[Oabs] Fwd: national convention assistance
Richard Payne
rchpay7 at gmail.com
Tue May 2 19:16:49 UTC 2017
Are any of you guys going to take part in the Columbus seminar? Richard
Payne NFBO President
-----Original Message-----
From: OABS [mailto:oabs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Elif Emir Öksüz via
OABS
Sent: Monday, May 1, 2017 9:10 PM
To: Ohio Association of Blind Students list <oabs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Elif Emir Öksüz <filerime at gmail.com>
Subject: [Oabs] Fwd: national convention assistance
See the application form from Richard at the end of the email.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ohio-talk-request at nfbnet.org
Date: Mon, 01 May 2017 12:00:04 +0000
Subject: Ohio-Talk Digest, Vol 111, Issue 1
To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
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Today's Topics:
1. What is community service? (Cheryl Fields)
2. Re: Check this out (Cheryl Fields)
3. Re: Why Are You a Federationist? | National Federation of the
Blind (Cheryl Fields)
4. Re: I am graduating! (Sheri Albers)
5. Re: I am graduating! (Sheri Albers)
6. Re: I am graduating! (Sheri Albers)
7. Re: I am graduating! (Sheri Albers)
8. Re: Great News (Sheri Albers)
9. Re: I am graduating! (Sheri Albers)
10. Re: [Cinci-nfb] I am graduating! (Sheri Albers)
11. Re: The Urgency of Optimism (Cheryl Fields)
12. NFBO 2017 national Convention Assistance Form (Richard Payne)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 15:41:24 -0400
From: Cheryl Fields <cherylelaine1957 at gmail.com>
To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Ohio-talk] What is community service?
Message-ID:
<CAMVkHWD_+L7Pjt7Mi2CJk9k7eqhu0vUiqLDYXtSqQp1VujGD2A at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Good DayOhio! The post below was sent to the Community Service
Division today. I wanted to share and know how others in Ohio feel
about this...Maybe, we can think of a service project to complete
collectibely during 2017 state convention...
Good Morning,
a few days ago we discussed the definition of community service in
general and specifically it?s definition as it relates to our
Community Service Division.
As it stands today, the purpose of the division is to encourage
blind people to serve in their community, either by themselves, with
their family, friends, chapter members, neighbors, etc.
If people don?t know where to start, the division helps them find
out where they can. If people are hesitant to start, the division
encourages them. If a person faces difficulty serving in their
community, the division does what it can to help the person through
it.
We are a division of the National Federation of the Blind, which
means we support the programs and policies of the NFB, and
consequently everything we do is based upon the foundational positive
philosophy of blindness that all of us in the NFB believe in. Another
words we believe that as blindness is not the characteristic that
defines us or our future, that blindness does not define or limit us
in the way we can use our talents and passions to give to the world we
were born into and live in. We have long held the belief that the
real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight, but that the
real problem of blindness is people?s attitudes and misconceptions
about blindness and blind people. We believe that blind people are as
normal as anyone else, having the same interests, likes, dislikes,
hobbies, desires and fears as anyone else. Our division believes
that serving in our communities is just the most logical step down
the path to true independence and equality in society, making this
not just a nice thing to do, but as essential to everything we do.
We believe that just as it is important for us to be out in the
public to protest discriminative practices, or out in force in the
halls of our legislature to let people know what we want and need,
that it is just as important to be out in our community, showing just
what we can do and be.
While service has the benefit of helping others first and foremost,
it also allows us the opportunity to teach and learn at the same
time. When we serve our community, we learn about issues we didn?t
know existed or of stories people share that might cause us to view
the world differently. There an also be tangible benefits. Through
national service programs such as AmeriCorps or teach for america, we
gain professional level skills that make us more attractive to
employers, life long connections and friendships and assistance to
help us through school. As a division we can bring these
opportunities with programs and organizations closer to our reach by
letting them know about our mission and those who share in the call to
service.
So at the end of the day, we want to not only encourage service ,
but to expand opportunities for blind people (individually and
collectively) to serve wherever the need to serve may be and where
their desires and interests lead them regardless of what society tells
us they can or can?t do.
Do you agree with this explanation? disagree?
what else comes to mind?
Darian
Darian Smith, President, National Federation of the Blind Community
Service Division via Community-Service<community-service at nfbnet.org
_______________________________________________
--
Wishing You All the Best,
Cheryl E. Fields
A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human
life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will
never sit.
--D. Elton Trueblood
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 17:15:53 -0400
From: Cheryl Fields <cherylelaine1957 at gmail.com>
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Check this out
Message-ID:
<CAMVkHWBXYUsyXVEo2_tTXDt9ictDuPq7wH6tD_qf+2Db9jAk1A at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Bravo! This is really something to think about and not avoid the
reality that we live in a sighted world.Making the decision to ask for
assistance or not can become tiring as I grow older, lol! The demo of
AIRA at the last board meeting was amazing!
Hey Eric, when I upgrade my flip phone maybe I'll get AIRA, lol! Make
this a great day! Cheryl
On 4/27/17, Richard Payne via Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
>
> <https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm17/bm1704/bm170405.htm>
> ICYMI
> From the Braille Monitor:"What Do We Really Think of Sight?"
>
> In "What Do We Really Think of Sight?", Eric Duffy discusses the extreme
> emphasis that was placed on sight by the family who loves him, his own
> journey to learn and use nonvisual techniques, and his awareness that
there
> must be a merging of alternative techniques and visual ones to live the
> life
> he wants. To read this article and others, visit the
> <https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm17/bm1704/bm1704tc.htm>
April
> Braille Monitor
>
> What Do We Really Think of Sight?
>
> by Eric Duffy
>
> From the Editor: Eric Duffy currently works for the New Jersey Commission
> for the Blind and Visually Impaired as a technological support specialist.
> He is a former affiliate president, having recently served as the
president
> of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio.
>
> Many of us have come from backgrounds in which we were more dependent on
> vision than we now consider comfortable or necessary. We value the
> alternative techniques that give us independence, still realizing that
from
> time to time we need the help of people with sight or, as is becoming more
> and more possible, the use of visually aware devices to help us. For some
> people this creates an internal conflict-how dependent must I be on
vision?
> When am I using vision when I could rely on the nonvisual techniques I've
> worked so hard to master and to offer to other blind people as a way to
> become independent.
>
> In this article, Eric Duffy discusses the extreme emphasis that was placed
> on sight by the family who loves him, his own journey to learn and use
> nonvisual techniques, and his awareness that in a balanced life there must
> be a merging of alternative techniques and visual ones to live the life he
> wants. Here is what he says:
>
> At times in our lives many of us have had to consider how much we value
> sight. Sometimes we ask ourselves this question because of an experience
we
> have had, and sometimes we ask because of a development in the medical or
> technology fields. Most recently I have found myself pondering this
> question
> because of a visual interpreting service offered by Aira.
>
> Through a special pair of glasses or the camera on a smartphone, one can
> connect to a live agent who is looking at a computer screen and who can
see
> exactly what the camera on the glasses or phone can see. During an Aira
> session the agent also has access to GPS on the user's phone, Google maps,
> and more.
>
> Shortly before sitting down to work on this article, I went to a store
that
> I had not been to before. I bought some storage bowls for my home and a
> coffeemaker for my son. That was the first time I have gone to a store and
> shopped without the assistance of a family member, friend, or store
> employee. How did I do it? I did it with the help of an Aira agent of
> course.
