[nfb-talk] Funny stories (was: philosophy)

Dewey Bradley dewey.bradley at att.net
Tue Jul 20 22:45:38 UTC 2010


I was in MC'Donalds one time, I hit one of the wet floor signs with my cane, 
and it slid out and knocked over a little girl, I felt so so bad, but she 
was laffing.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Powers, Terry (NIH/OD/DEAS) [E]" <Terry.Powers at nih.gov>
To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 3:00 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Funny stories (was: philosophy)


> Thanks for a good laugh of the day!  I like that one!
> That could have happened to any blind person.
> Terry Powers
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John G. Heim [mailto:jheim at math.wisc.edu]
> Sent: Monday, July 19, 2010 9:48 AM
> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
> Subject: [nfb-talk] Funny stories (was: philosophy)
>
> I was in a hotel in Montery, CA, and was heading down the hall tapping my 
> cane. All of a sudden there is this tremendous screach. I had stuck my 
> cane between the legs of a woman who was standing in the hall listening to 
> someone on a pay phone.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Bullis" <mabullis at hotmail.com>
> To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2010 10:21 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] philosophy taken to another level then?
>
>
>> Not knowing what it was, I hit a bush with my cane the other day as I was
>> walking quickly by and said excuse me.  I thought it was funny.  Although
>> I
>> know that many disagree with me about this, I simply find lots of things
>> funny that are politically incorrect or self deprecating.  Humor, perhaps
>> sadly, but truly, is very much about the put down.
>> Mike
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Mike Freeman
>> Sent: Friday, July 16, 2010 11:44 PM
>> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] philosophy taken to another level then?
>>
>> Ray:
>>
>> In any discussion such as this, it's damnably dangerous to generalize
>> because almost universally, there are exceptions to any rule. But with
>> respect to humor regarding aspects of blindness, I think we must ask
>> ourselves *why* we (or our sighted coleagues) find any particular
>> blindness-related incident funny. Let me give you an example.
>>
>> Many years ago, I remember a commercial for a particular optical company
>> touting the need to wear good glasses (this was before lasic) by using a
>> skit whereby a mom's kids on a camping trip with her stole her glasses 
>> and
>> laughed themselves silly when she got up in the morning over how
>> ridiculous
>> she looked stumbling about and doing awkward things because she couldn't
>> see.
>>
>> That commercial burned my posterior because it was pure cruelty for the
>> kids
>>
>> to laugh about something the mom couldn't help because she wasn't trained
>> as
>>
>> a blind person and had I been her, I'd have tanned their hides. This sort
>> of
>>
>> thing is the reason I find almost all slapstick comedy unappealing. It's
>> basically cruelty in another guise. And if (as in Mr. Magoo) it gives the
>> impression that all vision-impaired persons are like that, it sets us 
>> back
>> immeasurably.
>>
>> But something like forgetting to turn a coffee cup over when getting it
>> out
>> of the cupboard and absent-mindedly pouring coffee all over the counter 
>> as
>> a
>>
>> result -- that's just plain funny because I knew better and had my head 
>> in
>> the clouds rather than paying attention to what I was doing as I should
>> have.
>>
>> You see what I'm driving at? Do we laugh over our blindness because it's
>> funny or because we are laughing at what we take to be our misfortune.
>>
>> What we in NFB bridle at our two assumptions: (a) that others (including
>> ourselves) assume that we need help when we may not and (b) that we may
>> falsely assume that we can't do something so elect not to try. Every one
>> of
>> us (including those of us who are sighted) use help when we need it 
>> and/or
>> when it's convenient for us and others. Where this gets us into trouble 
>> is
>> when we ask for help so often that people don't think we can do without
>> it.
>>
>> But basically, it all comes down to how we view ourselves mediated by our
>> view of blindness.
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Ray Foret Jr" <rforetjr at comcast.net>
>> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, July 16, 2010 9:33 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] philosophy taken to another level then?
>>
>>
>>> Ah, well, you see John, here's the thing.  As I see it, I don't think
>>> that
>>
>>> the NFB philosophy is looking to diminish blindness itself; rather, as I
>>> understand it, the NFB is trying to make blindness itself a mere nucence
>>> according to the perceptions of both the sighted and blind alike.  We
>>> tend
>>
>>> to see ourselves as others see us.  That includes the blind as well.
