[stylist] OT: Donna's conversation today

Thu Mar 29 01:39:44 UTC 2012

Lynda,
Thank you for posting it to your FB page. I really appreciate it. 

BTW, we rescued a cat two years ago, after he'd been dumped out here in the
country -- big problem, especially during the height of the recession. He
had been hanging out in the distance for months, but Rich thought he must be
someone's because his strawberry blonde coat looked so luxurious. When he
finally completed his vetting process of our little family and came to us,
he was skin and bone, covered in ticks and worms. We thought he'd been
declawed, because you could spread his toes and not see a hint of a claw.
Turned out, he was just too weak to extend them.

I've never had a cat or wanted one, but I fell in love with this guy, whom
we call Goofus. It was really Hunter, my guide dog, who kept seeking him out
and then decided to share his parents with him. Our local shelter was full,
so we couldn't take him. I have been allergic to most cats, so I wasn't
really thinking of keeping him, but ... *grin* Haven't had any allergies and
he loves to cuddle. 

One summer day, Goofus went missing , and stayed away several days. We were
devastated and thought we'd lost him. It was Hunter who found him. He was OK
but scared, so I guess something had treed him.

I like the turtle story. We have a pond full of frogs, koi and several
painted turtles. It's wonderful to live out in nature like this. Everything
is so clean and healthy.
Donna

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Lynda Lambert
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 7:52 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] OT: Donna's conversation today

Hi Donna,
I posted your link on my FB page in hope others might enjoy 
reading/listening to it, too. I have not been around blind organizations 
much at all, and have only a couple of  blind friends. Since is live in a 
small rural village I am not out and about all that much. But, my one firend

has just celebrated her 50th year of having a guide dog. I love her do so 
much - she is German Shepherd and Greyhound. Yes, a strange combination, but

she is such a beauty and such a nice dog.

I am not at all informed on PETA's work for or against guide dogs so really 
cannot say anything on that. We support PETA and we support our local animal

shelter and I pass along any information I can on lost animals or animals in

need of homes through my FB page. I celebrate every lost dog who is found, 
and every animal that gets a forever home. I just helped a turtle get a 
loving home where it can be free and in a save environment with three other 
turtles. Working on the next one, right now.

Please keep us informed as to anything else that comes out of this 
discussion. It was very very valuable, and especially to ME. I learned a 
lot. Thank you!

Lynda
Lynda Lambert
104 River Road
Ellwood City, PA 16117

724 758 4979

My Blog:  http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
My Website:  http://lyndalambert.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 6:46 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] OT: Donna's conversation today

> Hi Lynda,
> Thanks for listening and for your feedback. After the show, he asked me to
> write an article or two or three for their online magazine and to come 
> back
> on, so I was happy about that as well.
>
> As for the "partial" thing, I know where you're coming from. I had an old
> friend in the '70s who referred to herself as a partial. She was about 30
> years older than I was, and she's since passed away, but that was my first
> exposure to the term.
>
> I have a particular problem with language that makes us sound like
> adjectives -- the blind, the visually impaired, etc.  People with vision
> loss would be the best way -- or at least one good way -- of putting the
> people part first. In my writing, however, I have always used blind people

> a
> lot because of word count issues, though others on this list have awakened
> me to the reality that the people part really should come first. I'm
> currently going  through a re evaluation of that and am starting to at 
> least
> include one reference that puts people first, despite the word count. I 
> only
> use "the blind" in the names of organizations like the NFB.
>
> As for guide dogs ... As you might imagine, this -- like everything else
> about us -- is all over the map. I know many loving guide dog users who 
> have
> retired their dogs to either a family member or friend, the family who
> raised the dog as a puppy or even had the dog placed in a retirement 
> family
> by the school. This is always extremely sad and devastating (in many cases
> more for the human, especially if the dog is already familiar with the new
> home), but some people live alone in apartments in cities, where it 
> wouldn't
> be fair to the dog to be left alone all day while the person is at work.
>
> I have been fortunate that I have never been faced with that decision. God
> willing, that will continue to be the case. I know others who keep their
> retired dogs and get a new working dog. One couple (both had guide dogs)
> where I used to live, had two retired and two working dogs and a cat. They
> also had a king-size water bed, and the whole family slept together.
>
> As a member of PETA, you may be aware that there are some people in
> high-level positions who flatly disapprove of guide dogs. I did an article
> for American Chronicle years ago about this. The person, whose name I 
> can't
> remember off the top of my head, believed that sighted people should help
> blind people get around. She was convinced that the schools routinely 
> force
> people to retire their dogs, take them away and so on. I had a problem 
> with
> her on many levels, but I understand the need for animal rights advocacy;
> frankly, the need seems to be increasing, as people seem to have less
> inclination to take care of their pets.
>
> In general, however, I think PETA is out of line in attacking guide dog
> users. For the most part, they are far more loving and attentive to their
> dogs than the general population. Our old vet in Philadelphia used to tell
> the story of a professor at Penn Vet Med who told them that, if a person
> says their guide dog is sick and you can't find anything wrong, keep
> looking, because people who have guide dogs are very tuned in to the dogs
> and pick up on stuff long before sighted people would. In fact, I knew my
> current guide had Lyme disease and had to tell the vet to just humor me 
> and
> test him, because he wasn't seeing any signs of it.
>
> In the past, before advocacy groups like NAGDU existed to fight the 
> matter,
> there were poorly handled incidents where schools forced retirement of a
> guide who had out-lived his or her best working years. I met one woman
> decades ago who had sent her dog back to the school for what they said was

