[stylist] Off-topic: blindness and training

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Jacqueline,

You obviously have inheirited your mother's spirit. You're a talented
poet and writer, and I see a much longer future for you. You're a
fighter, and that spirit and determination isn't ready to lay down and
pass this world.

I'm so glad this list has been helpful. That's one of the great things
email can do; we have the opportunity to communicate with people we
might otherwise never meet.

You're such a special lady, and I'm glad to know you.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 6
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2011 15:57:51 -0700
From: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Off-topic: Training and blindness
Message-ID: <DA9F9C4214284A8198997B1B530F64BD at JackiLeePoet>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Bridget,
Thanks for a wonderfully comprehensive answer. Yes, I did qualify for
voc rehab training as I mentioned. But at least a few of the problems in
applying it happened here in Arizona. They had continuous cutbacks and
finally home teachers were not getting mileage for trips. Also constant
changes of teachers because they had to use cabs and either could not
afford it, or there cabs did not show up.  I finally got a good teacher
who brought a laptop. After nothing but lesson time being used to try to
get things up and running right, we found that the laptop had never been
cleaned up after the last client. About that time I dropped from the voc
program because of no jobs for one my age in my home. I still use the
computer and was lucky to find an unemployed computer person who will
come in a pinch and fix things. She hates JAWS and turns it off so I can
not learn from the experience. Iowa does have an excellent Word tutorial
and most of my skills come from that.  Robert did help me with e-mail.
(I think I just answered Ashley, but it said "read my blog" which made
me think I was answering you. We have a program which does reimburse for
a certain amount of mileage, and also a discounted cab coupon program. I
hope they last for those save the day for me. I am contacting DES again
to see if they have any new accessibility tools they will provide even
though I am no longer in voc rehab. I think they key is that I need to
keep pushing the envelope. I quite simply got very tired. My mother
lived to 97 and lived alone, kept writing on an old selectric and had
little vision. She said once, "Jackie, I don't recommend that you live
past 90. It just becomes too much work and if you quite pushing for all
your worth, you are useless and might just as well lie there and decay.
You can see she kept pushing anyway, and thus the 97. At ninety-six, she
won three poetry prizes. 
I think all of the people in this group are  helping re-energize me.
Your letter helps me to find the gaps in my training. Jacqui