[stylist] Latest parenting blog

Fri Sep 2 15:25:50 UTC 2016

Some schools in our district will provide Braille material to parents who ask for it. I have a friend who was given all print info in Braille when her daughter was in preschool a few years ago. At least in our district, a lot of the school websites are not fully accessible, so sometimes accessing online records and info doesn't work if you use a screenreader. Fortunately, for Ross and me, we've been able to work out individual methods with Declan's teachers. Basically, anything print can just be sent home and we scan it. If it's hand-written, they are supposed to email us. The biggest thing with Declan right now is not so much his info from school, but anything pertaining to his IEP, which he has for speech.

I'm basing these blogs off my personal experience, so of course, I welcome any comments providing more insight. Not sure if you can make comments on the blog itself. I just write them for the local site. I don't even post it on the blog. I send the editor my blog, and the rest is handled from there. But I appreciate feedback so I can provide a fuller view of blindness.

Thanks for reading.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Chris Kuell via stylist
Sent: Friday, September 02, 2016 10:17 AM
To: 'Writers' Division Mailing List' <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Chris Kuell <ckuell at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Latest parenting blog

Nice article, Bridgit. Your research may find differently, but I've never heard of a school supplying a blind parent with material in braille. It's hard enough to get them to supply blind students with materials in braille, never mind parents!

But the world is constantly changing, and from what I understand, almost all school material is online now. My son just started his first high school teaching job, and all his material--syllabus, homework, and grades--are online and available to students and parents alike. And all parents are encouraged to contact him via email or phone, so expectations are out there and there aren't any surprises.

Nice job.

Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via stylist
Sent: Friday, September 2, 2016 9:47 AM
To: 'Writers' Division Mailing List'
Cc: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Subject: [stylist] Latest parenting blog

Check out my latest parenting blog at:

http://www.omaha.com/momaha/blind-parenting-how-we-handle-all-that-back-to-school/article_e7710b40-5500-11e6-b4ff-577a644d9a51.html

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Alyssa Frierson via stylist
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2016 8:23 PM
To: Writers' Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Alyssa Frierson <alyssafrierson at gmail.com>
Subject: [stylist] {Spam?} Re: {Spam?} Re: Novel excerpt

To anyone still reading,
Chapter 4 is attached and pasted below.
Thank you.

Alyssa

Chapter Four
She watched Paige tie her shoes and put on her name tag before she grabbed her purse. Paige could pull off anything, even khaki pants and an ugly orange polo. She worked as a receptionist at the gym they frequented. Paige put her purse on her shoulder so the strap covered the embroidered gym name logo under her right collarbone. "See you later," she said. "What time do you get off?"
"Four."
"I'm off at five. Will you start something for dinner?"
"Sure." Olivia picked up her bag and followed Paige out the door.

The salt shaker at Table Three was almost empty. She'd served two parties of three and at least four, maybe five, couples so far today.
What were all those people using so much salt on? The fries were already seasoned. She took it back to the kitchen, filled it, and returned it to its spot next to the full pepper shaker. She was about to get the check for the party of four at Table Six when she heard someone scream excitedly from near the entrance. "Lena!"
Olivia jumped two feet in the air. She took a second to steady her breathing and straightened her shirt before she went about her business. Her Lena would not be here, at this diner in the city, she told herself. It would never happen. The shadows stirred in the back of her mind, though, and Lena's name was attached to each one. Olivia blinked.
The host sat the two girls, probably not much younger than Olivia, at Table Three. "Hi. My name's Olivia..." She gave them the usual speech she gave every customer. She took their drink orders, and when she returned, the dark-haired girl with her hair in a bun was laughing at something her friend with the long blond braid said. She served them a glass of tea and a cup of coffee, and wrote down their food order.
When she dropped her pen and bent to get it, she saw one of the girls had a gold bracelet with heart charms dangling from it around her ankle. When she stood and glanced at the girl, her dark hair had turned into dark with red highlights, and her bun turned into a short bob. She was smiling at her friend. Olivia shook her head as she walked to Table Four. "Hi,"--she stopped short--"Nicki?"
"Hey, Olivia."
Olivia smiled. "What can I get you?"
"Look, I'm not stalking you or anything. I hope you don't think that.
I just had a craving for French fries, and you said it yourself, this place has the best fries for blocks. Even better than that guy with the stand on the corner. It's the way you season them here... And I come to your show so much because it's really good, and I hate being stuck in my apartment every night-“ She stopped and lowered her head.
"So you'd like an order of fries?"
She mumbled something Olivia didn't hear into her lap. A curtain of curls covered her face.
"Sorry, what?"
She raised her head. "Yes, please." Nicki's voice came out in a whisper as she nodded.
"Would you like anything to drink?"
"Just water, please."
"Okay. Anything else?"
"No thanks." She shook her head.

