[stylist] Robert's gratitude submission

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

While in most situations a mentor would probably have to prove in some
way why they have the ability to mentor, this provoker isn't necessarily
meant to focus on this aspect. It's also implied these mentors are
qualified since they are actually mentoring. As I said about flash
fiction, details like this are often implied since you can't include
everything in FF.

Also, just a little question. Does anyone actually touch faces? I have
never done this except with babies, and in this situation only because
it's so cute to feel their little features. It's something I did as a
sighted person too. It's such a common stereotype that I assume it must
be done, or at some point in time it was done, but I've yet to meet a
blind person who actually touches faces. And I find it useless when
trying it. It doesn't give me any indication of what a face looks like
other than knowing skin texture and perhaps something distinguishable
like a large nose or high forehead. I just end up with an abstract idea
of a face. This is a sincere  question, so please don't read anything
into this. Just curious.

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: 11
Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2012 10:39:20 -0700
From: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
To: <newmanrl at cox.net>, "'Writer's Division Mailing List'"
	<stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Robert's gratitude submission
Message-ID: <E96B5498EC27496DB9DBFF344090DA0D at JackiLeePoet>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Robert,
I found this  to be a good clarification of what mentoring is and what
can be accomplished. It is particularly pertinent for me, at age 83, in
that it describes perfectly how I open my front door with it's security
door, and listen carefully. I seldom let on that I am blind before being
sure of whom I am talking to. 
The white cane remark might have been superfluous if the woman was
totally blind. Another small detail is that, in pouring something hot
into a cup, I don't think one pokes the entire finger into the cup. It
is more the tip of the finger over the edge far enough to keep it from
over-filling. I remember, my first experience was in pouring orange
juice into a glass which was upside down. At that point, I'd had no
instruction in anything. 

Also, I did not know that mentoring involved just one with more
experience than the mentee. I thought there had to be a tested level of
expertise. Also, I would have liked it if the girls had touched the
older woman's face and throat to actually feel the wrinkles since so
much of blindness is the tactual experience. I do not believe that you
explained the vision loss of the younger girls. Was it severe, total in
either case? You did a good job of explaining the macular degeneration
of the older woman. I am so glad you have this thought-provoker series.
It did, indeed, make me think about mentoring, and it pointed out the
mutual learning that happens in any mentoring situation. I thank you for
your work. Jacqui