>>> It's
>>
>>> a fact of human nature that when you've got a cause to fight, and the
>>> need
>>
>>> for help from others seems to fly in the face of any forward movement in
>>> that cause, there tends to be at least a little personal or professional
>>> embarrassment at the idea of needing help; especially when that need for
>>> help and the taking of it, (how ever badly needed) would even appear to
>>> set back the cause for which one is fighting.  I note the most recent
>>> issue of "The Braille Monitor" for July 2010.  The "Ask Mrs. Whsoit
>>> column
>>
>>> is particularly worth paying attention to.  Why?  Because in that 
>>> column,
>>> one of the letter writers indicate
>>> d that they got the impression that the independent blind in the NFB
>>> always would brag about how they could always find their way through
>>> airports and never needed help; and therefore, that one was not a true
>>> federationist if one either needed or accepted help regardless of how
>>> much
>>
>>> that help was actually needed.  Barbara Pierce, in her answer, indicated
>>> that she wondered whether she and the letter writer were reading the 
>>> same
>>> issues of "The Braille Monitor".  Here, I think the letter writer could
>>> have made a stronger case by actually sighting issue and articles.  If
>>> the
>>
>>> truth of the matter be known, I too was once under the same impression 
>>> as
>>> the letter writer.
>>>
>>> Now, I'll give you another.  The subject of laughter.  Once, on this
>>> list,
>>
>>> I made an attempt to explore this issue in depth but it didn't go very
>>> far.  I sighted what I believed at the time to be inconsistencies in 
>>> what
>>> some leaders in the federation were saying and human reality.  It's 
>>> human
>>> to laugh at things which are truly funny; even things blindness related.
>>> Some among the federation leadership, (barbara Pierce for example) said
>>> things which I took to be the attitude that it was not acceptable for a
>>> blind person to laugh at anything blindness related; even if it was
>>> genuinely funny.  But this philosophy, if you live and breathe it
>>> literally, tends to deny human reality.  What say y'all?
>>>
>>> I'm just trying to poke at a few points here to see what we can go with.
>>>
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>> The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
>>>
>>> E-Mail:
>>> rforetjr at comcast dot net
>>> Skype Name:
>>> barefootedray
>>>
>>> On Jul 16, 2010, at 10:51 AM, John G. Heim wrote:
>>>
>>>> Ah! Actually, you bring up an exciting possibility that never occured 
>>>> to
>>>> me.
>>>>
>>>> No, I can't honestly say that I've been arguing that the NFB philosophy
>>>> should be modified. The trouble is that I've always believed that an
>>>> advocacy group cannot be effective when its own philosophy is that the
>>>> problem it is organized around is fairly minor. Why bother working for
>>>> change when blindness is a mere nuiscance anyway?
>>>>
>>>> You're probably saying, "That's not waht the NFB philosophy means." And
>>>> I
>>
>>>> think it should be clear that I know that especially after my
>>>> dissertation about how similar  the NFB philosophy is to Lombardi's. 
>>>> The
>>>> problem, as I see it, is that it is impossible to avoid having the
>>>> philosophy to morph into something that blames the victim.  It
>>>> inevitably
>>
>>>> will lead to a situation where its a sin to ask for an accomodation, 
>>>> any
>>>> accomodation.  The only solution I see is to get rid of the philosophy
>>>> all together.
>>>>
>>>> Well, that's the only solution I saw until now. Actually, I'm really
>>>> excited about the idea you bring up. Can the philosophy be tweaked to
>>>> address the problems I have seen? I'll admit I'm very skeptical. But it
>>>> sure is worth some thought and/or discussion.
>>>>
>>>> Actually, I'd consider it a major victory if someone, anyone, would
>>>> acknowledge the problem itself. How can the NFB be effective as an
>>>> advocacy group when its own philosophy is that with proper training,
>>>> blindness can be reduced to a mere nuiscance? If I were President of 
>>>> the
>>>> NFB (scary thought, I know), I could go on for days about how those 2
>>>> ideas are not really contradictory. But as a practical matter, I just 
>>>> do
>>>> not think they can work together. And you've got to admit that on the
>>>> surface, they seem quite at odds.