>
> I first heard about Aira at the 2016 National Convention of the National
> Federation of the Blind, where I saw a demonstration of the service. At
> that
> point I asked myself what I would be saying about me and blindness in
> general if I began using such a service. How would using it fit into my
own
> beliefs about blindness and my understanding of the philosophy of the
> National Federation of the Blind, which are very much one and the same?
> These two questions and the questions of several of my friends forced me
to
> examine closely my attitudes about blindness.
>
> So I asked myself how much I value sight. In large part the answer defines
> how I feel about blindness. I was one of eight children and the only one
> with a disability. I had very limited functional vision as a child. I did
> what I could to learn colors and to identify as many things as I could
> using
> that vision.
>
> When I accurately identified colors, my parents were happy because I could
> see. When I misidentified colors or objects, I could hear the
> disappointment
> in their voices. They weren't disappointed with me; they were disappointed
> because I couldn't see. That told me how much they valued sight. I went to
> an endless series of specialists in Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York
City,
> New Orleans, and too many cities to remember in Ohio, which is where I
grew
> up. Although my mom didn't like to drive in big cities, she would do it if
> she had to in order to get me to an eye doctor. That told me how much she
> wanted me to see. Sight was quite valuable to her.
>
> As a child I loved McDonald's. If I got close enough, I could see the
> McDonald's Golden Arches. One night as we were traveling in the car, my
> little sister asked if we could stop at McDonald's. My parents said they
> might stop at the next one they saw. My sister was quick to point out the
> next one that she saw, but my dad did not stop. I told my sister just to
> elbow me gently the next time she saw a McDonald's sign, and she happily
> agreed. When she not-so-gently elbowed me, I excitedly said, "There, I see
> it. I see McDonald's!" We stopped at that McDonald's.
>
> On more than one occasion as a child, I found my mother crying. She told
me
> that she was sad because I couldn't see. She said that she often prayed
and
> asked God to let me see even if she had to sacrifice her sight so that I
> might see. I learned how steep a price she would pay in order for me to
> see.
>
>
> In junior high school I lost the little bit of vision I had. A doctor told
> my parents and me that he could remove a cataract and perform a cornea
> transplant and that I would get some vision back if he did so. My mom
> thought that the eyes were too close to the brain to take such a risk, so
I
> learned that she feared my losing my life or something else happening to
me
> and that her desire to keep me safe was greater than my having sight.
>
> What did I think? I wanted to have the surgery. I knew what my parents
> thought about blindness. I knew that even at the Ohio State School for the
> Blind those who had some vision were expected to do things and allowed to
> do
> things that the totally blind students were not. I knew how valuable sight
> was.
>
> How does all of this relate to Aira? When walking into a crowded room,
most
> blind people I know don't think twice about taking directions from someone
> with sight when looking for an empty seat. Getting assistance from someone
> with sight is the only practical way to do shopping. How many of us take
> the
> elbow of a sighted person (or for that matter even a blind person with
> usable vision) when walking through a noisy and crowded room? How many of
> us
> are willing to accept sighted assistance when going through a buffet line?
> Most of us need sighted assistance when at a restaurant that does not
offer
> Braille menus. Many of us have at one time or another paid readers.
>
> Many of us use apps on our smartphones to identify currency. There is an
> app
> that will let us know if the lights in a room are on or off. Working with
> our friend and colleague Ray Kurzweil, the National Federation of the
Blind
> has developed an app that enables us to read the printed word, the KNFB
> Reader. To do these things we rely on the cameras on our phones and
> artificial intelligence. In short, we rely on artificial vision. Yet none
> of
> us question whether or not we should use these apps, and I think that is
> the
> way it should be.
>
> Recently I called Aira and asked them to perform a relatively simple task
> on
> the internet for me. A friend asked me why someone with my technology
> skills
> would use Aira to do something that simple. My answer was immediate:
> "Because I could." I said we both know that we have the skills and
> confidence to walk to some of the places to which we wish to travel, but
we
> also have the ability to use buses and trains. We could ask someone to
> drive
> us. We could in fact hire someone to drive us in a taxi. In fact we
usually
> find it more convenient and less expensive to use one of those new-fangled
> ride-sharing services such as Lyft and Uber. All of these solutions insert
> sighted people and technology between us and walking to our destination.
>
> After completing my shopping trip today, I told my son and Claire, the
Aira
> agent, how happy I was to do my shopping without assistance from those
> around me. However, after discovering that I had left my iPhone in the
Uber
> vehicle, I was delighted to have my sighted son go and retrieve it for me.
> I
> could have done it, but it was more convenient and less expensive for him
> to
> do it.
>
> Aira provides sight assistance only when you request it. It is available
> when you need it, and there is no waiting until later when it is more
> convenient for someone to provide the visual information you have
> requested.
> Aira has not made me more dependent on sight; rather, it has changed the
> way
> I do some things. As far as I am concerned, this is a change for the
> better.
>
>
> Media Share
>
>
>
>
--
Wishing You All the Best,
Cheryl E. Fields
A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human
life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will
never sit.
--D. Elton Trueblood
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 17:23:17 -0400
From: Cheryl Fields <cherylelaine1957 at gmail.com>
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Why Are You a Federationist? | National
Federation of the Blind
Message-ID:
<CAMVkHWD0DE+AKk02ZO+U6YWhoZ6N93edio1t-9a0pyPqp--tWA at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Love this! I am hoping to read more comments soon, it is so empowering.
I am a Federationist because all of you give me courage and
confidence!Thanks for being here!
Blessings, Cheryl
On 4/27/17, Richard Payne via Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/why-are-you-federationist
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ohio-Talk mailing list
> Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Ohio-Talk:
>
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/cherylelaine1957%40gm
ail.com
>
--
Wishing You All the Best,
Cheryl E. Fields
A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human
life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will
never sit.
--D. Elton Trueblood
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 20:12:56 -0400
From: "Sheri Albers" <sheri.albers87 at gmail.com>
To: "'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'"
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Message-ID: <04b901d2c20f$afee1740$0fca45c0$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Thank you so much, Carolyn!
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Carolyn
Peters via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2017 9:45 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
Cc: Carolyn Peters
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Sent from my iPhone
> On Apr 28, 2017, at 3:14 PM, Suzanne Turner via Ohio-Talk hello Sheri
Congratulations and kudos to you
Dr. Carolyn Peters
> <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Congratulations!
>
> Suzanne
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Sheri Albers via Ohio-Talk
> Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2017 7:35 PM
> To: NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List <cinci-nfb at nfbnet.org>; NFB of
> Ohio Announcement and Discussion List <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sheri Albers <sheri.albers87 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
>
> Hello NFBO,
>
> For anyone who has been trying to get in touch with me recently, I
> want to let you know that, I have been underground getting my final
> projects and exams completed for my last semester at the University of
> Cincinnati. I will be graduating on Saturday April 29, Magna Cum
> Laude, with a bachelor degree in Substance Abuse Counseling. This has
> been an incredibly long and painful journey that began in the spring of
2013. Let the job hunting begin!
>
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Sheri Albers, Vice President
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
> 513.886.8697
>
> Sheri.albers87 at gmail.com
>
>
>
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create
> obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life
> you want; blindness is not what holds you back.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ohio-Talk mailing list
> Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Ohio-Talk:
>
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/smturner.234%40gmail.
