[stylist] Story, "Help is On the Way"
Debby Phillips
semisweetdebby at gmail.com
Fri Sep 16 15:46:12 UTC 2016
I agree. Even at the center in Oregon we were expected to put things in their proper places and if there was a mess we were supposed to clean up. Debby
Sent from my iPhone
> On Sep 16, 2016, at 7:45 AM, Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via stylist <stylist at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Well, if there's an expectation to put something back in a certain place,
> then that should be followed. If this drawer is where utensils belong, and
> this cupboard cooking pots, then that's where they should always be put
> back. Organization is good for any kitchen, but especially when blind so you
> don't spend unnecessary time locating items.
>
> And by filthy, I mean sticky, uncleaned counters, dishes not washed, crumbs
> on surfaces. Like OSHA could shut you down if a restaurant level of filthy.
> I'm not talking about disorganization or slight messes, I'm talking about
> disgusting, gross filthiness that no one should expect, blind or sighted.
> It's amazing they didn't have ants or other vermin. And why the sighted
> staff didn't clean up even if they thought blind people incapable is beyond
> me. It was gross and completely unprofessional.
>
> I trained at the Iowa Department for the Blind a decade ago, and we were
> expected to keep the kitchen clean and organized. Items had their respective
> places they needed to go back to, dishes and surfaces had to be cleaned then
> double checked to make sure things were clean.
>
> Bridgit
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vejas via
> stylist
> Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2016 7:53 PM
> To: Writers' Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Vejas <alpineimagination at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Story, "Help is On the Way"
>
> Filthy kitchens are not just a thing of low-quality training centers,
> unfortunately. Whenever you have a kitchen full of lots of people cooking
> items at different times, it was inevitable that things would get
> misplaced, we would spend whole days cleaning and things would still not be
> in the right places, LOL. But I think that would definitely go even for a
> kitchen with sighted instructors and sighted instructors.
> Vejas
>
>>> On Sep 15, 2016, at 17:39, Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via stylist
>> <stylist at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> My husband worked a summer at the Kansas center, when they had one,
>> and I spent a week there. Students were advised to leave canes at the
>> door of the cafeteria and use assistance either from sighted staff or
>> partially sighted students. Staff referred to totally blind students,
>> in front of them, as the "unfortunate ones." They would say things
>> like, "Wait for the unfortunate ones to catch up," or, "Don't exclude
>> the unfortunate ones." While there, I was referred to with this
>> description, and my opinion was made clear about it. Students,
>> especially totally blind ones, were not allowed to leave the facility
>> without sighted people, and during travel lessons, they could not
>> venture out on routes they had not first traveled with a sighted
>> person several times with. Students who had been at the center for
>> months did not know their way around the facility itself, which was
>> not huge, because this was not a skill thought necessary because
>> sighted and partially sighted people were there to help. Staff were
>> shocked when my husband had students, especially totally blind
>> students, cooking on their own and cleaning up after themselves. Their
>> training kitchen, by the way, was filthy. That was one of the first
>> projects my husband tackled with students when there. They were
>> equally shocked when he had them travel around town without sighted
> assistance on routes they had not been on before. Many staff wanted him
> fired.
>>
>> You can imagine what they thought of me, a totally blind person, being
>> there, doing things their students could not do, and things they
>> thought unsafe for blind people.
>>
>> So yeah, while some of Vejas's story is a bit exaggerated,
>> unfortunately, it's not far off the mark for some training centers.
>> When Ross, my husband, visited chicago's center, it was similar. And
>> many of the school's for the blind operate under similar philosophies.
>>
>> Bridgit
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vejas
>> via stylist
>> Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2016 7:25 PM
>> To: Writers' Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Vejas <alpineimagination at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [stylist] Story, "Help is On the Way"
>>
>> Hi Debbie,
>> No, I have not had any personal experience with a center such as this
>> one. I am a Louisiana Center for the Blind graduate, and thought that
>> this would definitely be a problem, me overexaggerating some things. I
>> based it off things I'd heard. People at seminar when I was at LCB
>> were talking about how in a lot of places, totally blind students are
>> treated with less respect, hence the idea of a "mentor" needing to hold
> their hand.
>> I did, however, tour several centers in California for my
>> justification letter for rehab. The expectations seemed rather low.
>> Vejas
>>
>>> On Sep 14, 2016, at 06:47, debby via stylist <stylist at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> I have a couple -ts. I'm not an editor so I won't talk about sentence
>> structure and all that. Have you reY been to a Center like the one you
>> write about? I've been to a non-federation center and it wasn't like that
> at all.
>> It just felt a below exaggerated to me. But I really do like the character
>> of Maddie. Debby
>>>
>>>> On Sep 13, 2016 12:38 PM, Vejas Vasiliauskas via stylist
>> <stylist at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi All,
>>>> I really would like to get back to writing, so I have written the
>>>> following piece, which I have attached as a Word document and will
>>>> hopefully go into the email.
>>>> This is a very rough draft. Any constructive criticism would be
>>>> appreciated "as well as positive ones, obviously). I feel that the
>>>> potential main issue with this story is that I have made too much
>>>> effort to prove a specific point about the center that is the main
>>>> focus of this piece.
