[nfb-talk] Blind baseball player "hears" his dream come trueonlocal Little League team

Tue May 12 00:34:35 UTC 2009

hi,

how much did you know about being blind, or how to advocate for what you 
wanted or knew what could have been when you were nine?
has anyone mailed this woman and explained beep ball?

Bryan Schulz
The BEST Solution
www.best-acts.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 12:23 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind baseball player "hears" his dream come 
trueonlocal Little League team

> It is really a sad situation. In the first place, he should have had 
> enough training to walk out onto that field all by himself. A couple of 
> audio cues and he probably could have thrown that baseball right into the 
> guy's glove.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Michael Bullis" <mabullis at hotmail.com>
> To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 9:36 AM
> Subject: [nfb-talk] Blind baseball player "hears" his dream come true 
> onlocal Little League team
>
>
>> This article is a sad reflection on how far we have to go in order for
>> society to understand our capacities.  And, how sad it is that the mother 
>> of
>> this young man would have so little hope for him that his sitting on the
>> bench is wonderful to her.
>> Perhaps our Indiana affiliate can help this mother get in touch with
>> competent blind adults so she can have more hope for her child.
>> I paste the article below and the link to the video here.
>> http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/44415152.html
>>
>> Story Created: May 5, 2009 at 8:13 PM EDT
>>
>> Story Updated: May 5, 2009 at 10:43 PM EDT
>>
>> EDWARDSBURG - Tears of joy flowed in Edwardsburg as history was made on 
>> the
>> baseball diamond. A Little League hopeful who thought he'd never be able 
>> to
>> be a part of the team finally "heard" his dream come true.
>>
>>
>> It was a party on the diamond, as Edwardsburg Little Leaguers celebrated 
>> the
>> "official" addition of a new teammate. But this baseball player isn't 
>> like
>> anyone you've ever met before.
>>
>> To say Cameron Beaver is a "baseball fanatic" might be putting it mildly. 
>> As
>> far as 9-year-olds go, you'd be hard pressed to find a bigger fan.
>>
>> "He's very upbeat and very energetic. And he just makes everybody around 
>> the
>> park excited too," said Edwardsburg Little League President Pat Maloney.
>>
>> You have a tough time finding a better teammate or a more enthusiastic
>> player, either.
>>
>> Yes, you'd also be hard pressed to find any Little Leaguer quite like
>> Cameron.
>>
>> You see, Cameron can't see.
>>
>> Just a few months after he was born, he was diagnosed with "bi-lateral
>> retinoblastoma"--a cancer of the retina. To keep the disease from 
>> spreading,
>> doctors
>> had no choice but to remove his eyes.
>>
>> Cameron's love of baseball, and his dream of someday playing quickly 
>> faded
>> into fantasy.
>>
>> "This year, he came out for the team with his older brother Aaron, and 
>> the
>> first words out of his mouth were: coach, can I be on the team? And... 
>> what
>> do
>> you say, you know?" said Tony Gaideski, head coach of the Edwardsburg 
>> Little
>> League's Legends Restaurant Team.
>>
>> So, imagine Cameron's surprise when coach's answer was, "yes!"
>>
>> "I said, absolutely, Cameron! You're on the team, buddy! No doubt about 
>> it!"
>> Gaideski said.
>>
>> Except there was doubt.
>>
>> Last year, Cameron "unofficially" joined the team. But, that was never
>> approved in writing.
>>
>> Little League safety rules for upper level teams like Aaron's prohibit 
>> those
>> with disabilities like Cameron's from actually being on the field. So 
>> coach
>> Gaideski asked Maloney for help. Maloney then asked Indiana District 14
>> Little League Administrator Marlin Culp for help.
>>
>> On Tuesday night, it was official.
>>
>> As team lineups were announced over the loudspeaker, there was one new 
>> name
>> added at the end: Cameron Beaver.
>>
>> The grinning 9-year-old emerged from the dugout with help from his coach,
>> and took his place along the first base line.
>>
>> Then, things got even better.
>>
>> "We'd like you to throw out the first pitch, Cameron," said Maloney.
>>
>> "All right!" replied Cameron, his tone more an exclamation than an 
>> answer.
>>
>> The ball didn't quite make the catcher's glove, but that didn't stop the
>> crowd on hand from launching into a standing ovation.
>>