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray Foret Jr" 
>>>> <rforetjr at comcast.net>
>>>> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Friday, July 16, 2010 9:34 AM
>>>> Subject: [nfb-talk] philosophy taken to another level then?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Okay John,  So, let me see if I understand you correctly.  What some 
>>>>> of
>>>>> us have viewed as your attacks on the NFB philosophy are actually not
>>>>> attacks at all; rather, they are attempts on your part to help the NFB
>>>>> fulfill and perhaps even improve on its  philosophy?  I want you to
>>>>> understand that I do not intend my question as an attack upon you; 
>>>>> but,
>>>>> instead, I truly want to see if this is where you are going.  Because,
>>>>> if so, I think we may have the beginnings of a rather forward thinking
>>>>> discussion about a substantive way of moving forward that if we 
>>>>> advance
>>>>> it to the leadership of the NFB in exactly the right way, we might
>>>>> perhaps gain ground not otherwise obtainable.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>> The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
>>>>>
>>>>> E-Mail:
>>>>> rforetjr at comcast dot net
>>>>> Skype Name:
>>>>> barefootedray
>>>>>
>>>>> On Jul 16, 2010, at 9:02 AM, John G. Heim wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm impressed with the number of swimmers on this list. Its a good
>>>>>> sign, IMO. It says something about the NFB philosophy.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I may have given the impression that I disapprove of the NFB
>>>>>> philosophy
>>
>>>>>> but nothing could be further from the truth. Its very close to my
>>>>>> personal philosophy of life which is borrowed from Vince Lombardi.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> A lot of people think Vince Lombardi was the mean old coach who would
>>>>>> do anything to win. No, that was not what he was like at all. His
>>>>>> players loved him and still gather to meet each year to honor him.
>>>>>> What
>>
>>>>>> he believed was that life's greatest moments come when you meet a
>>>>>> challenge and over come it. That's what life is about. That is what 
>>>>>> it
>>>>>> is to be human.  You've got to have the will to win, to be the best
>>>>>> you
>>
>>>>>> can be. Strive for perfection, knowing you'll never obtain it but on
>>>>>> the way there, you'll find three things. First, you'll do more than
>>>>>> you
>>
>>>>>> ever thought you could. Second, you'll find the struggle itself can 
>>>>>> be
>>>>>> fun. And third, , when you do succeed, it will be the greatest 
>>>>>> feeling
>>>>>> you've ever had. So when I went blind, I decided I was going to be 
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> best damn blind guy I could be. I learned braille, tried to learn to
>>>>>> play the violin, got a guide dog, and got back into running and
>>>>>> swimming.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The beauty of Lombardi's philosophy is that whenever you run into
>>>>>> adversity, you don't say, "Oh, woe is me. Life is so hard."  Instead
>>>>>> the response is , "Well, what are you going to do about it?" You 
>>>>>> don't
>>>>>> seek out adversity but when it comes, embrace it. Take it on.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Not to create controversy again but like the NFB philosophy, the
>>>>>> problem with Vince Lombardi's philosophy is that it is easily morphed
>>>>>> into a mentality of showing contempt for losers. You can't live
>>>>>> Lombardi's philosophy and be satisfied -- well ever really since
>>>>>> perfection is impossible to obtain. You can always get better. But 
>>>>>> not
>>>>>> everybody has the same strengths and not everyone can win.  And no 
>>>>>> one
>>>>>> has any right to tell anyone else how to live their lives.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> anyway, I think you can see the simularity between Lombardi's
>>>>>> philosophy of life and the NFB philosophy. I would say, though, that
>>>>>> Lombardi's philosophy is a step beyond that of the NFB in that it
>>>>>> gives
>>
>>>>>> you a sort of method for carrying it out. The idea of never settling
>>>>>> for anything short of success is implied in the NFB philosophy but 
>>>>>> not
>>>>>> spelled out. I think Lombardi's take on the NFB philosophy would have
>>>>>> been that the most important thing in life for a blind person is
>>>>>> striving to reduce blindness to a mere nuisance.  You may never get
>>>>>> there but the most important thing is to never be satisfied until it
>>>>>> is.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Johnson"
>>>>>> <stevencjohnson at centurytel.net>
>>>>>> To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2010 7:10 PM
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] swimming (was: Bard(
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi John,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I think it is just cool that you are swimming.  I think the best I
>>>>>>> would at
>>>>>>> my skill level is circles!  Good for you in wanting to be a
>>>>>>> tri-athelete!
