[stylist] Donna's on TV Monday! Here's a link if you can't tune in.

[Judith Bron]

I understand.  Recovering from a catistrophic illness is hard enough without 
pouring on relocating.  Judith
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
To: "NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 21, 2008 4:47 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] Donna's on TV Monday! Here's a link if you can't tune 
in.


Judith,
Moving to Nashville even temporarily would have been a large emotional
and financial investment both in upfront costs and lost income.  IMO,
physical energy tends to be low during and after cancer treatment and
the situation has its effects on loved ones as well.  I was 41 at the
time of the second diagnosis and we didn't think we were going to
recover from the financial implications of my husband's lay-off, which
coincided with the first diagnosis, soon enough with everything else in
a reasonable time, so we put our plans on hold, moved to the country
where the taxes and other costs were lower.  I'm sure others would have
handled the situation differently and perhaps better.
Donna

-- 
For my bio & to hear clips from The Last Straw:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill

Apple I-Tunes

phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374

Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind
www.padnfb.org





Judith Bron wrote:
> Donna, What does this mean:
>
> Her second cancer, diagnosed just after she had finished her
> third album “The Last Straw,” ended her dreams of marketing herself as a
> songwriter in Nashville.
> What does the diagnosis of cancer have to do with making it or not making 
> it in Nashville?  I'm an author.  Should publishers turn me down because I 
> have MS?  Judith
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>; "nfbp-talk" <nfbp-talk at yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 4:02 PM
> Subject: [stylist] Donna's on TV Monday! Here's a link if you can't tune 
> in.
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> Here's my first-ever newsletter. Thought you might enjoy. I'm not sure
> if the pictures come through on our list, so it might be strange for
> those who have sight if they don't.
> Donna
>
> *Donna’s on TV Monday, December 22^nd !*
>
> *There’s a Link, if you can’t catch it Live!*
>
> *Caption to Photo: Donna Hill, blind songwriter/recording artist and
> avid knitter, presents pink afghan with “Buddy Check” in Braille to
> Lyndall Stout at WYOU’s studios in Wilkes-Barre. Photo by Rich Hill
>
> *In This Issue*
>
> * Donna & Buddy Check
>
> * Donna’s Appointment to Post of Innovative Nonprofit
>
> * Quick & Dirty
>
> * Knit Wits!
>
> * Going to the Dogs!
>
> * Next Time
>
> * Contact Info
>
> *Donna & Buddy Check*
>
> Monday, December 22 at 7 P.M., TV-22 WYOU (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre CBS
> affiliate) is featuring Endless Mountains' singer/songwriter Donna Hill
> on “Buddy Check.” Donna, a Lehigh Valley native, East Stroudsburg
> University grad & long-time Philadelphia area resident, is a two-time
> breast cancer survivor. If you miss it, it will be posted. Go to this
> link, look for “WYOU Buddy Check News” & click on the Play Media Button
> for December 2008 – screen reader users, “WYOU Buddy Check News” is a
> non-linked text:
>
> http://pahomepage.com/content/health_wellness/wyou/buddy_check
>
> Donna has been cancer-free for eighteen years. She found both tumors
> herself despite negative mammograms. “Buddy Check,” a monthly segment on
> the local news, encourages regular breast self exam.
>
> “Not only did self examination save my life,” says Donna, who started in
> her twenties after losing both grandmothers to the disease, “It also
> limited my treatment. Start checking now; Get familiar with what’s
> normal for you. I’m so grateful to be alive and healthy now. In addition
> to living in a beautiful rural environment with my husband Rich and our
> black Lab, Hunter, I’m doing the best work of my life.”
>
> * *
>
> * *
>
> *Donna’s Appointment to Post of Innovative Nonprofit*
>
> Born legally blind from Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), Donna, who plays
> guitar and piano, learned to use a computer with a screen reader several
> years ago. Her second cancer, diagnosed just after she had finished her
> third album “The Last Straw,” ended her dreams of marketing herself as a
> songwriter in Nashville. Nonetheless, Donna is now using her talents as
> a writer, singer and speaker to improve understanding of and
> opportunities for all blind Americans. In July, she was appointed head
> of media relations for the volunteer-run nonprofit Performing Arts
> Division, National Federation of the Blind (PAD, NFB):
>
> www.padnfb.org <http://www.padnfb.org/>
>
> PAD supports blind entertainers through scholarships, subsidies,
> networking and mentoring. Funding comes from tax-deductible
> contributions and sales of the “Sound in Sight” CD, a multi-genre
> compilation of eighteen original tracks and covers donated by blind
> recording artists. Donna came to PAD after being asked to donate her
> song “The Edge of the Line,” particularly meaningful in the current
> recession. Hear clips at:
>
> http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/padotnfotb
>
> “Strong media presence is a powerful tool for social change,” says Hill,
> who worries about the seventy percent unemployment rate among
> working-age blind Americans, “It’s made a big difference for other
> minorities, but there are few blind people in the mainstream media and
> virtually no blind women.”
