     THE BRAILLE MONITOR
Vol. 43, No. 3     March, 2000

     Barbara Pierce, Editor


     Published in inkprint, in Braille, and on cassette by

     THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

     MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT


     National Office
     1800 Johnson Street
     Baltimore, Maryland  21230
     NFB Net BBS: http://www.nfbnet.org
     Web Page address: http://www.nfb.org



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     should be sent to the National Office.




Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about twenty-five dollars per year. Members are invited, and 
non-members are requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be made payable to 
National Federation of the Blind and sent to:


     National Federation of the Blind
     1800 Johnson Street
     Baltimore, Maryland 21230


     


     THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
     SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES





ISSN 0006-8829


Vol. 43, No. 3     March, 2000

     Contents

Great Things to See and Do in Atlanta:
2000 Convention Tours     
     by Al Falligan

NFB Camp 2000: Child Care During Convention     
     by Carla McQuillan

What's Round and Mean?
Standardized Testing and Blind Students     
     by Peggy Elliott

The 2000 Washington Seminar     

2000 Legislative Agenda and Fact Sheets     

Living the Movement: Ferret Federationists     
     by Priscilla McKinley

Living the Movement: The Perspective from Sudan     
     by Thomas Philip

Ghana: Our Independence Outside the United States     
     by Angela Howard

The Universality of Truths     
     by Mariyam Cementwala

When to Stop Relying on Low Vision and Low-Vision Aids     
     by Norman Gardner

Ray Kurzweil Honored     

Cars, Teen-agers, and Insurance     
     by Ramona Walhof

My Brother, My Friend, My Hero     
     by Lloyd Jernigan

Betty Niceley Dies     
     by Barbara Pierce

Recipes     

Monitor Miniatures     

     Copyright c 2000 National Federation of the Blind


[LEAD PHOTO DESCRIPTION: Three people stand beside an antique car. We can see 
the entire driver's side of the car, which is lime green with dark green 
fenders, whitewall tires, and distinctive hubcaps.]
[CAPTION: Standing at the front of this 1939 Packard are owner Larry Herweg, 
President Maurer, and Mrs. Maurer.]


[PHOTO/CAPTION: A night view of the Coca-Cola Museum]
     Great Things to See and Do in Atlanta:
     2000 Convention Tours
     by Al Falligan
     **********
     From the Editor: The clock is running on preparations for 
the 2000 Convention of the National Federation of the Blind 
Sunday, July 2, through Saturday, July 8. If you have not yet 
made your hotel reservation, you had better get to it 
immediately. We will meet at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in 
downtown Atlanta, a truly beautiful and spacious world-class 
hotel. Rooms have been reserved for us at the Marquis as well as 
the Atlanta Hilton and Towers and the Atlanta Hyatt, both only a 
short walk away. Our hotel rates are excellent. For the 2000 
convention they are singles, $57; doubles and twins, $59; 
triples, $61; and quads, $63. A tax of 14 percent will be 
charged, but there will be no charge for children rooming with 
parents as long as no extra bed is requested.
     For room reservations write directly to Atlanta Marriott 
Marquis, 265 Peachtree Center Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, or 
call (404) 521-0000. Marriott has a national toll-free number, 
but do not use it. Reservations made through this national number 
will not be valid. They must be made directly with the hotel. The 
hotel will want a deposit of $60 or a credit card number. If a 
credit card is used, the deposit will be charged against your 
card immediately, just as would be the case with a $60 check. If 
a reservation is cancelled prior to June 4, 2000, $30 of the $60 
deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made.
     But before you pick up the phone to make your travel and 
hotel reservations, read the following article and make sure that 
your arrival and departure times will allow you to take advantage 
of the wonderful tours the Georgia affiliate has arranged for our 
enjoyment. Here is what Al Falligan has to say:
     **********
     On behalf of the National Federation of the Blind of 
Georgia, thank you for coming to explore Atlanta, host city of 
the National Convention in 2000. With its southern charm and warm 
weather, Atlanta has always been a great place to visit.
     Visitors to Atlanta can enjoy world-class museums; great 
restaurants; memorable shopping; the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
Center; Zoo Atlanta; the World of Coca-Cola; and Stone Mountain.
     We are offering five tour packages for your enjoyment. Sign 
up early. Please note that the deadline for reservations and 
cancellations is June 24, 2000. Also keep in mind that the prices 
quoted are dependent on guaranteed minimum sign-ups, so decide 
now to take a tour or two and invite your friends to join you. 
See y'all!
     **********
     The prices for tours listed below include buses, experienced 
guides, tips, and sales tax and admissions where applicable. 
Tours leave from the Courtland Street entrance of the Marriott 
Marquis, which is just across the street from the Hilton.
     Pre-paid tickets can be picked up at the tour desk. 
Remaining tickets will be sold on a space-available basis. Tour 
desk hours are Sunday, noon till 1:00 p.m.; Monday, 9:00 a.m. to 
1:00 p.m.; Wednesday, 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m.
     **********
Tour 1: Sunday, July 2, 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
     **********
     Martin Luther King Center/Coca-Cola Underground Atlanta: 
First stop, spend an hour at the King Center: ride to Underground 
Atlanta for a tour of the Coca-Cola Museum with time to browse in 
the shops at Underground Atlanta. Price, $25 per person including 
bus, guide, Coca-Cola admission, tax and tip. No child rate.
     **********
Tour 2: Thursday, July 6, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
     **********
     Black Heritage Tour: Spend two hours at Martin Luther King 
Center, visiting Ebenezer Baptist Church, Visitors Center, and 
the Crypts. Drive through downtown Atlanta to the Atlanta 
University Center, before driving past the Shrine of the Black 
Madonna on the return trip to the hotel. Price, $25 per person, 
includes bus, guide, tax, and tip. $22, children through age 
eleven.
     **********
Tour 3: Thursday, July 6, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
     **********
     Zoo Atlanta: Plenty of time is allowed to walk through the 
Zoo with a Zoo volunteer describing the many different exhibits 
and animals. Atlanta's two new attractions are the giant pandas 
on loan from China. Price is $30 per person, includes Zoo 
admission, bus, guide, tax, and tip. $28 child rate.
     **********
Tour 4: Thursday, July 6, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
     **********
     Sci-Trek, Georgia's Technology Museum: Explore more than 
90,000 square feet of exhibit space and over 150 interactive 
educational exhibits. With various levels of complexity, the 
exhibits range from basic pulleys and levers to the operation of 
virtual reality games and live science demonstrations. Price is 
$30 per person, includes bus, guides, admission, tax, and tip. 
$27 child rate.
     **********
Tour 5: Thursday, July 6, 7:00 to 10:30 p.m.
     **********
     Ray's on the River Dinner Party: This tour is back by 
popular demand. The beautiful restaurant nestled on the banks of 
the Chatahoochee River is the perfect setting for your dinner 
party. Stroll through the gardens along the river, enjoy a 
delicious dinner (salad, choice of chicken or salmon, rice, 
vegetable, and Key lime pie or chocolate mousse pie, coffee, 
tea). Pianist will play popular tunes during dinner. Price is $58 
per person, includes buses, guides, dinner, tax, and tip. No 
child rate.
     **********
     Please complete the following order form and send it and 
your check for the full amount required to the address listed at 
the bottom of the form. If you read the Braille or cassette 
editions and have no access to the actual form, be sure to 
include all of the information requested on the form when you 
send your check and written order. Be very sure to include your 
contact information, legibly written, so that you can be reached 
in case of confusion with your request or a change in plans.
     **********

Tour Reservation Form
     Please reserve the following tickets to be picked up at the 
reservation desk at the Marriott Marquis.
     Tour 1, MLK-Coca-Cola: Sunday, July 2, number of tickets 
____ $25: total ____.

     Tour 2, Black Heritage: Thursday, July 6, number of tickets 
____ $25 (adults): total ____, number of tickets for children up 
to twelve years ____, $22, total ____.

     Tour 3, Zoo, Thursday, July 6, number of tickets at $30____, 
total ____. Number of tickets for children ____ $28, total ____.

     Tour 4, Sci-Trek: July 6, number of tickets at $30 ___, 
total amount ____. Number of tickets for children, ____, $27 
total ____.

     Tour 5, Ray's on the River, Thursday, July 6, number of 
tickets ____, $58 total ____. 

Grand total ____

     Deadline for reservations and cancellations is June 24, 
2000. Tours leave from Courtland Street entrance of the Marriott 
Marquis facing the Hilton. Checks or money orders should be made 
payable to Fran O'Reilly and Associates and mailed to Post Office 
Box 720336, Atlanta, Georgia 30358-2336. We do not accept credit 
card orders. Call (404) 255-3682 or fax (404) 255-2640.

