[Nfbmo] Fw: [nfbmi-talk] Affiliate President Buried Alive by Youth
fred olver
goodfolks at charter.net
Tue Oct 20 19:24:23 UTC 2009
----- Original Message -----
From: "trising" <trising at sbcglobal.net>
To: "NFB of Michigan List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:58 AM
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Affiliate President Buried Alive by Youth
> Affiliate President Buried Alive by Youth
>
>
>
> The NFB of Michigan's No Limits Youth Outreach 2009 Mackinac
> Bridge Walk was an excellent experience. The trip began at 5 A.M. on
> Friday morning, with a long ride up to Munising. Our group consisted of
> nine 12-18 year old blind youth, ten blind adult mentors, and five
> drivers. My husband and I are mentors who are totally blind from birth who
> experienced the trip for the first time.
>
> After the long ride in the car, kids and adults alike were ready for some
> action! We found it on Saturday morning, in the form of a scavenger hunt
> which was designed to promote Braille, and independent mobility. Clues
> involved telling a passerby about Louis Braille and giving out a chocolate
> coin, or navigating a nature trail out to an outcropping of rock in the
> shape of a castle. I do not consider myself a confident traveler, but I
> was the first to find the steps leading from an outlook down to another
> part of the trail.
>
> One clue, worth 1000 points, required the burial an NFB board member in
> the sand at the beach. Kids and adults alike pitched in and buried Fred
> Wurtzel. Since I do not like the feel of things on my hands, I volunteered
> to hold cell phones and keep them safe from the sand. However, Fred
> realized he was not sufficiently buried in some spots and told us we got
> no points if we did not do better. I handed the phones off to my husband
> Nick and started helping pile sand on top of him. Discovering that I could
> still feel his arm and hand through the sand, I knew that spot needed more
> work. After a complete immersion, our driver had mercy and rescued him.
>
> While at the beach, many of us rolled up our pant legs and
> waded into Lake Superior. Several of the kids threw caution to the wind
> and jumped into the lake.
>
> Lunch had to be postponed because of a spectacular surprise.
> Larry Posont arranged for us to get on a 2.5 hour Pictured Rocks cruise.
> This unexpected treat made it necessary to leave our pasties in the car
> and hurry onto the boat. We were able to get a Coke and Doritos to hold
> off our hunger until after the cruise. It was worth the wait in order to
> enjoy the feel of the wind on our faces and the sound of the waves. My
> husband Nick and I preferred standing by the rail in the sun and wind
> rather than sitting below decks in our seats.
>
> After the cruise, we ate our pasties on the beach. A pastie is
> a regional recipe consisting of a hand held flaky crust, containing meat
> and vegetables, originally prepared for copper and iron miners in the U.P.
> Pasties originated in Cornwall England, and were designed to stay warm for
> long periods even in the cold mines. Several of us had waited long enough,
> and the water beckoned us like a long lost friend! In spite of the fact
> that we were not in bathing suits, and the water was cold, we went for a
> swim. I hate the cold, but love the water. I decided I needed some help. I
> asked several others who have the courage to run, and we joined hands and
> ran from the beach into the water. Upon reaching the water and sand, I was
> knocked off balance and fell into the water. That took care of my
> reluctance to get in with the less than balmy water temperature.
>
> Saturday evening culminated with a bonfire that included a hot
> dog roast. I learned how to put a hot dog on a skewer, and balance the
> skewer against the lip of the fire pit so that the meat was over the fire,
> but not in the ash. It takes approximately 2.5 minutes per side to get a
> fully cooked hot dog.
>
> Sunday was to have commenced with one of the highlights of the
> trip. We were to go to Laughing White Fish Falls in order to climb them!
