[Tn-talk] Tennessee Voice NFB Newsletter Fall 2014
Steve Norman
stevenorman4 at gmail.com
Wed Oct 15 23:50:17 UTC 2014
The Tennessee Voice
Volume 4, Fall 2014
Edited by Steve Norman
Distributed by email and Braille by the National Federation of the Blined of
Tennessee.
James Brown, President
4 1 1 3 Tea Garden Way
Antioch, TN 3 7 0 1 3
Telephone: 6 1 5, 4 1 2, 9 6 3 2
email address: <mailto:president at nfb-tn.org> president at nfb, dash
tn.org
website address: www.nfb dash tn.org
Letters to the president, address changes, and subscription requests should
be sent to
<mailto:stevenorman4 at gmail.com> mailto:stevenorman4 at gmail.com.
Articles for the Tennessee Voice and letters to the editor may also be sent
to
<mailto:stevenorman4 at gmail.com> mailto:stevenorman4 at gmail.com.
Thank you for your interest and support. By donating to the NFB of Tennessee
, you can help make a significant difference in the lives of blind people
across the great state of Tennessee .
Please make checks payable to NFB of TN and send them to
National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee
4 1 1 3 Tea Garden Way
Antioch, TN 3 7 0 1 3
The National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee is a non-profit
organization of the blind working together to improve the quality of life
for all blind people in Tennessee.
Contents
1. Notes from the President -President James Brown
2. Through the Spouse’s Eyes -by Lenora Norman
3. Reflections on My First PPMSession -by april Meredith
4. One of Many -by Bill Burgess
5. Blind Profiles -by Steve NOrman
6. Fancy Feet -by April Meredith
7. Reflection: an Acrostic Poem -by David Meredith
8. CleverJokes -submitted by April Meredith
9. 10 Ways to Spice Up Your Life -by April Meredith
10. Fried Ramen -by David Meredith
11. Note from the Editor
Notes from the President
Dear Affiliate:
Many of you know that the National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee has
been working hard on accessibility issues for digital content in higher
education over the past several years.
Back in May, our state legislature charged the Tennessee Higher education
Commission to create a taskforce to make Tennessee state schools accessible
when it comes to digital content. Because of the taskforce, Tennessee Board
of Regions and the University of Tennessee School systems have agreed to do
a state wide audit of digital accessibility and create a strategic plan for
meeting certain measurable goals throughout the process in the establishment
of a real policy pertaining to digital accessibility at their universities.
Tennessee Board of Regions also just had a digital accessibility conference,
bringing in top officials from the Federal Office of Civil Rights and
Justice Department. Even the National Federation of the Blind's favorite
Lawyer, Dan Goldstein, and the Tennessee affiliate's Joe Shaw were also
speakers who rocked the house.
I believe there is a true commitment to accessibility and we should see
awesome results over the next few years. Our next goal is for TBR and UT to
also implement similar policies for their employees, so when a blind person
graduates college and wants to go to work in the university setting, they
will not face digital barriers to gainful employment.
On a national front, it is important for us to gain support from some of the
private universities in Tennessee for our federal TEACH Act. Senator
Alexander has implied that he will support the act nationally if we can get
private universities on board. I will be meeting with Vanderbilt and
several other private universities soon to try and gain their support.
Also, we will most likely be calling on our members to act on this issue
soon by contacting Alexander's office to let him know just how important
this issue is to us.
This past weekend, Many of us gathered in Nashville to participate in the
Live the Life You Want Leadership conference. Our guest speaker, Richie
Flores from Austin Texas, was a hit and I believe many of our chapters will
have a much different feel by the end of the year. We highlighted topics
like: how to use our mission statement as a guide to make decisions, the
different types of leadership, the seven steps to improve time management,
the importance of ethics, resolving member conflicts and much more.
We also had exhalent training on Friday night on how to effectively run the
offices of Treasurer and Secretary, as well as the benefits of governing
principals in our chapter meetings.
As I was walking around from session to session and hearing the great
material, I thought it would be beneficial for those trainings to take place
again over the next few months. Be looking for information on training
calls so they can share with our entire membership. Until then, let's
keep building the federation so blind Tennesseans can live the lives they
want.
