[stylist] Chris Kuell in current Braille Monitor

[Lynda Lambert]

Yes, I enjoyed it very much this morning! I just cannot believe how 
insensitive and downright rude you neighbor is - so nasty!  Around here 
people would be fined for not cleaning their sidewalks of snow, or allowing 
shrubbery to go over the sidewalk - in the city.  Out here in the country, 
it's very laid back and if a neighbor had a problem it would most likely be 
resolved immediately. I have wonderful neighbors who clean each other's 
leaves away or clear driveways of snow, and watch each other's homes. One 
neighbor is only here about six months out of the year, and we all watch 
their home, drive in their driveway in the snow to make it look like people 
are there, and one neighbor goes into the home daily in the winter to check 
on any potential freezing problems, etc.  Your story made me so thankful 
that I love where I do - and even though it was an enormous problem for you, 
it was still a very colorful and funny story. Thanks for sharing. Lynda

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Atty Rose" <attyrose at cox.net>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2014 11:58 AM
Subject: Re: [stylist] Chris Kuell in current Braille Monitor


> From a blind person who has been slammed in the face a few times, you go 
> captain!
> I know it probably sucked and hurt and made you want to kick puppies, but 
> it was sure funny the way you wrote it. LOL
>
> Love,
> Atty
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Bridgit Pollpeter" <bpollpeter at hotmail.com>
> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, January 03, 2014 8:50 PM
> Subject: [stylist] Chris Kuell in current Braille Monitor
>
>
>>
>>                      Blind Guy versus the Rhododendron
>>                               by Chris Kuell
>>
>>>From the Editor: Chris Kuell is president of the Danbury Chapter of the
>>
>>>NFB
>> of Connecticut and the father of two children. His daughter is a senior
>> in high school and plans to attend the University of Connecticut to
>> major in psychology. His son, a senior at the same university, plans to
>> get a graduate degree and become an English teacher. The article we are
>> reprinting appeared in the Fall 2013 issue of the Minnesota Bulletin and
>> relates an interesting incident that occurred when Chris was walking his
>> elementary-school-aged children to school every day. Here is what he
>> says:
>>
>>      One of the better aspects of losing my job along with my sight is
>> that I get to spend more time with my kids. Every morning I walk them
>> the half mile to school, and I return in the afternoon to accompany them
>> home. During our walks they tell me about their days, who got in
>> trouble, who likes whom, and how a kid named Brian always cheats at
>> kickball.
>>      We live in an old neighborhood, and along my route are a dozen
>> homes with bushes planted near the sidewalk. While there are several
>> varieties, they all inevitably grow outwards, eager for the opportunity
>> to snag an unobservant pedestrian. At the beginning of every school year
>> I bring a pair of clippers with me as I drop the kids off, and on my way
>> home I help those who are too busy to trim their bushes.
>>      One house has a huge rhododendron bush, which must be decades old.
>> Tall and thick, branches hang over the sidewalk like a canopy. When it's
>> blooming, the fragrance is unmistakable, and I'm sure it's quite
>> beautiful.
>>      I'm about five foot eleven, and I could feel the presence of one
>> close branch as I passed underneath. Following a heavy rain, the branch
>> got heavier, hung lower, and whacked me in the head. After the third or
>> fourth such incident with the wayward branch, I asked around and found
>> out the name of the homeowner. I called and left a message stating that
>> I was the neighborhood blind guy and that their shrubbery had assaulted
>> me and asking if they would please do something about it. Several weeks
>> went by and no action was taken, so I followed up with another, stronger
>> phone message. When winter came, the aggressive branch adopted a regular
>> five-foot nine stance. Most days I was able to duck and miss it. But
>> every now and then I'd wind up with another hunk of flesh donated to the
>> rhododendron god and five more points on my blood pressure reading. I
>> sent a letter asking the homeowner please to take care of the bush. I
>> even volunteered to help tie the branch up higher if they needed
>> assistance. Nobody did anything.
>>      One morning we all got up late because the power had gone out and
>> the alarm clock hadn't worked. Everybody scrambled to get ready on time.
>> During the frenzy I knocked a box of cat food on the floor, accidentally
>> poured orange juice on my cereal, and misplaced my left shoe, so I
>> wasn't feeling particularly loving or charitable. The kids had warned me
>> to duck on the way to school, but the battering bush got me on my return
>> trip. As Popeye used to say, "That's all I can stands, I can't stands no
>> more!"
>>      At home I stuck a wad of toilet paper on the gash in my forehead
>> and grabbed my tree saw. I tapped back down the street, with one arm
>> raised protectively in front of me, and located the assailant. At first
>> I started trimming small branches to take weight off the thick bough
>> overhanging the sidewalk, but this was time-consuming and had little
>> effect. So I went to the major branch, one evil nub still sticky with my
>> blood, and started to saw.
>>      About this time I heard a car pull into the driveway and stop, not
>> five feet from me. This was a little awkward. While I'm no lawyer, I
>> figured that cutting down a neighbor's bush was probably illegal. But
>> the car just sat there idling. I imagine the driver, presumably the
>> homeowner, was frightened by the sight of the angry blind guy, a wad of
>> bloody toilet paper stuck to his forehead, waving a saw around like the
>> villain in a bad horror movie. I did a quick mental calculation and
>> figured that, if the driver had called the cops on a cell phone, I was
>> already in trouble, so I might as well finish the job. I found where I'd
>> been cutting, completed the amputation, and dragged the limb to the edge
>> of the property. Still no activity from the vehicle, so I picked up my
>> cane, gave them my best Jack Nicholson smile, wished them a good day,
>> and returned home.
>>      I don't expect to be invited over any time soon for a barbeque,
>> but at least my forehead and hairline will stay intact. Now, if I could
>> only do something about the guy who refuses to shovel his sidewalk.
>>
>>
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