[NFBV-Announce] What's going on this week and zoom

[jackibruce6 at gmail.com]

Hey NFB Family and Friends,

 

It's a  very exciting week!  Registration for our State Convention has
opened (see below for the link to register).  I  hope everyone has enjoyed
this beautiful week and please join us, at least once this week, on zoom, ,
and learn something new about this fabulous Affiliate!

 

Kudos Corner.

 

She and He will soon become 3!  It's true, Julie McGinnity and Joe Orozco
are expecting a  baby girl! Sugar and spice and everything nice.let's send
them prayers for an easy delivery and a  healthy baby.  Let's also look over
their baby registry
https://www.amazon.com/baby-reg/joe-orozco-julie-mcginnity-november-2021-arl
ington/D6FI1H3QV5L7 and show them our love and excitement by filling their
home with everything baby girl will need. We have to bring our newest  NFBV
Member in with style!!

 

Congratulations to Aaron Faxon!  He was elected the new President of our
Prince William Chapter on Saturday.  Good for you Aaron, you have big shoes
to fill following Oscar and we know you'll do a  great job. Show your
support and drop Aaron a  line at Email: Faxman06 at gmail.com
<mailto:Faxman06 at gmail.com> .  

A  BIG Hooray goes out to Wayne Williams, Wayne is our new You Tube
Coordinator!  Please take photos and video at all of your NFB events(please
describe the clips and photos) and send them to Wayne.Williams026 at gmail.com
<mailto:Wayne.Williams026 at gmail.com> .

 

Please contact me, information in my signature below, to become a  part of
the dynamic Communications Team!  You will be working with Rock Stars like
Joe Orozco, Chris Walker, our newest guru, Wayne and me, Jacki, you can't
get any better than that. I  am specifically looking for someone to
coordinate our blog (see below and read a  great submission from our Rene
Valdez).  Please let me know if you're interested in writing for the blog or
becoming the Coordinator.

 

Spotlight On.

 

Thank you Rene Valdez, for submitting this article.  It is heart warming and
let's everyone know we truly can live the lives  we want!  

"Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood." -
Helen Keller

Ain't that the truth! It's like I woke up one day and found myself.56 years
young, blind, and still learning! WOW! And let me tell you, some of these
lessons along the way have NOT been amusing! I believe that God, The
Universe, and Mother Earth all have a very warped sense of humor! I mean,
C'MON, MAN! The last time I looked up, not only did I have my eyesight, but
I was 48 years old; enjoying a rewarding and quite lucrative career;
traveling around the U.S. and Canada, training the "untrainable"-TSA
Supervisors and Air Marshalls-and having a BLAST! And, I am happy to report
that by day 2 of a 5-day intensive training, I had these tough guys and gals
eating out of my hand! 

It was Octoberish, 2013, when I began to notice a slight change in my
vision, especially at night. I suppose I should have considered it a clue
when I was driving into a 7-Eleven parking lot and hit the very large
garbage can at one corner of the lot, head on! But no! I politely backed up,
and tried my parking efforts once again and pretended like that trash can
thing never happened! I never mentioned it to my Honey, Scott, or my best
friend, Rachel. Then, on a midnight run to Micky D's, I came to the 4-way
stop not far from our home. As usual, I stopped. I looked to the right, then
the left, then the right again. Seeing nothing in the darkness, I stepped on
the gas to go through the intersection, and BLAM! Quite suddenly, the airbag
deployed in my face after the car came to a very severe and arduous stop! I
had broadsided a van, I found out later. But at that moment, sitting with
the airbag in my lap, I, once again, looked to my right, where the thing I
hit should have been, and I saw nothing. I drove forward to the next block,
where there was a street light. I got out of the car, checked the damage,
and delightedly saw that there was none, got back in the car, decided that
the other vehicle left as well, and continued on my midnight mission to
McDonald's! Despite the fact that there happened to be a vehicle behind me
who witnessed the whole thing and called it in, I was fortunate not to get
charged with hit and run, by the grace of God, the Universe and Mother
Earth! When I received the police report, I called the family I had
broadsided and apologized and wished them well.

You'd think, after that crazy incident, I would consider my eyesight-or the
lack thereof! It wasn't until late December 2013, when my eyesight had
declined to a dangerous level during the day, that I mentioned it to my
Honey and my best friend. 

Fast-forwarding through doctors not knowing what was happening; finally
being diagnosed by the NIH docs at the National Eye Institute-VKH, a very
rare autoimmune disease that affects Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans,
which qualifies me twice-and mega doses of wonderful and dangerous
medications, my eyesight fluctuated drastically for the next 5 years, taking
with it my emotions, making me an emotional and psychological basket case!

The next four years was busy for me, my days filled with remembering to take
my mega-meds, sitting on the couch with my fur baby, MJ, who never left my
side, and Forensic Files-somehow, I found that soothing as I licked my
emotional wounds. (The intro music still has that effect on me.) I was
mourning and I was so deep in it. I mourned the life I knew and loved. My
career, mostly. I loved what I was doing. I loved meeting a group of people
on the first day of a training they didn't want to attend and breaking the
ice. I loved the experience of witnessing the hardest shells crack by day
two when they started sharing their stories. I cherish the moments on days
3,4 and 5 when it was a safe enough environment to share a few tears with
those stories. And when the training was over, I miss the hugs and the "see
you again sometime" wishes.

All I could think, sitting there in the safety and seclusion of my cocoon,
was that I had to find a way to close that chapter of my life forever, and
the mere thought of it seemed to cut off the air to my lungs, making it
almost impossible to breathe. 

