[stylist] Sharing a Valentine story

Wed Feb 15 01:24:46 UTC 2012

Very cool lesson and story. Nicely delivered as 
well.  Lordy, you've got enough for  a couple self-published ebooks :)

Brad

On 2/14/2012  07:01 PM Robert Leslie Newman said...
>Hey gang, some of you have shared previous work and so here is something
>that I wrote back in 2008, as one of my THOUGHT PROVOKER series (You'd have
>to visit my personal website to catch the full meaning and scope of THOUGHT
>PROVOKER- there are 154 of them all less than 700 words in length. Back in
>2008 I received one of the first Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards.
>
>
>
>THOUGHT PROVOKER 130
>
>To Braille with Love
>
>Last Updated August 17, , 2008
>First Posted- February 10, 2008
>
>To Provoke Thought Is The First Step To Beyond
>
>
>
>"Happy Valentine's Day!" chorused Sherry and Tom Hardy to the smiling couple
>that was inviting them into their home. The Hardy's and Pam and Rich, the
>Andersons, were members of a support group for parents of blind children;
>the Anderson's were longtime members and the Hardy's were new.
>
>"Hey, how was the lunch on this snowy Saturday?" Rich asked. He and Pam had
>picked up Tom and Sherry's daughter Kathy and their own daughter Cheryl to
>take both eight-year-old girls to a Valentine party, giving the Hardy's a
>chance to go out for a romantic lunch and movie. And now the Hardy's were
>over for a short visit to the Anderson's, then it would be Hardy's turn to
>pick up the girls, take them to their home, giving Pam and Rich their
>opportunity to go out for a special dinner and dancing.
>
>"Wonderful." answered Sherry. "We took our time. It's great that Valentine's
>Day fell on a Saturday."
>
>"You bet ya!" said Pam. "Come on in. I have a fresh pot of coffee on and a
>plate of Valentine cookies Cheryl made special for us."
>
>Seated in the kitchen around the family table, the two couples dug into
>their coffee break. "These are fantastic cookies. Your Cheryl is a great
>little cook," commented Sherry, raising a cookie for another bite.
>
>"Knew I was smart to pass up the restaurant's dessert--love the pink
>frosting." added Tom.
>
>"Oh, let me show you her card." Pam said, getting up and detaching a card
>from a clip on the refrigerator door.
>
>"Whoo!" cooed Sherry, looking at and running her finger over the front
>surface of the card, opening it to see inside.
>
>"Huh?" exclaimed Tom. "Braille . picture and all?"
>
>"Yeah, she made it herself." said Rich, obviously proud of his daughter's
>handiwork.
>
>"She used her Braille writer." said Pam, pointing. "The border has full
>cells down the sides, then dots 1-2-4-5's across the top, and 2-3-5-6's
>across the bottom, making an even two-dot border all the way around. And you
>can see the heart consists of full cells and parts of cells to get the right
>shape."
>
>"And she colored the heart, too. So creative!" continued Sherry. "And this
>down here?" Tracing with a finger, "Words, I take it?"
>
>Retrieving the card, closing her eyes, Pam began reading with her right
>index finger. "I Love You Mom, Be My Valentine."
>
>"Whoo, I'm impressed! With your finger no less." Sherry said, her face
>showing a self-conscious mix of surprise and maybe guilt.
>
>"Oh, Sherry . guess we've talked about this . parents learning Braille?" Pam
>gave her friend a concerned look.
>
>"Well yeah, Tom and me, our life's are just so...busy. And, you know, with
>this electronic age, we have a computer in just about every room and there's
>voice mail."
>
>Tom added, "my God, Kathy is a wiz on the computer, you should hear how fast
>she has that voice cranked! These kids today they've grown up with all these
>electronics."
>
>"Rich." Sherry looked at Pam' s husband, her face showing that something was
>still eating at her. "Do you read Braille too?"
>
>"Yeah, but I haven't gone so far to develop the tactual sense for reading
>it. I cheat, I read it with my eyes." Looking to his wife for any sign of
>guidance, or a warning perhaps. "With Cheryl's blindness, we feel supporting
>and encouraging her lifelong literacy is ." Beginning to think he was going
>too far with his pointed remarks. "Ah, anyway, it's fun!"
>
>"Tom spoke up, obviously not offended. "Hey, so the card was for the Mom.
>How about the Dad?"
>
>"Oh!" both Pam and Rich chorused with big grins on their faces.
>
>"Grab your coats, ladies and gentlemen!" said Rich rising. "We need to step
>out into the back yard."
>
>Outside. "Whoo, Whoo, Whoo!" hooted Sherry.
>
>"How in the .?" Said Tom. "Did you guys get a picture of this?"
>
>Before them the white-blanketed yard spread to the fence and at its very
>center lay a one-foot tall, six-foot across, very pink heart , with white
>geometrical rows of dots on its top surface. Walking up close, it was
>evident that the heart was constructed of compacted snow and the white dots
>were hand-formed snowballs arranged to create Braille letters.
>
>"How did she get that snow painted pink?" Tom nearly stuttered.
>
>Pam answered. "A spray bottle and one gallon of red Kool-Aid."
>
>Standing near the broad part of the heart, Rich pointed. "This single dot is
>a capital sign, followed by the letters in the word. That makes her words
>here, cap L o v e, cap Y o u, cap D a d. Second line, cap I ' m, cap Y o u
>r, cap V a l e n t I n e."
>
>
>
>
>
>Robert Leslie Newman
>
>President, NFB Writers' Division
>
>Division Website
>
>  <http://www.nfb-writers-division.net/> http://www.nfb-writers-division.net
>
>Chair, Newsletter Publication committee
>
>Personal Website-
>
>  <http://www.thoughtprovoker.info/> http://www.thoughtprovoker.info
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
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>http://www.nfb-writers-division.net <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
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Brad Dunsé

"I got everything I need right here with me. Got 
the air in my lungs and a few blank sheets of 
paper. I mean I love waking up in the morning, 
not knowing what's going to happen, or who I'm 
going to meet 
where I'm going to wind up. Just 
the other night I was sleeping under a bridge, 
and now here I am on the grandest ship in the 
world having champagne with you fine people. I 
figure life's a gift and I don't intend on 
wasting it. You never know what hand you're going 
to get dealt next. You learn to take life as it 
comes at ya 
to make each day count." --Jack 
Dawson Character from the movie Titanic

http://www.braddunsemusic.com

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