Sincerely,
James Brown, President
National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee
Through the Spouse’s Eyes
By Lenora Norman
Lenora is special to me because she’s my wife and much more. We
have been knowing each other since I was eight and she was eleven. She is my
best friend and confidant. She’s awesome! Lenora is currently pursuing a
masters of business administration with an emphasis in human resources from
Phoenix University. While she is enrolled in school, she is working as an
administrative coordinator for Olive Branch Church. Here, she shares what it
is like to be a sighted spouse of a blind man”
Good Morning
.good morning, Steve and I greet each other as we
start a new day. Up and at it, listening to the voice of a familiar yet
unfamiliar person speaking at a speed quite faster than any person I have
ever heard , oh, it’s Siri! Siri has become an unofficial part of the
family, and her cousin voice over too. Each day as the morning begins
devices throughout our apartment talk, alert, and guide, as my husband
prepares for the day. Sometimes the beginning moments of my day with Steve
are brief, because he has been awake several hours before working, writing
papers, or even just enjoying some alone time, he would not normally have
during the day. Because, often times he has been awake since midnight, or
3am, Steve will return back to bed to try and catch a few more zzz’s before
moving through the day.
Once Steve has started to make his moves through the day, he is
moving with vigor, singing , playing his saxophone , and taking care of his
personal hygiene as needed. Contrary to popular belief, he most definitely
handles his personal care himself. He cares about his appearance, so he
shaves his beard, coordinates his clothes, and ensures the outfit for the
day is properly pressed. At the end of putting it all together, he may ask,
how do I look, and I reply you look good! He always does!
Steve then devours his breakfast with orange juice his favorite, packs his
pockets, and his bag full to the brim with all the supplies needed for his
day to flow properly. Victor Reader check, ear buds and iphone check, wallet
with chain check, back up cane check, lunch
.. oh yeah in the fridge check,
and he is off towards the front door with his cane in hand , ready to face
the world. To face the world, who only sees a blind man. Not a man who cares
about his appearance, not a man who is a student of great caliber, not even
a man who goes to work each day to ensure his wife is financially supported,
no they only see a blind man.
The world outside of our cozy apartment sees a man who is about to walk into
a sign pole, not knowing the long white cane he carries tells him of an
object to avoid. They see someone who is about to run out into traffic and
be hit by a car, not a man listening and waiting for the sound of a traffic
signal and the lull of cars, alerting him to safe travel.
Steve walks tapping and shore-lining his white cane he smiles
as he firmly yet kindly lets the world know I got it, you don’t have to grab
me, you don’t have to pull me, or push me in the right direction. A word of
direction will suffice, or if further assistance is needed, an occasional
elbow in a new environment will get me off to a right start. Yes despite the
social walls he encounters daily, Steve gets up each morning and starts the
day with a song in heart and cane in hand. Steve begins with a renewed hope
that the person encountered yesterday, will have a slightly new perspective
of seeing a person with a disability, instead of seeing a disabled person
who needs immediate help. I am so blessed to witness this awesome renewed
spirit face and challenge this world each day through spouse’s eyes.
Lenora Ahiatsi Norman
Contact Lenora Norman at <mailto:len332 at yahoo.com> len332 at yahoo.com
Reflecting on My First PPM Session
By April Meredith
Many of you met april in the previous issue of the Tennessee
Voice where she submitted an impressive introduction of herself and her
family. April is an avid writer, along with her husboan David. She is a
passionate individual who is not allowing anything to stand in the way of
progress for the blind and other disabilities. April is a member of Partners
in Policy Making. Here, she gives us a glimpse into her first PPM session:
I am pleased to inform you that I have begun my leadership and self-advocacy
training with Partners in Policy Making. On September 12-13, the first PPM
session was held at the Radisson Hotel in Nashville. From organizing a
carpool to and from the sessions, to recruiting help in navigating the
hotel, to working in teams during workshops, and even getting assistance
through the buffet lines, I found that there was always a fellow partner
ready to offer a helping hand. Even more impressive was that each
participant was respectful of everyone else’s needs. If a partner accepted
or asked for help, then help was provided; but if someone politely declined
the offered assistance, then that response was equally respected. This truly
motivated me to push myself harder on my journey towards independence and
self-sufficiency. Being constantly surrounded by people who understand the
disability community was definitely more encouraging than I had expected.
