[stylist] color/rainbow prompt response

Fri Apr 5 22:19:43 UTC 2013

I can sure understand why you said that. You are an amazing woman and I have 
always loved reading your work.

But, to be honest, being blind is a bitch to me, and it pisses me off - in 
plain old language. However, I am not really angry - but take things in 
stride and have plunged forward with life as it is. But, it is most 
definitely very inconvenient.  When I hear people here talk about how great 
it is to be blind, I think they are on another planet, in some parallel 
universe.  I sure don't live in the same world they do and I definitely 
never ever see people as Blind or Sighted, like it is a culture or a special 
group. I have no particular bias against people who can see well,
because there are just stupid people of all sorts, blind or sighted. Horror 
stories go both ways - but then, I have not had a lifetime of dealing with 
such challenges so who am I to say? Cynicism is not healthy for anyone.

I won't be singing the glories of sight loss nor celebrating it in any way, 
anytime soon, and probably never.
I like the driver's seat; I like planning my own moves; and I love being in 
complete charge of everything around me, so for me, it's a bitch! Of course, 
I never say this to anyone around me.

OK, back to your poem. I agree that it sounds completely different when 
hearing it via a synthetic voice - but if you could hear a human reading it 
aloud, it works very well.  Why not take it to your poetry group, and have 2 
people read it - no two people ever read a poem the same way. It is always 
good to hear at least 2 or 3 different people read the same poem to really 
get the feel of it.

Your extended lines really even it out - because most of the time rhyming 
end words really make things stilted and confined, and often make a serious 
poem sound silly; but the extended lines (your enjambment) does help give it 
some space.

The asterisk, I forgot to mention. I agree with Chris. It came across to me 
as a typo, which I meant to let you know was there. It does not work in the 
way you were hoping it would - to divide the poem into two parts. You don't 
need to do that, because with your words you have taken us from one time 
frame to another very well, I think.
Lynda, who is actually in a really great mood this evening!  haha

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, April 05, 2013 1:22 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] color/rainbow prompt response