>>>> Enjoy!
>>>> Vejas
>>>> Help Is On the Way
>>>>
>>>> by Vejas Vasiliauskas
>>>> Prologue
>>>> My name is Fiona Itube. I'm 18 years old, and I live in Montpelier,
>>>> Vermont. I have been blind all my life, but beyond getting good
>>>> grades in school, expectations weren't that important to my parents.
>>>> People all throughout my school career were always willing to let me
>>>> hold their hands; my cane was always in my other hand, though I
>>>> admit that I never learned to use it.
>>>> I was indifferent to receiving blindness training, and so were my
>>>> parents. It was really my teacher for the visually impaired, Ellie,
>>>> who insisted I go. I thought she was a nutty radical, but I applied
>>>> for the Department of Rehab so that I could get into the Better
>>>> Blind training center.
>>>> But I never knew what blindness training was, until I met Maddie
>>>> Maddox.
>>>> Chapter 1
>>>> My start date was September 27. My parents helped me set up. I
>>>> take that back, they set up for me, while I Whats-apped my best
>>>> friend, Fern Allow. Fern and I were supposed to have spent the
>>>> summer together and all that, but then her parents decided that it
>>>> would be really fun in Italy, so that's where they decided to go.
>>>> After my parents finished unpacking me, they hugged me.
>>>> "Welove you so much," Dad said. "Let us know if you need anything."
>>>> "See if there's anyone you want to meet outside," Mom suggested.
>>>> "You should bring your cane, it will probably make you look better."
>>>> I grabbed my cane and, sure enough, I didn't have to go far. A girl
>>>> walked up to me.
>>>> "Hi, I'm Francesca, call me Frankie," she said, but her tone of
>>>> voice sounded cold. Finally she asked, "Is that a stick?"
>>>> "Yes, it is," I explained, "but we call it a cane."
>>>> "Oh." She huffed. "These. So, you mean, you're totally blind."
>>>> "So?"
>>>> "Well," she said hesitantly, "I will explain this because you are
>>>> new, but typically we don't regard you kind of people very well."
>>>> "Will I get bullied?"
>>>> "Not really bullied per se, but we're supposed to have one and it's
>>>> quite a job. I'm yours. Whenever we have to go anywhere, I need to
>>>> hold your hand to take you there.
>>>> "And also, we do have to use these things, but we call them sticks.
>>>> Canes, we consider way too radical."
>>>> Chapter 2
>>>> I got really used to the way of life at the center. I learned and
>>>> understood that, as a totally blind person, I would never be
>>>> altogether too successful. We were told our center's welcome sign
>>>> over and over again.
>>>> Help Is on the Way For Blind People
>>>> What to Do to Get a Sighted Person's Attention 1. Look lost, even
>>>> if you know where you're going.
>>>> 2. Smile, always smile. Maybe you will charm a sighted person into
>>>> giving you a job.
>>>> 3. Accept the fact that this will always be your life.
>>>> We were also told that in a few years, surgery would allow us to
>>>> gain sight and lead a better life.
>>>> Chapter 2
>>>> "Honey, I'm so, so sorry," Lesley Clockhammer, the director of the
>>>> blindness center, told me as she looked at my apartment. She looked
>>>> around. "Did Maggie clean your apartment?"
>>>> "Yes, she did," I said, "but I spilled grape juice all over and
>>>> didn't know what to do."
>>>> "Oh, that's OK," Lesley laughed. "I'll call her right now to get
>>>> back and clean it up. If I don't, we could have some problems."
>>>> She sighed. "Anyway, I'm so sorry but you are going to be getting a
>>>> new roommate in a couple of hours. Her name is Maddie Maddox and
>>>> she is from St. Albans, Vermont. I know people like to have their
>>>> privacy. I'm so, so sorry."
>>>> Maddie impressed me from the start. For starters, she didn't come
>>>> with her parents. Lesley and Maggie, the cleaner, fussed all over
>>>> her.
>>>> "Nope, I can do it myself," Maddie said over, and over, and over
>>>> again.
>>>> When they finally left, Maddie came over to my room.
>>>> "How's life here, Fiona?" she asked me.
>>>> "It's fine, I guess. For a blindness training center."
>>>> "I really wanted to go to Ruston, Louisiana for the Louisiana Center
>>>> for the Blind," Maddie explained. "But my Department of
>>>> Rehabilitation absolutely insistedon no. My dad is friends with
>>>> Lesley Clockhammer's husband, and they said I could come here for
>>>> free! I hope that I at least can have some great experiences."
>>>> It didn't look like it. Later, as the day progressed, I saw that
>>>> there was very little that could satisfy Maddie Maddox.
>>>> "No," she insisted to her mentor, Davina. "I don't need any help,
>>>> thank you very much! I can walk to the dining hall all by myself."
>>>> "With this stick thing?"
>>>> "Yes, it's called a cane," Maddie said, "and it's here to help me.
>>>> Do you have any sight?"
>>>> "Some," Davina said meekly.
>>>> "I find it helps me and it should help you too," explained Maddie.
