[nfbmi-talk] Newbie...

[fred olver]

Very impressive, Marcus, thanks for sharing.

Fred Olver

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marcus Simmons" <marcus.simmons at comcast.net>
To: "NFB of Michigan List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2009 9:19 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Newbie...


>I also lost my sight late in life. However, it doesn't stop me. My story is
> as follows:
>
>
>
> I am a product of the Detroit School System. I attended the Day School for
> the Deaf and upon completion wanted to go to Cass Technical High School, a
> premier college prep high school. No student has been able to accomplish
> this before; therefore the administration refused to help. It seems some
> better-equipped students tried this in the past and had to drop out. When 
> it
> was apparent that Marcus was not going to give up, the administration 
> agreed
> and I was admitted. One of the other reasons I wanted to go to Cass was 
> that
> my older brother went to the neighborhood high school and I was tired of
> following in his foot steps.
>
> This was the first challenge. The Detroit Day School for the Deaf taught 
> you
> how to get along in society, not how to be prepared for college. I was in
> with the big boys now. My grades went from A's and B's to D's and E's 
> during
> those first semesters. Better study habits were acquired, fast. I 
> graduated
> in 1963 in the automotive curriculum. In 1965,
>
> I purchased a brand new high performance Mustang convertible. I took
> delivery on my twenty-first birthday. Preliminary research indicates that 
> a
> subsequent owner of this vehicle was the Chief of Police, Ike McKinnon.
> Next, in 1966I got a job at Bendix Industrial Controls on the drafting
> board. This prepared me to produce blueprints. For a long time, my fellow
> employees thought that I was making my letters with a lettering template.
> Can you imagine their surprise, when I told them I was doing it all
> freehand?
>
> I became a FORD loyalist because my uncle put in 46 years at Ford and my 
> dad
> retired with 43 years of service. A few years later in 1967, I started to
> design my first drag race vehicle.
>
> When I ventured into racing I had a 1960 Falcon with a powerful VS.-8 
> engine.
> This vehicle was appropriately named "BLUE MAGOO", after the near-sighted
> cartoon character. Not knowing what would happen to my eyesight condition 
> in
> the coming years. In 15 meets I only lost twice and both times, to the 
> same
> car, A 1965 Mustang called "COBRA II" driven by Bob Corn, then the muscle
> parts program Coordinator for FORD. He later went into partnership with 
> Jack
> Roush at Roush Industries. One year he showed up running the quarter mile 
> a
> whole second quicker, so I asked him what he changed. Bob said it was a 
> new
> BOSS 302 engine, to be released for 1969.
>
> My second new car was a 1970 BOSS 302
>
> Mustang ordered in November of 1969 for $3258.
>
> This vehicle was originally to be painted Acapulco blue, medium metallic
> Blue, and delete racing strips, but FORD said "no" and I had to pick a 
> color
> over the phone without the benefit of actually seeing the pigments. As it
> was latter known, one other person ordered the same color on a 1970 model
> BOSS 302 and it came through. If I had this knowledge, I would have been
> more persistence. Anyhow, I picked bright gold metallic "baby poop brown" 
> as
> some call it. I was so excited about taking delivery; I was at the
> dealership less than two hours after it arrived off the transporter one
> afternoon. A bribe of a 6-pack convinced the dealership mechanic to stay
> over time and we both prepped the car for delivery that evening. At the
> first opportunity, the color was switched to blue and the stripes went
> white.
>
> Now my focus was on getting a degree to make myself a better hot rodder, 
> so
> I went back to school.
>
> On my first attempt to enter Wayne State, I was informed that I was not
> college material. My best decision was to complete a junior college and 
> then
> reapply. In 1969 I entered Wayne County Community College. After two year
> and a 3.75 GPA, I was allowed to enroll at Wayne State to pursue a degree 
> in
> engineering. This also presented itself as a greater challenge. Academic
> probation mend that more effective study habits were required. Attending
> school was a part time proposition at this point, because I still had a
> full-time job at Bendix on the drafting board.
>
> In 1971 I was laid-off from Bendix and I then found employment with Fords
> Engine Electrical and Engineering buildings Diagnostic Lab to make every
> thing "super". The head of engineering stated Ford would plan my work 
> around
> my classes. Apparently, this message didn't filter down to my supervisor.
> After a few years at the Diagnostic Lab, the supervisor approached me. He
> asked me what my goal was. I responded without hesitation, "I want to be 
> the
> Diagnostic lab supervisor". Somehow, I don't think that sat very well with
> him.
>
> Then there was the time when my supervisor came to me with lips dripping
> with words of interposition, to inform me that I had to replace an engine,
> which I had serviced the week before. It turned out, that the oil filter 
> was
> installed with both the old and new gasket. While the owner was driving 
> the
> car over the weekend, the old gasket failed and dumped all of the oil out
> and the engine died. Since I worked on the vehicle, he demanded that I
> replace the engine on my own time. However, I directed him to the work
> order, which showed that I did not do the oil change. It was the 
> technician
> on the nest shift that completed the task.
>
> Later, he approached me again. This time the question was, "What is your