     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Daniel Lamonds of South Carolina plays his guitar and sings 
with NFB campers]
     NFB Camp 2000: Child Care During Convention
     by Carla McQuillan
     **********
     From the Editor: Carla McQuillan is a member of the National 
Federation of the Blind Board of Directors and President of the 
NFB of Oregon. She also operates her own Montessori school, which 
has been growing rapidly since it opened. Since 1996 Carla has 
conducted NFB Camp, the childcare program during National 
Conventions. This year the Board of Directors has decided on an 
important change in NFB Camp registration policy. If you are 
considering using this important program during the convention in 
Atlanta, you will find this notice of deep interest. This is what 
Carla says:
     **********
     Ten years ago child care during convention sessions was 
performed by parents, but times have changed. Last year we cared 
for ninety-four children in NFB Camp, nearly half of whom had not 
pre-registered. The increase in family participation at our 
conventions is wonderful news, but it has made advance 
preparations a necessity. By decision of the Board of Directors 
of the National Federation of the Blind, beginning in 2000, all 
children who wish to participate in the programs and activities 
of NFB Camp must register, this year by June 15, 2000.
     NFB Camp will be open during general convention sessions, 
division and committee meeting day, and banquet evening. Plenty 
of teens are always available to babysit during evening and 
lunch-time meetings. The schedule this year will be as follows:
     **********
     Sunday, July 2, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (You are responsible 
for  lunch)
     Monday, July 3, Camp is closed
     Tuesday, July 4, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (you are responsible 
for lunch)
     Wednesday, July 5, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 
5:30 p.m.
     Thursday, July 6, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
     Friday, July 7, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.; 
and banquet
     Saturday, July 8, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 5:30 
p.m.
     **********
     These times may vary, depending on the timing of the actual 
convention sessions. NFB Camp will open thirty minutes prior to 
the beginning gavel and close thirty minutes after adjournment.
     Fees: for the entire week (including banquet), first child, 
$80, second child, $60. By the day (does not include banquet), 
each child, $20, banquet, $15.
     **********
     NFB Camp Pre-registration Form
     Return by June 15, 2000
     **********
Parent Information:
Name:
Address:
Phone:
     **********
Child(ren) Information:
List name and age for each child
     **********
Weekly fees: first child, $80, second child, $60
Daily fees: each child, $20 times number of days
Banquet fee: $15 per child
Total due:
Completed Pre-registration form and payment must be received by 
June 15, 2000. Make checks payable to NFB of Oregon. Mail to 
National Federation of the Blind, 5005 Main Street, Springfield, 
Oregon 97478, (541) 726-6924.
     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Peggy Elliott]
     What's Round and Mean?
     Standardized Testing and Blind Students
     by Peggy Elliott
     **********
     From the Editor: A little over a year ago, at the 1999 Mid-
Winter Conference of the National Association of Blind Students, 
Peggy Elliott gave a speech on the subject of standardized 
testing and the problems faced by blind test-takers. It was the 
clearest explication of the situation I, at least, had ever 
heard. Conference planners returned to the subject on this year's 
agenda. Because of the importance of the topic, here is Peggy's 
original speech. Next month we will carry the follow-up agenda 
item from this year's seminar. Peggy Elliott is Second Vice 
President of the National Federation of the Blind and President 
of the NFB of Iowa. This is what she said:
     **********
     The best description I know of standardized testing as 
applied to blind people is the old joke: What is round and mean? 
A vicious circle. I have discussed this topic with hundreds of 
blind people over the years, and it seems to me that those facing 
standardized testing need to know what is going to happen, why it 
is going to happen, the inevitability of experiencing one or more 
of the problems others have already experienced, and some 
techniques for positioning yourself for maximum benefit and 
minimum hassle. With this base of knowledge you can then consider 
what you personally and we as the Federation can do about 
standardized testing. My observation is that most blind people 
experience one or more problems in the standardized testing 
sphere, soldier through as best they can, achieve the goal in 
some way, and then move on, leaving the next blind person to 
experience the exact same set of problems anew. I think it is 
time to begin to pool our knowledge, our experience, and our wit 
to find solutions that will be effective for all blind people.
     Any blind person needs to grasp three concepts to understand 
the context of standardized testing as we experience it. These 
are validation theory, the tip letter, and the gateway. As we 
discuss each of these three concepts in turn, please keep in mind 
what is round and mean. It will help in understanding the 
context.
     Validation theory for standardized testing is arcane, 
complicated, understood by only a few people, and will hit you in 
the face every time you walk into a standardized testing setting. 
Therefore I recommend very strongly that at a minimum you study 
the basic concept of validation theory. It is one that you will 
be dealing with from now until you no longer need the services of 
any standardized testing agency. And on that bright day I hope 
that you are still interested in the effect of this validation 
theory on fellow blind people and will be willing to continue 
working to effect change in the current, unacceptable 
circumstances.
     Validation theory holds that the administrator of a test can 
determine and vouch for the validity of a score to the user of 
the score. In this context validity is equivalent to predictive 
effect. The user of the test score wants a prediction of how you, 
the test taker, will perform in the thing for which you are being 
tested, and standardized test administrators claim to be able to 
provide this prediction. So, for most practical purposes, 
validity equals prediction.
     The test administrator provides this validated score on a 
standardized test by a three-step process which will remind us of 
what is round and mean. First, the tester awards you a score on 
the test. Second, the test administrator tracks your actual 
performance in the context for which the test was created. And 
third, the administrator compares actual performance to score, 
adjusting the interpretation of the score so that it accurately 
predicts how someone else with the exact same score will perform 
in the context.
     Let me untangle that a little bit by giving a concrete 
example. Colleges and universities almost all use either the SAT 
or the ACT test for admission into undergraduate school. The 
people who own and administer those tests have given them to 
hundreds and hundreds of thousands of high school students and 
then gathered data about the performance of those same students 
as they complete their freshman year of college. The SAT and ACT 
people then compare the two (score and performance) and adjust 
their interpretation of the test score so that the next group of 
people that comes along is awarded a score that is now validated 
to predict performance in that first year of college.
     Another way of saying the same thing is that a certain score 
received by thousands of students is statistically correlated to 
a certain level of performance in a college freshman year. This 
correlation is then provided to score users as a valid predictor 
of the performance for persons who have taken the test and not 
yet entered college. College admissions offices can then make 
decisions based on this predictive score, confident that the 
prediction will largely be valid since it has been validated 
through the correlation process using hundreds of thousands of 
comparisons between score and performance.
     This is the bare bones of validation theory. There is a 
great deal more to the detail and application of the theory. For 
example, test administrators include unvalidated questions or 
sections in the test everyone takes and are always performing 
this validation process on those unvalidated sections. Some 
unvalidated questions or sections are tossed out as unusable or 
non-predictive. These unvalidated questions or sections do not 
get reported in your score. They're for the benefit of future 
test users. You are just a cog in that round and mean wheel of 
validation theory. But the basic progression is score, 
performance, correlation, prediction, use as predictor.
     The statistical underpinning of validation theory means that 
it is not valid on a small set of people. For a score's 
predictive value to be valid, it must be validated on sets of 
hundreds of thousands of people. Validation theory for a 
standardized test holds that, if you test enough people and then 
check their performance in relation to their original scores, you 
can make the score predictive. For example, the Library of 
Congress' test concerning Braille literacy is not validated, as I 
understand it, because they haven't had enough people take their 
test to look at what the people actually do and relate it back to 
the score on the test. Validation theory is much more complicated 
to apply and use than what I have just said, but that's the basic 
theorem.
     Validation theory holds that all the conditions under which 
the test is administered must be standard or, in other words, as 
much the same as you can get them, for the score to be 
susceptible of correlation with performance in these huge, 
statistically significant sets of test takers. Everyone is 
familiar with many of the so-called standardized conditions. You 
sit in the same room as everyone else, use a No. 2 pencil, use 
your eyes to read the test, sit at a desk in front of and behind 
other people, are supervised and proctored by exactly one person 
who sits at a desk in front of the room. You can add a bunch of 
other subparts. Basically you have to be one of the herd. You 
have to be part of that big group that is tested and whose scores 
are then compared to your actual performance in the first year of 
college. One person, five people, ten people do not a validation 
yield. It has to be hundreds of thousands of people, and the 
conditions under which the test is taken are part of what is 
considered necessary for the scoring, for the prediction, and 
then for the validation.
     If you happen to be an Orthodox Jew who can't take the test 
on a Saturday, your score will not be validated because you 
didn't take the test in the room, under the same lights, with 
people sitting around you in the desks. You didn't take it in the 
same conditions. You can be as sighted as you want, but the test 
is not validated because you did not take it under all the 
standardized conditions. Or consider people who use wheelchairs 
who can read their tests but can't get to the testing room 
because there happen to be steps in the way. When wheelchair 
users take the test in a different room, same day, same time, 
exact same everything except that they are not in the room with 
all the other people, those wheelchair users will not have their 
tests validated because the conditions of test administration are 
not the standardized conditions. "Standardized conditions" 
doesn't just mean using your eyes. "Standardized conditions" 
means all of the conditions--the herd conditions.
     Validation theory is precise, specific, and based on the 
scores of masses of people that are used to validate, compare, 
and predict. You and I as blind people will never produce a valid 
score. It can't be done under current validation theory.
     Since the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed, I have 
heard numerous blind people say in genuine puzzlement and 
frustration: "But they could just validate the score!" Test 
Administrators are not going to "just validate" the scores of 
blind people because validation theory mandates the concepts of 
large-number correlation and of standardization I have described. 
There are not hundreds of thousands of us, and we don't sit in 
the same room and take the test under the same conditions as 
other people.
     I can understand the frustration that causes blind people to 
ask why can't our scores just be validated? But I can tell you 
this: The test owners are not going to. This is round and mean. 
It's validation theory, and blind people do not fit anymore than 
people who are Orthodox Jews and can't take tests on the same 
day. Anymore than people who read the test in print and happen to 
be in a wheelchair in a different room. It doesn't matter who you 
are as long as you don't take the test under exactly the same 
conditions as the herd, as the hundreds of thousands of people. 
Your score will not be valid.
     Why does it matter that your test score is not valid? The 
reason for the existence of most standardized tests is to predict 
for the institution we are seeking to enter how we are going to 
perform. As a blind person you can simply never produce a valid 
score. And, unfortunately, the people who developed validation 
theory aren't governed by the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
Validation theory is a law unto itself--the law of averages, and 
as nearly as I can determine, it supersedes the Americans with 
Disabilities Act. We could litigate this from now until every 
single person in this room is dead, and the law of averages is 
still going to supersede the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
That is a fact of life, no matter what kind of frustration it 
creates inside you.
     This leads to the second fact that all blind people taking 
standardized tests will deal with: the tip letter or flagging, as 
it is currently called. When you as a blind person take a 
standardized test of any kind, a flag letter is going to be sent 
to the institution that you specify for receiving your scores. 
The letter is going to say in so many words that the accompanying 
score is not valid or not validated (the terms are essentially 
interchangeable). Many blind people do not even know their scores 
will be flagged. It is vital that you know it so that you know 
the context in which you are functioning. It does not matter what 
you do or how much you dislike it. All that matters here is that 
we have something that is round and mean. Your test score is 
going to be flagged.
     I want to give you one more concept before we talk about 
what we can do in response. The final concept I want to discuss 
is the gateway. Standardized tests are used essentially in two 
different ways. One is the gateway of admission to a post-
secondary academic program. You're trying to get into 
undergraduate school or graduate school or law school or social 
work school. You're trying to get into some program for which the 
number of applicants exceeds the number of places. The principal 
method devised for sorting out applicants and accepting only some 
for admission is standardized testing with the predictive value 
of a valid score behind it. So the gateway of admission to a 
program is one type of standardized test.
     The second type is a gateway to licensure. We have all heard 
of the bar exam and the social work exam. Many professions have 
such exams, and many of these are standardized and function as a 
gateway. We therefore have gateways to admission and gateways to 
licensure.
     A gateway to licensure is pretty much a single-option 
gateway. There's only one way into the profession in question, 
and that is to pass the test. These same single-option gateways 
are now beginning to show up in elementary and secondary schools, 
used to determine admission to programs such as gifted and 
talented programs or to determine eligibility for high school 
graduation.
     However, with regard to a gateway to admission, please 
consider the concept that a gateway test is not the only way to 
gain admission to a program or course of study. Let's take for 
example the few colleges and universities around the country that 
do not award letter or number grades. You can actually get into 
some schools in which you earn merely a pass or fail in college. 
In other words, when graduates of such schools apply for graduate 
school, they do not have grades to present. Yet graduates of 
these colleges do achieve admission into graduate schools. How do 
they do it? They deal directly with the admissions department for 
the school and say, "I don't have grades. But there's some way 
you can fairly assess whether I'm a good candidate for your 
program or not despite the fact that I do not have any grades."
     I want to commend to each of you the like thought for us as 
blind people appearing at a gateway without a validated test 
score. The objective here, please keep in mind, is not to take 
the test. I cannot tell you how many people I have talked to who 
have said to me, "But I want to take the test. I just want to be 
like other people."
     I don't want to be mean about this, but I don't care how 
much you want to be like other people. Because of validation 
theory, you're not when it comes to standardized tests. You're 
blind, and your score is never going to be validated. So talk to 
me about getting into the program. Don't talk to me about wanting 
to take the test. Don't talk to me about just wanting to be like 
other people. Who cares if you take the test or not? The question 
is: Did you get into the program you wanted? Please, please keep 
in mind that there is more than one gateway into an academic 
program. Please also keep in mind that you do not have to go 
through the same gateway that other people go through to get into 
that program. The smarter you are, the more persistent you are, 
the better you network, the more you think about it, the likelier 
it is that you'll figure out that there is more than one gateway. 
And I want to commend to each of you that, in the case of 
gateways to admission to an academic program, you don't have to 
take the test to get in. You cannot get a valid score anyway.
     These then are the three concepts that you need to have in 
your hands before you, as an individual blind person, can make 
decisions about what you are going to do regarding standardized 
testing. Your scores are not going to be validated. Your scores 
are going to be flagged. There are two different types of 
testing, for admission and for licensure. With those three 
concepts here are some things to think about in the case of 
standardized testing.
     Many standardized tests are not fair to blind people. I've 
gotten some large national test administrators to admit in 
private that blind people as a class test lower than sighted 
people do. I can believe that because of lack of training and 
skills on our part. If you tell the admissions department that 
your score is not going to be valid, they will already know it 
because of validation theory, assuming they know you are blind. 
Then, if your score comes in a little lower than you would have 
liked, guess what? You've already undermined the score, and they 
are probably going to ignore or discount it.
     The opposite, however, is not true; if you score very high, 
they'll believe it and possibly even rate you yet higher since, 
in their unspoken view, you had to overcome such obstacles to do 
well. It always helps to scope out how others will think and use 
it to your advantage. Boldly pointing out that your score will be 
invalid can't hurt, may help, and classifies you as proactive 
rather than reactive--someone knowledgeable about and in charge 
of his or her world instead of crushed by it. It's to your 
advantage to recognize that you are different in this context and 
to make a different approach to getting in. The objective is not 
to take the test. The objective is to get into the program and 
get the chance to show what you can do.
     Now I want to back up one step and reiterate what I just 
said. I think one of the biggest problems that blind people have 
in taking standardized tests is that as a class our skills are 
still not as strong as those of any randomly selected class of 
sighted people. How many people in this room didn't start 
learning Braille until you were in high school or college? How 
many of you really prefer to take the standardized test using a 
tape recorder or reader because aural administration is currently 
your best test-taking skill? How many of you are really 
comfortable with your Braille skills and are sure that you could 
be as competitive in Braille as you could be using print? How 
many of you are proud of your Braille and are working very hard 
on it but, when it comes to a gateway test, are not going to 
trust your future to your Braille skills? Nobody is answering me 
out loud, but you should think about what I am saying.
     When you get to that gateway, you're better off if your 
skills are strong and you can choose any of the options offered. 
The biggest problem we have at test time is the method of 
presentation of the test. How many of us go to a test and say we 
need extra time because we are using tape recorders, and that 
takes more time? Or we're using Braille, and we're not quite as 
good and can't be sure that we can rely on our skills to get us 
done in the same amount of time? I submit to you, and I want you 
to take this home and think about it, that we don't need extra 
time. Let me say that again. We don't need extra time. We need 
the skills before we step into the room. Take that one home and 
think about it. Argue about it among yourselves. Do we need extra 
time to perform all the regular tasks that we are asked to 
perform when we get a job? We better not get used to extra time 
and better not ask for it on the job.
     The skills that you're going to take into the room where 
you're going to take that standardized test are probably weaker 
as a class than the skills that sighted people take into that 
room. Think about that. Don't blame it on the test. It's very 
convenient, I know, to blame weak skills on the testing 
authority, to blame them for not offering you the right type or 
level of accommodation. That's convenient. It feels good. Is it 
honest? Is it fair? Think about it, and work on your skills. But 
don't blame the messenger. If your skills are not fully up to 
your being competitive, don't say that the fault is in the 
administration of a standardized test. Find ways to work around 
the problem, but don't fib to yourself about it.
     When you get to the test itself, if you need to take it, if 
you want to take it, or if you're dealing with a gateway to 
licensure where you really don't have a choice, this is where 
another set of problems comes out. How are you going to take the 
test? We know it's not going to be valid. We know that the person 
who receives your score is going to be told that it's not valid. 
But for whatever reason you still have to take it. What do you 
do?
     Please don't ever tell anybody that the Americans with 
Disabilities Act is there to take care of this testing situation 
for you--that the Americans with Disabilities Act gives you this, 
provides for that. If you start down that road, then oh, I wish 
you good luck for the rest of your life because you will always 
be looking for somebody to take care of the hard stuff. Do it 
yourself. Don't count on the testing authority or the testing 
site to arrange that the test and the correct accommodations will 
be there.  Whatever your choice of medium, make sure yourself 
that whatever is needed is there. Make sure that you push all of 
the buttons and jump through whatever hoops need jumping through.
     I've heard many testing horror stories in which blind test 
takers themselves could have taken the initiative and solved the 
problem before it occurred. It's your job as the blind test taker 
to be sure that the testing situation is as completely handled as 