> com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ohio-Talk mailing list
> Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Ohio-Talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/drcarolyn-peter
> s%40att.net
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l.com
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 20:15:08 -0400
From: "Sheri Albers" <sheri.albers87 at gmail.com>
To: "'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'"
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Message-ID: <04bb01d2c20f$fe6dc370$fb494a50$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Thank you Suzanne.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Suzanne
Turner via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2017 3:14 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'
Cc: Suzanne Turner
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Congratulations!
Suzanne
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sheri
Albers via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2017 7:35 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List <cinci-nfb at nfbnet.org>; NFB of Ohio
Announcement and Discussion List <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sheri Albers <sheri.albers87 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Hello NFBO,
For anyone who has been trying to get in touch with me recently, I want to
let you know that, I have been underground getting my final projects and
exams completed for my last semester at the University of Cincinnati. I will
be graduating on Saturday April 29, Magna Cum Laude, with a bachelor degree
in Substance Abuse Counseling. This has been an incredibly long and painful
journey that began in the spring of 2013. Let the job hunting begin!
Best Regards,
Sheri Albers, Vice President
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
513.886.8697
Sheri.albers87 at gmail.com
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.
_______________________________________________
Ohio-Talk mailing list
Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Ohio-Talk:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/smturner.234%40gmail.
com
_______________________________________________
Ohio-Talk mailing list
Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Ohio-Talk:
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l.com
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 20:19:04 -0400
From: "Sheri Albers" <sheri.albers87 at gmail.com>
To: "'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'"
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Message-ID: <04ca01d2c210$8b266420$a1732c60$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Thank you Delcenia, I appreciate it.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Delcenia
via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2017 8:33 AM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'
Cc: Delcenia
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Congratulations Sheri! Good luck in your job search.
Delcenia
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sheri
Albers via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2017 7:35 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List <cinci-nfb at nfbnet.org>; NFB of Ohio
Announcement and Discussion List <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sheri Albers <sheri.albers87 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Hello NFBO,
For anyone who has been trying to get in touch with me recently, I want to
let you know that, I have been underground getting my final projects and
exams completed for my last semester at the University of Cincinnati. I will
be graduating on Saturday April 29, Magna Cum Laude, with a bachelor degree
in Substance Abuse Counseling. This has been an incredibly long and painful
journey that began in the spring of 2013. Let the job hunting begin!
Best Regards,
Sheri Albers, Vice President
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
513.886.8697
Sheri.albers87 at gmail.com
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.
_______________________________________________
Ohio-Talk mailing list
Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Ohio-Talk:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/delcenia%40prodigy.ne
t
_______________________________________________
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l.com
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 20:21:22 -0400
From: "Sheri Albers" <sheri.albers87 at gmail.com>
To: "'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'"
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Message-ID: <04cc01d2c210$dda72630$98f57290$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Thank you Lisa!
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lisa Hall
via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2017 1:37 AM
To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Lisa Hall
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Hi Sheri,
Congratulation on your degree and good luck on job hunting.
I guess I won't be seeing you at our chapter meeting since that might
conflict with graduation time. I'm happy for you.
Sincerely,
Lisa Hall, Vice President
NFB of Greater Cincinnati
_______________________________________________
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Message: 8
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 21:26:46 -0400
From: "Sheri Albers" <sheri.albers87 at gmail.com>
To: "'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'"
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Great News
Message-ID: <055a01d2c21a$00578680$01069380$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
That is wonderful news Kaiti. Enjoy!
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti
Shelton via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2017 1:59 PM
To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Kaiti Shelton
Subject: [Ohio-talk] Great News
Hi all,
A while ago I mentioned that I was looking into an internship in Cleveland,
and I am pleased to say that I got the position. I will be One of two music
therapy interns at The Music Settlement from August of this year through
June 2018 to complete my 900 hour internship. I will be on a school-based
track at the Euclid early learning center and other schools in the
surrounding area, and the other intern will be serving adults on a mental
health track.
I'm very excited for this opportunity, and it seems like the staff members I
will be working with are very willing and open to providing reasonable
accommodations. They even managed to find some braille music for my sight
reading test, which was a part of my audition. Coming from the last
interview, which made me think that my blindness was what kept me from
getting a slot rather than my skills, The audition process went great and
I'm looking forward to working there. Now, the challenge is to find
affordable housing.
I may be in touch about the internship in the future. I saw Robby's post
about testing, and have some similar concerns about the certification exam I
will need to take when my internship is done. I will need to have a reader
of some sorts there to facilitate the music reading section of the exam, as
I have to demonstrate that I know print music since most of my clients will
be cited, but aside from having someone there to make tactile
representations of musical examples so I can answer the questions, I really
don't need a reader or scribe and would like to use a computer. I think part
of this has to do with the way companies you specific forms and scoring
methods, but I also think that is no excuse and something else needs to be
done after the decision about the Barr exam.
Thanks for helping to answer my questions on transportation. I am looking
forward to joining the Cleveland folks in August, Kaiti.
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Message: 9
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 21:29:28 -0400
From: "Sheri Albers" <sheri.albers87 at gmail.com>
To: "'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'"
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Message-ID: <05a401d2c21a$60f56980$22e03c80$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Thank you Cheryl, I like that!
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Cheryl Fields via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2017 8:19 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
Cc: Cheryl Fields
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
Sheri,Congratulations!
Don?t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet,
fight for a seat at the head of the table.
Barack Obama to Barnard College in 2012
On 4/28/17, Suzanne Turner via Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Congratulations!
>
> Suzanne
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Sheri Albers via Ohio-Talk
> Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2017 7:35 PM
> To: NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List <cinci-nfb at nfbnet.org>; NFB of
> Ohio Announcement and Discussion List <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sheri Albers <sheri.albers87 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Ohio-talk] I am graduating!
>
> Hello NFBO,
>
> For anyone who has been trying to get in touch with me recently, I
> want to let you know that, I have been underground getting my final
> projects and exams completed for my last semester at the University of
> Cincinnati. I will be graduating on Saturday April 29, Magna Cum
> Laude, with a bachelor degree in Substance Abuse Counseling. This has
> been an incredibly long and painful journey that began in the spring
> of 2013. Let the job hunting begin!
>
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Sheri Albers, Vice President
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
> 513.886.8697
>
> Sheri.albers87 at gmail.com
>
>
>
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create
> obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life
> you want; blindness is not what holds you back.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org
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> Ohio-Talk:
>
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> com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> 7%40gmail.com
>
--
Wishing You All the Best,
Cheryl E. Fields
A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human
life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will
never sit.
--D. Elton Trueblood
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------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 21:32:07 -0400
From: "Sheri Albers" <sheri.albers87 at gmail.com>
To: "'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'"
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] [Cinci-nfb] I am graduating!
Message-ID: <05a601d2c21a$bfd98e90$3f8cabb0$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Thank you Kaiti! I will do my best.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti
Shelton via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2017 11:12 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
Cc: Kaiti Shelton
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] [Cinci-nfb] I am graduating!
Hi Sherri,
Congratulations! There are many clients who will be lucky to have you as
their counselor.
Kaiti Shelton
> On Apr 27, 2017, at 7:46 PM, Dave Perry via Ohio-Talk
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Congratulations!
> Wishing you the best regarding your job search!
>
> Thanks!