> focus? Wayne State or Ford Motor Company? It has to be one or the other" 
> and
> not both. Of course, I picked the third option, an educational leave from
> Ford and a full time load at Wayne State. Graduation from Wayne State and 
> a
> B.S.M.E. came in 1977 another goal accomplished.
>
> At This time, the BOSS was a street cruiser with 100 watt headlamps; 
> regular
> vehicles use 55 watts lamps. Since I had no night vision, this is how I
> adapted to my changing environment.
>
> In 1972 I rebuilt the engine for more performance. Soon after the rebuild 
> I
> broke-in the engine on the complete route 66, start (Chicago) to finish 
> (Los
> Angeles). On the return trip, I soloed from I.A. to Detroit in 33 hours;
> however, I was still late for work by one day.
>
> After my employment with Ford, I moved to GM Truck and Coach in 1976 
> because
> they had a project engineer's position available, whereas, Ford did not.
> This job lasted until 1980, when there was a massive layoff of employees
> with less than 5 years of tenure, at GM and I was furloughed.
>
> Up Intel this time, I was driving to work on 50% of what I could see, 25% 
> on
> what I remember and 25% on lady luck. This was a perfect time to quit.
>
> I gave up driving because of failing eyesight from retinitis pigmentosa.
> This should have been the end of my story, but this is where it gets
> interesting.
>
> The next goal was to use the degree and build a car from scratch. I then
> chose a replica 1965 427 Cobra. After one year of research the work 
> started.
> A frame of two by four steel tubing was welded together. A fiberglass 
> shell
> was purchased and prepared for the frame and drivetrain. I decided to use 
> my
> spare parts motor and transmission from my Boss 302 Mustang for this
> project. To add emphasis, a 600 horsepower Gale Banks twin turbocharger
> induction system was included. Also a MGB front suspension and a Jag rear
> end was assembled because they contained genuine "knock-off wire wheels",
> much like the real Cobra used from 1962 to 1964. The vehicle was designed 
> to
> "win" on the show car circuit, not to "compete". In another words, if I 
> got
> to the show on Thursday night "move-in and set-up your display night" (the
> shows are open to the public on Friday); I had my first place trophy. The
> other competitors in the class could fight for second, third and fourth
> place. On the circuit I got first place in twenty events and misted the 
> mark
> only three times. That feat earned me the class championship in 
> "Hand-built
> Sports" in the Great Lakes Division of the International Show Car
> Association (ISCA). My four consecutive first place wins at the 
> prestigious
> Detroit Cobo Autorama inspired others to try to duplicate my feat. It got 
> so
> bad with so many Cobras in "hand-built sports" class; they had to create a
> special class for Cobras, separately from the rest.
>
> In 1985, I gained employment with the General Motors Technical Center in
> Warren Michigan. This position was procured strictly on the strength of my
> resume. My first job at Truck and Coach was as a sighted engineer. This 
> time
> I came to work as a blind engineer. GM did not know that I was blind,
> however they did find out when I reported to work, white cane and all!
>
> The position opened up rather unexpectedly, the Federal compliance
> coordinator developed a serious health problem and had to retire
> immediately. This caused some concern with GM because a replacement was
> needed in a hurry. The federal compliance coordinator is responsible for
> assembling all of the documentation so the automaker can sell vehicles to
> the general public. There was no one available, at the time that had the
> specialized knowledge except me. The boss of the department didn't know 
> the
> job; the other workers didn't know how to do the job either. So I came in
> the door, tapping with my long white cane.
>
> Shortly after that feat, a Detroit businessman contacted me to build a 
> 1931
> Chevrolet sedan for the ISCA show car circuit. Construction took 3 years,
> working at night, and this vehicle was also a winner and not a competitor.
> We won every class we entered, finishing 25th in the nation. We traveled 
> to
> shows from Chicago to Texas and to London Ontario.
>
> The next project I was involved in was the Boss Mustang. The Mustang was
> stripped completely down to a bare shell, all rust panels replaced and
> modified for very large rear tires, 14 inch wide. I had decided to return 
> to
> drag racing again. The Mustang now sported a 560 horsepower "Ford
> Motorsports crate" motor. Best time to-Date was 10.79 seconds @ 126 Miles
> Per Hour in the standing quarter mile.
>
> I then decided to open an engineering agency called Simmons BOSS 
> CREATIONS,
> where I provide services to the show car, street rodder and drag race
> community.
>
> Presently, I travel to the local schools with one of my vehicles and put 
> on
> presentations on topics such as goal setting and careers in the 
> Motorsports
> field.
>
> Sometimes my presentations come off as unbelievable to the students.
> Animated discussions with the class instructors revealed that they thought 
> a
> blind individual could not build a car. With the slogan in mind: A man
> convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. Therefore, I have
> changed my presentations a little by including this statement, "In my hand
> is a $50 bill. If someone can ask me a question that I can't answer about
> this vehicle, the money is yours". Since I have had and worked on this
> vehicle for over 38 years, it can't happen. I won't try to change the
> student's minds; I let them reach their own conclusions.
>
> The Mustang has now been upgraded to a Pro-Streeter. It carries all of the