you can get it. It's not the job of the testing authorities, and 
it's most certainly not the job of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act. It's your job. So call that testing authority. 
Bug them. Become absolutely insufferable until you're sure that 
you're going to get exactly what you want. And make your choice 
carefully. Assess your own skills. As I say, you should have that 
full quiver of skills. But you probably don't. So pick your best 
one and be sure that you get it.
     The last topic I want to talk about is the one that creates 
the most fierce difficulties for blind test takers. What if you 
choose a reader as your method of taking the test? Your skills in 
Braille just aren't good enough. Tape recorders are so 
cumbersome. Your sight isn't good enough; a CCTV isn't good 
enough. Your personal assessment of your skills yields the 
conclusion that your best choice is a reader. That's where most 
of the worst testing problems begin.
     When you show up at the testing site, they have a reader 
who's inadequate if they have one at all. In this no-reader 
situation, they'll recruit one on the spot, and you can be sure 
that he or she will be inadequate. What do you do? Remember in 
these difficult situations that the Americans with Disabilities 
Act gives you a right to reasonable accommodation, the technical 
term that means I get a reader, or I get Braille, or I get tape. 
You've done everything you can ahead of time. But keep this 
simple fact in mind. The United States Department of Justice and 
everybody who wrote the regulations that implement the Americans 
with Disabilities Act forgot one simple thing. What they forgot 
or didn't take the trouble to find out is that your own reader is 
the most qualified reader. I've been around, around, and around 
that vicious circle with the Department of Justice on this very 
topic.
     This is what we may be taking into federal court, the issue 
that when you bring your own reader to a test site, you have a 
right to use that reader. Nowhere in federal law is a qualified 
reader defined as your own choice of reader. Many times, by 
persistence and self-advocacy, you can overcome this omission in 
federal law, but not always. Some of you are going to end up in 
testing situations in which the testing authority says, "I'm 
going to pick your reader." This is probably the single most 
important thing we as blind people can change right now--to find 
a way to get the proposition that "qualified reader" equals my 
choice of reader into federal law. Until that's true, I can make 
the absolute, unequivocal statement without fear of contradiction 
that the Americans with Disabilities Act has hurt blind people 
because there are a lot of us who have suffered the injustice of 
having a test site administrator say, you are going to use this 
reader we have provided, a reader who proves to be inadequate, to 
put it mildly.
     I'm going to say one last thing about standardized testing, 
and I'm guessing that it will stimulate discussion. I just had 
another round of debate with a Department of Justice lawyer about 
a week ago during which he said that the testing authority with 
which my husband Doug is dealing has never had any complaints 
about its handling of blind test takers. According to the 
attorney from Justice, Doug is the first and only blind person 
who has objected to his treatment as a blind test taker. The 
testing authority, by the way, says very sanctimoniously that it 
accommodated the blind long before the passage of ADA, and it 
knows very well what the blind need because of its long record. 
So where is the evidence that we blind people are not getting 
qualified readers in the standardized tests that we are taking?
     We're going to have to start generating that evidence. As I 
explained to the Department of Justice lawyer, once we pass the 
gateway, it is common for blind people simply to move on and put 
the experience behind them. The experience is often a miserable 
one; sometimes we pass through the gateway even though we have a 
bad reader; sometimes we simply back up and go a different way, 
entering through a different door or choosing to put our efforts 
into some other project because we can't get past that gateway. 
But I ask you: how many of you in this room and how many people 
back home have had a miserable experience with an imposed reader 
and simply walked away from the experience once it was over? 
Whether you pass that test or whether you fail it, if you have a 
reader not of your choice, we need to start documenting the poor 
quality of those readers.
     The only qualified reader, in my opinion, is the one that 
you choose. But we are not going to have that option unless we as 
blind people stand up and say that, in the case of readers, the 
only qualified reader is the one I choose. At the absolute worst, 
I should have the choice to bring my own reader or have one 
assigned. The choice should always be mine. Of course, when 
bringing a personal reader, we all expect to be proctored by 
someone from the testing authority sitting there, watching to 
make sure that you don't cheat, as they say. But, if we are ever 
going to get the choice under the Americans with Disabilities Act 
to bring our own readers, people in this room are going to have 
to do it. Right now the law says that a qualified reader is a 
reader that someone else chooses for you.
     I hope I've said provocative things about standardized 
testing. Maybe I've also said helpful things. There is no magic 
answer to this question. I think it is time for all of us to 
start discussing the framework and context of standardized 
testing so that we can make our own individual choices as 
informed citizens. And I also think it is time for us to start 
discussing this topic as an organization so that we can forge 
solutions to this difficult problem that we have for so long 
confronted as individuals and then moved on with our lives, never 
looking back on what is usually an unpleasant experience for 
everyone but doubly so for a blind person. Please remember that 
there are two basic things to keep in mind about standardized 
testing: we're going to do it better if we work together as 
Federationists to solve the problem, and the whole thing is round 
and mean.
     **********
     **********
     **********
          Planned giving takes place when a contributor 
decides to leave a substantial gift to charity. It 
means planning as you would for any substantial 
purchase--a house, college tuition, or a car. The most 
common forms of planned giving are wills and life 
insurance policies. There are also several planned 
giving options through which you can simultaneously 
give a substantial contribution to the National 
Federation of the Blind, obtain a tax deduction, and 
receive lifetime income now or in the future. For more 
information write or call the National Federation of 
the Blind, Special Gifts, 1800 Johnson Street, 
Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998, (410) 659-9314, fax 
(410) 685-5653.
     **********
     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Seated at the Great-Gathering-in head table are (left to 
right) President Maurer at the podium, Diane McGeorge, James Gashel, and 
Kristen Cox.]
     The 2000 Washington Seminar
     **********
     For about twenty years now we have conducted our Washington 
Seminar in late January and early February. Looking back, it is 
remarkable that the weather has never before presented 
significant trouble. One year a sudden ice storm late one 
afternoon forced those walking back to the hotel from the Capitol 
to skate part of the way, and snowstorms from time to time have 
caused a few people problems coming or going. But by and large we 
have been very lucky.
     That luck began to wear thin this year. Just before the 
seminar began, a storm traveled up from the South, dumping snow 
and ice in large quantities as it came. Washington, which doesn't 
even have many snow shovels, never mind serious snow-removal 
equipment, lay helpless for several days under more than a foot 
of snow. By Friday, though, the airports were open, and the 
planes that could get off the ground in other cities could land 
in Washington.
     But more snow and ice were on the way. By Sunday, when tours 
of the National Center were scheduled, the forecasters were 
predicting everything from rain to another foot of snow. 
Apparently the meteorologists were so unnerved by having 
misjudged the speed with which the earlier storm was going to 
move in and level the city that they over-compensated by assuring 
us that everything they could think of in the precipitation line 
was going to fall on Washington, and in the end most of it did.
     But it turned out not to be as bad as it might have been, 
and the rain/sleet/snow didn't begin falling until after noon, 
but several inches of the stuff certainly came down all afternoon 
and into the evening, causing the postponement of office-openings 
for a couple of hours Monday morning.
     On the whole we were amazingly lucky. Hundreds of 
Federationists poured into Washington from all over the country 
in time for the student party Friday evening and the Mid-Winter 
Conference of the National Association of Blind Students all day 
Saturday. The seminar was splendid, and a wonderful banquet 
capped the event with good food, fine fellowship, and an 
inspiring address by NFB Treasurer Allen Harris. The Research and 
Development Committee met in Baltimore Saturday, and so many 
workshops took place at the hotel on Sunday that we ran out of 
meeting space.
     By 5:00 p.m. well over 400 Federationists from forty-four 
states were gathered in the Columbia Room for the Great 
Gathering-in meeting of the 2000 Washington Seminar. A CNN news 
crew was even on hand to gather footage and interviews for a 
story about our efforts to have blind workers in sheltered 
workshops covered by minimum-wage protection.
     Dr. Maurer reviewed the highlights of recent Federation 
activities. Director of Governmental Affairs Jim Gashel spoke 
generally about our work for the week. His assistant, Kristen 
Cox, dealt with the details of the issues we would be discussing, 
and Diane McGeorge made sure that everyone's hotel arrangements 
were working out properly. By 7:00 the meeting ended, and some 
rushed off to watch the Super Bowl while others headed for dinner 
and delegation planning for the morning.
     Despite the two-hour delay Monday morning on the Hill, 
Federationists put in a full day in Congressional offices, 
discussing our three issues for this legislative year. (See the 
following article for the details.) Everyone was back in our 
briefing room by 6:30 to hear from Republican Congressman John 
Shimkus of Illinois, who announced that he was an original 
cosponsor of H.R. 3540, introduced the previous Thursday by 
Congressman Johnny Isakson of Georgia. When passed, this law will 
remove blindness from the list of worker conditions permitting 
employers to receive certificates of exemption from paying the 
minimum wage. Everyone enjoyed Mr. Shimkus's short speech and his 
enthusiasm for our cause.
     Even those new to the Washington-Seminar routine quickly 
caught on to the requirements. Those returning from the Hill went 
straight to the Mercury Room to report on their meetings to the 
staff of volunteers organized by Sandy Halverson and Judy 
Sanders. There is something supremely satisfying to a 
Federationist in contributing to a record-keeping system 
conducted entirely in Braille. The information was fed into the 
computer, and Mrs. Cox got the information she needed with 
amazing speed and accuracy.
     By Wednesday, though a number of meetings were still taking 
place on the Hill, many affiliates had met all their members and 
were heading home. The Congressional delegations whose 
constituents had been prevented from getting to the Washington 
Seminar this year because of weather had been covered by 
Federationists from neighboring states. Once again this year we 
visited every member of the House and Senate and discussed our 
fact sheets with them and their staffs.
     We went home with Mrs. Cox's words ringing in our ears: 
"This is only the beginning of our legislative work for 2000." 
Now it's time to write letters, send faxes, and urge our members 
to sign on to our bills and keep working for our issues. The 
Washington Seminar is a splendid way to participate in the 
democratic process. Already we are recording additional 
cosponsors on our various bills. We must keep up the pressure on 
Congress to do what is right for blind Americans.
     **********
     **********
 [PHOTO/CAPTION: Kristen Cox]
     2000 Legislative Agenda and Fact Sheets
     **********
     Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:
     Priorities for the 106th Congress, Second Session
     **********
     Public policies and laws affecting blind people have a 
profound impact throughout our entire society. Most people know 
someone who is blind. It may be a friend, a family member, or a 
co-worker on the job. In fact, as many as fifty thousand 
Americans become blind each year, and the blind population in the 
United States is estimated to exceed 1.1 million. By themselves 
these numbers may not seem large, but the social and economic 
consequences of blindness directly touch the lives of millions 
and--at least indirectly--have some impact on everyone.
     Public policies and laws that result from misconceptions or 
lack of information about blindness are often more limiting than 
the loss of eyesight itself. This is why we have formed the 
National Federation of the Blind. The Federation's leaders and 
the vast majority of its members are blind, but anyone is welcome 
to join in the effort we are making to win understanding and 
equality in society.
     Our priorities for the second session of the 106th Congress 
reflect an urgent need for action in three specific areas of 
vital importance to the blind this year. (For a further 
explanation of these issues please see the attached fact sheets.)
     **********
     1. Congress should reinstate the policy of an identical 
earnings exemption threshold for blind and senior citizen 
beneficiaries under title II of the Social Security Act. This 
proposal seeks to reduce or eliminate altogether the work 
disincentive of the Social Security earnings limit as it now 
affects blind beneficiaries.
     2. Congress should amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to 
exclude blindness as a basis for paying subminimum wages. This 
proposal is designed to achieve wage equity for blind employees 
by eliminating the subminimum wage policy as currently applied to 
blind workers.
     3. Congress should amend the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act to assist schools through the establishment of 
uniform nonvisual access standards which will be applied when 
purchasing instructional materials and technology. Without these 
standards instructional materials and technology will continue to 
be inaccessible to blind students, and the right to an equal-
opportunity education for these children will be denied.
     **********
     Blind people are asking for your help to address the 
priority issues listed in our current agenda. By acting on these 
priorities in partnership with the National Federation of the 
Blind, each member of Congress can help build better lives for 
the blind, and society as a whole, both today and in the years 
ahead.
     **********
     **********
     Fact Sheet
     **********
     Winning the Chance to Earn, Work, and Pay Taxes:
     How the Blind Person's Earnings Limit in the
     Social Security Act Must be Changed
     **********
LEGISLATION
     Short Title: "The Blind Persons' Earnings Equity Act," S 285 
Short Title: "Blind Empowerment Act," HR 1601
     **********
PURPOSE
     To restore the linkage between the earnings exemption 
threshold for blind persons and the exemption allowed for 
retirees at age sixty-five under title II of the Social Security 
Act.
     **********
BACKGROUND
     As the result of a 1996 law to raise the debt limit, senior 
citizens age sixty-five to seventy are encouraged to continue 
working while retaining entitlement to Social Security benefits. 
This is being done by annual changes in the exempt earnings 
threshold, which is $17,000 in 2000 and will increase to $30,000 
by the year 2002. In making the case for this change, advocates 
in Congress explained that more senior citizens would have the 
opportunity to work, earn, and pay taxes, since they would not 
lose income from Social Security by working.
     In spite of a law passed in 1977 to establish the earnings 
exemption threshold for blind people at the level used for 
seniors, a decision was made in 1996 to exclude the blind from 
the higher exemptions. This means that a lower earnings limit of 
$14,040 for blind people, as compared to $17,000 for seniors, is 
now in effect for earnings in 2000. By 2002, when the exemption 
for seniors becomes $30,000, the limit for the blind is expected 
to be approximately $15,360.
     Earnings of this amount for a blind person who is age sixty-
four will cause the complete loss of Social Security benefits 
until the individual becomes a retiree at age sixty-five. At that 
point the same individual is allowed to earn almost twice the 
amount allowed for the blind. This is the inequity that now 
exists.
     **********
EXISTING LAW
     Section 216(i) of the Social Security Act defines 
"blindness." Therefore, blindness--like age--can be determined 
with reasonable certainty. By contrast, "disability" is not 
precisely defined but is determined on the basis of "inability to 
engage in substantial gainful activity." Compared to evaluating 
blindness, this is a complex and fairly subjective determination. 
     Although blindness is precisely defined, monthly benefits 
are not paid to all persons who are blind but only to those whose 
earnings are below the annually adjusted limit. Personal wealth 
not resulting from current work activity does not count as 
earnings and has no effect on eligibility. Only work is 
penalized. It was the recognition of this fact that led to the 
greater exemption of earnings now allowed for seniors, and the 
situation for blind people is precisely the same.
     **********
ACTION REQUESTED
     Congress should reinstate the policy of an identical 
earnings exemption threshold for blind and senior citizen 
beneficiaries under title II of the Social Security Act. 
Legislation has been introduced by Senator John McCain and 
Representative Robert Ehrlich. With 263 cosponsors of HR 1601 and 
forty-eight cosponsors of S 285, the legislation enjoys broad 
bipartisan support.
     The National Federation of the Blind strongly supports this 
legislation. By creating a lower earnings limit for the blind, 
the action taken in 1996 has resulted in a harsh work 
disincentive policy which is widely regarded as an inequity 
created in the rush to pass the 1996 debt-ceiling bill.
     **********
NEED TO REMOVE WORK DISINCENTIVES
     Mandating the adjustments in the earnings limit for blind 
people in the manner now allowed for age-sixty-five retirees will 
provide more than 100,000 blind beneficiaries with a powerful 
work incentive. Most blind people would not lose financially by 
working. Moreover, the mandated earnings limit changes would be 
cost-beneficial since among those of working age most blind 
people are already beneficiaries. At present their earnings must 
not exceed a strict limit of $1,170 per month. When earnings 
exceed this exempt amount, the entire sum paid to a primary 
beneficiary and dependents is abruptly withdrawn after a trial 
work period.
     When a blind person finds work, there is absolutely no 
assurance that earnings will replace the amount of lost 
disability benefits after taxes and work expenses are paid. 
Usually they do not. Therefore few beneficiaries can afford to 
attempt substantial work. Those who do will often sacrifice 
income and will certainly sacrifice the security they have from 
the automatic receipt of a monthly check.
     This group of beneficiaries--people of working age who are 
blind--must not be forgotten now that the earnings exemption has 
been raised for seniors. Just as with hundreds of thousands of 
seniors, the positive response of blind people to the higher 
earnings exemptions will bring additional revenues into the 
Social Security trust funds. The chance to work, earn, and pay 
taxes is a constructive and valid goal for senior citizens and 
blind Americans alike.
     **********
     **********
     FACT SHEET
     Wage Equity for Blind Employees
     **********
BACKGROUND
     The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) enacted into law 
the principle that individuals with disabilities are entitled to 
equal treatment in all areas of life. Title I of the ADA mandates 
that individuals with disabilities must be given equal employment 
opportunity. But for blind people who work in special work 
settings known as "sheltered workshops," the ADA mandate for 
equality has made little difference in the pay received. This is 
so because agencies that operate the shops can be exempt from 
certain provisions of another federal law--the Fair Labor 
Standards Act, in order to pay employees less than the otherwise 
applicable statutory minimum wage.
     The minimum wage is currently $5.15 per hour. The exemption 
permits payments below this amount based on an individual blind 
worker's productivity. All employers can use this exemption; but, 
with the exception of sheltered workshops, they do not. There are 
eighty-nine workshops that supply products and services to the 
federal government and private sector. While most of the 
assembly-line workers in these shops are currently paid above the 
minimum wage (it is estimated that approximately 200 are not), 
payment of even $5.15 per hour is not guaranteed.
     **********
EXISTING LAW
     Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act requires the 
Secretary of Labor to grant exemptions from the minimum wage to 
employers who hire workers whose "earning or productive capacity 
is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury." 
Subminimum wages are permitted "to the extent necessary to 
prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment." This 
principle is largely rhetorical since there has never been a 
finding that employment opportunities would decline without the 
subminimum wage.
     There is no legal lower limit on wages below the statutory 
minimum. Employers, not the federal government, determine the pay 
rates. Affected employees may complain and seek redress of 
grievances in individual wage disputes, but actual compensation 
which may be received in these disputes is minimal, so workers 
who receive less than the minimum wage cannot afford the lawyers 
needed to bring the claim. Legal pay rates below the minimum wage 
are supposed to be based on individual productivity, as compared 
to standard productivity achieved by unimpaired people for 
essentially the same type, quality, and quantity of work 
performed.
     **********
PROPOSED LEGISLATION
     Congress should amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to 
exclude blindness as a basis for paying subminimum wages. This 
proposal is designed to achieve wage equity for blind employees. 
Without the exemption all employers, including the sheltered 
workshops, would be required to apply the same pay standards to 
everyone regardless of visual acuity. In largely its current 
form, the minimum wage exemption has existed since the original 
enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. However, the 
exemption is philosophically inconsistent with current experience 
and more enlightened employment policies affecting blind people.
     The proposal would amend section 14(c) of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act to clarify that impaired vision or blindness could 
not be used by an employer as the basis for obtaining an 
exemption from paying the minimum wage. Subminimum wage 
certificates could be issued to employers for hiring people with 
impairments that actually affect productivity. However, it has 
never been demonstrated that, in the types of work settings where 
subminimum wages are ordinarily paid, blindness has any negative 