> a
> medical evaluation. They never called, and when she contacted them, they 
> had
> euthanized the dog. She was devastated years later. It was the people who
> have and love guide dogs, however, that stood up against these cruel and
> insensitive actions.
>
> Anyway, thanks again for listening.
> Donna
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Lynda Lambert
> Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 5:46 PM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] OT: Donna's conversation today
>
> Donna,
> I just sat here and listened to the entire blogcast. It was educational 
> and
> enlightening. You covered so many different areas of interest to anyone 
> who
> was listening.
> I particularly liked your explanation as to why blind children need 
> Braille.
>
> This is all new to me, since I was 64 years young when I lost my sight. I
> know absolutely nothing about educating blind children and your 
> explanation
> makes sense.
>
> The other thing that is important to me, and I never had the courage to 
> ask
> anyone about was the discussion on your four guide dogs. I am a member of
> PETA, and an animal rights advocate to the core. When I see a guide dog I
> get very nervous because I am wondering if it is loved or just used like a
> machine. You sure made me feel good when you discussed your own 
> experiences
> with your dogs. And, the other thing I have worried about so often is what
> happens to the dog when it has to "retire."  I always wondered if this
> faithful friend was just discarded. Again, you made me feel so much better
> about it when you talked about what happened to your own dogs and the 
> loving
>
> care they had right up to the end of their lives. I hope this is true of 
> all
>
> of the dogs.
> My dogs and cats are my family, and they  are treated as well as my 
> children
>
> are treated and I always hope for this kind of love for all animals.
>
> And, finally (sorry it is so long, but I really liked listening to your
> discussion) you were so clear on assistive technologies and what is
> possible. I can say that I would never have come as far as I have without
> the equipment that helps me do the professional things I had always done
> before my own sight loss.
>
> And, please, just one more thing I want to applaud from your conversation.
> I absolutely become ill at heart when I hear someone describe themselves 
> as
> "a partial." or "a total." Not only is it terribly bad diction, it is so
> demeaning it makes my skin crawl Thank you for using the terminology that
> gives people with sight loss dignity. You said "partial vision" which 
> makes
> since and gives dignity. We are not "partial people" we are "whole people
> who may have some vision loss.
>
> Thank you for your excellent conversaton. Kudos to a fellow Pennsylvanian!
> Good job!
>
> Lynda Lambert
>
> Lynda
> Lynda Lambert
> 104 River Road
> Ellwood City, PA 16117
>
> 724 758 4979
>
> My Blog:  http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
> My Website:  http://lyndalambert.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 12:29 PM
> Subject: [stylist] OT: me on Radio show on blindness today at 1 p.m. 
> Eastern
>
>
>> If your free in an hour, tune in to hear me on the Boomer & the Babe 
>> 1p.m.
>> Eastern  for a talk about blindness issues and more:
>>
>> www.blogtalkradio.com/boomerandbabe
>>
>> Donna
>>
>> Read Donna's articles on
>> Suite 101:
>> http://donna-w-hill.suite101.com/
>>
>>
>>
>> Connect with Donna on
>> Twitter:
>> www.twitter.com/dewhill
>> LinkedIn:
>> www.linkedin.com/in/dwh99
>> FaceBook:
>> www.facebook.com/donna.w.hill.
>>
>>
>>
>> Knitters, join Donna on Ravelry:
>> www.ravelry.com/people/DonnaWHill
>>
>>
>>
>> Hear clips from "The Last Straw" at:
>> cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
>>
>>
>>
>> Apple I-Tunes
>> phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>
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