>
> Dave Perry,
>
>> On Apr 27, 2017, at 8:35 PM, Sheri Albers via Cinci-nfb
<cinci-nfb at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Hello NFBO,
>> For anyone who has been trying to get in touch with me recently, I want
to let you know that, I have been underground getting my final projects and
exams completed for my last semester at the University of Cincinnati. I will
be graduating on Saturday April 29, Magna Cum Laude, with a bachelor degree
in Substance Abuse Counseling. This has been an incredibly long and painful
journey that began in the spring of 2013. Let the job hunting begin!
>>
>> Best Regards,
>> Sheri Albers, Vice President
>> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>> 513.886.8697
>> Sheri.albers87 at gmail.com
>>
>> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Cinci-nfb mailing list
>> Cinci-nfb at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/cinci-nfb_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Cinci-nfb:
>>
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com
> _______________________________________________
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> Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org
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.com
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------------------------------
Message: 11
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 23:39:04 -0400
From: Cheryl Fields <cherylelaine1957 at gmail.com>
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] The Urgency of Optimism
Message-ID:
<CAMVkHWBe864PCuMKcGZzYEbPYqF07+aAvtoC2DKQ4srrkVeJpQ at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Jordy, I just read this article and it is really great. Thanks for
sharing... Blessings, Cheryl
On 3/12/17, Jordy Stringer via Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> For your convenience.
>
>
> Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed
is
> always to try just one more time.
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Jordy Stringer <jordystringer83 at gmail.com>
>> Date: February 27, 2017 at 3:18:03 PM EST
>> To: n8tnv at att.net
>> Subject: The Urgency of Optimism
>>
>> The Urgency of Optimism
>> As promised
>> An Address Delivered by
>> Marc Maurer
>> at the Banquet of the Annual Convention
>> of the National Federation of the Blind
>>
>>
>>
>> Much has been written about the balance between optimism and
>> pessimism?as if these two approaches to living were opposite, mutually
>> exclusive but equally viable methods of thought.
>>
>> McLandburgh Wilson said:
>> Twixt the optimist and the pessimist
>> The difference is droll:
>> The optimist sees the doughnut
>> But the pessimist sees the hole.
>>
>> Frederick Langbridge said,
>> ?Two men look out the same prison bars:
>> One sees mud and the other stars.?
>>
>> However, some imaginative thinkers have suggested that optimism is not
>> simply a way of looking at a set of circumstances, but a positive
>> element of power.
>>
>> William James said, ?Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.?
>>
>> Nicholas Murray Butler said, ?Optimism is essential to achievement,
>> and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.?
>>
>> Colin Powell said, ?Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.?
>>
>> For optimism to be an element in the acquisition of power, it must be
>> more than a cheerful cast of countenance. Rather it must consist in a
>> commitment to bringing into being a future containing elements of
>> possibility that have not been a part of the past. Optimism and
>> reality may (properly understood) be inseparable. If reality signifies
>> all that has currently been created, this measure of existence is
>> frozen in time. If, on the other hand, reality denotes both that which
>> has been built and that which can be brought into being, the potential
>> for growth encompasses a much more magnificent formulation of life
>> than would otherwise be comprehensible. In other words, the grandest
>> understanding of reality incorporates the optimistic anticipation of
>> innovative thought, and it also implies commitment and effort.
>>
>> Anais Nin said, ?Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the
>> actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the
>> highest form of living.?
>>
>> Douglas Everett said, ?There are some people who live in a dream
>> world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those
>> who turn one into the other.?
>>
>> Although a goodly number of Americans have been pessimistic (Henry
>> David Thoreau said, ?Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go
>> to the grave with the song still in them.?), ours is an optimistic
>> nation. We have traditionally held the view that we could conquer the
>> frontier, govern our futures, or invent the tools for our own success.
>> There is even an American expression for this faith??Yankee
>> ingenuity.?
>>
>> Just as individuals have a life cycle, the theorists tell us that
>> organizations do. They are established; they grow; they mature; they
>> prosper for a time; and they cease to exist. At least a part of the
>> reason for the continued existence of an organization depends on its
>> optimism. Every organization must possess a purpose and the faith that
>> the purpose can be achieved. When that faith dissipates, the
>> organization dwindles, becomes dormant, and ceases to be.
>>
>> As we have observed in the National Federation of the Blind,
>> leadership is one vital element of progress. As an organization must
>> have faith in its future, the leaders of the organization must be
>> optimistic. Pessimism signifies atrophy. Operating the same old
>> program in the same old way will not encourage growth. Optimism and an
>> openness to imagination must be a part of the leadership. Every
>> organization is faced with the same imperative: build or wither, grow
>> or die. The openness to imaginative thought and the faith to believe
>> that better, more effective programs can be created are part of the
>> spirit of the National Federation of the Blind.
>>
>> Reflections on optimism and discussions about blindness are rarely
>> found in the same place. People who write or speak about blindness
>> often grieve, sometimes weep, and frequently employ the most dismal
>> descriptive words to signify the potential for blind people. It is
>> extraordinarily rare for somebody to write or think, ?Oh good, a whole
>> bunch of blind people!? In fact, a convention of blind people is, in
>> the minds of many, an anomaly?almost a contradiction in terms. At
>> conventions people are supposed to have fun. But, if most of the
>> people at the convention are blind, how ineffably dismal could this
>> be? Adding one miserable life to another in thousands of iterations
>> simply magnifies the horror of it all. Blind people who are optimistic
>> about their future?they must be deluded or liars. How could any
>> substantial group of people wake every day facing the disadvantages
>> that blindness brings and at the same time maintain optimism in their
>> hearts? Is there any group so na?ve as to take this position?
>>
>> Well, one group of this character does exist. We have created it. It
>> is the most powerful force ever established in the field of work with
>> the blind in the United States, and it has a purpose that will not be
>> abridged or thwarted or denied. That purpose is hard to achieve but
>> simple to proclaim?it is that the blind will have recognition, that we
>> will be known for the vital human beings we are with all of the
>> talent, the energy, and the joy that we possess?that equality must and
>> will be ours. The organization we have created, the organization that
>> carries this banner, the organization with the optimistic drive to
>> change our lives for all time is the National Federation of the Blind.
>>
>> Some people depict the blind as unemployed, isolated, frequently
>> uneducated, and beset with characteristics denoting inability. The
>> assertion that this summation is reality is made by some of those
>> dealing with programming for the blind. A senior official of the
>> Department of Education responsible for rehabilitation of the blind
>> said within the last few years that the 70 percent unemployment rate
>> for blind people has remained unchanged for decades.
>>
>> Why, I wondered, has this figure remained so high? Do blind people not
>> want to work? Are blind people lazy, lackadaisical loafers who are
>> turning down good jobs so that they can continue to receive government
>> benefits, or has the system failed? Are rehabilitation programs
>> unequal to the challenge? Are the programs conducted by the Department
>> of Education unproductive? Is the 70 percent unemployment rate for
>> blind people an indication of a lack of leadership?
>>
>> ?Not on your life,? said this high official in the Department of
>> Education. ?This rate of unemployment is an indicator that blind
>> people cannot achieve success unless they are among the most talented
>> 30 percent of the blind in society. Continuing to spend money on
>> programming for the blind,? he said, ?is a waste of state and federal
>> resources.? Rehabilitation for blind clients costs more than
>> rehabilitation for those with other disabilities. Therefore
>> specialized programs for the blind should be eliminated because they
>> cost too much. Never mind that these programs produce positive
>> results, create tax savings by limiting the number of people receiving
>> federal and state support, and bring trained and talented blind people
>> into the workforce. They should be eliminated because they cost too
>> much, he told me. This federal official in the Department of Education
>> gave up on 70 percent of the clients assigned to the programs he is
>> expected to supervise. He thinks that handing out government benefit
>> checks to blind people is better than training them to work for their
>> own lives. With such an attitude, with such a failure of optimism,
>> with such a lack of faith in the clients the Department of Education
>> is expected to serve, it is not the least bit surprising that the
>> programs of this department are failing.