>>>> "That certainly beats stumbling around."
>>>> Davina retreated.
>>>> "I got what I wanted!" Maddie was happy. "Fiona, you need to tell
>>>> your mentor person similarly."
>>>> "I'm too scared to."
>>>> "Oh, come on, girl, you need to learn to speak up for yourself."
>>>> "Frankie," I said when she came by for dinner, "I would like to use
>>>> my cane from now on. Thank you for being my mentor."
>>>> "Suit yourself," she said and walked off.
>>>> "See? It was easy!" Maddie cheered. "Let's go for dinner!"
>>>> Chapter 3
>>>> Julia Spinner, the kitchen instructor, came into our apartment at
>>>> 10 for kitchen class. I was still sleeping.
>>>> "You missed breakfast," she said. "No worries, though. Do you want
>>>> some privacy to change, or would you like me to dress you?"
>>>> From the kitchen, Maddie snickered.
>>>> "I'll dress myself, thanks," I said.
>>>> "Cool. I have a spinach cheddar bake for you to make."
>>>> "Spinach and cheddar is awesome!" Maddie said. She was writing out
>>>> an ingredients list for the center's grocery store on a large,
>>>> old-fashioned typewriter-like machine. "I love helping my mom make
>>>> spinach quiche!"
>>>> Julia laughed. "Oh, that's the funniest thing I've heard all day!
>>>> No, you're supposed to put it in the oven for 45 minutes."
>>>> "Got it," I said.
>>>> "Just curious," Maddie said, "but what are you having Fiona do for
>>>> the next 45 minutes?"
>>>> "The waiting game," Julia explained patiently. "As a blind person,
>>>> you need to learn to spend more time waiting and less on your mobile
>>>> devices."
>>>> Chapter 4
>>>> "I'm disgusted with this center!" Maddie ranted and raved that night.
>>>> "If I didn't have any self-motivation, I don't think I'd be anywhere!
>>>> I was hoping that I could help others in a positive way, and, Fiona,
>>>> you have come such a long way. But I guess not."
>>>> Maddie had been lectured by Lesley Clockhammer that she was
>>>> "overdoing it", and "expressing a form of free thinking which served
>>>> as a threat to the center." But then Maddie calked down.
>>>> "I'm going to get permission to go to the National Federation of the
>>>> Blind convention in Orlando this year," she twittered excitedly. "I
>>>> have always gone to them, and they are amazing! I learn so much?"
>>>> "How are you going to do that?" I asked. You needed a day pass to
>>>> go anywhere.
>>>> "Both of my grandparents are conviently going to die that day,"
>>>> Maddie explained, "so I have no option but to go to their funeral.
>>>> That's actually what my grandparent suggested. There's no other way
>>>> I can think of that the center would let me go."
>>>> "Don't you feel strange ly-?was
>>>> "You gotta do what you gotta do." Maddie sighed. "But I can't
>>>> believe that this is a 9-month program, and the convention is not
>>>> for another 7."
>>>> "Tell me more about this NFB."
>>>> So that's what we talked about all night. This organization wasn't
>>>> full of crazy radicals; they actually wanted more expectations of
>>>> blind students so that they could live a happy and fulfilled
>>>> lifestyle.
>>>> Chapter 5
>>>> A month later, and I was even closer to Maddie. On the outside, we
>>>> did what was required: hold our mentors' hands and, in my case, that
>>>> of my new mentor Caroline-thank God Frankie graduated.
>>>> But on the outside, we did what we could. We split the money to buy
>>>> pots, pans and other everyday uses for the kitchen, so that we could
>>>> cook for ourselves. We cleaned and cleaned and cleaned, so much so
>>>> that Maggie had nothing to do. One day she told us that she hated
>>>> this job, that she knew students could do much better, but coming to
>>>> our apartment made her day.
>>>> It was an ordinary Saturday night when I was woken up by my phone
>>>> vibrating to signalize a text from Maddie.
>>>> "Hi Fiona it's me. I have decided to leave. I just can't take it
>>>> anymore. I am going to fight for the Louisiana Center for the Blind
>>>> and while I wait, I will do what I can. Good luck. Talk to me
>>>> anytime."
>>>> And at that point I knew what to do. I pulled out my suitcases and
>>>> began to pack them.
>>>> The End
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Writers Division web site
>>>> http://writers.nfb.org/
>>>> stylist mailing list
>>>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
>>>> for
>> stylist:
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/semisweetdebby%
>>>> 4
>>>> 0gmail.com
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Writers Division web site
>>> http://writers.nfb.org/
>>> stylist mailing list
>>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> stylist:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/alpineimaginatio
>>> n
>>> %40gmail.com
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Writers Division web site
>> http://writers.nfb.org/
>> stylist mailing list
>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> stylist:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/bkpollpeter%40gma
>> il.com
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Writers Division web site
>> http://writers.nfb.org/
>> stylist mailing list
>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/alpineimagination
>> %40gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site
> http://writers.nfb.org/
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/bkpollpeter%40gmail.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site
> http://writers.nfb.org/
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for stylist:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/semisweetdebby%40gmail.com
More information about the Stylist
mailing list