to lower the bird into the incredibly hot 
oil. Brice, another student, held the basket, 
which is metal with holes, that comes with the 
fryer. Food is placed into the basket, and a 
device that looks like an upside-down hanger is 
utilized to lower the basket. I lifted the raw 
turkey and placed it into the basket. I do not 
mind working with raw meat, but I was a little 
grossed out since I had to stick my hand into the 
inside of the carcass to lift it, but it was 
definitely worth it. Brice then connected the 
hanger device to the basket handle. This would be 
comparable to hooking the part of a hanger that 
hangs on the closet clothes bar to something. He 
found the side of the fryer with the basket, 
lifted, and lowered slowly to avoid scorching 
splatters. He removed the hanger device from the 
basket handle, and we put the lid on and waited.

Removing the finished turkey is tedious, because 
you first have to use the hanger device to find 
the handle, hook it onto the handle, and lift. 
Then, you must move the side of the basket, which 
has a lip, slowly up the side of the fryer and 
hook it onto the top edge of the fryer. This 
allows oil to drip. After the dripping has 
stopped, the turkey can be lifted completely out 
of the fryer and placed to cool.

Although the turkey was the main course, there 
were many other tasks necessary for a successful 
meal that we engaged in the entire week prior. I 
learned how fussy homemade pie crusts can be, and 
worked on patience while cutting them. I placed a 
toothpick in the center of each pie to center 
myself and placed toothpicks along the side to 
indicate the slices I had already cut. From the 
appetizers to the dessert, we all worked hard to 
serve the staff, and finally, ourselves, and the meal was incredible.

I am appreciative of BLIND, Inc. for creating 
opportunities out of holidays to learn the 
important nonvisual techniques essential to 
hosting large dinners with food that is typically 
only cooked at those occasions. I look forward to 
hosting several holidays for my family, and even 
though I did not perfect any of these skills, I 
built a foundation of skills and confidence to start from in the future.



This and That


Low Vision Group Meets at LVL

by Pat Munson

Editor’s note: The following was printed in the 
newsletter at the facility for seniors where Art and I live.
Note: Most blind folks I know use the word blind 
to describe any person using what we call “blind 
techniques” to accomplish the daily activities of 
life. So blind means someone with low to no 
vision. But, some use low vision. It’s a free country!

Some time back, Mary Spittle saw a need for those 
losing vision to meet at LVL. Now we usually 
gather once a month in the Cardroom to learn how to deal with vision loss.

Art Schreiber and I are members of the National 
Federation of the Blind (NFB) and are members of 
the NFB Senior Division. Annually the division 
meets at the national convention of NFB and we 
deal with issues pertaining to vision loss.

Besides demonstrating items that speak, such as 
clocks, color identifiers and recorders, we 
discuss how a person losing vision handles the 
business of daily life and dealing with family and well-meaning friends.

Recently, at LVL we showed a device called the 
Pen Friend which is a recorder; this device has 
labels which can be recorded upon. The labels can 
then be placed on an item; then the Pen Friend is 
pointed to the label and reads what has been recorded.

For more information call Art or me. We invite 
anyone interested in this subject to join our 
meetings. Art and I enjoy normal lives. We just 
do some things a little differently. I was a 
public school teacher for 35 years, and Art 
worked in broadcasting after his blindness for 30 
years so as you can see we are changing what it means to be blind!
Come join us and a big thanks to Mary for starting the group!


"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
-- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
--Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"I have traveled the length and breadth of this 
country and talked with the best people, and I 
can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."
--The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

"But what is it good for?"
-- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems 
Division of IBM,1968, commenting on the microchip.

"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
-- Bill Gates, 1981

This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be 
seriously considered as a means of communication. 
The device is inherently of no value to us,"
-- Western Union internal memo, 1876.

"The wireless music box has no imaginable 
commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
-- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his 
urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

"The super computer is technologically 
impossible. It would take all of the water that 
flows over Niagara Falls to cool the heat 
generated by the number of vacuum tubes required."
-- Professor of Electrical Engineering, New York University

"I don't know what use any one could find for a 
machine that would make copies of documents. It 
certainly couldn't be a feasible business by itself."
-- the head of IBM, refusing to back the idea, 
forcing the inventor to found Xerox.

And last but not least...

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
-- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

Laughing Matters What's a WC.

An English lady who visited Switzerland was so 
delighted when visiting one small village that 
she decided to stay there a year. So, the village 
schoolmaster, the only English-speaker there, 
selected a house for her that was just right. But 
she had to return to England for packing. While 
in England, she realized that she hadn't seen a 
"W.C." (water closet or toilet) near the house. 
So, she wrote a letter to the postmaster who had 
no idea what "W.C." meant. After consulting the 
village priest, they both decided that in England 
the letters must mean "Wesleyan Chapel." The 
schoolmaster then wrote the lady this letter:

"Dear Madam, I am glad to inform you that the 
W.C. is only nine miles from the house and 
located in a lovely grove of trees. The W.C. can 
hold 229 people and is open on Sundays and 
Thursdays. That distance may be a problem if you 
are in the habit of going regularly. I would 
advise your ladyship to go on Thursdays when 
there is an organ concert. The acoustics are 
excellent, and even the most delicate sounds can 
be heard everywhere. Actually, though the W.C. is 
small, even my daughter was married there. Added 
recently is the bell donated by a wealthy 
resident. The bell rings whenever someone enters 
the doors. In the future, plush seats will be 
installed, because for some time now the people 
have realized a long-felt need. Although I go 
regularly, my wife with her delicate health goes 
only irregularly. In fact, she has not gone for 
the past year, which pains her greatly. I shall 
be delighted to reserve the best seat for you at 
the W.C. where you can be seen by all."

Sincerely yours, Herr Scheiskepf





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