> required appendages, windshield wipers, turn signals and a full exhaust
> system terminating under the rear valence panel.
>
> To give back to the community, a group of businessmen, including myself,
> from the Motown Automotive Professionals car club, decided to create a
> 501(C)(3), public charity, to be called Motown Automotive Professionals
> nonprofit (MAPn) and the website can be found at:
>
> http://www.map-n.org
>
> And you can see our video at:
>
> http://www.carcrazycentral.com/Video.aspx?VideoID=306
>
> This is an automotive vocational training facility to provide a route for
> the economically and socially deprived youth as the leave the public 
> school
> system, this includes the blind. MAPn will provide them   a way to become 
> a
> productive member of society. This facility will provide no-tuition 
> training
> for the youth to obtain the skills of an Automotive Service Excellence 
> (ASE)
> nationally certified technician.
>
> This is our way of improving the aggregate value of the neighborhood. By
> providing a productive outlet for the individuals that don't finish 
> school,
> we reduce the numbers of young adults that get into trouble.
>
>
> Sincerely,
> Marcus Simmons
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mary Ann Rojek" <brightsmile1953 at comcast.net>
> To: "NFB of Michigan List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2009 9:13 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Newbie...
>
>
>> Hi Ray,
>>
>> Thank you for sharing so much with the list.  I too agree that you will
>> get a lot of support from it.
>>
>> I've been blind since infancy and reading Braille since around age five.
>>
>> I have an MSW and have been a psychotherapist for more than 20 years and
>> am now working in quality management.
>>
>> Although our state convention starts on November 6th, the bulk of
>> activities are on the 7th and 8th.
>>
>> I think your desire to learn Braille now is a great idea.  Another good
>> web site to go to is www.braille.org.
>>
>> Your questions aren't dumb.  Feel free to keep asking.  I'm using a 
>> screen
>> reader called window-eyes to respond to your email
>>
>> I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.  If you get back to 
>> Michigan
>> in time, please consider coming to convention.  .
>> Attendees always learn a lot and the environment is warm, positive and
>> very supportive.
>>
>> Mary Ann Rojek----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Raymond Juliano" <rayj1941 at gmail.com>
>> To: "NFB of Michigan List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2009 6:47 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Newbie...
>>
>>
>>> Hi Terri,
>>>
>>> Thank you for replying.  We live in Curtis, MI which is in the U.P..  We
>>> are
>>> about 25 miles west of Newberry which is where I work.  I've ordered a
>>> couple of publications re. Braille from the NFB, and the president of
>>> your
>>> state NFB e-mailed me with some phone numbers to call re. learning
>>> Braille.
>>> I have not had a chance to call them yet, but I am planning on doing so
>>> this
>>> week.
>>>
>>> I feel a little funny about doing this now since I still have good 
>>> vision
>>> in
>>> my right eye, but that could be subject to change.  I just don't want to
>>> wait until the last minute to do this, and your president thought it was
>>> a
>>> good idea.  I do have some slight peripheral neuropathy of my hands, and
>>> more so of my feet, and I play the guitar so I am trying to keep the
>>> fingertips of my left hand toughened up for playing, but the fingertips
>>> of
>>> my right hand are sensitive to touch.  I got the Braille Alphabet card
>>> from
>>> our library, and I was wondering how difficult it was going to be to get
>>> adept with Braille?
>>>
>>> I am legally blind in my left eye, and I just can't imagine being 
>>> totally
>>> blind.  I am still working full time at our little critical access
>>> hospital
>>> in Newberry as the sole nurse anesthetist, and I also am a 
>>> hypnotherapist
>>> which I do part time out of my home.  I plan on retiring from anesthesia
>>> in
>>> less than two years and then doing hypnosis full time and sending my 
>>> wife
>>> to
>>> nursing school.  I will have been doing anesthesia for 44 years, so I
>>> hope
>>> to have some retirement years to enjoy with or without my sight.
>>>
>>> I would like to attend your up-coming state convention, but I am going 
>>> to
>>> be
>>> at a week long hypnosis seminar in TN the first week of November so I am
>>> not
>>> sure if I would be able to make it this year...if not then I will plan 
>>> on
>>> it
>>> for next year.  Your president thought it would be a good idea to attend
>>> it
>>> also.
>>>
>>> Please tell me a little about your lives and how you were able to reply
>>> to
>>> my e-mail if you don't mind.  I will most likely have a lot of dumb
>>> questions to ask, so if you think I am overstepping bounds, please don't
>>> hesitate to tell me.
>>>
>>> Thanks again for writing and take care of each other.
>>> Sincerely,
>>> Ray Juliano
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 4:49 PM, trising <trising at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Welcome to our list. I am Terri. My husband and I are totally blind 
>>>> from
>>>> birth and in our thirties. We live independently in an apartment. I
>>>> would be
>>>> glad to help you with Braille if you live anywhere near us. We are in
>>>> Ann
>>>> Arbor.
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> nfbmi-talk mailing list
>>>> nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>> nfbmi-talk:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/rayj1941%40gmail.com
>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
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