>>>>>>> Steve
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>> [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>
>>>>>>> On
>>>>>>> Behalf Of John G. Heim
>>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2010 11:25 AM
>>>>>>> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] swimming (was: Bard(
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> If you swim laps and if you have a way to stay on your side of the
>>>>>>> lane, I'd
>>>>>>> like to hear about it.  I believe most lap pools have the swimmers
>>>>>>> keep
>>>>>>> right like on a road. You swim up the right side of the lane and on
>>>>>>> the way
>>>>>>> back you come down the other side. The best I've been able to do is
>>>>>>> to
>>
>>>>>>> swim
>>>>>>> with my right arm flailing out so that i can touch the lane divider
>>>>>>> on
>>
>>>>>>> every
>>>>>>> stroke.  That doesn't really work very well.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> It isn't really very helpful to tell me my skills need to improve.
>>>>>>> After
>>>>>>> all, I already asked for tips on how to improve.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:14 AM
>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] swimming (was: Bard(
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> A lane for yourself alone?  Why?  Is it your swimming skills that
>>>>>>>> vastly need improvement; or, perhaps your blindness skills?
>>>>>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>>>>> The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> E-Mail:
>>>>>>>> rforetjr at comcast dot net
>>>>>>>> Skype Name:
>>>>>>>> barefootedray
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Jul 15, 2010, at 9:04 AM, John G. Heim wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> So you're a swimmer, huh?  Do you ever have to share a lane? If 
>>>>>>>>> so,
>>>>>>>>> how do you do it? I have never managed to do that successfully.
>>>>>>>>> Here
>>>>>>>>> at the pool at the University of Wisconsin, I call ahead and they
>>>>>>>>> set
>>>>>>>>> a lane aside for me so I can have it to myself. Its only a minor
>>>>>>>>> sacrifice because there are usually several lanes with only one
>>>>>>>>> person in them. So when they reserve a lane for me, it only means
>>>>>>>>> one
>>>>>>>>> other person has to share a lane.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Have you ever done any open water swimming? I would like to enter 
>>>>>>>>> a
>>>>>>>>> triathlon but I don't like swimming tethered to someone else. I
>>>>>>>>> just
>>>>>>>>> can't get comfortable doing that. It effects my breathing and I
>>>>>>>>> just
>>>>>>>>> can't swim normally.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wm. Ritchhart"
>>>>>>>>> <william.ritchhart at sbcglobal.net>
>>>>>>>>> To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 5:04 PM
>>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Bard
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I really like the new digital talking book player.  I do wish it
>>>>>>>>>> was
>>>>>>>>>> still smaller and lighter.  With all my swimming gear, lunch,
>>>>>>>>>> back-up cane and everything else I have in my gym bag; it is 
>>>>>>>>>> still
>>>>>>>>>> too heavy.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>>>>> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>>> [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>>>>>>>>> On
>>>>>>>>>> Behalf Of Steve Johnson
>>>>>>>>>> Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 8:22 PM
>>>>>>>>>> To: 'NFB Talk Mailing List'
>>>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Bard
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> John, I have not tried one myself yet, so this is good to know.
>>>>>>>>>> Thanks, Steve
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>>>>> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>>> [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>>>>>>>>> On
>>>>>>>>>> Behalf Of John G. Heim
>>>>>>>>>> Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 3:26 PM
>>>>>>>>>> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>>>>>>>>>> Subject: [nfb-talk] Bard
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Man, I just got one of those new digital book players from the
>>>>>>>>>> National Library Service.  You might wonder why a computer nerd
>>>>>>>>>> like
>>>>>>>>>> myself took so long to ask for one of those things. Well, I guess
>>>>>>>>>> mostly the reason is that I have 2 tape players that I bought
>>>>>>>>>> myself
>>>>>>>>>> plus the one from NLS. So now I have to use the player from the
>>>>>>>>>> NLS
>>>>>>>>>> all of the time.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> But holy cow, is this thing nice. I downloaded a book and put it
>>>>>>>>>> on
>>>>>>>>>> a USB thumb drive and was listening to a book amybe 3 minutes
>>>>>>>>>> after
>>>>>>>>>> getting started. And navigation within the book is very nice.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Your tax dollars at work.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>> nfb-talk mailing list
>>>>>>>>>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>> nfb-talk mailing list
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>>>>>>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>> nfb-talk mailing list
>>>>>>>>>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>> nfb-talk mailing list
>>>>>>>>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>> nfb-talk mailing list
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>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> nfb-talk mailing list
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> nfb-talk mailing list
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> nfb-talk mailing list
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> nfb-talk mailing list
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
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