For those two days, I felt completely comfortable in expressing my needs
when I had them and also felt safe in trying to branch out and do more tasks
on my own. One of the main points I took away from this first PPM session
was just how important it is to surround yourself with peers who can relate
to your struggles and share in your triumphs as an individual living with a
disability. I cannot think of any better place for a person such as myself
who has a vision impairment than right here with the NFB. The next session
of PPM will be on October 24 - 25 and will continue once a month until
graduation on April 11, 2015. I am so excited about all the challenging but
rewarding experiences I will continue to have as well as the added knowledge
and skills I will be able to bring back to the Stones River Chapter.
April Meredith
Contact April Meredith at aprildmeredith at yahoo.com
One of Many
by Bill Burgess
From the editor: Bill Burgess has been the Adaptive Technology
Center Coordinator at Middle Tennessee State University for just over a
year. Before he held this position, he worked at the Tennessee
Rehabilitation Center in the vision Impairment Services department as the
assistive Technology Instructor for two years. He is a wonderful person who
fully embraces the NFB philosophy that with the right tools and proper
training, blind people can do just about anything sighted people can do.
Here is Bill’s take on disability and the importance of community:
I recently heard R. J. Mitte (pronounced Mittey) speak about how his
disability has affected his life. If the name doesn't ring a bell, he played
Walt, Jr. in AMC's Breaking Bad television series. This character has
Cerebral Palsy, a disease that Mitte has in his off-screen life, as well.
I expected him to talk about how his disability has not hindered his ability
to hold a job or participate in society, and he did. He talked about getting
involved in his community and various non-profit foundations. All of this
was great, but at the end he tucked in a little nugget that I wish he had
spoken about at more length.
Mitte mentioned his friend that has a disability which requires the use of a
motorized wheelchair. This friend was often ignored and treated as a second
or even third-class citizen in Mitte's presence. Mitte portrayed him in a
film version of the man's life and found that he was treated similarly when
in a motorized wheelchair. The last thing that Mitte conveyed about this
situation was a longing for those people who ignored his friend to know who
he really is. To know how "bad ass" his friend is.
Probably every human has known how it feels to be looked over. We all want
to feel important. However, being younger or smaller or whatever causes
others to discount our true worth and potential. Yes, it feels awful to be
put down in any way, but sometimes people do not even realize that their
actions or words are demeaning. Many people don't know how to act around
someone with a disability. I found this out when learning to travel with a
long cane.
My friend, Steve, has given me some mobility lessons, and I have been
surprised by people grabbing my arm or yelling at me. To say that the public
assumes incompetence of someone with a disability is harsh, but there needs
to be some patience allowed to anyone that takes more time or effort to do
things that come easy to those without a disability. The funny thing about
patience, though, is that it goes both ways. When people grabbed my arm or
yelled for my attention, I had to hold back my knee-jerk reaction of wanting
to tell the person to leave me alone. If we practice patience, I believe we
will find empathy and love for people in our community.
Mitte repeatedly talked about the importance of reminding yourself of your
true worth. Essentially, believe in yourself. While this is important, I
believe it is more important to build a community around yourself. Sometimes
you will find yourself around people that are intentional about their
uncaring attitude. You might know these people as jerks. We can try to
wrestle these people into submission by belittling their efforts to be top
dog, or we can invite those people into our community. This community is
built on caring for and noticing one another. They might choose to continue
ignoring or deriding you, but you will know how "bad ass" you and your
community are.
Bill Burgess
Contact Bill Burgess at William.burgess at mtsu.edu
Blind Profiles
By Steve Norman
Steve Norman is studying rehabilitation counseling at the
University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State
University in May of 2014 with a bachelor of social work degree. Steve’s
goals are to become a theraphist specializing in various disabilities. He
would like to counsel those who are experiencing mental trauma because of
their disability and those affected by disability, such as family members.
This section offers profiles of successful blind people from Tennessee and
across the country. It shares profiles of their lives and explores the
contributions that they make to the blind community.
The first profile is Maureen Neitfeld, the Home Management
Instructor at the Colorado Centre for the Blind and creator of Breaking
Blind, a popular YouTube channel that educates the public about blindness.