>>
>> Sometimes it appears that certain officials of the Department of
>> Education are seeking to punish the blind for demanding equality.
>> Sometimes it appears that these officials are saying, ?You can demand
>> equality if you want to, but if you do, we will cut funds from your
>> programs. If you do as we say?if you behave as we require?if you are
>> docile, subservient, properly grateful blind people?we will grant you
>> a modicum of support. However, if you want to be pushy, obnoxious, and
>> uppity; if you want to be demanding and insistent, you will be sorry.?
>>
>> Fortunately, though the Department of Education is responsible for
>> making policies regarding programs it conducts, it has no power to
>> make policy for the blind. We of the National Federation of the Blind
>> determine our own policy and create our own destiny. Those who serve
>> in government are responsible to the people who put them there, not
>> the other way around. The blind of the nation have a right, perhaps
>> even a duty, to examine the performance of the officials who are
>> selected to conduct the programs to serve us. Those public officials
>> are responsible to us to demonstrate that they have served well enough
>> to continue to remain in office, and we demand an accounting.
>>
>> At the time of the founding of the National Federation of the Blind in
>> 1940, almost no blind people in America were employed. By the late
>> 1950s estimates were that 3 or 4 percent of the blind of the nation
>> had jobs. By the mid-1970s this estimate had increased to 30 percent.
>> In certain programs the number of blind people who receive employment
>> after training is above 80 percent, and some approach 90 percent. What
>> makes these programs successful? They listen to the blind; they are
>> responsive to the needs and wishes of blind people; they learn from
>> the organized blind movement; they form partnerships with the most
>> powerful entity dealing with blindness in the nation. Do officials in
>> the Department of Education know these facts? Do they care? Have they
>> studied the factors that are part of the success for the most
>> productive programs?
>>
>> Those who believe that inability or isolation or dismal despair
>> describe our lives do not know us and cannot speak for us. We are the
>> blind, and we will make our own way and live our own lives. We will do
>> it with the support and encouragement of those who understand the
>> reality we face. We will welcome partners from government or private
>> programs for the blind who have the faith to believe in us. We will
>> conduct our activities with the fundamental faith that blindness
>> cannot inhibit our progress and with the optimism to know that we can
>> face whatever obstacle may come. But above all else we will build our
>> own future, and nothing on earth can stop us!
>>
>> One of the elements necessary to the public acceptance of the blind as
>> equals in society is a correct understanding of what blind people are.
>> How are the blind perceived almost a decade into the twenty-first
>> century?
>>
>> A report circulated by Fox News in May of this year describes an
>> incident in which a blind man was refused the opportunity to ride on a
>> roller coaster because of blindness. The report says that the blind
>> man had already ridden the roller coaster three times that day. When
>> the owner of the amusement park discovered that the blind man was
>> seeking a fourth ride, management refused. Management personnel said
>> that safety requires a person to assume certain positions during a
>> roller coaster ride. These positions can be anticipated only by those
>> who can see well enough during the course of the ride that they can
>> anticipate the twists and drop-offs before they happen. Furthermore,
>> if the roller coaster were to malfunction, management said, a blind
>> person could not easily escape from the contraption without danger.
>>
>> The denial of the opportunity to participate in the experience of
>> riding a roller coaster is an example of the idiocy that blind people
>> often face. The blind man in question had already ridden the roller
>> coaster three times without incident or injury. The owner of the
>> amusement park ignored the evidence. He had already decided that blind
>> people were not welcome. Evidence was irrelevant.
>>
>> Of course evidence is not required from the sighted. If sighted people
>> need not provide any evidence of their capacity to ride, blind people
>> should not be expected to provide it either. Nevertheless, the
>> evidence was there. Consequently, this is a case in which double
>> discrimination has taken place. I am pleased to say that we in the
>> National Federation of the Blind assisted in giving this case the
>> publicity it deserved, and the amusement park owner has changed his
>> mind. The blind are welcome to ride.
>>
>> In 1997 the Portuguese Nobel Prize winning author Jos? Saramago
>> released the English version of his novel, entitled Blindness. The
>> premise in this book is that the members of society become blind
>> unexpectedly, totally, irreparably, and instantly. The description of
>> society as an increasing number of its members become blind is one of
>> filth, greed, perversion, and vice. Blind people are depicted as
>> unbelievably incapable of everything, including finding the way to the
>> bathroom or the shower. Saramago wants a world view that serves to
>> offer an allegory for the worst description he can possibly imagine.
>> He selects blindness as his metaphor for all that is bad in human
>> thought and action. He describes the blind as having every negative
>> trait of humanity and none of the positive ones. He argues that this
>> is an allegory for a picture of the reality of the world today. The
>> book was used as the basis for a movie of the same name, which has
>> been shown at the Cannes film festival this spring. The only positive
>> element to the release of this film is the almost universal reaction
>> of the critics that it is a failure.
>>
>> The depiction of the blind in this movie is fundamentally flawed for
>> two reasons. First, blindness does not denote the characteristics the
>> author attributes to it. The capabilities of those who become blind
>> remain essentially the same after they lose vision as they were before
>> they lost it. Although the loss of any major asset (including vision)
>> will bring a measure of sadness to some and despair to a few, it will
>> also stimulate others to assert their will. Blindness can be a
>> devastating loss, but it also has the power to galvanize some to
>> action. The reaction to blindness is not the least bit
>> one-dimensional. Therefore the description is false.
>>
>> In addition to this, the viciousness attributed to the blind is
>> inconsistent with the assertion of incapacity. Viciousness demands
>> both venality and ability?at least organized viciousness does. To say
>> that the blind are completely incompetent and to assert that they have
>> the ability to organize for the pursuit of vice is a contradiction in
>> terms.
>>
>> But leave the internal inconsistency. The charge that loss of vision
>> creates a personality alteration of sordid and criminal character is
>> in itself sordid and defamatory to an entire class of human beings. To
>> give a man who writes such foolishness the Nobel Prize for Literature
>> belittles what has often been regarded as a prestigious award. For as
>> long as I can remember, certain comedians have thought it good sport
>> to make fun of the blind, and as pernicious as this may be, most
>> authors have not sought to make us objects of fear and revulsion.
>>
>> The description in Blindness is wrong?completely, unutterably,
>> irretrievably, immeasurably wrong. That such falsity should be
>> regarded as good literature is revolting and amazing. We know the
>> reality of blindness, we know the pain it can bring, we know the joy
>> that can come from correcting the misinformation about it, and we are
>> prepared to act on our own behalf. We will not let Jos? Saramago
>> represent us, for he does not speak the truth. He does not write of
>> joy or the optimism of building a society worth calling our own. We
>> do, and we will.