> Lynda,
> Thanks so much for catching that spelling error. I must not have used my
> spell checker. I usually make it a point but if I make changes later,
> sometimes I forget.
> Also, do you know if I should use the term "blest" or blessed?" It has to 
> be
> one syllable, but "blessed is often pronounced as one syllable.
> Most likely, most blind people would go back if they could, but I think 
> age
> has something to do with it. At 84, I most likely could not drive again, 
> and
> I was a nervous wreck over other drivers. Not being able to see what is
> going on, I relax and can concentrate on what a lovely or interesting 
> person
> my driver is!
> Also, I do not have to shop for every holiday and birthday, for I do not
> have that kind of help. I can write a poem or a check or make a special
> call, or all three.
> I know who my true friends are for they stop in to see me.  Since I have
> severe hearing problems and balance due to the removal of the cochlea in 
> my
> left ear, my choice would be to go back and not have Menieres Syndrome.
> Blind people can learn to do a great deal and remain connected with loved
> ones. Without hearing, much of life's pleasures simply evaporate. With no
> balance, the threat of falling is ever present. To my knowledge, they have
> yet to make a walker, or mobile device for blind people.
> I guess everyone has to pick their poison.
> Thanks for your comments.
> Jackie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lynda 
> Lambert
> Sent: Friday, April 05, 2013 7:26 AM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] color/rainbow prompt response
>
> I only have a few minutes, so I wanted to drop you a note on your poem.
> Really lovely!
>
> Iridescent is how to spell the word - unless you spelled it wrong on
> purpose?
>
> I love the colors of glass. I am an antique and vintage glass collector 
> for
> many years - so this all gave me vivid impressions of each kind you have
> mentioned. (I used to have 3 antique shop and specialized in vintage and
> antique glass - with a specialty in West Virginia glass makers.)
>
> Those things surround me every day - exquisite examples of colors in your
> poem.
>
> It sounded just fine to me - I love the way you used the extended lines
> throughout the poem - that makes it tricky to read and causes the reader 
> to
> really think as they read it - because the vision wants to rush ahead and
> see what is coming next. Since I can actually see your poem by using
> Zoomtext, it makes far more sense than it does when I listened to it on
> JAWS.
>
> I would not change anything, except the work Iridescent if you want to do
> that.
>
> Go back? Like, right now.
>
> 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: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2013 5:55 PM
> Subject: Re: [stylist] color/rainbow prompt response
>
>
>> Chris, I am so grateful for your wonderful, insightful article about the
>> aspects of being blind, and the scientific explanation of the rainbow. 
>> And
>> Barbara, I want to thank you for suggesting the rainbow prompt.
>> Also, the responses of Donna, Lynda, Bridget, Myrna and also their poems.
>> I
>> think I forgot someone.
>> Because of the extensive conversation about color, and some thoughts of
>> resentment about the sighted looking down on us, I was prompted to write
>> my
>> own poem.
>> Though my color vision is dimming so quickly, like Lynda, my memory is as
>> vivid as though there has been no change.
>> I have made an attachment as it is rhymed couplets, and in my experience,
>> if
>> I copy and paste, it will come through as anything but that.
>> I intend to submit it as a theme poem to the AZ State Poetry Society's
>> spring festival. The theme is Something simple, or something beautiful. I
>> would appreciate critiques.
>> Jackie
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Chris 
>> Kuell
>> Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2013 1:05 PM
>> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [stylist] color/rainbow prompt response
>>
>> Here are my musings about Barbara's prompt the other day.
>>
>>
>> Reflections on Colors and Rainbows
>>
>>
>>
>> By Chris Kuell
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "We do not understand what this means - to 'see'."
>>
>> "Well, it's what, what things look like," Meg said helplessly.
>>
>> "We do not know what things look like, as you say," the beast said. "We
>> know
>> what things are like. It must be a very limiting thing, this seeing."
>>
>> "Oh no," Meg cried. "It's the most wonderful thing in the world."
>>
>> "What a very strange place your world must be," the beast said. "That 
>> such
>
>> a
>> peculiar seeming thing should be of such importance."
>>
>>
>>
>> From A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> What is your favorite color? What color is a rainbow?
>>
>> These questions were posted on a listserve of blind writers recently.
>> Simple
>> questions, questions that nearly any three-year-old can answer without a
>> moment's hesitation, and yet they left me a little dumbfounded. My
>> favorite
>> color? I suppose I could answer green, because that's the color 
>> associated
>> with money, and I can always use more of that. Or red, because a cooked
>> lobster is red, and I love lobster. But of course, the meat of the 
>> lobster
>> is actually white, and then I like to dip it in yellow butter, so what
>> color
>> does that make it? Perhaps flesh tone, because I love my wife, especially
>> touching my wife. But of course, what color is she? And what color are 
>> the
>> parts of her I like to touch most? Or maybe amber, which is the color of
>> my
>> favorite beer. At least, I think it's amber. It's a lager, which I think
>> is
>> darker than a regular beer, but not as dark as a dark beer. Or blue, it
>> might definitely be blue. The ocean is blue, and I love the feel of the
>> ocean, the sounds of the waves, the salty feel of the breeze, the
>> refreshing
>> cold on a hot summer day. But of course, the ocean can appear gray at
>> times,
>> and I've heard that in parts of the Caribbean it's almost a green color,
>> and
>> if you are underwater it's actually black.
>>
>>
>>
>> So what's my favorite color? I don't believe I have one. To me, colors 
>> are
>> things sighted people use to distinguish and describe things, but it has
>> little to no meaning to me in my life. I don't like lobster because of 
>> its
>> color, but because of its flavor. I don't like money for its color, I 
>> like
>> what I can do with it. It doesn't matter what color the ocean is, as long
>> as
>> it's cool and vast and full of energy and life. The beauty can't possibly
>> be
>> in the blue, but in the tides, the power of the waves, the roar in a
>> storm,
>> and the soothing calm at dawn.
>>
>>
>>
>> There was a time in life when I was very much a part of the world of
>> colors.