The profile of Maureen Neitfeld will appear in a Q&A format. The
questions will be followed by the answers. Enjoy.
Blind Profiles: Hi Maureen! Tell us a little about who you are and where you
come from.
Maureen: I’m from the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania, from a suburb north
of the city. I lived there all of my life, until I came to the Colorado
Center for the Blind. I’m really close with my family. I have a small
family, so I never ever thought about moving away from them.
When I lost my sight, I went and got a guide-dog because I thought that
would look better if I had a dog (laughter). That was a mistake because I
didn’t have any independence skills at all. I couldn’t travel alone, so, I
kind of ruined the dog. She lived a great life and was a great friend, but I
didn’t work her like I should have. I didn’t have any cane skills.
I went to college and did really well for two years, but I just felt so
overwhelmed being in the classroom, because I felt so ashamed about being
blind. I felt so self-conscious everywhere I was on campus. I would have so
much anxiety everyday just going to class that it wasn’t worth being there.
I ended up going to massage therapy school and I became a certified massage
therapist.
I worked for different chiropractors in the area doing that. I liked it, but
I never felt like I was living up to my full potential. I ended up getting
really sick with kidney cancer and having 11 surgeries in three years. I was
unable to work. I did end up getting a kidney transplant from my brother.
Once I got that kidney transplant, I really needed to do something with
myself. I thought, “I’ve been sick for three years. I haven’t really been
able to do that much.” You know? “How lucky am I to have been able to
receive an organ and be healthy again?” I thought I needed to do something.
I called a rehab counselor because I thought that if I could just learn to
use a computer, I could go back to school. She suggested to me that I should
go out to Colorado and get real training. She asked me if I used a cane, and
when I told her I didn’t, she said, “You have way too much potential to not
be doing something great. “Two weeks later, literally, I was in Colorado and
started my training
and then I ended up working here and staying here.
Blind Profiles: When did you lose your vision?
Maureen: I went totally blind at 17. I was legally blind at 16, when I had
my last eye surgery.
Blind Profiles: Okay, and how did you lose your vision?
Maureen: I lost my sight from a rare genetic disorder called Von
Hippel-Lindau Syndrome, which causes benign and malignant tumors to grow in
all of my organs. They started in my eyes when I was four and eventually
took all my vision.
Blind Profiles: How did you feel when you lost your vision?
Maureen: Well, when I first lost my vision, I was extremely sad, and I slept
all the time. I isolated myself from friends. I didn’t want anyone to know
that I had lost my sight. I was really embarrassed about it. I always hoped
and prayed and wished that my vision would come back. I always had the
feeling that life would be easier if I had my vision back, and I felt like
everything was so tough then. I felt very, very sad about it for a really
long time.
Blind Profiles: And when did that change?
Maureen: You know, I think that it drastically changed when I came and got
training—when I went to the center (Colorado Center for the Blind [CCB]) and
started using a cane and started realizing that I was able to do everything
that I really wanted to do, my whole attitude about blindness completely
shifted.
Blind Profiles: What are some of the challenges you face as a blind person?
Maureen: I mean
I feel like my challenges now as a blind person aren’t
really challenges anymore. Before I got proper training, I saw everything as
a challenge getting from point A to Point B, figuring out how I was going to
go to school, figuring out how I was going to work, you know, a lot of these
daily activities seemed like challenges. But honestly, since I’ve gotten
training and I’m super-independent, I don’t feel like blindness really poses
a challenge for me anymore. I mean, I guess it’s a challenge getting to work
when it’s snowy outside, but it is a challenge for everybody, you know?
Blind Profiles: Yeah. That’s true.
Blind profiles: What is the most challenging thing you have overcome as a
blind person?
Maureen: I think honestly the most challenging thing that I’ve overcome as a
blind person is getting over being so self-conscious. I think my biggest
challenge was always feeling so self-conscious about my blindness. I felt
like everybody would laugh at me. I felt stupid using my cane, and I don’t
have that anymore.
Blind Profiles: How did you manage to get over your self-consciousness?