> However, when our group leader discovered that climbing the falls was
> illegal, and since the trip was particularly designed for youth, we did
> not go. Instead, we went to Seney Wild Life Refuge. Many went inside to
> touch models of animals. The warm sun irresistibly called me onto the 1.5
> mile nature trail. At first, I allowed our leader, who has partial vision
> to lead us. I assumed incorrectly that I might not know where to go since
> I am totally blind and have severe spatial concept difficulties. However,
> Fred Wurtzel easily and gently demonstrated that my assumption was
> incorrect. He instructed me to take a few steps right and asked what I
> found. "Vegetation, "I reported. I also found the same thing when asked to
> take a few steps left. To my delight I discovered that I was just as good
> at leading on a nature trail as anyone else. You know quickly when you are
> venturing off the trail because of the plant life under foot. Of course,
> one can willfully venture off the trail. Since we could not climb the
> falls, I still had my heart set on climbing around on some rocks. I
> thought I felt a rock just off the trail with my cane and called
> everyone's attention to the spot. We let Fred Wurtzel be brave and
> investigate. It turned out that I had not found some rocks for adventurous
> climbing, but a bog! Fred showed us what a bog was with his cane. The
> vegetation grows back over some water on part of a lake or marsh. When you
> try and put your cane in to determine if your next step will be wet or
> dry, your cane gets wet and muddy. Better your cane than your only pair of
> Tennis shoes!
>
> As we reached the last third of our hike, we kept getting
> random whiffs of smoke. As we rounded a corner, we heard some minor
> crackling and really smelled smoke. To our surprise, we discovered an
> unattended small forest fire! When Fred Wurtzel used a cell phone to
> report the fire, the wild life refuge staff greeted our news with extreme
> casualness! It turns out that they had set the fire as a controlled burn.
> We hastened away from the smoke and the unattended fire.
>
> The final adventurous highlight of the trip, swimming on Lake
> Superior, occurred Sunday afternoon. We were to have swum out to some
> cliffs in order to climb them, and leap off into the lake! Since we did
> not have sufficient time to make the long swim, we settled on a closer
> adventure. A few of us swam to a nearby rock and helped each other to get
> on top of it. This was not particularly easy, since the rock was slanted
> and slimy. Working together, everyone was able to get atop the rock, only
> to intentionally slide back off into the water. The evening culminated
> with a delicious dinner of locally caught fish.
>
> Before returning to the Lower Peninsula on Labor Day, we
> participated in the five mile 2009 Mackinac Bridge Walk along with
> approximately forty thousand other individuals. This was the third bridge
> walk in which the blind youth outreach has participated, not only to have
> fun outdoors, but to educate the public about the capabilities of blind
> people. Nick and I are fairly fast walkers, and we wanted to be able to
> spread our wings and walk the bridge at a good pace. Once again, I started
> walking the bridge thinking that I needed to be accompanied by someone
> with vision. When our leader realized that she needed to stay with two
> youth, she told us to feel free and go ahead and walk the bridge. I
> anxiously asked how we would find her at the end. She said stop at the end
> of the bridge. Using our canes, we walked the bridge, independently, and
> confidently. We were so quick; we caught up with three fast walking,
> partially sighted youth and completed the bridge walk together! Next year,
> Nick and I have agreed to chaperone some youth who want to be speedsters
> on the bridge.
>
> The Bridge walk no limits youth outreach confirmed that it does
> not take eye sight to have some real adventure. The National Federation of
> the Blind is changing my beliefs about our capabilities as blind people,
> and also, about my capabilities as a blind individual. I can lead on
> nature trails without seeing, and I can walk suspension bridges without
> sighted guides. I can swim out to rocks. Together, I can be part of a
> group of blind people that assists each other up onto slimy rocks in Lake
> Superior! My husband and I can enjoy a week end with a group of like
> minded adventurous blind people! Who says you have to be with sighted
> people in order to have adventure?
>
> According to Fred Wurtzel, "A month later, every time I take my
> shoes off and hear sand fall from my socks from being buried, I smile. I
> get so much energy and inspiration from the kids. Being outdoors in
> Michigan is as good as life gets and sharing it with our NFB brothers and
> sisters makes a great thing even better. My compliments to Melinda Latham,
> our youth coordinator, along with Larry Posont, for organizing a great
> event."
>
>
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