impact on worker capacity to produce.
     **********
NEED FOR LEGISLATION
     The 1986 amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act extended 
important new appeal rights to persons employed under subminimum 
wages. In the few hearings that have been held so far, blind 
workers have recovered significant amounts of back pay. They have 
done so, however, at great expense. Through the efforts made in 
these hearings it has been demonstrated that employers control 
virtually all of the factors which affect worker productivity. 
Yet the blind employees, not their employers, bear all of the 
costs for low productivity and suffer the economic consequences. 
No worker or class of workers in American industry is subjected 
to such a rigid and unfair work-place standard. It is not 
uncommon to find that blind workers in sheltered workshops are 
being paid as little as half the minimum wage or even less.
     The pay inequities resulting from the minimum wage exemption 
policy are particularly odious in view of the federal 
government's significant purchasing role, including price 
determinations, which ultimately affect wage payments. In all too 
many instances productivity records are not maintained to justify 
wages below $5.15 an hour. Officials of the Department of Labor 
have acknowledged that violations of the current law are found in 
over 50 percent of the wage and hour investigations that they 
conduct. A fraction of the sheltered workshops exempt from paying 
the minimum wage are reviewed each year. This leaves the rest 
free to pay less than the minimum wage at virtually any level 
without fear of scrutiny. When employers are caught illegally 
paying below the minimum wage, the penalty is only to pay the 
affected workers the amount due them. Under these circumstances 
the present law is unenforceable and must be changed.
     **********
     **********
     FACT SHEET
     **********
     ACCESS TO EDUCATION FOR BLIND STUDENTS
     How the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Can Meet
     the Needs of Blind Students
     **********
BACKGROUND:
     For blind students attaining a high-quality education can be 
very difficult. This is due in large part to marketplace forces 
which favor mass production of educational media designed for 
sighted students. As a result instructional materials and 
technology used in classrooms throughout America are often 
inaccessible to blind students. Modifications required for 
nonvisual access are time-consuming and result in significant 
expense to school districts and the taxpayers. As a consequence 
many needs go unmet.
     With textbooks, for example, converting the printed version 
for use by the blind is labor-intensive. The process involves 
electronically scanning or manually inputting the printed 
information to create an electronic file. This file is used to 
produce books in nonvisual formats such as Braille or synthetic 
speech. At an estimated average cost of $1,200 for a single book 
for a single child, this process may take six months or more to 
complete. Therefore, it is an exception--not the rule--for a 
blind student to receive an entire book when needed.
     In the purchase of technology school districts often procure 
computers not compatible with devices or software that allow 
nonvisual access. If the technology is purchased without regard 
to speech or Braille output, after-the-fact modifications are 
very expensive and may be impossible. The result is that blind 
students are left out of computer-based instruction and online 
learning available to their classmates.
     **********
EXISTING LAW:
     The Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act, and other laws have established the 
policy of equal access and equal opportunity for individuals with 
disabilities. Successful implementation of these laws cannot 
occur, however, without anticipating the needs of people with 
disabilities and taking steps to meet them. For instance, 
contractors must include access ramps that meet specific criteria 
when building a new public facility. Doing this before 
construction ensures that costly later modifications are avoided. 
In contrast, schools do not employ standards that permit blind 
students access to information that is fundamental to all 
education programs. There are no federal laws that create 
standards for nonvisual access to technology and published 
materials.
     In an attempt to create nonvisual access standards, fifteen 
states require publishers to provide an electronic version of any 
textbook purchased by a state or local education agency. The 
electronic version is then used to convert the material into a 
nonvisual format, but considerable variation exists among the 
states in the file formats required for this purpose. These 
differences compel textbook publishers to meet inconsistent and 
conflicting standards. Even more troubling, most of the state 
requirements are imprecise and result in electronic files that 
cannot be used for the purpose intended.
     In purchasing technology, five states now include a clause 
in procurement contracts to require compliance with nonvisual 
access standards. The states do this to permit both blind and 
sighted people to use the technology purchased. These standards 
for nonvisual access anticipate needs before they arise and avoid 
the expense and problems of modifying technology after the fact.
     **********
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS:
     Congress should amend the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act to assist schools through the establishment of uniform 
nonvisual access standards which will be applied when purchasing 
instructional materials and technology. The standards will be 
used by schools or state education agencies. Leadership to 
develop consistent and cost-effective criteria for nonvisual 
access will be developed at the federal level and applied at the 
local level. This approach will coordinate efforts to solve a 
problem of national scope, with local control left in place.
     Under the proposal the Secretary of Education will 
promulgate standards to support conversion of electronic text 
into formats suitable for use with Braille or speech technology. 
The standards will also specify criteria for technology used in 
the classroom to be compatible with devices and software used for 
Braille or speech access to information.
     The Secretary will develop these standards in consultation 
with all affected parties, including publishers, representatives 
of the information-technology industry, producers of alternate-
format materials and adapted technology, representatives of blind 
consumer organizations, parents of blind children, and 
representatives of general- and special-education programs. Once 
in place and applied by state and local agencies, the standards 
will assure that all schools are better equipped to meet the 
present and future access needs of blind students.
     **********
NEED FOR LEGISLATION:
     As last re-authorized in 1994, title I of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act provides funding to address the needs of 
disadvantaged children in general education programs. This 
fulfills the policy of our nation: to provide all children with 
the opportunity for a high-quality education regardless of 
economic, social, or cultural factors.
     Keeping this commitment for blind students means convenient 
and ready access to instructional materials and technology which 
they can use. Some states and local schools can be praised for 
their efforts to support blind students, but this is the 
exception. In general the lack of uniform nonvisual access 
standards for schools to use in purchasing educational media 
places the burden on the schools themselves to obtain or create 
specialized materials and technology.
     This is a responsibility which suppliers of textbooks and 
technology should help to meet by providing accessible products. 
For example, the standards may require textbook publishers to 
supply a single copy of the text in an electronic format suitable 
for producing a Braille version of the print editions purchased. 
Compatibility of classroom computers for use with nonvisual 
access technology may also be required.
     Standards such as these are reasonable conditions for 
schools to use in purchasing. If they do not, the problem of 
access will persist, and the right to an equal-opportunity 
education for blind students will be denied.
     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Priscilla McKinley]
     Living the Movement: Ferret Federationists
     by Priscilla McKinley
     **********
     From the Editor: At this year's Mid-Winter Conference of the 
National Association of Blind Students, two students were invited 
to speak about their notions of what it means to live the 
movement. The first to address the audience was Priscilla 
McKinley, President of the Old Capitol Chapter of the NFB of 
Iowa, a member of the affiliate's board of directors and a 
graduate student at the University of Iowa. Priscilla has also 
twice won NFB scholarships. This is what she said:
     **********
     Good morning, Federationists, or perhaps I should say, 
"ferret-like Federationists." Yes, you heard me right: ferret-
like Federationists. The other day, while sitting in my office 
thinking about my life as a blind person, I was continually 
reminded that my ferret was in the room asleep in her hammock 
hanging from the ceiling of her cage--the sound of her breathing 
very soft, but noticeable. And then I thought of it, the perfect 
metaphor for this speech, my pet ferret Chloe.
     A few months ago I had a dream in which I had a mink, a 
ferret, a mongoose, and a goat. When I woke the next day and 
asked my husband Brian if I could get one of those, he rejected 
the mink, mongoose, and goat, but finally agreed on the ferret. 
Two days later I had a pet ferret, and my obsession began.
     Do any of you in this room have a ferret? Well I can tell 
you a few things about them. Ferrets are adorable little animals 
with long bodies that seem to change form with each movement. 
They have triangular heads with pointy little noses. They're 
related to weasels, badgers, otters, minks, and even skunks. But 
unlike those animals, ferrets have been domesticated for 
centuries because they were originally used to ferret out rabbits 
for hunters in England and later rats on farms in this country.
     Spending most of their time in dark tunnels, most ferrets 
have very poor eyesight. They don't see well in the bright light, 
and they don't see color at all. Many are totally blind. Yet 
according to my ferret book, blind ferrets get around better than 
their sighted counterparts. Studies show that the blind ferrets 
use their other senses and are actually more aware of their 
surroundings. In fact, with their keen sense of direction, 
ferrets have often been used to wire planes and other equipment.
     So what does this have to do with my life as a blind person, 
with your lives as blind people? Well, since spending about ten 
hours a day with Chloe, whose cage is in my office, I know that 
ferrets have two modes of operating: lethargic and lively, off 
and on. First there is mode one, in which the ferret sleeps 
between fourteen and sixteen hours a day, often climbing out of 
her hammock only to get a drink or piece of food. Sometimes too 
lazy to get out of her hammock, she will hang over the edge, 
stretching her long body to snatch up a raisin or a fruit treat.
     When I lost my sight due to complications of diabetes, I was 
much like a ferret in the off-mode, extremely passive. I was 
content in my situation, letting others take care of me, letting 
others determine my fate. At first, suffering from depression, I 
wanted to sleep sixteen to eighteen hours a day. When my mother 
compared my blindness to the deaths of my sister and father, I 
thought she was right. I believed that my blindness was a 
tragedy, a death. When I decided to go back to school, my rehab 
counselor told me that maybe I could get a job at Goodwill--a 
good job in the office, not a job sorting clothes. I actually 
considered this for a while, but then I told my rehab counselor 
that instead I wanted to go back to school.
     When I thought classes like science and foreign language 
might be too hard for me, a blind person, I requested waivers for 
those classes. When I was accepted into grad school and decided 
to apply for a job as a graduate instructor, one professor told 
me that perhaps I should teach a correspondence course, where I 
wouldn't have to deal with students. Another professor told me 
that I should apply for a job in the writing lab, where I 
wouldn't have to worry about an entire class, but would be 
working one on one.
     When I registered for a practicum in that writing lab and 
asked the instructor when we'd be working with our students, she 
said, "We won't have to worry about students. I don't know how 
they would react to having a blind teacher." So what did I do? I 
went home and cried. I snuggled up under my blankets on my bed, 
just as my little ferret snuggles up under her blankets in her 
hammock.
     Even though I eventually had my own writing lab students and 
secured a position as a graduate instructor, I lacked self-
confidence and a positive attitude about blindness. I remained in 
mode one--the off-mode. Then in 1996 I attended my first 
convention of the National Federation of the Blind in Anaheim, 
California. For the first time in my life as a blind person I 
wasn't the minority, and I started scratching at the door of my 
cage, anxious to move into mode two--the on-mode. Just as my 
little ferret does the weasel joy dance, hopping and skipping and 
jumping, moving independently across my office floor, I observed 
Barbara Pierce, one of my mentors, flying across the floors of 
the Hilton, hurrying to get to her public relations meetings. 
Just as my little ferret extends her pointy nose to ferret out 
every nook and cranny of my house, I observed Peggy Elliott 
extending her seven- or eight-foot-long cane, eager to explore 
uncharted territory.
     Just as my little ferret takes on my two sighted spaniels, 
chasing them through the house, often tugging on their tails, I 
observed Dr. Jernigan, Dr. Maurer, and the other leaders in the 
NFB taking on the big dogs in the world, not at all intimidated 
by their size.
     When I returned home after the convention, I knew that I 
could never go back to my cage. I had tasted the freedom and the 
positive attitude about blindness the NFB offers blind 
individuals. Unlike ferrets, who spend their lives in those two 
modes, we as blind people can choose the mode in which we want to 
live our lives. We can choose to live in mode one, content to be 
locked in our cages, letting others determine what we can and 
cannot do. Or with the love and support of the National 
Federation of the Blind, we can live our lives in mode two, 
taking on the big dogs, exploring new ground, doing the weasel 
joy dance for all of the world to see.
     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Thomas Philip]
     Living the Movement: The Perspective from Sudan
     by Thomas Philip
     **********
     From the Editor: Thomas Philip came to this country less 
than three years ago and now serves as President of the Minnesota 
Association of Blind Students. He was the second person to 
address the topic of Living the Movement. This is what he said:
     **********
     The English writer Salman Rushdie once said: "The sun is a 
blessing, and a blessing requires the gratitude of the blessed." 
These words frequently visited my mind when I became blind at the 
age of ten. For two years I suffered isolation and despair, 
discrimination and rejection, not only from my countrymen and 
women, but also from my family. My dad, who is the husband of 
five wives and the father of more than thirty children, made it 
clear through his actions that he didn't want anything to do with 
a blind child. My mother loved me, but at the same time she did 
not know what to do with me. By the end of the second year, 
however, I decided that it was time for me to fight for freedom 
and independence.
     When I graduated from the Rejaf Center for the Blind at the 
age of thirteen, I told my father that I was ready to go back to 
school. In theory he agreed to help me do it, but in practice he 
thought it was not worthwhile to send a blind child to school. As 
a result, I took the initiative to go and tell the director of 
the Catholic school myself. The director said my blindness made 
it impossible for me to join the public school. However, I told 
him I could use the slate and stylus to take notes and even to 
Braille my textbooks. I added that I could take all my exams 
aurally since none of the teachers there knew Braille.
     In the end he gave me the chance to try it for two weeks. In 
this short time I proved to them that blind kids could compete on 
terms of equality with their sighted peers. Since then, we, the 
blind of southern Sudan, have never been denied the right to go 
to school. This is how each of us can change what it means to be 
blind in different corners of the earth.
     But at the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, hundreds of blind 
Africans suffered injustice at the hands of blind Arabs for 
political reasons. Some were forced to give up their identity and 
beliefs, while others were denied services. As the Secretary for 
Southern Affairs at that time, I took a militant stand against 
such practices. Consequently they attempted to assassinate me. 
Luckily I flew to Ethiopia and became a refugee for three years.
     That was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. 
When I came to the United States two-and-a-half years ago, I went 
to BLIND, Inc., in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for proper blindness 
training. There I began, not only to hear more and more about the 
history and the philosophy of the National Federation of the 
Blind, but to experience its love when they taught me to do 
things I had been told that blind people couldn't do.
     I started reading NFB literature and talking to many 
Federationists about the organization. In the end I came to the 
conclusion that the National Federation of the Blind was the 
family I had been looking for, a family built on love and 
commitment, a family of collective action and self-determination. 
I joined the Federation, and all my family members warmly 
welcomed me.
     Now I am no longer a lonely blind man trying to kill an 
elephant all by myself. Whenever I face obstacles, there is 
always somebody to talk to, somebody ready to take action. This 
is why I am a Federationist and why I hope all of you are 
Federationists as well. You and I have indeed come a long way and 
must continue to work with love and commitment as we journey down 
the road to first-class status in America.
     In closing, I would like to leave you with the wonderful 
words of Mr. Albert Einstein: "A hundred times every day I remind 
myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other 
men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to 
give in the same measure as I have received and am still 
receiving."
     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Angela Howard]
     Ghana: Our Independence Outside the United States
     by Angela Howard
     **********
     From the Editor: Angela Howard has been an active 
Federationist since she was a child. It is no wonder, then, that 
she eagerly embraced the opportunity to live and study for a 
semester in Ghana. This is what she told the Student Seminar 
about her experience:
     **********
     I'm used to being known as the blind girl, but in Ghana I am 
known as the white girl. My friend even once overheard someone 
refer to her as the white girl who sees. [laughter] In a way 
being blind helped me to adjust to being a white person in 
Africa. The other white students in my program had never 
experienced what it is like to be different, and they had a hard 
time adjusting always to being a spectacle. My friend used to say 
that we looked like light bulbs in the sea of dark faces, but I'm 
used to being a light bulb, and I quickly adjusted to all the 
attention.
     Ghanaians have a reputation for being some of the 
friendliest people in the world. I can speak from experience: 
this is the truth. I never once experienced hatred or hostility 
on the streets. I experienced discrimination only once when a 
taxi driver refused to take me to town unless I brought a 
companion with me. Other than that, my problem was only that 
people tried to help me too much.
     Certain ethnic groups in Ghana believe that, every time you 
help a blind person, you receive points in paradise. I can assure 
you that I helped many of them make it across that line. I will 
tell you that living in a developing country is quite different 
from living in the United States, and much of the help I would 
not need here, I welcomed in that environment. Other help I 
accepted simply because it helped me to avoid conflict.
     For example, the children in Ghana have the job of leading 
blind people around, and naturally they tried to do the same with 
me. They would follow me in large crowds, grab my cane, and sort 
of pull me along. I would try to explain politely to them why I 
needed my cane to touch the ground, and sometimes they would 
understand, but if they did not, I didn't push the matter. I knew 
I was safe with them surrounding me and I did not want to scare 
them away by scolding them.
     The people I met in town were interested in me and glad to 
have me around, but living with someone who is different from you 
is much more difficult and frightening than simply passing them 
in the market from time to time. My struggle to gain acceptance 
in my family and in my neighborhood was much more difficult. 
Originally the directors of my program assigned me to a home 
where a blind man lived, thinking that the family would be better 
able to understand my situation. But as we all know, making 
decisions about where to go based on blindness is usually a 
mistake. When I first got to the house, my house mother informed 
me that I was to come straight home from school every day and 
that I wasn't allowed to walk alone on the roads. They insisted 
that one family member be with me at all times, and this included 
the bathroom and the shower. I was willing to give up some of my 
comfort in order to fit in, but I knew that I could not live 
under these conditions.
     I did not say anything to the family, but the next day I 
told my director that I could not go back. She told me to meet 
her at town hall at six o'clock, and she would tell me what to 
do. So that afternoon I sat by the ocean, more frightened than I 
have ever been in my life. I'm in Africa and I'm homeless, I 
thought. Would there be any family who would accept me as a 
normal person? I knew the name of a woman who had hosted a friend 
of mine when he was in Ghana, and she agreed to let me stay with 
her family until the directors of my program could find another 
home for me. However, as soon as I walked into that house, I knew 
that I wasn't going to leave. We got along so well together that 
everyone agreed it was best for me to remain at Auntie Jane's 
place.
     Auntie Jane's house was always buzzing with people. I had a 
mother, a grandmother, a great aunt, four sisters, and five 
brothers. They all gave me a tremendous amount of love, and 
fortunately they were also good about blindness. They were 
perfectly willing to give me any assistance I needed, but they 
allowed me to decide when I needed help and when I did not.
     Living with Auntie Jane helped me to gain a measure of 
acceptance and more than just a family. Auntie Jane is one of the 
most respected mothers of the neighborhood. Her mother, Auntie 
Victoria, had once been the queen mother, and Auntie Jane herself 
had turned down the opportunity to be the queen mother in her 
younger years. Everyone in the neighborhood knows Auntie Jane, 
and this came in handy as I tried to find my way home during the 
first few weeks. As Auntie Jane's American daughter, I 
automatically received a measure of respect that I would not have 
been given had I lived with another family.