>
> *Caption to Photo: PAD President Dennis Holston & 12-year-old, blind
> jazz singer and Braille advocate Rocco Fiorentino (NJ) after Rocco’s
> performance at NYC’s Birdland jazz club. Unknown photographer.
>
> Donna is also concerned that only ten percent of blind kids are taught
> to read Braille. 2009 marks the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth
> of Louis Braille who developed the raised-dot code which remains the
> only tool offering blind people true literacy.
>
> “We don’t consider sighted children literate, just because they listen
> to someone read to them,” says Hill, “But, that is what most public
> school educators are essentially saying. Braille literacy is the major
> link among successful blind adults.”
>
> *Quick & Dirty*
>
> Is this where she asks us for money, or to become volunteers or something?
>
> Well, we certainly wouldn’t turn down either, but let me guess. Is this
> you? You’d really love to help but even ten bucks would be painful and
> you’re going nuts with your current schedule. Here’s a list of quick, no
> cost alternatives to cash donations
>
> * Link to PAD from your web site.
>
> * Forward this to people you know.
>
> * Tell your favorite nonprofits they can earn $4 for each $12 order they
> take for the “Sound in Sight” CD with no minimum or upfront costs.
>
> * I’m pretty sure I don’t know what I’m doing at least half the time, so
> if you have a suggestion, let me know.
>
> * Hey, words of encouragement are always appreciated. It really is an
> uphill battle.
>
> * *
>
> *Knit Wits*!
>
> Yes, guys, you can skip this, if you like. On our camping trip through
> South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah this fall, I spent a lot of time
> knitting. Well, what else was I going to do, drive? I made several lap
> warmers and shawls, all in the same pattern -- Butterflies from “The
> Pattern Library: Knitting” edited by Amy Carroll, 1981 (US publisher,
> Ballantine Books). I already had it memorized – all 14 rows. No matter
> that it doesn’t look as much like butterflies as big seashells. Each
> butterfly, which is on a lattice-work background, is a solid fabric of
> reverse stockinet with 6 ribs which start out separated by 3 stitches
> and ultimately come together in a wrapped cluster. The ribs are made by
> knitting through the back loop. There’re a lot of “k 1 - TBL” stitches
> in the lattice as well and just as much decreasing either by knitting 2
> together or using slip, knit pass. I couldn’t help but wonder why
> sometimes you knit 2 together and sometimes slip, knit, pass? After a
> thousand miles or so, I realized that the reason was to keep the “TBL”
> rib stitch on top of the stitch that it was being combined with. If the
> “TBL” stitch comes first, you use slip, knit, pass. If “TBL” comes
> second, knitting the two stitches together gets the “TBL” on top of the
> finished stitch! OK, tell me your latest knitting revelations. I’ll use
> the best one next time and give you credit.
>
> * *
>
> * *
>
> *Going to the Dogs!*
>
> * *
>
> **Caption to Photo: Donna’s 5-year-old Lab guide dog, Hunter, takes a
> well-deserved rest. Photo by Rich Hill.*
>
> *A few weeks ago, Hunter and I were walking cross-country on paths
> through the fields near our house. With him guiding me, I often … well,
> space out and get lost in my thoughts of new songs and stories as well
> as the physical joy of walking.*
>
> * *
>
> *Suddenly, Hunter stopped, and I was brought back to my senses. It
> seemed like a strange place to stop. Fortunately, more than thirty-five
> years of using guide dogs had taught me something. The procedures for
> occasions like this that I had learned during my four visits to the
> Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind (Smithtown, NY) popped into my head.*
>
> * *
>
> *First, I stuck my left foot forward and swept it around in front of us.
> This would have revealed a ditch or a branch across the path, but I
> found nothing. I heard an animal in the brush and thought Hunter may
> have stopped just to look at it. I encouraged him to go forward. He didn’t*
>
> * *
>
> *O.K., what’s next? I lifted my right arm forward and swept it through
> the air at head level. I was sure that there weren’t any overhanging
> branches, and I was right. Was he staring at a rabbit?*
>
> * *
>
> *Next, I inched ahead and as my foot swung forward, it hit …*
>
> * *
>
> *A wire? A really long extension chord about ten inches off the ground?
> Ah, yes, I remembered. They were looking for natural gas deposits in the
> area. The company doing the seismic testing had draped wires all over
> the place. We carefully stepped over the obstacle and continued on our
> way. How could I have thought he was goofing off?*
>
> * *
>
> *“Good boy, Hunter! You deserve to bask in the leaves!”*
>
> * *
>
> * *
>
> *Next Time*
>
> * *
>
> Donna’s visit with US Congressman Chris Carney! Till then, have a joyous
> holiday season!
>
> * *
>
> * *
>
> *Contact Info*
>
> For house concerts, other bookings and information about PAD or
> acquiring Donna’s writing services:
>
> Donna Hill, Head of Media Relations
>
> Performing Arts Division, National Federation of the Blind
>
> (570) 833-2708
>
> dwhill at epix.net <mailto:dwhill at epix.net>
>
> RR #3 Box 15-C, Meshoppen, PA 18630
>
> For Donations to PAD, Make checks payable to:
>
> “National Federation of the Blind, Performing Arts Division” & send to
> above address, or use PayPal at:
>
> www.padnfb.org <http://www.padnfb.org/>
>
> Published 12/18/08 by D.W. Hill
>
>




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