[stylist] learning Braille for the wrong reasons?

Wed Feb 4 22:14:14 UTC 2009

well,
I just thought I'd ask, Robert's sense of humor is quite sneaky, in 
my humble opinion.
jc

Jim Canaday M.A.
Lawrence, KS

At 01:03 PM 2/4/2009, you wrote:
>Jim:
>
>Of course it was a pun.  Because the story is NOT touching in the OTHER
>sense of that word!
>
>John
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>Behalf Of James Canaday M.A. N6YR
>Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 9:16 AM
>To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [stylist] learning Braille for the wrong reasons?
>
>okay Robert,
>did you intend the pun?
>jc
>
>Jim Canaday M.A.
>Lawrence, KS
>
>At 04:22 AM 2/4/2009, you wrote:
> >John, that was a very --- touching story. In the school for the blind where
> >I attended, we too learned more then one form of brailling.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Robert Leslie Newman
> >Email- newmanrl at cox.net
> >THOUGHT PROVOKER Website-
> >Http://www.thoughtprovoker.info
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> >Behalf Of John Lee Clark
> >Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 11:10 PM
> >To: 'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'
> >Subject: Re: [stylist] learning Braille for the wrong reasons?
> >
> >Hey:
> >
> >When I went to my files, I realized that Ii had written something about
>this
> >a while ago.  I just played a little with it, and here goes:
> >
> >You can't blame me for remembering my early lessons in Braille.  I loved
> >these sessions.  The teacher gave candy.  The exercises were fun, like
> >games.  But the thing that excited me the most about this class, conducted
> >in a small room away from the rest of the school, was having a pretty girl
> >as my sole classmate.
> >
> >The girl, as I did, had Usher syndrome.  It was through our sharing these
> >sessions in Braille that we established a strangely furtive yet sturdy
> >ongoing relationship that lasted well into our high school years.  Although
> >we had our other puppy loves and silly romantic affiliations, we considered
> >each other our "Usher mate," our most important relationship, and it didn't
> >matter what other ties we made or broke.  We were our secret default love.
> >
> >Now, our teacher was a kindly if eccentric hearing sighted woman who was a
> >classic example of that type of female teacher of the Deaf, all too
>familiar
> >to the signing community, who would confess everything to her students.  It
> >was almost as if the students were supposed to be her shrinks, and the
> >classes she taught were actually therapy sessions.  Problems poured out of
> >the poor woman, problems about her husband, her in-laws, her ailments, her
> >car, her children, her taxes, her life.  This type of teacher never found
> >anything odd about a circle of Deaf children gaping at her, but instead she
> >drew great solace in this.
> >
> >Sitting opposite us two--with Perkins Braillers, slates, styli, and paper
> >between us on the table-the teacher went into confession mode at least
>twice
> >every single session.  Whenever she launched into a litany of her woes, we
> >settled our chins on an arm on the table, and we gaped appropriately at her
> >from this position.  Our respective free hands under the table, out of the
> >teacher's view, would then begin to explore.
> >
> >This was how I learned the lovely Braille, the textured poetry of secret
> >parts.  And whenever our teacher winded down after a long narrative, we
> >hastily withdrew our fondling hands and smiled sweetly at her.  But feeling
> >guilty and wanting to make private amends, we were very attentive and
> >serious about the lessons.  Thus, we made good progress in the fine points
> >of the lesser Braille of the raised-dots-on-paper kind.
> >
> >One time we were almost caught.  While the teacher was spilling her beans
> >about the evils of taxes, my hand was reading some interesting Braille
> >underneath a piece of garment fringed with an elastic band.  But then the
> >teacher abruptly came to her senses, and I pulled my hand out too quickly,
> >snapping the elastic band.  I didn't hear the sound, but our teacher's head
> >jerked to one side and held it at a tilt.  My mind scrambling, I wriggled
> >and tugged my pants for dramatic effect before I asked if I could go to the
> >bathroom.  She smiled understanding and nodded her permission, and she
> >thought no more of what she'd heard.
> >
> >My dual lessons continued that year without any hitch, and to this day I
> >find what I learned from both to be of great value.  I doubt that I would
> >have made such rapid progress in either education without the other.
> >
> >
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> >7:57 AM
> >
> >
> >
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