Maureen: It really was a mind-shift for me. Learning that being blind isn’t
something to be ashamed of and that it’s a very respectable thing to be
blind, that I’m just another person going about my daily life. When you
realize that about yourself and you decide, “I’m going to work. I’m going to
enjoy my life. I’m going to socialize and go to the places I want to go, and
I’m not going to let my blindness stop me.” When you accept that, then you
don’t have to feel self-conscious about it, you know? Why should I feel
self-conscious about it?
Blind Profiles: Okay. Now, we’re shifting to the present. What do you do
for a living?
Maureen: I am a Home Management instructor at the Colorado Center for the
blind. I teach what some people would refer to as daily living skills.
Primarily, we do a lot of cooking, but we also do things like budgeting,
note-taking, preparing and creating grocery lists, recipe research, working
on nutrition, and organizational-type skills. Anything that anyone wants to
learn related to independent life and cooking, we’ll cover.
Blind Profiles:
and you liked doing that before, even before you were
assigned to that post?
Maureen: Yeah, I like to cook
Blind Profiles: I remember when we were both students there. You would cook
for the whole neighborhood. The food was delicious.
Blind Profiles: Do you love what you do and why?
Maureen: I do love what I do. I love what I do because I love being a small
part of educating people and changing their lives. When people come into the
CCB, it’s so amazing to watch where they start and where they end up in just
nine months. When you think about nine months, it’s such a short period.
It’s not even a year, you know? It’s like it flies by and people are
literally transformed. To be a part of that is an amazing feeling.
Blind Profiles: What types of things does the CCB do to encourage students’
independence?
Maureen: I think the big thing in promoting independence and really pushing
people to get out there is the residential portion
living on your own and
having to travel back and forth to the center. We create a realistic
environment, where you’re getting up every morning, getting on a bus,
traveling to your destination, and then you’re here for eight hours, like
you’re working a full-time job. You have your nights and your weekends to
build a social life, to be making dinner, and to be working on assignments.
You don’t have any choice but to be independent.
Blind Profiles: I agree. What type of things does the CCB do to let students
know that they are not as limited as they might have previously thought?
Maureen: I think that our challenge recreation really expands that for
people. Things that we do like rock-climbing, white-water rafting, canoeing,
skiing, or even working out in the garden , or the travel routes that people
go on.
Blind profiles: What do you like to do for fun?
Maureen: For fun, I love to be outside, doing anything outdoors. I like to
read a lot. I love socializing; I’m a super-social person, so anything with
a group of people, whether it’s going to the movies or going shopping,
Going out for dinner, drinks, getting together over at somebody’s house
that’s my favorite way to spend my off time. I like to exercise. I cook for
my own enjoyment also, and
I think that’s it.
Blind Profiles: What’s the most fun thing you have done this year?
Maureen: I’m going white-water rafting tomorrow and that might be the most
fun thing. I love white-water rafting. I’m going to the Bruno Mars concert
later this year. That’s probably going to be really fun!
Blind Profiles: Oh, That’s what’s up. I don’t know about white-water
rafting, but I love Bruno Mars!
Maureen: Yeah, I’m seeing him later on this year, so that might be it, you
know?
Blind Profiles: Tell the readers a little about your YouTube Channel.
Maureen: So, I created my YouTube channel a year and a half ago, and it’s
called Breaking Blind. I created it because a lot of people have
misconceptions of blindness. They think that we can’t do really, really
simple stuff, and so some of my videos are just really simple like “How do I
use an elevator? How do I find my hotel room?” They’re the little things
that come across peoples’ minds. They think, “There’s just no way you can do
that,” or “How are you supposed to find your room?” or “How are you supposed
to cross the street? How can you make yourself something to eat?” You know?
I wanted to educate the public and help people to realize that blind people
can do anything they want to do. I’m a very open person, and so my videos
are really just kind of blog-based. They just might be a daily activity like
going to dinner with my friends. It’s really just for people to see that we
live very normal lives. There’s nothing really extraordinary about it. It’s
just normal.
Blind Profiles: Wow! Yeah, that’s true. So, is there an episode of Breaking
Blind that stands out to you as your favorite?
Maureen: I think that my favorite is probably when I went to the shooting
range, “How a blind person shoots a gun.”
Blind Profiles: (Laughter) That was great! That was absolutely great!
