[stylist] New THOUGHT PROVOKER #139- Is There Redemption for aBlind Chicken

Tue Nov 25 16:22:37 UTC 2008

Or, she could be one of those people like myself who loses vision very 
gradually over a long period of time, and even though she's been legally 
blind for years, still fights to avoid being seen and seeing herself 
through the narrow-minded lense of public misunderstanding that she has 
learned.  I spend the first twenty-some years of my life in that in 
between world.  I was legally blind at birth, but never had any adaptive 
education, unless you count them trying to get me to read large print.  
I have RP, and with the severe field restriction, large print meant 
seeing part of a letter instead of maybe a letter and a half.  I 
remember in college when I finally insisted that my doctor tell me what 
was going on -- my parents never used the "b" word -- he said something 
to the effect that, if I lost any more vision, he would have to insist 
that I learn Braille.  I heard that as a threat, a punishment.  It 
wasn't until after graduating from college, when a chance meeting with a 
trainer from the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind in Smithtown, NY, 
and the proddings of my friends, that I got a guide dog and began to 
teach myself Braille.

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

Angela fowler wrote:
> Poor woman, she is going through that very difficult transition called
> losing vision. It is a transition which I will never fully understand
> because being born totally blind I was spared it. I have, however, had many
> conversations with friends who have lost their vision later in life and they
> have helped me to sympathize totally. This incident got her thinking though;
> "Should I have used my cane?" Once she learns that it is ok to be blind, she
> will have a cane with her and a note-taking device. Next time she'll have
> her redemption. 
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Robert Newman
> Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 8:00 PM
> To: 'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'
> Subject: [stylist] New THOUGHT PROVOKER #139- Is There Redemption for aBlind
> Chicken
>
> Fellow Writers
> RE:  Is There Redemption for a Blind Chicken
>
> Here is THOUGHT PROVOKER #139. It is a true story of one woman's struggle
> with her blindness. Her next story will be about redemption and it I am sure
> be the happier story to read. But hey . there is something to learn in both
> a story of struggle and also one of redemption. 
>
> If you have not read the PROVOKER, it follows.  Recall that I collect
> responses and post them upon my web site for all the WWW to read and learn
> from and that URL is- Http://thoughtprovoker.info
> <http://thoughtprovoker.info/>   If you wish to receive THOUGHT PROVOKERS
> sent directly to you, just write me and ask, at-  newmanrl at cox.net 
>
>
>
> THOUGHT PROVOKER 139
> Is There Redemption for a Blind Chicken
>
> Co-authors-
> Virginia Sblendorio
> Robert Leslie Newman
>
> "Want to go for a ride?" The voice on the phone was my older sister, who had
> recently moved within a few miles from me. "I have to run to the supermarket
> and pick up a couple of things."
>
> "Sure," I said, I didn't need anything from the store, but not able to drive
> any more, I relish any opportunity to go for a drive no matter how mundane
> the trip.
>
> Hearing my sister's car pull into the driveway, I flipped on the light
> switch for my porch light as I stepped out, fingers brushing the handle of
> my white cane where it rested upright in the corner. It would be twilight or
> even dark by the time I got home. 
>
> "Hey little Sis, where's your cane?" asked my older sister as I slipped into
> the front seat? "I saw you feeling with your feet for those steps."
>
> "Oh, just going to the store with you I don't need it." My answer was of
> course to put her off. I wasn't going to share with her the extent to which
> I resented my cane. I rarely used it. It made me stand out in a crowd in a
> way I did not care for.
>
> At the store's parking lot we found it to be nearly full and it was
> necessary to park a long way from the entrance. On the way in we cut through
> rows of cars, which worked well for me, because it put my sister in my best
> visual range and easier to follow. However, nearing the doors there were
> people going every direction, and I lost her in the crowd. But I made it
> inside okay, but the inside lighting was so bright compared to the rapidly
> dimming outdoors, I was essentially blinded.
>
> "Little Sis, if you had that cane, you wouldn't have to just stand there,"
> said my older sister. 
>
> I clutched my older sister's arm as she snagged a shopping cart and together
> we went up and down the aisles in tandem.
>
> In the meat department, we found a manager's special on chickens. "Little
> Sis, you love chicken. You should pick up a couple of these," urged my older
> sister and I agreed. I selected two packages, tore the coupons off, and
> pressed their sticky sides to my forearm. Since my sight began to fail me, I
> have found many ways to "remember" what I cannot see. I have often purchased
> things with "redeem at register" coupons attached, only to realize after I
> got home that they were not redeemed. Now I take them off and stick them on
> my forearm so I do not forget.
>
> We finished shopping and headed to the registers to pay. Realizing my items
> were to be first, I spoke up. "Those are the chicken's which were on sale."
>
> "Ah, I don't see the." the cashier began.
>
> "Oh, here they are," I informed him, peeling the stickers off my arm.
> Relishing the opportunity to educate, I politely told him that I was
> visually impaired. I explained why I stuck the coupons to my arm.
>
> "Well ah...I'll have to call over a manager. Ah, company policy." 
>
> When the store manager arrived, I again explained myself. 
>
> "Interesting, but removing the coupons voids the discount," the manager said
> and his tone left no doubt he was not going to budge.
>
> I was speechless and angry and my thoughts ricocheted in my head like a
> trapped bird. I thought about leaving the chicken and store immediately but
> with my fierce pride, I was not going to ask my sister to leave that store
> to go to another after filling a cart with groceries. 
>
> Perhaps I should have had my white cane with me. Perhaps I should have
> laughed it off. Ultimately, I felt powerless. I felt like a coward. I felt
> ashamed of being blind, ashamed of allowing my emotions to get the better of
> me and ashamed of being bullied. I paid for my order and went home with a
> bellyache and a very angry sister.  Stupid cane!
>
>
>
> Robert Leslie Newman
> Email- newmanrl at cox.net
> THOUGHT PROVOKER Website-
> Http://www.thoughtprovoker.info
>
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