Early in my diagnosis, I stumbled on the Department for the Blind and
Visually Impaired (DBVI). They came in like a lifeline providing air. I met
my new Mobility Instructor, Joanne Laurent, a strong-willed little woman
who, with her infectious laughter, kind spirit and constant affirmations (I
called it nagging!), forced me to escape my cocoon for brief periods and
taught me to use a white cane and not get hit by a Mack truck. Another
powerhouse, Alex Castillo, came to my home and proved to me that I could
cook, and clean my counters, and wash clothes and, and, and.

I think it was late 2017 when I stumbled once again. This time, it was Brian
Miller. I can't remember who gave me his email address, but one day, I
mustered the courage and the will to email Brian. Much to my surprise, he
responded with an invitation to meet for coffee. YIKES! It was time to put
the lessons I had with Joanne to the test. I did. Meeting Brian was like
falling backward onto a thick, fluffy, soft comforter. He had a way about
him that was calming and welcoming and accepting and inspiring. I was
bragging to him about my ability to once again be able to make coffee, my
drug of choice, using my French press, even grinding my own beans! Well, he
shared with me his mutual love of coffee and how he purchased his RAW beans
from Misha's Coffee and roasted them in his home with his own roaster! WHAT!
HOW? He explained the cracking sound the beans made when they were close to
being done and the aroma that filled his home. OVERACHEIVER! When he shared
with me how he roasted his own beans or how he traveled to exotic places
around the world, by himself(!), it was totally without arrogance or pride,
it was simply Brian sharing a glimpse of his heart and spirit.

In March of 2018, I received an email from Brian telling me I had to go to
this meeting. (I still have that email.) He said he was starting a Chapter
for the National Federation of the Blind in our community. I didn't want to
go, but how could I say no to Brian? I attended that first meeting and it
was God or The Universe or Mother Earth.or Brian, who made sure I was
elected to serve as a Board Member! WHAT! Another lifeline. I am forever
grateful to my friend.

The rest as they say, is history. I was connected and I became hooked. I
started to venture out of my self-made cocoon more and more and began to
feel a sense of purpose again. I attended bits and pieces of my first NFB
State Convention and met a few people who became lifelines-Evelyn Valdez,
Sandy Halverson, Bonnie O'Day, Joe Orozco-and so many more that would make
this blog much longer than it already is! And I shared a little time with
Tracy Soforenko at a legislative visit on Capitol Hill. He asked questions.
I told him about my period of mourning, my hopeless journey into blindness,
my desire to be useful and fulfilled once again. As I spoke, I really didn't
see how that could happen in my life. I was looking through the lenses of my
past and I could not fathom how I could ever be like Evelyn or Tracy or any
blind person who laughed and smiled and lived their lives.

Tracy listened to me. He continues to challenge me to spread my wings.
Today, as Secretary/Treasurer of the Greater Alexandria Chapter, a position
that I absolutely love; a student in the Chapter Leadership Institute;
Mentor in Project RISE; Coordinator of the 2021 Mini BELL Program; Co-Chair
of the NFBV Fundraising Committee; and member of the NFBV Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion Committee, I am feeling fulfilled and I am happier than ever!
I have a sense of true belonging. I have a mission.

I believe that God, The Universe and Mother Earth, in their warped kind of
way, know what they are doing. And I believe that Helen Keller was right. To
be fully understood, life's lessons must be lived.and savored.

 

Register for our NFBV  State Convention!   nfbv.org/convention/registration.
There will be something for everyone and you can attend in your jammies!  

 

The National Seniors Division will hold a Virtual Retreat from September
19-25.  Several Virginia seniors plan to attend.  Agenda items include:

 

cane Travel

Daily  Living skills

Technology

Guest speakers on topics of interest to blind seniors.      

 

For additional information about the Virginia Seniors Division, send email
to seniors at gmail.com <mailto:seniors at gmail.com> 

 

Ladies Night will be on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month.  Join your
girlfriends the week after next for stimulating conversations.  The theme
for the next Ladies Night will be posted next Sunday.

 

Many of our Chapters are meeting in person, please check the Chapter
Meetings section to join in a   meeting.  All meetings are open to the
public.    Chapters and Divisions are using the Affiliate Zoom link, if a
meeting is using an alternate platform, the phone number or instructions to
join will follow the meeting name. 

 

 

Here's how to join:

Zoom Link https://zoom.us/j/8297256345?pwd=SFAyamlQNU44ZTJ6dUZNMTV4RmhCQT09




One tap mobile
 <tel:%20+13017158592,,8297256345> tel: +13017158592,,8297256345# 
Telephone Dial: 1 (301) 715-8592

Meeting ID: 829 725 6345# 

 

If needed the password is 20201940

 

Chapter and Division Meetings.

 

Seniors Division, Wednesday, September 22nd 7:00 pm 

 

Greater Alexandria no meeting this month.  Tune in next month for another
thought provoking meeting.

Chesapeake Bay, Saturday, September 25th 11 AM.  Gus and George's Spaghetti
and Steak House, 4312 Virginia Beach Blvd., Va. Beach, zip  23456. Conf.
call phone num. 605 468 8758  and the access code is 197498.

 

Richmond, Monday, September 27th 6:30 PM.

 

You must do the thing you think you can not do! -Eleanor Roosevelt

 


Peace,

Jacki Bruce

Corresponding Secretary, National Federation of the Blind of Virginia
 <mailto:jackibruce6 at gmail.com> mailto:jackibruce6 at gmail.com
 <tel:(757)291-1789> tel:(757)291-1789
 <http://www.nfb.org/> www.nfb.org
 <http://www.nfbv.org/> www.nfbv.org

Follow us on Twitter @NFBVirginia
Find us on Facebook @NationalFederationoftheBlindofVirginia

Live the life you want.

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work
together to help blind people live the lives they want

 

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