Maureen: It probably was my favorite because I had never shot a gun before,
and I honestly was really, really, really scared to shoot a gun, like I was
really scared to shoot a gun. For me, that was the first time that working
on my YouTube channel and putting out videos really challenged me to step
out of my box and my comfort zone, to do something that I wouldn’t have done
otherwise if it weren’t for me making a video about it, because I was always
super-scared to do that.
Blind Profiles: You did well! (Laughter) You did so awesome. I think my
favorite video is the one where you were driving around in a parking lot.
Maureen: Oh yeah! That was a fun video.
Blind Profiles: What is the most common question that people ask you in the
comments section of your YouTube videos?
Maureen: People ask me a lot about relationships, you know? Like, they want
to know more about me personally. I think that over time, now that I have a
fan base, they kind of get more and more personal. A lot of times my video
ideas come from questions. People ask me how do I use an elevator and how do
I find my hotel room, you know? “How do you organize your closet? How do you
tell when your produce is ripe?” All those questions are what give me the
ideas for my videos.
Blind Profiles: You’re pretty popular. Most of your videos have thousands
and thousands of views. How does it make you feel to know that you have that
much of an impact on the public’s perception of blindness?
Maureen: I don’t think that I fully grasp it. What is cool to me is when
people reach out to me who are blind and tell me they’re really encouraged
by my videos. That’s what’s really awesome to me. When I actually touch the
blind community.
Blind Profiles: Right. Yeah, that’s powerful because I’ve actually read your
comments sometimes and I’ve seen instances of blind people who may not have
any contact with other independent blind people. They say things like, “Wow!
You’ve changed my life!” That must feel great.
Maureen: It is cool and they friend request me on FaceBook and we message
back and forth. I’ve made some friends because of that connection. Just
recently, a guy who just went blind two months ago was emailing me and I put
him in contact with Julie Deaton, the director of the CCB. We’re helping to
get him set up with a rehab counselor, and I connected him with the
president of the Texas NFB affiliate. Now they’re in communication. It’s
cool when people reach out to me and I can try to connect them with people
who can help them locally.
We learn from coming to the CCB and being a part of the NFB that there are a
lot of great role models in the blind community. There are some in every
state, so when people reach out to me I can connect them. It’s great!
Blind Profiles: You were speaking about your impact on blind viewers of your
channel. Talk about how you’ve changed the perception of some sighted
viewers.
Maureen: I think that I definitely have. People write me who have always
been curious about how blind people do things and they see me saying it’s
just normal and it’s not really different. I think there’s a lot of work to
be done.
Blind Profiles: Who’s your camerawoman, and how does she assist you in the
production of your videos?
Maureen: My camerawoman is Erin Daily, and she was a student with me at the
CCB. She has retinitis pigmentosa (RP). She still has really, really good
central vision, so she does all the filming and editing. A lot of the
editing is visual, to get the transitions correct for the visual audience,
so she does that for me.
Blind Profiles: Cool! I like how these videos are unedited and unscripted.
It kind of let’s people know that it’s genuine and it’s real. It’s just
everyday life.
Maureen: That’s really my point of it. It’s really more raw. It’s not
scripted. It’s not set up, you know? Otherwise, I think that it wouldn’t
give a realistic view. For instance, if I were crossing the street, you
could tell that it was spliced and edited, then it wouldn’t be portraying
the image that I want. The image that I want to portray is that blind people
can do everything. I want to portray that we don’t need to be edited to make
it look like we can do things.
Blind Profiles: Thank you Maureen for your time.
View Maureen’s Breaking Blind channel on YouTube at the following link:
<http://www.youtube.com/> Breaking Blind
Or you can reach her by email at:
maureenbassmaster at gmail.com
Interview conducted by Steve Norman
Contact Steve Norman at stevenorman4 at gmail.com
Fancy Feet
By April Meredith
The following song/poem was inspired by a conversation I
had with a dear friend and fellow mother. At the time, she was taking dance
lessons to prepare for the mother son dance at her son’s wedding. I was
touched by her bitter-sweet emotions regarding her son’s next big step in
life.