>> As a teenager, I wanted to become a professional photographer. I had
>> several
>> cameras, and even set up a darkroom in my parent's basement to process
>> photos. The right lighting, shades and color were very important in
>> capturing just the right image. In my early twenties, I fully restored a
>> 1969 Mach 1 Mustang, and lamented for weeks over what color to paint it.
>> Even when I had narrowed it down to blue, should I go with Acapulco Blue,
>> or
>> Grabber Blue? And what about racing stripes-flat black, regular, or 
>> glossy
>> black?
>>
>>
>>
>> Such angst disappeared from my world sixteen years ago when I lost my
>> sight.
>> And in all honesty, I don't miss it. My wife asks, "Do you want a red
>> bathing suit? They also have it in blue, green or black?" As long as it
>> fits, I don't care. It makes life much simpler. What color phone, what
>> color
>> ipod, what color suitcase do I want? Doesn't matter to me, as long as it
>> does the job I need it for. Right now I have no idea what color my jeans
>> are, or the tee shirt under the hoody I'm wearing, or the hoody for that
>> matter. All I know is that they fit, and they are comfortable. If I ever
>> come downstairs in the morning with a combination of clothing that
>> clashes,
>> my wife or daughter will let me know, and I may or may not change. 
>> Because
>> the truth is, I just don't care that much.
>>
>>
>>
>> Yes, I know we live in a predominately sighted world, and sighted folks
>> love
>> their colors. So much that apparently there are 47 different shades of
>> white
>> indoor paint at the Benjamin Moore store. I've heard people talking about
>> fifty shades of gray, but most say it's not worth the time and effort to
>> read. Regardless, I find it hard to believe that whether you choose
>> periwinkle or turquoise or robin's egg blue as the color to paint your
>> mailbox, it will make much difference to your overall quality of life.
>>
>>
>>
>> My ignorance has admittedly had its drawbacks. A couple of years ago I
>> went
>> on a mission trip with the youth group of my church to rebuild homes
>> destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Everybody's backpacks were unloaded into 
>> a
>> big pile, and when a guy who wanted to help asked, "What color is your
>> backpack?" I could only shrug my shoulders. It's a medium sized backpack,
>> with three primary zippers and a rubberized bottom to keep water out when
>> it's on the ground. It has a security pouch that velcro's into the first
>> zippered section for money and valuables, and a mesh divider in the 
>> second
>> section where I keep my diabetes supplies. I know exactly what it feels
>> like, and I know where everything is inside it. So, I helped pass out
>> backpacks until I found mine, and we continued on with our day.
>>
>>
>>
>> A couple of weeks ago my wife and I attended a party where the hostess
>> took
>> our jackets away and put them in a bedroom. When it was time to go, I
>> asked
>> one of the hostess's kids to show me where the coats were so I could get
>> mine. She said, "Oh, I'll get it for you. What color is it?"
>>
>>
>>
>> Damn. Such a simple question. "It's a winter coat, slippery vinyl type,
>> goes
>> down about halfway to my knees. It's got a hood, and it's got both a
>> zipper
>> and Velcro straps, and four pockets on the outside, one on the inside,
>> left
>> breast. My wallet is in the inside pocket, in the bottom left outside
>> pocket
>> is my glove, my keys, and a few tissues. Bottom right is my other glove
>> and
>> some glucose tablets. Upper left pocket has a granola bar in case my 
>> blood
>> sugar goes really low, and the upper right pocket has my cell phone in
>> it."
>>
>>
>>
>> The girl stood there for a second, then asked again, "But what color is
>> it?"
>>
>>
>>
>> I had her take me to the bedroom, where I located both me and my wife's
>> coats without much difficulty.
>>
>>
>>
>> I've given even less thought to rainbows these last years than I have to
>> colors in general. When my kids were young, I'd sometimes take them
>> outside
>> to look for a rainbow if there happened to be sunshine after a rain. Kids
>> love rainbows because to them, they are magical. They appear and 
>> disappear
>> seemingly at random, and rumor has it there are pots of gold and
>> leprechauns
>> to be found at their ends. One time when we were visiting my parents on
>> the
>> coast of Maine, the kids came home from a trip to the store with Grandma
>> just about peeing themselves with excitement. "Daddy! Daddy! We saw a
>> double
>> rainbow over the ocean!" For the kids sake, I acted all excited. I was
>> happy
>> for them. But really, what was the big deal?
>>
>>
>>
>> So what is a rainbow, anyway? Rather than magic, we must turn to science,
>> and a little background information. White light, or the light that comes
>> from the sun, is made up of waves of energy, much like the ocean. Some of
>> these waves are big, and some are smaller, and there's everything in
>> between. If we separate these waves of light energy, we find that they
>> have
>> what the human eye sees as different colors. The biggest waves have a red
>> color, and the smallest waves a blue/violet color. When white light is
>> separated loosely into different wavelengths, it's called refraction, and
>> is
>> commonly accomplished with a glass or hard, clear plastic prism. A prism
>> is
>> square on the bottom, a point on the top, and all four sides are
>> equilateral
>> triangles. Light goes in one side, and if the prism is in just the right
>> position, it gets refracted, then reflected off a different side inside
>> the
>> prism, so it comes out yet another side 'split' into the color spectrum.
>>
>>
>>
>> While water droplets are not prisms, they are similar. They're clear, a
>> perfect point at the top, and spherical on the bottom. If conditions are
>> just right, primarily after a rain, tiny water droplets remain present in
>> the air. If the clouds disperse, and the sun shines at just the right
>> angle,
>> the white light from the sun may be refracted by one side of the water
>> droplet, then reflected off the backside of the droplet, further 
>> refracted
>> as the light leaves the droplet, and appears as a color spectrum in the
>> air.
>> Since the walls of a water droplet are curved, rather than straight like 
>> a
>> prism's, the color spectrum appears as a curve, or an arch in the air. 
>> The
>> top of the arch is typically red, because that has the longest 
>> wavelength,
>> and purplish on the bottom, because that's the shortest. However, air
>> pollutants, the time of day, whether it's fresh or salty water-all these
>> factors can affect the colors of a rainbow. And as soon as the angle of
>> the
>> sun changes, or the number of water particles evaporate, the rainbow
>> disappears. Which does, I suppose, make it a little bit magical after 
>> all.
>>
>>
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