>> "In my 32 years of Little League, I've never heard of anything like 
>> this,"
>> Culp said during an address over the Little League stadium's loudspeaker.
>> "I'm
>> glad we could make this happen."
>>
>> Cameron was too.
>>
>> Clutching the baseball signed by League officials, the trophy for being 
>> the
>> Edwardsburg Little League's "volunteer of the year," the brand new 
>> baseball
>> cap and the major league all-star game pin he was presented with, his
>> response was pretty simple.
>>
>> "Look at all these prizes I got," he said with a big grin. "It all makes 
>> me
>> feel pretty special!"
>>
>> It made his mom Susan feel pretty special, too.
>>
>> "This is awesome for Cameron," said, wiping away tears. "He's not usually 
>> a
>> part of anything. And this is just awesome for him to be a part of this.
>> Words
>> can't really describe it. He's just so excited and happy. He loves it."
>>
>> Cameron's response to that was, well, what Little League is really all
>> about.
>>
>> "I just felt good inside me," he said with a laugh.
>>
>> Then, when asked if was excited about being an "official" part of the 
>> team,
>> he paused for a moment.
>>
>> "As a matter of fact, I am," he said.
>>
>> His jersey now reads "team manager," and that's exactly what he is.
>>
>> "Every inning we come off the field, he'll be the first one out of the
>> dugout," Gaideski said. "He leads the team cheer, and a lot of the 
>> players
>> will actually
>> argue about who gets to sit next to Cameron on the bench now."
>>
>> "At first sight, you wouldn't even think he had a disability," agreed
>> Legends team assistant coach Josh Masten. "He's just a good kid to have
>> around."
>>
>> Now, he's a good kid that will be around the game he loves. You don't 
>> need
>> to "see" that to believe it.
>>
>> And there was one other bit of exciting news for Cameron Tuesday night.
>>
>> Culp says Little League's District 14 is developing an expanded 
>> "challenger
>> program" that could allow Cameron to actually "play ball" on the field by
>> "hearing"
>> the ball as it comes to the plate.
>>
>> "That would be the highlight of his life," laughed Susan. "This will be 
>> hard
>> to top. But, that would really be a dream come true."
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Sherri
>> Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 6:30 PM
>> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Happy Mother's Day
>>
>> That's really nice. Thanks for the quotes and for the warm wishes. My mom
>> has been gone for 9 years and I too wish I could just call her on the 
>> phone.
>>
>> Happy mothers' day to all.
>> Sherri
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Michael D. Barber" <m.barber at mchsi.com>
>> To: <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 10:21 AM
>> Subject: [nfb-talk] Happy Mother's Day
>>
>>
>>>I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all our Federation ladies a
>>>very  happy and blessed Mother's Day.  Mother's certainly have a very
>>>special  place in our hearts.  My mother has been gone for 18 years,
>>>but I still  miss  her a lot.  I often find myself wishing I could pick
>>>up the phone and call  her just to say hello.
>>>
>>> Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. President, held mothers in very high
>>> esteem.
>>> He said, "I regard no man as poor who has a godly mother."
>>>
>>> Of mothers, Washington Irving  said, "A mother is the truest friend we
>>> have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes
>>> the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our
>>> sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she
>>> cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to
>>> dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our
>>> hearts."
>>>
>>> And don't forget that Julia Ward Howe initiated "Mother's Day for Peace"
>>> with her Proclamation to Congress in 1908.  Her husband was Samuel
>>> Gridley Howe, that dude who started Perkins School for the Blind and 
>>> Howe
>> Press.
>>> That's where we get all our braillers today!
>>>
>>> I wish you all a very happy mother's day.  If your mom is still
>>> living, do something very special for her today!
>>>
>>> Cordially,
>>> Michael D. Barber, President
>>> National Federation of the Blind of Iowa
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nfb-talk mailing list
>>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org
>>
>>
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