“Bless this home and keep them safe
This is what I pray”
This mother’s prayer can be heard with faith
Each and every day
For it is true, a mother’s work
Never really ends
But the best moms’ efforts
Are shown on the feet of her children
Such tiny feet in your big shoes
Smiling while imitating all you do
They clomp through the kitchen, dance, and twirl
Proudly ready to take on the world
Still Mom is there for every beat
In case they ever trip in their fancy feet
In time they grow and leave the home
As ready as they’ll ever get
Stepping out the door in shoes of their own
And you know you will never forget
Their tiny feet in your big shoes
How they clomped through the kitchen, danced, and twirled
Proudly ready to take on the world
And Mom was there with every beat
Just in case they tripped in their fancy feet
Lawyer, soldier
Farmer, server
Nurse, teacher
Operator, preacher,
Teller, baker
Cashier, home maker
>From high dollar to blue collar
All of them have a mother
Who loves what they do and will always care
Regardless of what shoes they wear
>From January to December
I will always remember
To reach out my arms if you miss a beat
And stumble at all in your fancy feet
April Meredith
Contact April Meredith at <mailto:aprildmeredith at yahoo.com>
aprildmeredith at yahoo.com
Reflections – An Acrostic Poem
By David Meredith
From the editor: David is a teacher and the husband of our star
contributor this issue, April. Thanks for your contributions, by the way.
He is an extraordinary writer, as you will soon find out. In this acrostic
poem, he shares the beauty of reflections.
Just in case you are like me and didn’t know the meaning of “acrostic,” it
is a poem or a written work that when read vertically, spells out a word or
phrase.
Real things so long past they are no longer real
Elsewise
Forgotten in a steady stream of years which washed away that effervescent
creature of an antecedent age
Like the portrait of a stranger
Eyes of long abjured youth stare back
Certainly you could have never really been that person
Too full of light and mirth and potency of spirit – naivety
Innocence betrayed – defiled.
Opaline dreams now wraithlike and dim.
Nothing left but the waiting now and the
Silentious solitude of everlasting repose
David Meridith
Contact David Meredith at <mailto:davidmeredith02 at yahoo.com>
davidmeredith02 at yahoo.com
Clever Jokes
Submitted by April Meredith
Here Are 21 Jokes So Clever You Probably Will Not Get Them.
(from Viralnova.com)
1.) It’s hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs
because they always take
things literally.
2.) Who is this Rorschach guy?
and why does he paint so many pictures of
my parents fighting?
3.) A Roman walks into a bar and asks for a Martinus
. “You mean a martini?”
the bartender asks. The Roman replies, “If I wanted a double, I would have
asked for it!”
4.) René Descartes walks into a bar. Bartender asks if he wants anything.
René says, “I think not,” then disappears.
5.) Sixteen sodium atoms walk into a bar
followed by Batman.
6.) Yo momma’s so classless
she could be a Marxist utopia.
7.) Did you hear about the man who got cooled to absolute zero?
He’s 0K
now.
8.) An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first orders a
beer, the second orders half a beer, the third orders a quarter of a beer,
and so on.
After the seventh order, the bartender pours two beers and
says, “You fellas ought to know your limits.”
9.) Pavlov is sitting at a bar, when all of the sudden the phone rings
Pavlov gasps, “Oh crap, I forgot to feed the dogs.”
10.) Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which
produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little,
which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad
breath
. This made him a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
11.) Three logicians walk into a bar. The bartender asks, “Do all of you
want a drink?”
The first logician says, “I don’t know.” The second logician
says, “I don’t know.” The third logician says, “Yes!”
12.) How can you tell the difference between a chemist and a plumber?
Ask
them to pronounce “unionized.”
13.) What’s the difference between an etymologist and an entomologist?
An
etymologist knows the difference.
14.) The other day my friend was telling me that I didn’t understand what
irony meant.
Which is ironic, because we were standing at a bus stop.
15.) There are two types of people in this world:
Those who can extrapolate
from incomplete data.
16.) An MIT linguistics professor was lecturing his class the other day. “In
English,” he said, “a double negative forms a positive. However, in some
languages, such as Russian, a double negative remains a negative.
But
there isn’t a single language, not one, in which a double positive can
express a negative.” A voice from the back of the room piped up, “Yeah,
right.”