>>
>> On November 13, 2007, an article appeared in USA Today entitled,
>> ?Blinded by War: Injuries Send Troops into Darkness,? which describes
>> the incidence of eye injuries to military personnel facing enemy
>> combatants in Iraq and Afghanistan. This article indicates that
>> current conditions for combat cause a higher proportion of injuries to
>> the eye than in previous conflicts. Though the article is quite
>> sympathetic to the troops who are blinded, it contains a reiteration
>> of many of the myths and stereotypes that have inhibited progress for
>> the blind during the course of recorded history. Brief portrayals of
>> the lives of three soldiers are part of this writing.
>>
>> Here are excerpts from the article: ?About 70 percent of all sensory
>> perception is through vision, says R. Cameron VanRoekel, an army major
>> and staff optometrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in
>> Washington. As a result the families of visually impaired soldiers
>> wrestle with a contradiction: The wounded often have hard-driving
>> personalities that have helped them succeed in the military. Now
>> dependent on others, they find it difficult to accept help.?
>>
>> I interrupt to say that though the army major may not know it, blind
>> people do not necessarily lead lives of dependency, some blind people
>> have hard-driving personalities, and the old story about visual
>> perception being the primary method of learning is a myth of long
>> standing but little credence. However, there are other pieces to the
>> article.
>>
>> ?Even now, more than a year after her husband?s return from Iraq,?
>> [the article continues] ?Connie Acosta is taken aback to find her home
>> dark after sunset, the lights off as if no one is there. Then she
>> finds him?sitting in their Santa Fe Springs, California, house,
>> listening to classic rock. Sgt. Maj. Jesse Acosta was blinded in a
>> mortar attack twenty-two months ago. He doesn?t need the lights. That
>> realization often makes Connie cry. ?You kind of never get used to the
>> fact that he really can?t see,? she says. ?He has no light in his life
>> at all.??
>>
>> Again I interrupt. If the article is merely reporting that this
>> soldier is blind, I would have no argument with the fact. However,
>> more is implied than the fact of blindness. The meaning is much
>> broader and much more devastating. The spiritual, the poetic, the
>> inspirational, the romantic aspects of life are no more for this
>> combat victim, implies USA Today. Of course USA Today is only a
>> newspaper. Its reporters have no extensive experience with blindness,
>> and its editors have not studied in this realm or learned what reality
>> is for the blind. Personnel at the newspaper have lived with the myth
>> of deprivation, and this is what they report. They cannot comprehend
>> that something else might be at least as important.
>>
>> Is it really fair to say for those of us who are blind that we ?have
>> no light in our lives at all? with all of the unspoken implications
>> contained in this phrase? Is sight essential for poetry? Can there be
>> no inspiration without the visual sense? Is romance a thing of the
>> past? Is the song of the spirit only a faint echo in the lives of
>> blind people when compared with that robust clamor which thrills the
>> inner being of the sighted? When blindness comes, does it invariably
>> signify meaningless emptiness? This is what the article would have us
>> believe. Consider what the reporter says. ?Nothing in the house can be
>> moved [the article continues]; he?s memorized the location of every
>> chair and table.?
>>
>> The final segment of the article poignantly sums up the grief. This is
>> what it says: ?The only good news for now is when he sleeps, Castro
>> says. ?I?ve had dreams where I know I?m blind and, guess what? I?ve
>> regained my vision,? he says. Reality floods back each morning.
>> ?There?s not a night that I don?t pray and ask God, when I wake up,
>> that I wake up seeing.??
>> This is the report from USA Today about the prospects for blinded
>> veterans. The only good news is the dream of waking up seeing;
>> everything else is bad. To imagine a life consisting in its primary
>> elements of waiting from the time of each waking moment for the next
>> hour when sleep can be coaxed to disguise the reality of daily
>> existence with a dream world is to accept despair. What we say to this
>> soldier, to USA Today, and to all human beings who have become blind
>> is: ?Don?t you believe it!? Your reporter has missed the good news.
>> Blindness is indeed a loss, but it is the loss of sight only, not the
>> loss of the ability to live. Nobody can give us hope unasked, and
>> nobody can create for us the kind of spirit that will give meaning to
>> what we do or who we are. However, the hope is abundantly available
>> for those who seek it; the joy is part of the world we can build; and
>> the future is as bright with promise as any imagination that exists or
>> has ever existed. This is what our experience has demonstrated; this
>> is what we know; and this is the story that should have been reported.
>>
>> Incidentally, I get a little tired of the argument that 70 percent or
>> 80 percent or 83 percent or 90 percent of all information comes
>> through the eye. The implication is always that, although blind people
>> have some information, we have only 30 percent or 20 percent or 17
>> percent or 10 percent of that which all other people have. This is
>> false, and I find myself annoyed with the necessity of responding to
>> this idiotic notion repeatedly.
>>
>> I am told that the beginning of this argument came from an
>> advertisement in 1923 put together by Thomas Edison. He was trying to
>> sell film projectors to school systems. In an effort to sell his
>> projectors, he said that ?83 percent of all knowledge comes through
>> the eye.? I wish he had found a better way to sell projectors. Though
>> I presume sighted people might learn 70 percent of all they know by
>> using their eyes, I also recognize that this is not the only way to
>> learn. All of us learn through such senses as we have, and we learn
>> through using such mental capacity as we possess. Sense impression is
>> necessary for learning, but it is only one element in the process.
>> Identifying and manipulating information involves pattern recognition.
>> Sometimes visual observation helps in recognizing patterns, but other
>> ways to recognize them also exist, and imagination is at least as
>> valuable.
>>
>> Even though I have been thinking seriously about the subject of
>> blindness for almost forty years, I am still amazed by some of the
>> things that people believe about blindness. When I read articles like
>> this one, I think to myself, ?Did you say that, did you really say
>> that, how could you say such things about the blind?? Can you really
>> think that our lives are meaningless, or empty, or without romance or
>> poetry or passion? Have you observed any of us for more than a moment?
>> Do you know the struggle that we face to gain recognition for our
>> talent? Have you heard the ripple of our laughter or the cadence of
>> the song we sing? If you believe that romance and passion are possible
>> only through the eye, your experience lacks perspective and
>> imagination. Love, joy, a fascination with the arts and sciences,
>> exploration of the unknown, and the unquenchable determination to
>> build a better life for ourselves and for others?these we claim as
>> belonging to us, belonging to the human spirit which is ours. In your
>> reporting you have not included these factors as a part of our lives,
>> but we know that we possess capacity, and we will not let you forget
>> it.
>>
>> To give perspective to the thought of blind people and romance,
>> consider the testimony of a Federation member who, as a college
>> project, decided to find out how blind people fall in love. Here is a
>> portion of the notice that this student distributed to a number of
>> blind people in the Northeast:
>>
>> This year I am a senior, and I will be working on an honors thesis
>> investigating the attraction and courtship process for individuals
>> without sight. The purpose of this project is to explore ways in which
>> blind individuals use senses other than sight in choosing partners and
>> in maintaining intimate relationships.
>>
>> It is argued that sight is the most important factor in how people
>> fall in love. What about those of us who lack the benefit of eye
>> contact and visual cues? I want to explore the roles of other senses
>> in the process of falling in love. This question is of great personal
>> interest to me because I was able to experience ?love at first sight?
>> when I met my future husband, despite the fact that I could not rely
>> on my sense of sight. I am very interested in investigating the
>> variety of ways that visually impaired individuals fall in love.
>>
>> These are statements from the notice created by the student. She takes
>> for granted that blind people have romantic interest, and she seeks
>> less to know whether it exists than how it operates. I suspect that
>> the research has already been concluded. However, if more evidence is
>> required, I will let you know.