     Auntie Jane owns a bar attached to the house. Now the bars 
in Ghana are not like the bars we have in the United States. They 
are more like outdoor patios where people gather to have a few 
drinks and to socialize with their neighbors. When I first 
started sitting in the bar with my Auntie Jane, I could feel that 
tension--that feeling we get when we sense that people don't 
quite know what to do about us. I felt that tension, but I wasn't 
sure how to get rid of it. However, I soon found a strange 
solution to the problem. One afternoon, when I had been there 
about a week, I came into the bar and announced to my Auntie Jane 
that I had failed my test and that I needed a beer. The bar 
filled with laughter, and immediately people began talking and 
joking with me. Now I don't particularly like the taste of beer, 
but I have nothing against it, and I decided that, if it would 
help me to become part of the neighborhood, I could bear it. Once 
I started drinking beer with the neighbors, they decided I was 
pretty okay.
     These people became my dear friends, and I have many 
cherished memories of sitting in the bar with them. We sang 
Lionel Richie songs together. They taught me some of their 
language and laughed at me when I didn't get it right. They 
taught me how to chew sugar cane, and they even tried to marry me 
off to one of their own.
     One day a man sat down beside me and told me, "We have all 
taken a vote, and we have decided that we want you to marry 
Pappa, but he has to pay the dowry."
     "How much am I worth?" I asked.
     "Twenty cows," he told me. I still wonder if that was an 
insult or a compliment.
     Now I'm not trying to give the impression that my journey 
towards gaining acceptance was as easy as drinking a glass of 
beer, far from it. Many of my Ghanaian friends struggled to 
understand blindness and who I was. Sometimes it was painful. It 
was a constant struggle for me to know when I was close enough to 
people to be able to tell them that I didn't like it when they 
did a certain thing to me. I let a lot of things go unchallenged, 
and that was hard for me, but in the end people treated me just 
about the way I liked to be treated, and I didn't scare anyone 
away with an overly assertive attitude.
     One night towards the end of my trip, a young man told me, 
"You know, Auntie Jane has a lot of foreign students come here, 
but we want you to know that we will miss you the most." Another 
friend, who in the beginning told me that he was afraid no one 
would want to be my friend because I'm blind, confessed, 
"Everyone here loves you, and anyone would be proud to walk by 
your side." I too grew to love these people very much. I know 
that the neighborhood would welcome another blind student from 
the United States into their community, and for this reason I 
feel that I made some good choices.
     On my last day in Ghana I ate lunch with an American friend, 
and we looked back together on our trip. I confided in her that I 
was afraid that I had not done things right as a blind person. 
"What if other blind people come to study abroad, and come home 
to tell me that I wasn't as independent as I could have been or 
that I could have done certain things in a better way?"
     "Isn't that what you should hope for--that more blind people 
will do these kinds of things and that they will keep finding 
easier ways to do them?" she asked. I believe that she is right. 
I hope that all of you will go out and travel the world. I hope 
that you will come home to tell me that you have learned how to 
carry a basket on your head or strap a baby to your back. Most 
important, I hope that you come home to tell me that there was an 
easier way, that you found more independence and acceptance than 
I could have dreamed possible.
     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Mariyam Cementwala]
     The Universality of Truths
     by Mariyam Cementwala
     **********
     From the Editor: Mariyam Cementwala is a leader in the 
National Association of Blind Students. She was a 1997 NFB 
scholarship winner. She now studies at the University of 
California at Berkeley. She also told the student seminar 
audience about a recent experience abroad. To understand her 
tale, you must bear in mind that in Braille the word "right" is 
written dot five r. This is what Maryiam said:
     **********
     What I am about to share is a true story and a little 
frightening now as I look back in retrospect. I called this bit 
of it "The Universality of Truths."
     Though I had been to Mumbai (Bombay) many times since moving 
to the United States, I anticipated this trip to India with 
special fervor, because he was supposed to be quite a man, the 
tall, dark, and handsome son of one of Mumbai's wealthy 
industrialist families. His father was an exporter of imitation 
jewelry, and he helped in the family business. A side note to 
everyone in my family was the fact that he had an eye problem. 
After all, I had the same eye problem. The important thing was 
that he was an eligible bachelor of twenty-five from a good 
Muslim family and interested in meeting me. Never mind that the 
concept of an arranged marriage was as foreign to me as the 
planet Mars. So with some trepidation and some girlish excitement 
I began this philosophical adventure.
     I readily expected a few things that happened to me. When I 
traveled using my cane on the streets and in public in Mumbai, 
people would gawk. I expected that some would wail, "Oh you poor 
thing," or some other pitying comment. I expected that some would 
be curious about my big white stick and what was wrong with my 
foot, and that all would be over-helpful, over-cooperative, and 
basically try to over-do everything. But, because I thrive on 
even a shred of optimism, I expected that some would actually 
understand or come to understand blindness as I have come to 
understand it through the Federation as we live it. In fact, I 
secretly hoped that Mr. Dot Five R would transcend culture and be 
able to embrace NFB philosophy as well as me.
     I did not expect a few of the things that happened. I didn't 
expect that the streets would be so small, cramped, dirty, and 
crowded with rickshaws, taxis, buses, cars, and trucks going 
every which way at whim--that life for sighted and blind people 
alike would be so disorderly. I kept trying to listen for 
parallel and perpendicular traffic but heard instead only a 
clamor of honking horns and traffic going every which way. I 
wondered if the techniques I had learned in order to become a 
competent traveler in Ruston, Louisiana, would still be effective 
in metropolitan Mumbai or anywhere else in the third world, for 
that matter.
     One night, as I was walking in a tiny crowded lane, a 
rickshaw (a sort of motorized bicycle used to carry passengers) 
crushed the bottom of my straight cane. I felt a pang of defeat. 
I wondered how I could advocate independent travel when I was 
struggling myself. But then I realized that true independence 
meant control. I began using a sighted guide as and when 
efficient. Though my confidence waned after the rickshaw 
incident, I also refused to stop traveling alone to places. The 
bottom line was that I came to believe I actually could somehow 
figure out a way to do things, asserting myself in the streets as 
the cars came to a crashing halt, just as the sighted were doing. 
I wondered how the blind did function in the third world. Maybe 
Mr. Dot Five R, who had been to one of the finest universities in 
India, would shed some light on this question.
     New Year's Eve came and brought with it the possibility of 
meeting him. Unfortunately, as it turned out, he had a prior 
engagement, so I celebrated New Year's Eve there as anyone else 
might, eating, drinking, and dancing at Radio Club. That's where 
I met a seven-year-old blind girl who was being taught Braille by 
her mother. I found that the only reader this child had in school 
was her mother because of the lack of economic resources in the 
education system. But from the start this child was being taught 
that she could do anything any other kid her age could do.
     Finally arrived the long anticipated evening. My cousin and 
his wife told me the reason for Mr. Dot Five R to meet me was to 
find out more about what an NFB training center was like, a 
prospect which I found exciting. In India there is no equality of 
opportunity among either the sighted or the blind. The rich have 
it good. They have access to information and education, but the 
poor don't. The rich blind have a chance to better their lives 
and escape the constraints of the third world if they choose to. 
The poor blind compete for bare survival, just like their sighted 
counterparts.
     Here was someone who was interested in making his life 
better and had the affluence to do it. As we approached the porch 
of the restaurant, we were greeted by his brother and sister-in-
law. He was awaiting me at the restaurant entrance. At first 
glance he seemed tall and not too bad looking. There was a quiet, 
aristocratic reserve about him. I would obviously have to be the 
first to speak. This was not hard for me. We exchanged polite 
greetings and walked inside. I noticed that he clung to his 
brother's arm and sat down at the far corner of the booth. As I 
got to the table, conveniently the only seat available was in the 
corner across from him. When I asked my cousin to read the menu 
items containing mushrooms, I noticed that Mr. Dot Five R was 
just sitting passively. While the food was coming, my cousin, 
sensing a lull in the conversation, nudged me and said, "Maybe 
you should start talking about the center now."
     I turned to Mr. Dot Five R and said, "So, what's the first 
word you think of when you hear the word blind?"
     He looked aghast: "Blind? I don't know."
     I said, "Well, do you consider yourself blind?"
     "Oh no, I'm partially sighted. I have a deal of vision yet."
     "Really," I said coyly, not liking this arranged-marriage 
situation anyway, but wanting to give this guy a good try. 
Smiling and remembering Dr. Jernigan, I asked, "So how many 
fingers am I holding up?"
     "I don't know. I can't see your fingers from here."
     "Then I'd say you were blind." I was taking the liberty of 
being slightly impertinent in making the point. "Look, I didn't 
really see myself as a blind person for a long time, but I've 
come to realize that blindness is not a tragedy or anything. It's 
not the end of the world. There is no shame in it." I moved on 
from semantics. I found out that this man hadn't learned Braille 
or cane travel, and I wondered how he had worked, studied, and 
lived for so long here.
     "Well, I have a full-time chauffeur," he said. "I am totally 
dependent on my father and brother in the business. They do the 
business. I just do the correspondence work. Right now I am 
totally dependent."
     Sadly I asked, "Are you happy?"
     "I am pretty content."
     "Well if you are so content, why seek out rehabilitation?"
     "Well, I don't mind if it changes, but it doesn't need to 
change--there is no urgency to it. I'm a curious person and like 
to seek out information." (I wondered if it was information or 
women he was seeking.)
     Hearing this, I thought, "Maybe there is still hope." During 
dinner we talked about my training at an NFB center. Mr. Dot Five 
R thought it preposterous to say that blindness could be reduced 
to an inconvenience. "After all," he said, "It's not so hard to 
eat when you are a blind person. I see what's on my plate with 
the little vision that I have, and I eat what I want and push 
aside what I don't want. How would you eat if you were blind?"
     When I tell you this next part, I want to assure you that 
what I did really happened. My friend asked, "Mariyam, you didn't 
really do this, did you?"
     I said, "Yeah, I did." I turned to him and said, "Let me see 
if I can answer your question about eating as a blind person." I 
pulled out a pair of sleepshades worn at the center from my purse 
and wore them and began to eat, and then asked, "Do you want to 
try?"
     "But I eat sloppily as it is, especially noodles," he said.
     "Everybody has a hard time eating noodles, sighted and blind 
alike--that's not something intrinsically associated with 
blindness." Later on my cousin suggested that we all gather at 
his house to chat some more. Great, I thought.
     When we arrived home, they asked where we, meaning the six 
of us, should sit, indoors or outside on the terrace. Mr. Dot 
Five R's sister-in-law suggested it would be cooler outside, so 
Mr. Dot Five R headed outside, and I followed, assuming that 
everyone else would follow. Instead the sliding glass door shut 
behind me, and I was left alone with this supposedly perfect 
match in the dark. Searching for a neutral subject, I said, "So I 
hear you studied sociology. You got your bachelor's degree in it? 
Did you have a particular interest in the field?"
     "No, I just did it because it was the easiest thing to get a 
degree in."
     "What--I didn't quite understand?"
     "Well all the other programs just seemed too difficult. I 
wanted a degree, so I studied sociology."
     "What would you like to gain from blindness training?"
     "I want material independence, you know, to pick up a book 
and read it, to use a computer effectively, to go where I want to 
go--the skills, as you call them."
     "The skills will do you no good without the proper attitude. 
Here in Mumbai I'm struggling myself to find appropriate 
alternative techniques, but what really matters is whether you 
have the control. People acquire skills anywhere and get by, but 
if you don't have the self-confidence and the positive attitude 
to use your skills and take control of your life, what good are 
they?" At that moment I realized how much the Federation had 
given me. In Mumbai I didn't have the skills I needed, but 
because I found the Federation, I was able to work out the 
skills. But a healthy attitude is the first step.
     He said at that point, "Well you know, I don't really care 
about superficial independence; I mean I am happy with everybody 
else making decisions for me. My father knows best. My brother 
knows all. They are very competent--that's no problem. I'm happy 
with them making my decisions."
     "I could never live like that," I replied. Then I said, 
"Look, I realize that I've lived in the U.S., and things are 
different there, but I live on my own. I pay my own bills. I 
carry my share of responsibilities. Occasionally I turn to my 
parents for help and advice, but sometimes I don't listen to what 
they say. I make my mistakes and learn from them. I find that, as 
you gain your own experiences, you become a better decision-
maker. This does not depend on where I am but who I am and what I 
believe."
     "Well I'm content with things as they are now." I began to 
wonder if this man could really change.
     He said that he believed God controls destiny, and I 
realized at that point that I couldn't do much to help him. I 
said, "I completely disagree with you. I don't doubt that God 
does control our destinies, but there is something to be said for 
individual responsibility for choices. Think of it this way, God 
cuts out the fabric, but we have to decide what we would make 
with that fabric: a dress, a skirt, with embroidery, without it. 
But we make it ourselves. Accepting one's blindness is not 
intervening in fate; it doesn't mean that we give up.      there is a 
blind woman in Mumbai, and the bank where she works told her that 
she couldn't take the test to be the head of the foreign exchange 
department. She fought the system and won. She took the test, and 
now she controls a department."
     "I have no need to fight the system," he said. I realized 
that at twenty-five this man had woven a straitjacket for 
himself, whereas a seven-year-old girl looked to the future. He 
had chosen to blow his chance. At the end of the evening his 
sister-in-law told me that she would love for me to come over and 
meet his parents.
     I exited at that point, saying, "You must excuse me, but 
I've had three glasses of coconut water, and I must use the 
bathroom. It will hit my system eventually." I left her with 
this, "You know it's not for you or me to decide what he wants. 
It's really up to him. He says that he is content with his life, 
and, if that's the case, there is nothing you and I can do. I 
want you to know that it's not my skills that have made me 
confident. It's all in the attitude. Sometimes skills fall short, 
and when they do, the attitude helps us find solutions. That's 
what makes me successful, and that's what makes everyone I know 
who is blind successful. That's something I can't give him unless 
he wants it."
     By the end of the evening I became keenly aware that people 
are a product of their environment. When my family pressed me 
about whether I would marry him and take him up as a challenge, I 
said, "No, I feel that in this case his jewelry really is all 
imitation. Maybe he'll change; maybe he won't. I hope he does, 
but I don't think I can take up this challenge."
     I had always wondered if an arranged marriage by my family 
would work out for me. Now I knew.
     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Norman Gardner]
     When to Stop Relying on Low Vision and Low-Vision Aids
     by Norman Gardner
     **********
     It has been said that, in the world of the blind, the one-
eyed man will be king. The inference here seems to be that the 
more sight a person has, the more capable he is. This is a 
widely-held but very damaging and false idea. How ironic it is 
that many partially sighted people who consider themselves 
superior to those who are totally blind are in many respects less 
capable as a direct consequence of coming to rely too much on 
their partial sight. Rather than making of them a king in the 
world of the blind, partial vision can make of them that very 
inferior being, which they supposed they had avoided by 
possessing partial vision.
     Is it possible that having some vision can actually impede 
the progress we would make if we had no sight at all? How can 
this be? When should we stop relying so much on low vision and 
low-vision aids? Here are four suggestions:
     1. Stop relying on low vision and on low-vision aids the 
moment you find yourself clinging to them as a passport to 
normality.
     In the mid-seventies I was a client at the Idaho Commission 
for the Blind. I had just taken my first teaching job on the 
faculty at Boise State University. I wanted the Commission for 
the Blind to buy me a CCTV that I could use at home. I already 
had one at my office, but I wanted another at home so that I 
could be more productive there. As evidence of how normally I 
could function with such a machine, I told the commission 
director, with pride in my accomplishment, that I had just 
recently used my CCTV at the office to grade some hand-written 
quizzes. I told him that with the CCTV I was able to grade almost 
all the quizzes by myself. I had to have someone else read only 
three of them to me because of the poor handwriting. I 
desperately wanted to be able to grade all my students' papers by 
myself. I knew very little about alternative techniques at the 
time. The thought of having someone else read my students' papers 
to me seemed an admission that I was incompetent as a professor 
and that I was not normal.
     The commission director helped me to see how much I was 
relying on my partial vision and on the CCTV as a way to prove 
that I was normal. He asked, "What will you do if your CCTV 
machine ever breaks?" I suddenly had the very unpleasant vision 
of myself lying helpless on the floor, unable to perform my job 
at all until my CCTV could be repaired. I had assumed I would be 
more normal as a professor if I could get a CCTV. I also felt 
that I would be a more worthy and acceptable professor if I could 
grade my students' papers by myself, in the same way the other 
faculty did.
     Of course these ideas are simply not valid. The important 
thing for me as a faculty member was not how I graded my 
students' papers but that I would get them graded and facilitate 
learning for them.The exact method of grading--whether I graded 
them by myself with a CCTV or used a sighted reader or had the 
students submit assignments electronically for me to access with 
my speech-synthesized computer--was really beside the point and 
irrelevant.
     The real damage of such ideas is that they can lead us to 
believe that we really are inferior when we have to use 
alternative techniques. Accomplishment of the task at hand is 
more important than the method of its accomplishment. So stop 
relying on low vision and low-vision aids the moment you notice 
yourself clinging to them as a passport to normality.
     2. Stop relying on low vision and on low-vision aids if 
doing so keeps you illiterate during part or most of your day or 
life. True literacy is the ability at any given moment to read 
and write. Like many other partially sighted people, I have had 
to struggle to accomplish the requirements of my job. One day I 
realized that my main problem was not that I couldn't see very 
well but that during much of each day I was illiterate. When I 
was more than an arm's length away from my desk and my CCTV, I 
could neither read nor write. At those times, for all practical 
purposes I was an illiterate Ph.D.
     Recently several national programs have been developed to 
reduce or eliminate illiteracy in this country. One of the 
biggest problems these programs have is finding those who are 
illiterate. People who have grown up in our society without ever 
learning to read or write go to great lengths to hide this fact. 
They feel great shame and bluff a lot. Partially sighted people 
do the same thing. Many of us feel shame, and we often pretend 
more sight than we really have. Why do we do this? I think it is 
because of our illiteracy.
     One day I was introduced to the Braille 'n Speak. Within 
only a few days I was able to write whatever I wanted, whenever I 
wanted; and, what is even more wonderful, I could actually read 
what I had written. After a time I began to hunger for the 
ability to read Braille with my fingers. I began using simple 
Braille notes to read things which I had formerly committed to 
memory. I will never forget what a liberating feeling it was when 
I conducted my first meeting by referring to a small card on 
which I had Brailled a few characters or a single word on each 
line to remind me of the next agenda item. I still remember the 
feeling of freedom the first time I Brailled my flight itinerary 
complete with departure and arrival times, connecting flights, 
and seat assignments, on a card and was able to refer to it at 
any given moment during my trip. I felt I had achieved major 
milestones in my life the first time I read a treasurer's report 
in Braille at a public meeting of the NFB of Arizona and the 
first time I completed a Braille book that consisted of seven 
volumes. These were times I wanted to ring the Freedom Bell and 
shout for joy. As I increased in literacy, I felt much less shame 
at being partially sighted.
     Don't wait to start learning Braille. Get going now! You'll 
never do it any younger.You can still use print when you want to 
or when you are near your CCTV, but during the rest of your day 
and for the rest of your life you won't be illiterate.
     3. Stop relying on low vision and on low-vision aids if 
doing so deceives you into thinking you can make it on your own 
or that you don't need the National Federation of the Blind. 
Simply by being members of our society, we all develop false 
notions about blindness and doubts about our abilities as blind 
people. These ideas lurk deep within us, far below the conscious 
level. The problem is that, when we encounter a situation, large 
or small, in which our vision or the lack of it becomes an issue, 
those old feelings come back to erode our self-esteem and 
confidence.
     The National Federation of the Blind has taught us the truth 
about blindness. It has taught us that the blind are normal 
people with the full range of normal abilities. Every blind 
person should read Walking Alone and Marching Together. This book 
chronicles the fifty-year history of the organized blind 