17.) A photon checks into a hotel and the bellhop asks him if he has any
luggage
. The photon replies, “No, I’m traveling light.”
18.) Your momma is so mean
she has no standard deviation.
19.) I’m thinking about selling my theremin
I haven’t touched it in years.
20.) What does the “B” in Benoit B. Mandelbrot stand for?
Benoit B.
Mandelbrot.
21.) What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?
Even if you only understood half of these jokes, that's more than most
people could
April Meredith
Contact April Meredith at <mailto:aprildmeredith at yahoo.com>
aprildmeredith at yahoo.com
10 Ways to Spice Up Your Life
By April Meredith
Below I give you simple but creative ways to take your traditional menu
favorites and kick them up a notch. After all, a little extra spice is
nice!!!
• Devilled Eggs – Instead of an olive, use a jalapeno slice. Another spicy
option is to mix in a little wasabi with your mayonnaise, mustard and egg
yolks or add a little cayenne to your paprika mix.
• Apple Pie – Instead of the traditional, bland one try flattening cinnamon
rolls to use as your crust.
• Ramen – Spoon in minced garlic and squirt in sriracha sauce to make this
college staple more interesting and flavorful.
• Water – Mix in a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, about 1 teaspoon of
honey, and a pinch of cinnamon to a warm cup of water to transform regular
water into a nutritious beverage. Note that the water cannot be too hot or
it eliminates the health benefits of the vinegar.
• Meatloaf – Whether you mix in, bake on, or serve with, instead of catsup,
use your favorite BBQ sauce. I like the Kraft Bullseye Thick and Spicy.
Alternatively I have heard of some people using Heinz 57 or a mixture of
catsup and spicy mustard.
• Burgers – Whether you prefer soy based veggie burgers or ground chicken,
turkey or beef adding a little A-1 Sauce and Worcester Sauce will make any
burger better.
• Humus – Many humus recipes call for garlic powder, but in addition also
add several heaping teaspoons of minced garlic giving the humus and extra
pop that goes well with any vegetable or chip. For an additional pop add
half a teaspoon of cayenne.
• Pizza – Drizzle a little Tabasco or Texas Pete hot sauce on each slice
which will actually motivate you to eat more salad to neutralize the burn.
This is one of my favorite suggestions because it not only adds heat but
also cuts calories in my diet.
• Cornbread – Spoon in three or four tablespoons of cheddar jalapeno nacho
cheese into your batter to make loaves or muffins that will soon become a
family favorite. For the braver souls with high tolerance out there, instead
of the nacho cheese you can add shredded cheddar cheese and ghost peppers
chopped and sautéed in butter.
• Chocolate Cake – Most people have heard of chocolate covered coffee beans,
but how about coffee infused chocolate cake. Spoon in 1 tablespoon of your
favorite black instant coffee into your batter and mix well. Though not
exactly spicy, it will add a richness to your chocolate cake recipe that
will have your guests wondering what your special secret is. If you don’t
have instant coffee, you can use one cup of cooled, strong, black liquid
coffee in your batter. Using the liquid coffee will make the batter a little
runny which is OK or you may prefer to add some peanut butter to thicken it.
April Meredith
Contact April Meredith at aprildmeredith at yahoo.com
Fried Ramen
By David Meredith
Ramen is the quintessential college food, but heres a way to make it a
little more interesting.
Take a bag of instant Ramen and boil the noodles until they come apart (do
NOT overcook)
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok or frying pan (I prefer grapeseed or olive
oil)
Drain noodles.
Toss in wok with flavor packet
(Garlic powder and onion powder to taste are also good!)
Toss often to avoid sticking, but cook until thoroughly mixed.
Serve on a plate and finish with sriracha sauce, an over easy fried egg, and
a few leaves of romain lettuce!
(That's how I like it anyway)
:)
David Meredith
Contact David Meredith at davidmeredith02 at yahoo.com
Note from the Editor
We would like to thank all of the contributors to the Tennessee
Voice. Beginning in the upcoming Winter issue, we will have a theme for each
of the issues. The theme of the Winter issue is ‘new Beginnings.” Please
write and submit articles surrounding this theme. The TennesseeVoice is the
voice of Tennessee’s blind.
-Steve Norman
Editor
More information about the TN-Talk
mailing list