That night, Olivia stood offstage and listened to Paige, hoping the new opening routine would go well. She'd liked the idea when Paige came up with it, but she was nervous that it wouldn't work, or the audience wouldn't find it as entertaining as she and Paige did.
"Thank you very much, everyone," Paige said after the applause died down. "We're so glad to be here and that you came out tonight. Olivia and I-“ she stopped, and Olivia peeked out and saw Paige pretending to look for her. "Where's Olivia? Olivia," she sang her name, putting extra emphasis on the O. "Ooooh-livia?"
"What," Olivia called from offstage.
"Come out and sing with me."
"No! Just do the first number by yourself. Maybe I'll be out later."
"The first number's a duet; I can't do that alone."
Olivia could picture Paige looking annoyed with her hand on her hip.
She heard the audience laugh.
Paige began singing "We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together." She stopped after the second line. Olivia peeked out and saw Paige looking around for her again. Paige sighed and continued with the next few lines.
Olivia walked out and harmonized with her on the last line, a repetition of the song's title. The audience applauded, and Paige and Olivia launched into "Something's Coming."
Paige was talking to a middle-aged woman when Olivia spotted Nicki standing near the table after the show. They waved at each other, and Olivia motioned for Nicki to come over.
"I'm sorry about how I acted earlier, at the diner," Nicki blurted.
"How'd you act? You just wanted French fries. I don't blame you; we have really good fries. You're right; it's the seasoning."
"I rambled and acted like an idiot."
"It's okay."
"You're too nice. I said stuff that wasn't even relevant, that stuff about your show." She seemed flustered.
Olivia could pretend that she didn't remember what Nicki told her earlier, but instead she smiled and said, "I'm flattered that you like it so much. What did you think of tonight's performance?"
"I was afraid Paige was going to do the whole thing herself there at the beginning." Nicki clutched the strap of her colorful shoulder bag with both hands.
"She could have carried it on her own."
"You totally killed on 'Anyway.' I love that song."
Olivia smiled. "Martina's always been my favorite."
"She's pretty great." There was a pause. "So, you're still doing 'Summertime' as an encore." Now that they were talking about something other than what had happened that afternoon, Nicki seemed a little more relaxed. At least her face was back to its normal color.
"Yeah, we haven't come up with an alternative yet."
"I still don't think you need one."
Olivia heard Paige say her name. When she glanced over at her, she saw Paige was talking to two women, one wearing an "I Love NY" shirt and the other wearing an American Ballet Theatre shirt. She swallowed and turned her attention back to Nicki, saying, "Oh, hey, I have that cd for you." She reached into the bag sitting by her feet and handed the cd to Nicki. Electricity.
"Thanks."
"There's some good stuff on there. 'Stars and the Moon' and 'Your Daddy's Son' are my two favorites. And 'Somewhere' and 'I Think It's Going to Rain Today.' I just listed like half the cd." They both laughed.
"I can't wait to check it out. By the way, I really liked 'The Hurt Runs too Deep.' Did you write it?"
"Uh-huh." Olivia nodded. She felt her chest tighten and sweat pricked under her arms. That's what you get for putting such a personal song out there, she told herself. Someone was bound to ask eventually.
"Recently?"
"Um, no, a couple years ago after a bad break-up." She pushed some hair behind her ear. Why had she volunteered the part about the break-up? Why had she called it that at all? It wasn't-- not really.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you love him?"
What was Olivia supposed to say? She didn't want to lie to her. She liked Nicki, and she didn't want to drive her away by telling her the truth. But she thought there was an attraction, she knew that Nicki felt it, too, and Nicki wasn't coming to see Paige. "Um," Olivia hesitated. She felt her cheeks warm. She jostled the table a little and nearly upset a stack of photos as she put her hands down to brace herself.
"God, what am I saying? I heard the song. Of course you loved him.
Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."
Olivia just looked at her, unsure of what to say.
"Well, I should go. Thanks for the cd."
"You're welcome."
"I hope this doesn't make you think I'm a total weirdo, if you don't already think that, but if you ever want to talk or anything,?--she handed Olivia a folded up piece of paper--"call me."
She walked away before Olivia could react. Olivia watched her leave, admiring the way Nicki looked in her pale green sundress with the butterflies embroidered on the skirt, her hair cascading down her back in a waterfall of bouncy curls. She had to force herself to look away.
There were other people waiting to talk to her and Paige, so Olivia slid the paper into a pocket in her purse and turned to a blond-haired man. "Hello, sir."

On 9/1/16, Alyssa Frierson <alyssafrierson at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Chris,
> Thank you as always for your comments. I did wonder if I should 
> include the entire list of showtunes they perform. I appreciate your 
> feedback.
>
> Alyssa
>
> On 8/19/16, Chris Kuell  via stylist <stylist at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Hey Alyssa,
>>
>> This chapter reads well, and you do a nice job of building the 
>> attraction between Olivia and Nicki. I have written in a few nit 
>> picky comments for you to consider below. You might also want to 
>> abbreviate the list of show tunes when they are performing and just 
>> list a couple so the reader gets the idea.
>> Again, just a suggestion.
>>
>> "Have a good rest of your day." - this is a little clunky.
>> Consider--Enjoy
>> the rest of your day--which is smoother
>>
>> This afternoon, Table Four was occupied by a little girl in a tutu 
>> and an older woman, maybe the girl's grandmother. Were ballerinas 
>> going to be everywhere? - I don't get the 'ballerinas everywhere'
>> sentence. Why is it there? Where did it come from?
>>
>> She was wearing some kind of lip gloss, which made her lips look soft 
>> and pink, and her arms and shoulders looked thin. - I don't 
>> understand this connection--her lip gloss makes her arms look thin? Consider  revising.
>> Plus, to me, thin isn't an attractive word, if you are going for 
>> attractive.
>> Maybe- her blouse accented her toned shoulders and arms...
>>
>> Olivia took more ketsup to Table Three and cleaned Table Two before 
>> she went back to Nicki. - ketchup
>>
>> In spite of how often Nicki showed up, and how weird it might be, 
>> Olivia still found herself thinking about and attracted to Nicki. - 
>> the end of this sentence is a little clunky, consider revising.Maybe 
>> something like - she found herself thinking warmly of Nikki's 
>> brilliant smile...
>>
>> Nice work, and thanks again for sharing.
>>
>> Chris
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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