movement. It sets forth our philosophy--the truth about 
blindness.
     The NFB provides an invaluable support system. Without the 
NFB we would be forced to spend our lives walking alone. 
Regardless of how strong our resolve and how hard we work to 
achieve our goals, our chance of success without the NFB would be 
greatly diminished. As we walk alone, we are constantly bombarded 
from every side with the subtle message that blindness means 
inferiority. Since we all tend to see ourselves as others see us, 
we can come to expect less of ourselves. When we march together 
with other Federationists, we are constantly reminded of the 
truth about blindness. We are normal individuals. With proper 
training and opportunity we can achieve normally.
     Read Walking Alone and Marching Together. Learn the 
philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind. It is the 
truth about blindness. Get involved. Help other blind people to 
find and understand this precious truth. You will be helping 
yourself.
     4. Stop relying on low vision and on low-vision aids when 
they are doing you more harm than good. Is it possible that 
partial or even 20/20 vision could actually be a disadvantage to 
someone? The answer is absolutely yes.
     Aaron was a student in one of my finance classes at Boise 
State University. Soon after the start of the semester, Aaron 
came to my office for help. He was flunking out of all his 
classes and was about to drop out of school altogether. Right 
away I knew something was wrong because Aaron was quite obviously 
a dedicated and intelligent student. During our conversation it 
became clear that he was severely dyslexic. For him reading was 
unbelievably difficult and slow. He spent many hours each day 
trying to read even a little of the material for his classes. He 
just couldn't do it.
     Aaron had 20/20 vision. He had a driver's license and was an 
accomplished gymnast. But when it came to reading print, Aaron 
was functionally blind. When I first pointed this out to him, he 
was even more discouraged and just wanted to give up. I explained 
some of the alternative techniques which the blind use when 
dealing with printed material. Aaron caught the vision and was 
soon using recorded textbooks and live readers to accomplish the 
studying and library research required in his classes. He rose to 
the top of all his classes and graduated with honors. Here is an 
example in which reliance on 20/20 vision was a severe handicap 
when it came to reading the printed word.
     In a similar way those of us with partial sight often come 
to rely so much on our remaining vision that we often reject 
techniques which in reality could be much more effective. Perhaps 
the reason is that we have accepted, at the emotional level, the 
notion that anything done with vision is superior to what can be 
accomplished without vision, even with the use of alternative 
techniques.
     The last time I talked with Aaron he was studying Braille. 
Even though he had 20/20 vision, he understood that in order to 
be successful, he had to adopt techniques for dealing with print 
which did not rely at all on vision. The challenge for those of 
us with partial vision is to know when to adopt these so-called 
blind techniques and when to continue relying on our limited 
vision.
     In my own case I have found that with few exceptions the 
alternative techniques which totally blind people use effectively 
have made me more efficient and effective in accomplishing the 
full range of tasks and activities of daily living. I did not 
come to this conclusion all at once. The most difficult thing for 
me to accept was that I should carry a white cane. When I first 
began carrying a cane, I felt as if I was a fraud because many 
people treated me as though I were totally blind. This was, of 
course, not true at all. But when I did not carry a white cane, 
some people, especially those I met in casual encounters, thought 
I had 20/20 vision. Of course this was not true either. It 
finally occurred to me that I had no obligation to ensure that 
everyone around me had correct information about my visual 
acuity.
     As I continued carrying my white cane, a wonderful thing 
happened. I began to feel more at peace about my partial vision, 
or as I began to refer to it, my blindness, than I had yet felt 
at any point in my life. Perhaps it was because, when I held a 
white cane, it seemed pointless to try and bluff more sight than 
I had or to give the impression that I could see things which I 
could not. I also began to feel more comfortable crossing streets 
at crosswalks where there was no traffic light. I found it much 
easier to find the first step when I went down a flight of 
stairs. I also felt less stress when I entered dimly lit theaters 
and restaurants.
     Over the years I have come to the conclusion that there is 
another reason for us partials to carry our white canes. We are 
trying to change what it means to be blind. In order to do this 
more effectively, the public needs to see more of us with white 
canes going to school and work and doing all the normal things. 
We shouldn't hide.
     I still use my CCTV at times. I still use a screen-
enlargement program on my computer at times. I am grateful for 
the useable vision I have. But these days I am even more grateful 
to the National Federation of the Blind for teaching me that it's 
okay to be blind or even partially sighted. I feel as if a whole 
new world has opened to me as I have begun to rely less and less 
on my partial vision and more and more on alternative techniques 
to accomplish necessary tasks at work and at home.
     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Ray Kurzweil]
     Ray Kurzweil Honored
     **********
     From the Editor: We recently received notice that Ray 
Kurzweil, a true benefactor of blind people and a dear friend and 
colleague of the Federation, has just received a significant 
honor. The material we received not only describes the award he 
recently received from President Clinton but includes a brief 
biography that outlines in lay terms several of Ray Kurzweil's 
most important contributions. Here is some of the information we 
received:
     **********
     The White House has announced that on March 14, 2000, Ray 
Kurzweil received the National Medal of Technology, the nation's 
highest honor in technology, from President Clinton in a White 
House Ceremony. The citation on Mr. Kurzweil's National Medal of 
Technology reads:
     **********
For pioneering and innovative achievements in computer science 
that have overcome barriers for and enriched the lives of 
disabled persons and of all Americans, including developing the 
first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, the first 
commercially marketed, large-vocabulary speech-recognition 
technology, and the ground-breaking Kurzweil 250 computer music 
keyboard.
     **********
     The National Medal of Technology is the nation's highest 
honor in technology. Enacted by Congress in 1980, the Medal has 
been awarded by the President of the United States each year 
since 1985. It is awarded to several individuals or groups each 
year. In most years a company has also been honored. No 
categories are specified in the award.
     Secretary of Commerce William M. Daley writes: "The National 
Medal of Technology is the Nation's highest honor for 
technological achievement, presented annually by the President of 
the United States. The men and women awarded the National Medal 
of Technology are those whose extraordinary works in research, 
development, and design have made significant contributions to 
U.S. prosperity and competitiveness, our overall quality of life, 
and our understanding of the world around us."
     When Ray Kurzweil was developing the Kurzweil Reading 
Machine, the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, 
he worked closely with a team of blind engineers and scientists 
assembled by the National Federation of the Blind, not just to 
test the Kurzweil Reading Machine and design its user interface, 
but on all facets of this complex undertaking. It was a simple 
but pioneering design philosophy--work closely with the intended 
users of one's inventions as key participants in the invention 
process. That philosophy combined with Kurzweil's own innovative 
genius has led to a dazzling array of landmark inventions.
     The Reading Machine itself has been called the most 
significant advance for the blind since the invention of Braille 
in the nineteenth century. Introduced in 1976, it reads ordinary 
printed materials such as books, magazines, and memos to blind, 
visually impaired, and dyslexic people in a synthesized voice. 
Its invention required solving several important computer science 
problems and resulted in the creation of the first omni-font 
optical character recognition (OCR) technology, the first CCD 
(Charge Coupled Device) flat-bed scanner, and the first 
text-to-speech synthesizer. Unlike limited-font OCR systems, 
Kurzweil's OCR recognized print regardless of type style. It 
would be ten years before anyone else was able to duplicate this 
capability.
     Each of these inventions evolved into what is today a major 
commercial field or industry, and the technologies that Kurzweil 
created and their successors continue to be market leaders within 
those industries. Virtually all American information workers use, 
at least indirectly, CCD flat-bed scanning and omni-font OCR, 
technologies first created and pioneered by Kurzweil. These are 
key enabling technologies that have made possible text and 
multi-media data bases, on-line information services, image and 
text documents on the World Wide Web, and other manifestations of 
the information age.
     When Kurzweil turned his attention to developing the first 
computer music keyboard that could accurately and convincingly 
recreate the sounds of the grand piano and other orchestral 
(i.e., acoustic) instruments, he applied the same lesson he had 
learned in developing the reading machine. All the engineers and 
scientists that worked on the new project were musicians, and 
many were quite accomplished. The Kurzweil 250, introduced in 
1984, was able to fool concert pianists in an A-B oblindo 
comparison as to whether they were hearing a grand piano or the 
Kurzweil invention. The technology Kurzweil created allowed 
musicians for the first time to play the sounds of any acoustic 
instrument, to play them polyphonically (i.e., multiple notes at 
a time), and to apply the full range of computer control 
techniques such as sequencing, layering, and sound modification 
to the rich sounds of acoustic instruments. As with the Reading 
Machine and the OCR technology, it would be several years before 
any other person or organization would duplicate this feat.
     The type of computer-based music synthesis that Kurzweil 
pioneered has evolved into what is today a multi-billion dollar 
industry and is used to create virtually all commercial 
music-recorded albums, movies, TV, etc. The Kurzweil brand of 
electronic musical instruments is a market leader, sold in forty-
five countries.
     Kurzweil was also the principal developer of the first 
commercially marketed, large-vocabulary speech-recognition 
technology. Kurzweil VOICE Report, introduced in 1987, could 
convert speech into print, the opposite of the reading machine. 
Today it is widely used by hands-disabled persons to create 
written documents, use computers, and control their environment. 
A combination of Kurzweil's speech-recognition technology with a 
Kurzweil-developed medical expert system and knowledge base is 
also widely used by physicians to create medical reports.
     Overall, Kurzweil's inventions have involved major advances 
in computer science while at the same time yielding practical 
products that meet fundamental needs. It is rare for one 
individual to work successfully at both ends of this spectrum. He 
has also created multiple businesses to bring these inventions to 
market, all of which continue today as market leaders. His 
inventions have provided significant benefit to mankind by 
overcoming major barriers for disabled persons, enriching the 
world of music, and expanding the usefulness of computers for 
everyone.
     In addition to his inventions, Kurzweil is a prolific 
author. His latest book, The Age of Spiritual Machines, When 
Computers Exceed Human Intelligence (Viking, 1999), has quickly 
achieved a high level of critical and commercial success. 
Kurzweil received his BS in computer science and literature from 
MIT.
     **********
     **********
     Cars, Teen-agers, and Insurance
     by Ramona Walhof
     **********
     From the Editor: The following article is taken from 
Remember to Feed the Kittens, the sixteenth in the Kernel Book 
series of paperbacks published by the National Federation of the 
Blind. It begins with Dr. Maurer's introduction:
     **********
      Dealing with teen-age drivers presents challenges for any 
parent: What car will the teen-ager drive and how to acquire it? 
What about insurance? What about learning how to drive? Are these 
challenges the same or different if the parent happens to be 
blind? These are the questions Ramona Walhof, who is president of 
the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho, deals with in her 
story, "Cars, Teen-agers, and Insurance."
      As readers of earlier Kernel Books will remember, Ramona 
became a widow when her two children were very young. Now they 
are both young adults, finished with college and launched in 
their careers. As a matter of fact, each of them has wedding 
plans for this year. Here is what Ramona has to say:
     **********
     In 1983 I was thirty-nine years old, working as director of 
a state rehabilitation program for the blind, a single mother of 
two children ages twelve and thirteen, and it came time for me to 
buy my first car.
     I had saved money and thought I needed a van. I wanted to 
take my children places and include their friends. I wanted to 
take groups of students on trips. I wanted to take groups of 
blind people to activities of the National Federation of the 
Blind. I had sighted drivers available, so the time had come.
     I asked my assistant if he could spare a Saturday to drive 
me around and give me some advice. He said he would be glad to 
drive but wasn't sure how much advice he could give. This was 
reasonable. I knew I would have to look before buying. We spent 
the whole day looking at a lot of vehicles, most of which I did 
not want. Many were set up as campers or did not have enough 
seats. I wanted fifteen seats. I saw three vans I liked, and two 
were very plush. I was looking for something utilitarian.
     Near the end of the day we found a Plymouth Voyager that 
seemed right. We were pretty sure it was the only one in Boise, 
but I didn't want to offer too high. I had to learn about the 
negotiations. The salesman didn't really believe I was buying the 
van. He tried to talk to my assistant, who simply waved at me and 
said he wasn't buying it.
     I made my offer, which was cash, and I could tell they were 
interested but not ready to accept. The salesman disappeared to 
talk with his supervisor but said almost nothing. I believe I was 
the only serious customer in the store that afternoon about 5:00 
p.m. I could not tell whether they were reluctant to deal with me 
because I was blind and female or for some other reason, but they 
were uncomfortable.
     Soon the supervisor came back and tried to talk to my 
assistant, who wasn't responsive. Then the supervisor told me 
that their price was a very good one. I said that maybe it was, 
but I would not go any higher. The supervisor wanted to know who 
would be driving the van, and shouldn't he or she have something 
to say about it? I answered that a number of people would be 
driving the van, but I was buying it, and he had to deal with me. 
Both men disappeared, and I called a friend, thinking we were 
going to come to terms and would need another driver.
     I wasn't sure whether the salesman and supervisor were more 
worried about the price or the blindness. Then they came back and 
agreed to accept my price. As we proceeded through the paperwork, 
I was becoming excited.
     When Harry and Jan arrived, the supervisor immediately began 
to talk to Harry as though the van were his. Harry directed the 
comments back to me. Harry was asked: "Aren't you her husband?"
     Jan answered: "No, he's my husband."
     They just couldn't believe a blind woman could or should buy 
a van. I was grateful to my friends who were members of the 
National Federation of the Blind and helped me deal with the 
attitudes of the salesman and the supervisor.
     Jan and Harry Gawith and my assistant, John Cheadle, knew 
exactly how to respond when they were addressed even though I was 
the customer. This made my van-buying experience easier and more 
enjoyable. We got the job done, and I then had to learn about 
insurance.
     Later I found that new cars are generally insured by the 
seller for forty-eight to seventy-two hours, but I didn't know 
that then. So Saturday night I thought I had to find insurance. 
Of course we did not want to wait until Monday to drive this 
wonderful new van. Harry would be driving the van some and had a 
good driving record. So I called his agent, who agreed that Harry 
could be the primary driver.
     We used the van as planned for more than a year. Then I 
changed employment and started a bakery, and we also used the van 
for deliveries. At that time in Idaho teen-agers could be 
licensed to drive during daylight hours at age fourteen. My 
daughter Laura was most anxious to take driver's education. I 
knew that starting to drive a fifteen-passenger van was not a 
very good idea. Still that was the vehicle we had needed when we 
bought it.
     I found a driver's ed teacher who agreed to give her an 
extra lesson or two in the van, and my assistant was also willing 
to work with her. Soon Laura took driver's ed, and the teacher 
thought she was ready. She got her license.
     I decided there would be some special rules. The state said 
Laura could not drive after dark until she was sixteen. I decided 
she must drive only with me or an adult driver in the van. When 
spring came and the days were longer, I began letting her take 
the van by herself on certain errands. Still she was not to use 
the van as transportation for her friends unless I was in it.
     One Saturday afternoon she went to run some errands and then 
to band practice. She was more than an hour late getting home. 
Her explanation was that a lot of her friends needed rides home, 
and she had this big vehicle. She could not refuse to help out. 
She had disregarded a very specific rule.
     I told her to consider alternatives, but she could not think 
of any. She had not thought of a telephone. She had not thought 
of stopping at home to pick me up or talk about what to do. She 
got one warning. I thought a van full of teen-agers behind a 
driver so young was dangerous. Teen-agers spend too much energy 
entertaining one another, which is distracting to any driver.
     Although Laura had had her license about six months, I 
wasn't sure she was ready for that. Laura must have believed me 
when I told her that a repeat offense would make her a retired 
driver, because it did not happen again.
     Another time Laura came home late and did not have to be 
questioned about the problem. She had taken the wrong approach to 
the interstate and could not get off. When she found an exit in 
the next town, she had no idea how to get back on the freeway.
     This is not a new experience for most drivers, but Laura 
clearly needed to learn the local interstate system, and I was 
not the best person to teach her. We chose a time when we were 
not in a hurry and took my son Chris along. Although Chris was 
still too young to drive, he was a good sign reader. We practiced 
on freeway entrances and exits, and Laura got over being 
frightened.
     Another tense moment occurred one Sunday afternoon when we 
were shopping at Sears. Laura said: "Let's park in the garage." 
Before I could suggest caution, she had turned in. There was no 
trouble parking the van, but when we were ready to leave, there 
was. Laura rubbed the side of the van against a pole and 
scratched it. She didn't know how to get away from the pole in 
the restricted space. As people began to line up behind us, she 
became upset.
     A stranger got out of one of the cars behind us and offered 
to help. Fortunately he knew exactly what to do and inched the 
van away from the post. With relief and an ugly scratch on our 
van, we left the garage, and Laura no longer had a fascination 
with parking garages.
     During that first summer after Laura got her driver's 
license, I took her with me on business trips to Idaho Falls (300 
miles from Boise) and to Spokane (400 miles away). Perhaps I 
should say I used her as a driver on these trips, and we both 
enjoyed it. It was good experience for Laura and helpful to me. I 
could tell that she was gaining in skill and confidence.
     About that time they tore up the road in front of our 
bakery, and I decided to close it. Then we began to get numerous 
requests to borrow the van. Apparently people got the idea that 
we weren't using it much. We really didn't need so large a 
vehicle any more, so I decided it was time to trade for a smaller 
car.
     I took Laura and Chris to look for a small car, and we 
agreed on a GLC Mazda. The salesman had no trouble dealing with 
me, but many people behaved as though the car belonged to Laura. 
I thought she was too young to have a car, and I intended to 
manage its use. Laura may have faced some pressure from her 
friends and others, but she lived within the system.
     Now the question of insurance was more complex. Laura was 
not the primary driver, but she was the only driver in the 
household. Again I turned to a friend in the National Federation 
of the Blind. Mary Ellen Halverson and her husband were both 
blind and had a sighted son, who was the only driver in their 
household.
     Mary Ellen told me how they handled car insurance and gave 
me the name of their agent. I contacted that agent, who agreed, 
after consultation, that it was possible to name Laura as the 
secondary driver and my business associate as the primary driver. 
So that is what we did.
     Then Chris took driver's education and got his license. I 
made the same kinds of rules for Chris as I had for Laura. I was 
able to use him as a driver during the summer when I made trips 
out of town. He did not have to learn to drive the van, and he 
turned out to be quite a good driver. But the insurance agent was 
having a hard time saying that there were two drivers in the 
household, and neither was the primary driver.
     It was true, but it was so unusual that it was not believed. 
I wrote up a schedule of how I used the car in my business while 
Chris and Laura were in school. The insurance company listed the 
drivers as they should: business associate, primary driver; 
Laura, secondary driver; and Chris, secondary driver.
     When Chris was in ninth grade, he had a paper route. 
Although he could do it on foot or on his bike, he preferred to 
drive, especially on Sundays when the papers were large. When he 
drove, I would go along and put rubber bands on the papers.
     One morning a police car pulled us over. What, we wondered, 
could it mean? "Why don't you have your lights on?" the policeman 
asked. He didn't wait for an answer. He must have seen the 
newspapers in the back seat because he said, "Did you just pull 
out of a brightly lit intersection?" We had.
     "Don't forget to turn on your lights," he said and waved us 
on. He didn't even ask to see Chris's license. If he had, he 
probably would have had to write a ticket. It was still dark, and 
Chris was too young to drive in the dark. I'm sure it helped that 
I was in the car, and I'm sure Chris did not forget lights when 
he needed them after that.
     By the end of her junior year in high school, Laura had been 
driving three years, and Chris one. Laura had been riding to 
school with a friend and her mother since the city bus did not 
start early enough in the morning and the school bus did not stop 
at our corner.
     We lived about one and a half miles from school, but there 