>>
>> The National Federation of the Blind receives unsolicited proposals to
>> support, endorse, or help to promote individuals, books, films, or
>> projects about blindness on a very regular basis. Some of these make
>> sense and get our support, but others have no redeeming social
>> importance.
>>
>> A few months ago we received a proposal that the National Federation
>> of the Blind become a promoter of a project known as ?Charlesville,? a
>> housing community to be built in Georgia adapted to the specialized
>> needs of the blind. The slogan of Charlesville, which gives an idea
>> about the project, is: ?A Community Where the Blind Can Really See.?
>> The promoters plan to construct 164 homes for the blind in a housing
>> development along with a theater, places for other small businesses, a
>> supermarket, playgrounds, and a ?work facility.? The proposal, laid
>> out in a substantial notebook, contains statements such as,
>> ?Homes?will have Voice instructions to assist the Blind in being able
>> to see in their homes, as well as in their outside yards,? and ?The
>> streets will be designed to have Voice controls to assist the Blind in
>> seeing where their neighbors live, their playgrounds are, as well as
>> their work facility.? One other statement in the notebook is, ?Our
>> firm has been given the ?Vision of Creating Home Ownership, and
>> Employment? in Charlesville where the Blind can see themselves become
>> normal independent citizens of our great country.?
>>
>> Such are statements from the planners of Charlesville. And you thought
>> you were normal; you thought you were independent?not unless you live
>> in Charlesville. Move to Charlesville or you?re not even a citizen of
>> this great country of ours, according to the movers and shakers of
>> Charlesville.
>>
>> I spoke with the people who sent this proposal to the Federation. They
>> told me that they understood the problems of blindness; they
>> sympathized with the plight of blind people; and they wanted to
>> construct a living community in which the blind could have an
>> experience of home as close as possible to that which is experienced
>> by the sighted. With this in mind they imagined that specialized
>> technology would be installed which would explain to the blind the
>> interiors of their houses. Other technology would explain what was in
>> the neighborhood. The explanations would include audible descriptions
>> of where each neighbor lived and where each nonresidential building
>> could be located. Special blind-friendly technology to control the
>> streets would be one of the features of the community, though what
>> this technology would do had not yet been completely planned.
>>
>> The mind boggles at what might be incorporated in the audible
>> descriptions of the neighbors. It is tempting to try to offer certain
>> imaginative examples, but those that you have already constructed are
>> no doubt equally good. I confess that I found myself intrigued by the
>> notion that the streets themselves could be controlled. What would a
>> human being want the streets to do? Although I did not express these
>> thoughts to those visiting the National Federation of the Blind, I
>> wondered if they meant that control gates would be installed at street
>> crossings similar to those used for railroad crossings. When a blind
>> person planned to cross the street, the press of a button could bring
>> down the control arms, halting traffic and providing a tactile railing
>> or fence for the blind person to follow from one side of the street to
>> the other. Indeed, the concept of controlling the streets tickled my
>> fancy. I wondered if I should suggest to these planners that they
>> build their community so that a blind person stepping out for a walk
>> could instruct the streets to go downhill. Maybe the new slogan for
>> Charlesville could be, ?The Community for the Blind: Where All the
>> Streets Go Downhill.?
>>
>> Those creating the community thought that having sighted people to
>> assist the blind with their medications might be useful as well as
>> having individuals dedicated to leading the blind from place to place.
>> The planners wanted to know if I had any suggestions for other
>> specialized technologies or services, and they asked for a grant of
>> more than a million dollars.
>> I doubt that it will come as a surprise that I decided not to get the
>> checkbook. I was polite, but I wondered if the people making the
>> proposal had read any of the Federation?s literature. We do not
>> recommend that the blind be segregated from society. We do not believe
>> that specialized homes are required for the benefit of the blind. We
>> do not recommend that communities be built to isolate the blind even
>> with voice-controlled streets, whatever this might mean.
>>
>> The concept of a segregated community is not merely offensive but also
>> dangerously socially irresponsible. Some years ago in Japan, Dr.
>> Kenneth Jernigan, who was totally blind, and Mrs. Mary Ellen Jernigan
>> were walking along the sidewalk. A bicyclist almost struck Dr.
>> Jernigan. In the brief heated discussion that followed the
>> near-accident, the bicyclist said that a portion of the sidewalk had
>> been set aside with tactilely raised identifying marks for the blind.
>> This is where the blind should be, the cyclist said. Implied in the
>> statement is the further thought that blind people should not be
>> permitted outside the specialized areas designated for the blind.
>>
>> Some people have advocated for a special college for the blind. The
>> argument is that the needs of blind students are sufficiently
>> different from those of other students that a college designed to
>> serve the blind would be a significant advantage. Books could be
>> provided in Braille or in recorded form. Blind people could have
>> assurance that the lectures, the handouts, and the laboratories would
>> be designed to ensure accessibility in nonvisual ways. However, we in
>> the National Federation of the Blind have never endorsed such a
>> concept; we have actively opposed it. No matter how useful it would be
>> to have Braille books and tactilely labeled laboratory equipment, a
>> college for the blind would segregate and isolate the blind from
>> society rather than integrate us into it. We want to be a part of the
>> society in which we live. We want to attend the colleges and
>> universities of our own choice. We want our intellectual capacity to
>> be recognized for the value that it has. We want all colleges to
>> understand the necessity of making their educational curricula
>> accessible to us and useable by us. We will fight for our right to be
>> included in all aspects of community life. We oppose segregation for
>> the blind, we oppose all schemes that would isolate us from the
>> communities in which we live, and we promote full integration of the
>> blind into society on the basis of equality. We demand equality of
>> opportunity for all blind people, and we will settle for nothing less.
>>
>> Sometimes people ask me how I approach blindness. It is as much a part
>> of me as dozens or hundreds of other characteristics. I don?t forget
>> it, but I don?t concentrate on it either, most of the time. Other
>> people often magnify this one characteristic out of all proportion to
>> what seems reasonable to me.
>>
>> In the early 1980s I was conducting a law practice in Baltimore,
>> Maryland. Each business day I traveled to my office, very often by
>> bus, and each evening I returned home, using the same method of
>> transportation. One summer evening I was standing at a bus stop in
>> downtown Baltimore. I was dressed in a suit, which is my customary
>> work attire. I had a briefcase with me, which is almost always a
>> companion of my travels. I was also carrying a can of coffee. I had
>> run out of coffee at home, and I needed this can, which, fortunately,
>> I had on hand at the office. The evening was warm, and the bus was
>> late. Because I had remained in my office to complete some work, the
>> rush hour had already passed, and I was feeling weary. The breeze came
>> off the hot asphalt and did little to dissipate the warmth. I was the
>> only one at the bus stop, which suited me because I could review the
>> events of the day without having to worry about fellow bus passengers
>> or other distractions. A person came up to me and peered at me from
>> one side. Then the person walked around to my other side and peered
>> again. I was standing next to the pole that had the bus stop sign on
>> it. My briefcase was sitting on the ground next to my left leg, I was
>> leaning on my cane, and I had the can of coffee in my hand. After I
>> had been examined from both sides, a man?s voice said to me, ?Where?s
>> the slot??
>>
>> ?What?? I asked.
>>
>> To which my companion responded, ?Where do you put the money??
>>
>> Although I was startled by these questions, I realized suddenly that
>> he wanted to put some change into the canister I was holding. He
>> thought I was begging. What else would a respectably dressed blind man
>> with a briefcase and a coffee can be doing?
>>
>> ?This is my coffee,? I said, and my companion left.
>>
>> Sometimes we let others make us believe that blindness matters more to
>> us than reality would suggest. Sometimes we let fear of the unknown
>> control us, and we attribute the fear to blindness.
>>
>> One of the presentations that I have made as president of the National
>> Federation of the Blind deals with the topic of getting lost. I have
>> been lost many times, and I expect to be lost many more. In my younger
>> days I thought that being lost was bad. However, I have learned that
>> accepting the uncertainty of being lost means that I can find new
>> places, meet new people, have new experiences, and expand my horizons.
>> I also tell other people it is perfectly all right to be lost. How
>> different is this attitude from the one that I found on the Internet
>> recently. Here is what one blind person said:
>>
>> If I don't know a state, I won't take buses anywhere. Why on earth
>> would I wish to get lost? I wouldn't even know how to tell the
>> transportation where I wanted to go. I would ask others if they are
>> going the same way I wish to go. If not, there isn't any reason to go
>> there then. I would just stay home where I know I could get help if
>> needed and not feel afraid of getting lost.
>>
>> Many of us may have faced this kind of fear as part of learning who we
>> are, and many of us may face it again. Nevertheless, with the support
>> of one another we know that we can solve the problems that come to us,
>> large or small, dramatic or mundane. Though I sometimes find myself in
>> unfamiliar surroundings, I never find myself without capacity, and I
>> never encounter a day in which my colleagues in the Federation are not
>> willing to help me if I need it. I realize that I have the ability to
>> learn what I need to know to get from the place where I am to the
>> place where I need to be. Furthermore, I will always want to know what
>> we can do to build a brighter, more productive future. I will always
>> want to know what is around the next bend in the road or over the
>> summit of the next hill. I will always want to know what I can do to
>> bring joy to my friends. I will always want to know how I can show
>> them that there is excitement in being lost.
>>
>> Optimism is an element in the acquisition of power, and the power once
>> derived fosters optimism. The power of optimism stimulates the
>> optimism of power. Optimism is one element of our faith. It is
>> inherent in all that we say and all that we do. Because it has come to
>> be such an integrated part of our thought process, we sometimes fail
>> to recognize the urgency of optimism.
>>
>> For all time blind people have been regarded as dependent,
>> incompetent, and subnormal?some would even describe us as subhuman.
>> However, we know better than to accept such a description of us, for
>> it is false. We have decided to correct the error of the authors who
>> tell us that we are base and unhuman, of those rehabilitation
>> officials who write off 70 percent of us as fundamentally incompetent,
>> of the newspaper reporters who tell us that our lives are empty and
>> meaningless, and of the amusement park operators who believe that we
>> can?t even ride a roller coaster. We have made this decision because
>> we know the strength which is within us, we share the spirit that is
>> part of us, and we feel the determination to create the factors that
>> will shape the future.
>>
>> Who can tell us what our lives will become? Nobody can do this except
>> us. There are those who would like to dismiss us, but we will be
>> heard. There are those who would like to instruct us, but from our
>> experience we have gained more information than they can hope to
>> accumulate. There are those who would like to control us, but if they
>> try, they will do so at their peril. Partners we seek from every
>> aspect of public and private life, but those who would seek to dictate
>> to us what our lives should be will be tolerated not at all.
>>
>> As we face the struggles of the time to come, we know with absolute
>> certainty that we will take whatever action is necessary to confront
>> those who would stop our progress or belittle our ambitions. We will
>> make whatever sacrifice is necessary; we will pay whatever price is
>> required. We will demand the equality that must and will be ours, and
>> we will never cease our efforts until we have it. We have the will, we
>> have the strength, we have the optimism. The future belongs to us; we
>> will make it our own!
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ail.com
--
Wishing You All the Best,
Cheryl E. Fields
A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human
life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will
never sit.
--D. Elton Trueblood
------------------------------
Message: 12
Date: Mon, 1 May 2017 03:12:22 -0400
From: "Richard Payne" <rchpay7 at gmail.com>
To: "'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'"
<ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [Ohio-talk] NFBO 2017 national Convention Assistance Form
Message-ID: <000d01d2c24a$480e4970$d82adc50$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio 2017 Convention Assistance Form
The National Federation of the Blind convention will be held July 10-15 at
the beautiful Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando Florida.
Due to limited affiliate resources, we are only able to offer partial
assistance to those who qualify.
Assistance requests must be submitted to President Richard Payne before May
29, 2017. Any application forms received after that date will not be
considered. If you have any questions about the form or the process, contact
Richard by email at rchpay7 at gmail.com or call (937)396-5573.
NOTE: For anyone receiving convention assistance, you will be expected to
attend all general sessions, meetings and workshops. There will also be
various volunteer positions available that you will be expected to get
involved in.
How to apply for Convention Assistance:
1. Submit a personal request letter. Please tell us why you wish to
attend the convention and what you hope to accomplish as a result. Since
financial need is the basis for this request, briefly describe the
extenuating circumstances that are preventing you from attending convention.
This is a major consideration in the decision making process.
2. Contact your chapter or division president, and ask him/her to send
a letter of support for your application directly to President Richard
Payne. This letter must also state what assistance, if any, you will be
receiving from that chapter or division. NOTE: If you are not yet a member
of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, please call President Payne
for an interview by phone at (937)396-5573.
3. Describe in detail how you have been involved in state fundraising.
4. What part do you take in keeping your local chapter engaged in the
national federation of the Blind?
5. What arrangements have you made to assist in getting you to
the national convention?
6. How long have you been a member of this affiliate?
7. Complete the convention assistance form below.
NFB 2017 CONVENTION ASSISTANCE FORM
Name:
Street Address:
City, State, Zip:
Phone:
Email:
Number of adults planning to attend:
Number of children planning to attend:
Date of arrival:
Date of departure:
WHAT TYPE OF ASSISTANCE DO YOU NEED?
1. Hotel Room: Yes or No. If No, skip this section.
This applies to a single adult, are you willing to share a room with one
to three other adults? Yes or No. If Yes, are there any habits or
health problems that your roommate should know about? Please explain. Do you
have a guide dog? Yes or No.
Have you made a room reservation? Yes or No? If Yes, what name is the
reservation listed under?
2. Food stipend: Yes or No.
Food allowance is $40 a day per adult and $20 a day per child.
3. Transportation: Yes or No.
If you are driving, NFBO will reimburse 48 cents per mile. What is the
mileage from your home to the location of the convention?
If you have already made transportation arrangements, please explain what
they entail.
4. Convention Fees: Yes or No.
registration is now available online at nfb.org and by mail. We urge
everyone to save money by pre-registering.
If you are requesting cash assistance in advance, you will have to sign an
expense reimbursement form, which you will receive from President Richard
Payne. Without a signed blank form that we will fill out with the amount of
cash granted, we cannot advance any funds to you.
Please return this completed form and your personal letter of request by
email to rchpay7 at gmail.com or mail to the following address. No faxes will
be accepted.
NFB of Ohio
Po box 20544
Kettering, Ohio 45420
Richard Payne
President, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.
Your message is ready to be sent with the following file or link
attachments:
NFBO 2017 national Convention Assistance Form
Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent
sending or receiving certain types of file attachments. Check your e-mail
security settings to determine how attachments are handled.
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