were always band instruments, piles of books, and other things to 
carry back and forth. Furthermore, schedules for two high school 
students were complicated. I never intended to let my high school 
kids drive to school, but it seemed the best way to go.
     We started reading ads in the newspaper to find a small used 
pick-up. After looking at and driving several, we found a 1976 
Datsun with a reconditioned second engine for $800. I decided to 
take a chance on it. It turned out to be the right decision. 
Laura and Chris drove that truck for three years. We replaced the 
battery, the tires, and the ignition and nothing else. Its 
performance was amazingly good. Now I had two vehicles.
     I wanted to insure the truck (liability only) with Laura and 
Chris as the drivers. The Mazda was still mine, and I used it far 
more than either Chris or Laura. The policy came back with Chris 
on one vehicle and Laura on the other. That's the standard way, 
and the insurance company didn't believe you could have two 
drivers and two cars in one household and not insure them with 
one name on each vehicle. With the help of our agent, the 
insurance company was finally convinced.
     After high school graduation Laura went to college at 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston and did not need 
a car. We all agreed on that. Two years later, when Chris 
enrolled at the University of Idaho in Moscow, we decided a car 
was reasonable. Chris enjoyed driving, and other transportation 
was limited. The little Datsun pick-up, I was afraid, might not 
be reliable enough for the 300-mile trip several times a year.
     Chris and I bought a used Renault Fuego. That was a mistake. 
He loved it. It went fast. He must have controlled the speed, 
because I never heard about any tickets. But he drove it only one 
year. We couldn't get parts to repair the transmission, and that 
was the end of it.
     Chris had decided to do door-to-door sales during the 
summers to help pay his way through school, so I wanted him to 
have a car that could be worked on absolutely anywhere. The Fuego 
helped me learn this lesson. In high school Chris had shown no 
interest in what was under the hood of a car, but in college he 
did. We replaced the Fuego with a Ford Escort wagon.
     At first he wasn't sure he was a wagon man. He drove that 
Ford Escort for almost four years and put another 100,000 miles 
on it. He got good use out of the car. Those summers away from 
home selling books helped Chris grow up, and learning about 
engines, mechanics, tires, etc. was a part of it.
     Meanwhile I had traded the Mazda for a 1987 Dodge 600, which 
is a little larger. It carries six people instead of four. This 
is still my car today. By the time I bought it, I felt I had 
learned how to shop for a car.
     But Chris and Laura still had a few more challenges for me. 
When Laura graduated from college, she needed a vehicle. I 
decided that would be her graduation present and my last 
financial contribution to her education. She wanted a red pick-up 
but did not want to pay the extra insurance premium. She had a 
teaching job at a school in the Chicago area, so we needed to 
move boxes and some furniture from Boise and from Boston to 
Chicago. We found a used Ford Ranger (blue) that seemed O.K. She 
drove it hard for two years and was able to trade it for a new 
Saturn.
     The four years of driving during high school were important 
to Laura. She was not a natural driver and needed the practice. 
If she had gone to college without that experience, she might 
never have become as good a driver as she now is.
     When Chris graduated from college, his Escort was worn out. 
I decided to get him one more vehicle for graduation. We chose a 
Toyota pick-up, which he is still driving. Chris is now employed 
in Boise as a head hunter and doing well enough that he has 
invested in a used Porsche. He did not seek advice or money from 
me.
     When I was a child, I never thought about needing to own or 
buy cars. Other children did, but they would be drivers. I knew I 
would be using public transportation or riding with other people. 
And for the first part of my adult life that was true.
     For the last fifteen years I have used my car regularly. I 
do not drive to work and never have. I now live about three 
fourths of a mile from work and walk most days. When Laura comes 
to Boise, my car is available.
     I did not teach my children to drive, but I played a part in 
the process. Since they lived with me, they heard what I had to 
say. I wanted them to be safe, considerate, and responsible 
drivers. When they were beginners, my presence in the car 
doubtless sometimes made a difference.
     Buying that first van was an adventure, and I was not 
prepared for the disbelief that a blind person could want such a 
thing. But it was the beginning of more flexibility in my life, 
just as the first car is for most people. It gives me one more 
alternative for transportation.
     In many ways cars in my family have been handled very much 
the same as in other families. Blindness adds a wrinkle, but it 
really doesn't change basic interactions. Will I continue to own 
a vehicle as long as I live? I cannot predict the future, but I 
have no plans to sell my Dodge. It is old, but I hope to get a 
few more years out of it. I'll cross the next bridge when the 
time comes.
     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Lloyd Jernigan and his sister-in-law Mary Ellen]
     My Brother, My Friend, My Hero
     by Lloyd Jernigan
     **********
     From the Editor: Those who attend NFB conventions know and 
admire Lloyd Jernigan, Dr. Jernigan's older brother. Some months 
ago he wrote his own quiet tribute to his brother. Here it is:
     **********
     At the close of the century, historians and writers are busy 
choosing its heroes. The twentieth century certainly has had many 
to choose from. I recently read that the world has advanced more 
in the past fifty years than during the rest of history combined. 
Despite all the other worthy and heroic candidates, my vote for 
hero would go to my brother, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan.
     Kenneth Jernigan was born blind in Detroit, Michigan, in the 
year 1926. Our mother and father were sure that the doctor was 
responsible for his blindness. I do not believe that they ever 
tried to prove it, but that is what they believed. I remember our 
mother grieving and struggling each day, seeking information and 
help in raising a blind child, but no help came. She believed 
that Kenneth would live his life depending on someone else to 
care for and support him. Why did she believe that? Because in 
those days it was a sad fact that blind people had no chance for 
an independent, self-sufficient life. In one of the last 
conversations I had with our mother, she asked me to promise that 
I would take care of my brother. Thank God fulfilling that 
promise was never an issue.
     Kenneth Jernigan lived in Detroit until he was four years 
old and then moved with his parents and me to a farm in 
Tennessee. The farm was located in a remote area without 
electricity, running water, radio, or other conveniences as we 
know them today. The chances in those times and that environment 
of any child's becoming a world-famous person were remote; one 
would have thought them nonexistent for a blind child. Yet that 
is what happened.
     When Kenneth entered the school for the blind in Nashville, 
we soon learned that his strong will, determination, and 
intelligence were extraordinary. He earned high marks and honors 
from day one to the conclusion of his graduate studies. After 
college graduation he tried sales work, teaching, and other 
things but decided to join Dr. Jacobus tenBroek in California and 
teach students being rehabilitated in a residential program.
     This was the beginning of his life-long devotion to aiding 
his blind brothers and sisters. He was determined to change the 
attitudes, not only of blind people about their blindness, but 
also of sighted people about blindness. He believed that, before 
the blind could become full participants in society, they 
themselves had to believe that they could do so. He believed that 
sighted people must stop pitying the blind because what blind 
people really need is a chance to hold jobs and become full 
partners in society. He believed that the blind could compete 
with the sighted if given a chance, and as time went by, he 
proved the truth of his belief.
     His teachings about blindness and his advocacy of 
constructive legislation helped change the lives of blind people 
around the world. They not only changed the attitudes of the 
blind, they also changed the way that sighted people think about 
and act toward blind people. How do I know this for a fact? 
Because I am one of those sighted persons whose attitudes will 
never be the same. Let the record show that Dr. Kenneth Jernigan 
is most certainly a hero of this century.
     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Betty Niceley, April 15, 1934, to February 13, 2000]
[PHOTO/CAPTION: President Maurer smiles down at Betty Niceley while she and 
Tim Cranmer face the camera at the May 8, 1999, celebration in Louisville.]
     Betty Niceley Dies
     by Barbara Pierce
     **********
     Very early in the 1999 public meeting of the NFB Board of 
Directors, Betty Niceley, who had been a member of that board 
since 1985, sought the floor to make the following statement:
     **********
     Dr. Maurer, I would like to say that I am not seeking 
reelection to the Board this time. I want to say first of all 
that this decision in no way indicates a lessening of my 
commitment to this organization. I have served on the Board for 
fourteen years, and I have been deeply touched by the trust that 
has been placed in me in electing me to this position.
     I feel the need to spend a lot more time in affiliate-
building in my own state and to devote my attention to the 
Braille concerns of the Federation. I am grateful for the wisdom 
of our beloved Dr. Jernigan, who put his confidence in you, Dr. 
Maurer, as our leader. I want to pledge to you and to the future 
leaders of this organization my willingness to do whatever I can 
as you lead us to greater heights of success, which I know you 
will do.
     **********
     Later in July Betty retired from a career of twenty-eight 
years with the Kentucky Department for the Blind. In early 
November she was elected President of the International Council 
on English Braille, and following that election everyone expected 
that her plan to devote her energies to building the Kentucky 
affiliate and to working for the health and propagation of 
Braille were now in place.
     Then, just before Thanksgiving, Betty suffered a stroke, 
which was actually caused by a defective heart valve damaged 
years before by rheumatic fever. On February 8 she underwent 
open-heart surgery, from which she seemed to be recovering. Then 
sadly, Sunday morning, February 13, her damaged heart gave up, 
and she died.
     It's hard to imagine the Federation without Betty. She 
became a member in 1967, and by 1979 she was President of the 
Kentucky affiliate. When the National Association to Promote the 
Use of Braille was established in 1983, she became its first and, 
until her death, its only President. She served as Vice 
Chairperson of the Braille Authority of North America. In 1997 
she received the Jacobus tenBroek award.
     But beyond and undergirding all the offices, 
responsibilities, and honors, Betty was a cheerful soldier who 
would put her hand to any task for the Federation that needed to 
be done and see to it that those around her had a good time while 
they were doing their work. She was an optimist and an extravert 
who believed in people, especially young people, and she was 
always willing to go the extra mile and overlook the shortcomings 
of those who were trying to learn how to lead.
     In early November of 1978 Betty attended an NFB leadership 
seminar. For several reasons, including the fact that the meeting 
began on All Saints Day, the group clamored to be named the 
Saintly Seminar--an impulse that Dr. Jernigan resisted mightily. 
Eventually the weight of reasons for the group's preference beat 
down his opposition, and one of many facts about the seminar 
marshaled by seminarians during discussions was that Betty 
Niceley was a member, and, while niceness was not exactly 
saintliness, she was so very nice that it ought to count for 
something. This was not the decisive argument, but it was 
irrefutable that Betty was simply one of the kindest, most 
considerate people any of us had ever met.
     Those qualities didn't make her a push-over, however. She 
fought like a tiger to protect Kentucky's separate agency for the 
blind. She stood up to the American Printing House for the Blind 
when she thought they were in the wrong. When city officials 
engaged in unfair practices against the blind, they could count 
on Betty to stand up in meetings, write letters, and talk to the 
press about the injustice. Her absolute integrity brought her 
respect even among her opponents, and often those opponents 
stayed to become her friends.
     Betty loved a party. The final night of the 1984 convention 
in Phoenix the Kentucky affiliate hosted a mint julep party to 
get the organization in the mood to come to Louisville the 
following year. And before the memorable 1985 convention, Betty, 
the President of the host affiliate, announced that the big dance 
that year would be a genuine southern ball. Ladies were 
encouraged to wear real ball gowns, and many did. It was a 
glorious evening.
     But Betty's triumph, and perhaps the finest hour of the 
blind of Kentucky, was the May 8, 1999, celebration of the 
accomplishments of blind people. This was the evening after the 
University of Louisville awarded Dr. Maurer an honorary degree. 
Representatives from city and state government, private and 
public organizations, and educational institutions gathered to 
pay tribute to what blind people, working together, have 
accomplished in the past and can accomplish in the future. 
Federationists from eighteen states were present to celebrate. 
The evening was filled with elegance and joy, and at the center, 
organizing and announcing everything with poise and radiance, was 
Betty Niceley.
     She is survived by her husband Charles, their daughter 
Sharon, her stepdaughter Barbara, two brothers, and seven 
grandchildren. Betty also leaves behind her a large circle of 
Federation friends and colleagues who love and remember her still 
and for whom the world will be a bit grayer without her. As Betty 
would say, "Pay-back time." She brightened the world for us; now 
it's time for us to pass it on.
     **********
     **********
     Recipes
     **********
     We are about to begin making our way again through the 
alphabetical list of state affiliates for providing recipes, but 
this month, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, we have gathered some 
favorite Irish recipes. So, even if you can't make it to County 
Down on March 17, you can conduct your own celebration.
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Carla McQuillan]
     Corned Beef and Cabbage
     by Carla McQuillan
     **********
     Carla McQuillan serves as President of the National 
Federation of the Blind of Oregon and is a member of the NFB 
Board of Directors. She is also an Irish lass proud of her 
heritage. She frequently gathers interested Federationists 
together to sing Irish folk songs, so it's not surprising that 
she prepares and serves dishes like this traditional Irish 
favorite, which is amazingly simple and delicious. The key, she 
says, is to simmer the corned beef for hours and to cook the 
vegetables in the same pot. Corned beef comes in either a point 
or a flat cut. The point cut is generally less expensive and more 
fatty, but no less tasty.
     **********
Ingredients:
1 corned beef brisket, any size
Red potatoes, halved and cleaned, but not peeled (if you use 
white potatoes, you will want to peel them)
1 head of green cabbage, cored and quartered
     **********
     Method: Place the corned beef in a large pot or slow cooker. 
Add enough water to cover the meat. Bring just to a boil, then 
reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover and simmer for at least four 
hours. Add the potatoes about thirty to forty minutes before 
desired meal time. Fifteen minutes before serving, remove the 
beef and add the cabbage to cook till tender. The beef must rest 
for at least ten minutes before cutting. Slice the meat across 
the grain. Serve with mustard for the beef and vinegar for the 
cabbage. Note: Leftover corned beef and potatoes may be ground or 
chopped finely for hash. Serve corned beef hash for breakfast 
with eggs and toast.
     **********
     **********
     Irish Ale Stew
     by Carla McQuillan
     **********
     Carla reports that this is by far the tastiest stew she has 
ever made.
     **********
Ingredients:
3 to 4 pounds lean beef, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 pound large onions, thinly sliced
1 to 1-1/2 pounds potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cooking oil
6 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 small bay leaves
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
1 tablespoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 10-1/2-ounce cans beef broth
24 ounces beer (dark ale will enhance flavor)
Dumpling batter (recipe below)
     **********
     Method: This recipe will serve eight. Preheat oven to 325 
degrees. Cut the beef slices into pieces about one inch by two 
inches. Flour them lightly, brown them a few at a time in hot oil 
and put them into a large oven-proof casserole. (A deep six- or 
eight-quart size is about right.) Add onions and garlic to oil in 
pan and brown them lightly, adding more oil if necessary. Put 
them in the casserole, then add sugar, two tablespoons of the 
vinegar, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir once 
or twice. Pour off any oil remaining in the skillet. Put in the 
broth and heat over low flame, stirring to loosen all browned 
bits. Pour over meat mixture in casserole. Add the potatoes and 
the beer. Cover casserole and bake for two hours. Transfer the 
casserole to the top of the stove. Stir in the remaining vinegar. 
Cook over medium heat until the sauce bubbles. Drop dumpling 
batter by teaspoonfuls on top of the hot stew, cover, reduce heat 
and cook for fifteen minutes. Do not remove cover during these 
fifteen minutes.
     **********
     Dumplings
     **********
Ingredients:
2 cups sifted self-rising cake flour
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
     **********
     Method: Combine all ingredients, mixing lightly. Drop batter 
by teaspoonfuls into simmering stew or stock, cover, and cook for 
fifteen minutes or until fluffy. Do not remove lid during fifteen 
minutes--just let them steam.
     **********
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Barbara Pierce]
     Irish Stew
     by Barbara Pierce
     **********
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds lamb or mutton
3/4 cup onions
2-1/2 pounds potatoes
salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cups boiling water or stock
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
     **********
     Method: Note that this famous stew is not browned. Cut the 
lamb, onions, and potatoes into 1-1/2-inch cubes. In the bottom 
of a heavy pan arrange a layer of potatoes, a layer of meat, a 
few slices of onion. Repeat this twice, ending with potatoes on 
top. Season each layer with salt and pepper. Add to the pot the 
bay leaf. Pour water or stock over the layers and add parsley. 
Bring to a boil. Cover tightly. Simmer gently over very low heat 
for about two and a half hours or until done. Shake the pot 
periodically so that the potatoes do not stick. When done, all 
the moisture should have been absorbed by the potatoes.
     **********
     **********
     Key Lime Shortbread Cookies
     by Sylvia Cooley
     **********
     Sylvia Cooley is the secretary in Barbara Pierce's office. 
Perhaps this is not truly a St. Patrick's Day recipe, but it goes 
well with tea, and with a few drops of green coloring added, 
these cookies keep the spirit of the day.
     **********
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon Key lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated Key lime zest
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch or rice flour
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
a few drops of green food coloring (optional)
Lime sugar for garnish (optional)
     **********
     Method: In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, sugar, lime 
juice, salt, and one half the lime zest (1-1/2 teaspoons) until 
light and fluffy. Stir in the cornstarch or rice flour, then all-
purpose flour, beating only enough to incorporate. The dough will 
be very soft. Divide dough in thirds. Spoon each portion onto wax 
paper or plastic wrap and form a log about 14 inches long and 1-
1/2 inches in diameter. Fold the paper over the log, then roll 
with your palms until smooth. Twist ends of the paper and 
refrigerate or freeze until firm, one to four hours.
     To make the lime sugar, place sugar and remaining zest in a 
blender or coffee mill and whirl until zest is very finely minced 
and sugar is lightly colored, about three minutes. Strain mixture 
through a fine sieve, discarding any bits of peel that remain. 
Set aside.
     Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Slice chilled dough into rounds 
about 1/4 inch thick. Place one inch apart on ungreased baking 
sheets. If garnish is desired, lightly butter the bottom of a 
flat-bottomed jelly glass and dip into the lime sugar. Press 
lightly onto tops of cookies, dipping the glass into the sugar 
mixture before pressing each cookie to prevent dough from 
sticking. (Or lightly sprinkle the sugar on each cookie, being 
careful not to get any sugar on baking sheet). Bake fifteen to 
twenty minutes, until light golden. Cookies will be very fragile, 
so let cool about five minutes on baking sheets before removing 
with a spatula to continue cooling on wire racks. Makes five 
dozen.
     **********
     **********
     Quick Irish Soda Bread
     by Barbara Pierce
     **********
Ingredients:
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons chilled shortening
1/2 to 1 cup raisins
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1/2 to 2/3 cup buttermilk
     **********
     Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Have all ingredients at 
about 75 degrees. Sift together in a large bowl flour, soda, 
salt, and sugar. Cut chilled shortening into the flour mixture 
with a pastry blender until it is the consistency of coarse corn 
meal. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds. Gradually add the 
buttermilk. The mixture should not be dry. Knead briefly and 
shape into a round loaf or a 9-by-5-inch one. Put the dough in a 
greased bread pan. Cut a bold cross on top, letting it go over 
the sides so the bread will not crack in baking. Brush the top 
with milk. Bake for forty to fifty minutes. If loaf pulls away 
from the sides of the pan, it is done. Another test is to tap the 
bottom of the pan to release the loaf. Then tap the bottom of the 
loaf, and, if it sounds hollow, the loaf is done. Otherwise 
return the loaf to the pan and bake a few minutes longer. When 
the bread has finished baking, remove it to a wire rack 
immediately to cool. Keep it shielded from drafts, which cause 
shrinkage.
     **********
     **********
     Irish Shrove Tuesday Buns
     by Barbara Pierce
     **********
     Shrove Tuesday is the day before the beginning of Lent, and 
these buns are worthy of the tradition of finding something rich 
and tasty to enjoy before the rigors of Lent begin.
     **********
Ingredients:
1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1-3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 egg yolk, beaten
Approximately 5-1/2 cups flour
Melted butter
Filling:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup fine dry cake crumbs, preferably macaroon crumbs
Icing:
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk, cream, or Irish whiskey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (if using milk)
     **********
     Method: Dissolve yeast in warm water. Heat milk to scalding 
and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add butter, sugar, and salt. 
Stir until butter and sugar have dissolved. Cool to lukewarm. 
Stir in yeast. Add beaten egg and egg yolk and blend well. Fold 
in flour. Turn out onto lightly floured board and knead dough 
until smooth and elastic. Cover with a clean cloth. Set in a warm 
place and let rise until double in bulk, about two hours. Turn 
out onto a floured board and knead until smooth. Divide dough 
into about two dozen pieces and shape each piece into a ball. 
Place side by side on a greased baking sheet and spread with 
melted butter. Cover and let rise in a warm place until increased 
two and a half times in bulk. Bake for about ten minutes in a 
350-degree oven or until lightly brown on top. Cool on rack 
before filling.
     Filling: While buns cool, prepare filling. Beat cream until 
stiff, but not dry. Beat in sugar and cake crumbs. Cut off tops 
of buns and scoop out a little of the center. Fill with cream 
mixture.
     Icing: Cream together the butter and powdered sugar. Add the 
milk or other liquid. Blend well. Spread icing around rims of the 
openings in the buns, and press tops over filled halves. Ice the 
tops of buns. Serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.
     **********
     **********
     Monitor Miniatures
     **********
Clarification:
     President Maurer writes as follows:
     In the October, 1999, issue of the Braille Monitor, an 
article appeared entitled "Technology Replacing Braille." This 
article was a reprint of an article from the July 28, 1999, issue 
of the Los Angeles Times. The article consisted in part of 
material gathered in an interview with Mr. Jeffrey C. Senge.
     In introducing this article, the Braille Monitor Editor 
said, "It is refreshing to see reporters get the story right." 
Mr. Senge has written us a letter dated January 1, 2000, in which 
he says that the article we reprinted is misleading because it is 
incomplete, and it lacks a proper focus. He has sent to me with 
his letter an amended copy of the article with extensive 
commentary, which he has asked that we reprint. The Braille copy 
of the article as amended by Mr. Senge is forty pages long.
     There is insufficient space for us to reprint Mr. Senge's 
article. In addition, as I look at his letter and accompanying 
material, I reflect that he is facing the same circumstance that 
all of us have faced. Reporters have so much less experience of 
blindness than we possess that they almost never get the story 
reported with the depth of understanding that we would wish.
     Even when they get the story right, it is often incomplete. 
People in the news business report what they believe will sell 
papers. Fortunately we do not have the same limitations. We can 
report in depth, and we do.
     Although we have chosen not to reprint Mr. Senge's article 
as amended, we offer his address. Those who want more information 
about his interview can communicate with him directly. His 
address is 107 Revuelta Court, San Clemente, California 92672.
     I want to be clearly understood about one thing. Mr. Senge 
does not say that the Monitor reported errors. Rather he argues 
that the reporter from the Los Angeles Times failed to include 
material that Mr. Senge thought to be pertinent. If Mr. Senge had 
demonstrated that we had reported what was not so, we would have 
printed a retraction. This is the only responsible way to report 
the news, and we are committed to it.
     **********
Time Magazine in Large Print Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Time Large Edition magazine is now available in 16-point 
type. It ships during the same week as Time's regular edition. 
For subscription information contact Caren Yanis, (212) 522-0925 
or (914) 723-5991 or Diana Pearson, (212) 522-0833.
     **********
Donations Wanted:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Braille, large print, cassette books, magazines and 
journals, Braille writing paper, computers, typewriters, Braille 
translators, photocopiers, Perkins Braillers, cassette players, 
talking watches, calculators, white canes, glasses frames, and 
various other materials and equipment for the disabled are needed 
for the blind and disabled population of Bangladesh. You can send 
most items surface mail marked "Free Matter for the Blind." Send 
to Mr. M. Milon, Secretary, Dustha, Juba-O-Pratibandhi Kallyan 
Sangstha, 12-E, 5/6, Mirpur, Dhaka 1221, Bangladesh.
     **********
Attention Those with Agricultural or Equestrian Interests:
     Anyone out there interested in farming, ranching, gardening, 
composting, or animals like dogs and horses? For the past four 
years I have attended meetings of the NFB's Agriculture and 
Equestrian Interest Group. We had about forty people in Anaheim, 
a dozen in Dallas, about five in New Orleans, and about two dozen 
in Atlanta.
     Last summer a few blind farmers and government staffers 
mentioned the availability of grant money for blind people 
interested in starting farms or ranches of their own. As the 
meeting broke up, we were told to keep an eye on the Braille 
Monitor for a note like this calling on people to write in and 
sign up.
     I know we have many members who are very interested in the 
prospect of running a small service-dog ranch, earthworm farm, 
fish farm, dude ranch, or other such agricultural operation. 
We've got successful blind farmers with advice and stories to 
share. Atlanta farmers and ranchers have volunteered their places 
for us to visit. Let's start networking.
     Please write if you are in the Agricultural and Equestrian 
Interest Group or wish to be: Braille, print, cassette, or e-
mail. Contact Fred Chambers, North San Diego County and Greater 
Pasadena Chapters of the NFB of California, 3510 Bedford Circle, 
Carlsbad, California 92008, e-mail <regenerative@earthlink.net>.
     **********
Braillewriter Cleaning and Repair Service:
     Paul and Bernie Dressell, leaders of the Ohio affiliate, 
have asked us to carry the following announcement:
     We are now able to process orders made using VISA or 
MasterCard. We have a backlog of parts and normally have a turn-
around time of two weeks for Perkins Braillewriter repairs. 
Contact Paul Dressell at (513) 481-7662, 2714 Ruberg Ave., 
Cincinnati, Ohio 45211-8118; e-mail: <pmd@pobox.com>.
     **********
Online Store Now Open for Business:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     You can purchase unique step-by-step tutorials and keyboard 
guides twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. From the store 
Web site you can order a tutorial on cassette tape or download a 
tutorial and keyboard guide. Taped tutorials cost $35, downloaded 
tutorials cost $25, and keyboard guides cost $5. Go shopping at 
<www.blind.state.ia.us/assist>. The following are new: Windows 98 
with JAWS for Windows 3.3; Windows 98 with Window-Eyes 3.0; 
Internet Explorer 5 with JAWS for Windows 3.3; Internet Explorer 
5 with Window-Eyes 3.1; Excel 97 with WinVision 5; Word 2000 with 
JAWS for Windows 3.31; and Word 2000 with Window-Eyes 3.1. In the 
works are Outlook 2000 with JAWS for Windows 3.31; Outlook 2000 
with Window-Eyes 3.1; Internet Explorer 5 with JAWS for Windows 
3.31; and Outlook Express 5.
     You can still order a tutorial by calling (515) 281-1357 or 
by mailing your order to Iowa Department for the Blind, 524 
Fourth Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. You can contact IDB at 
<ASSIST@blind.state.ia.us>.
     **********
For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Alva 380, 80-character Braille display for sale, all cells 
work perfectly, but there is a bow in the tape on one of the 
cursor routing buttons, which does not prevent effective use of 
the button. Asking $5,200 or best offer. May accept installments 
or trade for a portable 40-cell display plus cash.
     Computer tutorials and magazine: Up-to-date interactive 
tutorials from Top Dot Enterprises include Top Win98 basics, Top 
Eudora 4.2 and before, and Top Real Internet Explorer 5.0. These 
and other tutorials are available in two- and four-track tape 
formats; four-track tapes cost $19.95 each, while two-track tapes 
cost $27. A per-order shipping charge of $5 will be added. To 
order, send check or money order to the address listed below.
     Top Dot also publishes Sound Computing, a bimonthly magazine 
for any blind computer user. The magazine is available on tape 
and in RealAudio. Subscriptions to the cassette edition also give 
the subscriber access to the RealAudio edition. They cost $24 in 
North America. RealAudio-only subscriptions cost $19. Contact Top 
Dot for more information or to subscribe.
     Top Dot Enterprises, 8930 11th Place, SE, Everett, 
Washington 98205. If you wish to order by credit card or have 
other questions, contact us at (425) 335-4894.
     **********
Elected:
     During the January, 2000, meeting of the Seattle Chapter of 
the NFB of Washington, annual elections were conducted. The 
results are Dan Frye, President; Rita Szantay, First Vice 
President; Ben Prows, Second Vice President; Renee West, 
Secretary; Gary Deeter, Treasurer; and Doug Johnson and Yelana 
Semenyuk, Board Members.
     **********
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Eileen Tscharner]
In Memoriam:
     Karen Mayry, President of the NFB of South Dakota, writes 
the following:
     It grieves me to inform you that Eileen Tscharner, age 
seventy-two, of Rapid City, South Dakota, died on Friday, January 
14, 2000. She had been suffering from emphysema for many years, 
and complications of heart disease hastened her death. She joined 
the NFB in 1985, following training at the Nebraska 
Rehabilitation Center for the Blind. She served as President of 
the Black Hills Chapter and as NFB of South Dakota Vice 
President. She volunteered in our state office until one month 
before her death. She is a great loss to all of us.
     **********
Elected:
     At its November meeting the St. Louis Chapter of the NFB of 
Missouri elected Rhonda Dycus, President; Loretta Benavidez, Vice 
President; Kathy McCracken, Recording Secretary; Lori Pollina, 
Corresponding Secretary; Brian Schultz, Treasurer; and Thelda 
Borsch, Board Member at Large.
     **********
Free Computers to Those Who Qualify:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Have you ever wanted a computer but been unable to afford 
it? There is an answer. To obtain a computer, you must know the 
keyboard or complete a touch-typing course. This can be done by 
using "Touch Typing in Ten Easy Lessons," available at your 
Talking Book library; by taking a free, home-study typing course 
from the Hadley School for the Blind (800) 323-4238; or by going 
to a local high school or community college and taking a class. 
You then pay a $30 fee to cover the cost of packing and shipping. 
You can receive a 386 or 486 CPU, monitor, and keyboard if you 
demonstrate your interest by reading the provided recorded 
tutorials and practicing on DOS, WordPerfect, and the screen 
reader commands.
     If you lose interest, return all the materials so that 
another person can use them. Buying access software and the 
synthesizer are your responsibility. Your state rehabilitation 
agency may purchase the screen reader, synthesizer, modem, 
printer, and other equipment; consult your vocational 
rehabilitation counselor. For more information about this 
program, contact Robert Langford, Texas Center for the Physically 
Impaired, 11330 Quail Run, Dallas, Texas 75238; phone (214) 
340-6328.
     **********
Reading Resource Guide Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     The first reference book written for sight-impaired students 
and those who serve their needs, A Field Guide for the Sight-
Impaired Reader by Andrew Leibs, explains how to locate, obtain, 
and integrate all forms of aid to construct a world of reading 
equal to that of the fully sighted reader. It profiles the major 
blind service organizations; explores specialized formats such as 
Braille, large print, and electronic texts; and shows what 
technology readers require and where to find it. It provides 
comprehensive lists of audio and large-print publishers, a state-
by-state listing of resource agencies for the blind, and valuable 
Internet resources to assist students, their teachers, and 
librarians in obtaining the texts they need to succeed in both 
academic and pleasure reading.
     Beginning with thorough coverage of the national 
organizations in place for visually handicapped readers and how 
they can assist both students and librarians, A Field Guide for 
the Sight-Impaired Reader (ISBN 0-313-30969-8) outlines the types 
of technology available to readers and the companies that 
manufacture it. Available software, Braille resources, large-
print resources, and Internet Web sites are all discussed in 
detail with contact information. Also included are reading 
strategies for a variety of academic subject areas, a detailed 
listing of state resources with addresses, phone numbers, and Web 
sites; an exhaustive list of audio publishers; and a list of 
books compiled from recommended reading lists such as the 
American Library Association's Outstanding Books for the College 
Bound. A discussion of the Americans with Disabilities Act and 
its impact on libraries is provided, as well as funding sources 
for librarians who want to provide more materials and technology 
for their sight-impaired patrons than their budgets allow.
     To order using a major credit card, call (800) 225-5800; or 
send check made payable to Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 88 
Post Road West, P.O. Box 5007, Westport, Connecticut 06881-5007, 
(203) 226-3571 or fax (203) 222-1502, or Web site 
<www.greenwood.com>. The book costs $49.95 plus applicable 
shipping and handling.
     **********
Elected:
     At its January 11, 2000, meeting, the Jefferson City Chapter 
of the NFB of Missouri elected Rita Lynch, President; Brian 
Wekamp, Vice President; Connie Taylor, Secretary; Betty Walker, 
Treasurer; and Joe Dobbs, John Donley, and LaVerne Toebben, Board 
Members.
     **********
International Exchange for SSI and VR Beneficiaries:
     We have been asked to carry the following Announcement:
     The Social Security Administration and Mobility 
International USA have joined together to ensure that people with 
disabilities and the professionals who work with them understand 
the importance of and options for international exchange as part 
of employment preparation. If a person with a disability receives 
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and has the 
opportunity to participate in an international exchange program, 
he or she should apply to have benefits continued while abroad. A 
little-used SSI provision allows for the continuation of benefits 
while participating in an overseas educational program.
     The Social Security Handbook states: "A student of any age 
may be eligible for SSI benefits while temporarily outside the 
U.S. for the purpose of conducting studies that are not available 
in the U.S., are sponsored by an educational institution in the 
U.S., and are designed to enhance the student's ability to engage 
in gainful employment. Such a student must have been eligible to 
receive an SSI benefit for the month preceding the first full 
month outside the U.S."
     "There is no federal regulation that prohibits the funding 
of an international program as part of an individual's vocational 
rehabilitation plan," reports Mary Davis, Rehabilitation Program 
Specialist at the Rehabilitation Services Administration. "Each 
state has flexibility in the nature and scope of what activities 
they cover, but cost alone can never be the only reason to deny a 
particular program." She adds, however, "There does need to be a 
clear link between the international activity and the 
individual's vocational objective." It should also be clear that 
the experience is not available through participation in a 
domestic program. If a VR counselor agrees that the experience 
would be valuable and the VR department is supportive, it should 
be written into the vocational plan.
     For more information contact Mobility International USA and 
the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange, P.O. Box 
10767, Eugene, Oregon 97440, phone (541) 343-1284 (voice/TTY), 
Fax (541) 343-6812, e-mail <clearinghouse@miusa.org>, Web site 
<www.miusa.org>, or contact Georgia Thrower, Social Security 
Administration, 112 Altmeyer Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, 
Baltimore, Maryland 21235, phone, (410) 965-3987, Fax, (410) 965-
9063, e-mail <georgia.thrower@ssa.gov>, Web-site, <www.ssa.gov>
     **********
BANA News:
     The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) conducted its 
annual meeting at the close of October, 1999, hosted by the 
National Federation of the Blind in Annapolis, Maryland. Those 
elected to serve as officers during 2000 were Phyllis H. Campana, 
Chairperson; Eileen Curran, Vice Chairperson; Frances Mary 
D'Andrea, Secretary; and Susan Reilly, Treasurer. BANA can now be 
found on the Internet at <www.brailleauthority.org>. Principles 
of Print to Braille Translation 1997 (Volume 1: Rules) is now 
available on the Web at <www.brl.org>, a site maintained by the 
Shodor Foundation under the auspices of BANA. A link to the site 
is maintained on BANA's Web site.
     The American Printing House for the Blind has now provided 
BANA permanent office space. The new mailing address for BANA is 
P.O. Box 6085, Louisville, Kentucky 40206. Any mail or inquiries 
may be sent to this address.
     **********
ICEB Election:
     At the November 2 to 5, 1999, meeting of the International 
Council on English Braille (ICEB) in Baltimore, Maryland, which 
was hosted by the National Federation of the Blind, the following 
officers were elected: Betty Niceley, President; Darleen Bogart, 
Vice President; Raeleen Smith, Secretary; Kim Charlson, 
Treasurer; Reinette Popplestone, Public Relations; and William 
Poole, Jean Obi, and Bruce Maguire, Members-at-large.
     **********
Stand Up and Be Counted:
     We have been asked to give you the following information:
     The United States Census 2000 is coming. The census 
questionnaire is sent to every residence in the United States. By 
completing your census questionnaire, you help insure that your 
community and your needs are not forgotten. Census data are used 
to distribute millions of dollars for schools, hospitals, 
community centers, healthcare, childcare, and facilities for sick 
or disabled persons.
     The questionnaire will arrive at your home during the month 
of March. The Census Bureau uses two different questionnaire 
forms. You will receive either a D-1 short form that comes in an 
envelope about the size of a half sheet of paper containing a 
cover letter, a return envelope, and a large piece of paper 
folded in thirds or a D-2 long form in an eight-by-eleven 
envelope. Inside is a questionnaire booklet and a return envelope 
that are also eight-by-eleven.
     If you need help in completing the form you receive, either 
have a relative, friend, neighbor, caregiver, etc., assist you or 
call (800) 471-9424. To use the Web at <www.2000.census.gov> to 
complete the questionnaire, be sure to have your ID code from the 
census form label available.
     **********
Elected:
     The Austin Chapter of the NFB of Texas elected officers at 
its January meeting. They are Zena Pearcy, President; Wanda Hamm, 
First Vice President; Mary Ward, Second Vice President; Norma 
Gonzales Baker, Secretary; Margaret (Cokie) Craig, Treasurer; and 
Angela Sasser and Diane Domingue, Board Members.
     **********
Attention Blind Gardeners:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Blind Gardeners is an e-mail discussion group for blind and 
visually impaired people interested in gardening. Discussion 
topics include gardening in general, problems unique to blind and 
visually impaired gardeners, the availability, quality, and 
speech accessibility of gardening CD's, gardening books in other 
formats, and what to do with the produce of the garden.
     To subscribe to the group, send an e-mail to <blind-
gardeners-subscribe@egroups.com>. Be sure to leave the subject 
line and body of the message blank. Also be sure to include the 
hyphens in the address.
     To post messages to the group after you subscribe, send them 
to <blind-gardeners@egroups.com>. Be sure to include the hyphen 
in the address.
     **********
Hiring:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     The Alaska Center for the Blind is looking for an 
adventuresome, flexible rehabilitation teacher to assume the job 
as Braille instructor. Blind or visually impaired candidates 
preferred. Send resume and cover letter to Carolyn Peter, 
Executive Director, Alaska Center for the Blind, 3903 Taft Drive, 
Anchorage, Alaska 99517. We are hoping to fill this position as 
soon as possible.
     **********
New Cookbook Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Are you sick of spending hours scouring books, magazines, 
and libraries for that perfect recipe you can never seem to find? 
Wouldn't it be nice to have over seventy delicious, quick and 
exquisite recipes in just one book? I Can See Books now offers 
Delicious Desserts, in Braille or on computer disk, a brand-new 
cookbook filled with over seventy classic and new tasty recipes. 
The book costs $13.95 (U.S.) and can be ordered from I Can See 
Books, 88 Captain Morgans Boulevard, Nanaimo, British Columbia, 
V9R 6R1 Canada, Phone (250) 616-7414, e-mail 
<info@icanseebooks.com>, Web site: <www.icanseebooks.com> or 
<www.braillebookstore.com>.
     **********
Free Texts from the Jewish Heritage for the Blind Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     The Jewish Heritage for the Blind announces the availability 
of a new large-print Megilas Esther, as well as the Braille 
edition of Rabbi Shrage Feivel Mendlowitz, zt'l, free of charge 
for the visually impaired. Mail or fax your request to the Jewish 
Heritage for the Blind, 1655 East 24th Street, Brooklyn, New York 
11229, fax (718) 338-0653. A doctor's note is not required. 
Supply is limited to one per family.
     **********
Hoping to Buy:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     I am seeking Double Talk external hardware, which would 
facilitate JAWS for DOS or a PCMCI internal card for my 486 
Toshiba laptop computer. You may e-mail Joe Morgan at 
<narcher@clsp.uswest.net>.
     **********
Skits on Tape for Sale:
     The Nebraska Association of Blind Students has produced a 
cassette containing two original skits written by several of its 
members, produced by Easy Street Studios and performed at the 
Nebraska state convention during the last two years. The titles 
of these skits are "The Blind People's Court" and "Changing TV's 
Channel." They seek to entertain and educate people about 
blindness and Federation philosophy. Spoofing the popular TV 
program "The People's Court," the first skit uses humor to 
illustrate the need for blind people to take responsibility for 
themselves. The second skit depicts a young blind man learning 
about his blindness through popular television shows.
     The cassette contains both skits on each side. Side A is in 
stereo sound, and side B is in mono so as to be compatible with 
NLS or APH players. To obtain a copy of this cassette, send a 
check or money order for $5 per cassette, payable to NABS. Mail 
orders to Mike Hansen, President, Nebraska Association of Blind 
Students, Apt. #5, 910 South 22nd Street, Lincoln, NE 68510. If 
you have further questions please call Mike Hansen at (402) 
475-1280, or email Ryan Osentowski at <ryano@inetnebr.com>.
     **********
For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     An Optacon I in working condition, asking $700. If 
interested call Leah Zamora at (305) 237-1313 between 11:00 a.m. 
and 2:00 p.m. or call (305) 362-1219 after 6:00 p.m.
     **********
     **********
     NFB PLEDGE
     **********
     I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the 
National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, 
opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies 
and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.
 

 
 
