     THE BRAILLE MONITOR
Vol. 43, No. 6     June, 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



     Letters to the President, address changes,
     subscription requests, orders for NFB literature,
     articles for the Monitor, and letters to the Editor
     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. 6     June, 2000
     Contents

Connecticut Attorney General Works with NFB
to Make Tax-Preparation Web Sites Accessible     
     by Curtis Chong

Philosophy in Practice     
     by Angela Howard

New Computer Programs to Assist Blind Mathematicians     
     by Christopher Weaver

The Universality of a Nuisance     

The National Center: A First-Time View     
     by Ruby Polk

Mowing the Lawn     
     by Thomas Bickford

The New Impressionists     
     by Blake Gopnik

Gelding the Bull or Shoveling the Manure:
It Just Depends on Your Perspective     
     by Lisa LaNell Mauldin

A Fundamental Lesson     
     by Michael Baillif

Cat-and-Mouse Games     
     by Lynn Mattioli

Between Kindness and Honesty     
     by Gary Wunder

Being a Role Model Is a Responsibility
He Takes Seriously     
     by Steve Dolan

Hanging Up My Painter's Hat     
     by Connie Leblond

Doctor Finds a New Life
Loss of Sight No Trouble Now     
     by Jamie P. Olmstead

A Compilation of Meaningful and Meaningless
Typographical Errors on Blindness and Visual Impairment     
     by Corinne Kirchner, Ph.D.

Christmas in June     
     by John and Mary Rowley

Sharing the Vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
     by Donald C. Capps

Draft Honor Roll 
The Campaign to Change What It Means to Be Blind. . . . . . . .

Bill Gallagher Dies     
     by Marc Maurer

Recipes     

Monitor Miniatures     

     Copyright (c) 2000 National Federation of the Blind

[LEAD PHOTO DESCRIPTION #1: We can see down the length of the Materials 
Center, which is completely empty. The ceiling tiles are down so that 
the lights can be seen hanging from long cables with duct work visible 
above them. The weight-bearing pillars can be seen marching away down 
the length of the room.
     PHOTO DESCRIPTION #2: Pictured here is a large area crammed with 
cardboard boxes stacked one upon another.
     LEAD CAPTION: The Materials Center at the National Center for the  
Blind is housed in a room 250 feet long and 80 feet wide. It has  
gradually become clear that the heating and air conditioning system for  
the area needed extensive renovation. Tackling the project required  
first finding space outside the Materials Center to store the shelves,  
materials, and literature before everything could be moved out. Then the  
center was emptied and the ceiling taken down to expose the duct work  
and air conditioning units so that the necessary work could be done. The  
picture above shows the way the Materials Center looked in late April.  
If you were one of those who called hoping to purchase aids and  
appliances or order literature during April, this picture tells you why  
orders could not be filled until May. Below is a picture of the  
temporary storage area for the Materials Center. By the time you have  
this issue, the Materials Center should be fully restored to efficient  
order with air conditioning that will keep everything at an even  
temperature.]

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Curtis Chong]
     Connecticut Attorney General Works with NFB
     to Make Tax-Preparation Web Sites Accessible
     by Curtis Chong

     From the Editor: In recent months we have heard increasing  
discussion about Internet access for people with disabilities. Some  
Members of Congress have raised questions about whether or not users of  
access technology have the right to surf the Web. Without considering  
those who use alternate methods of Web access, individual Web site  
designers are casually choosing construction features that prevent blind  
people from visiting their sites. So Curtis Chong, NFB Technology  
Department director, was understandably pleased when the Connecticut  
Attorney General's office contacted the NFB for help in fighting one  
battle in this ongoing war for access. Here is the story of what  
happened next as Mr. Chong tells it:

     The National Federation of the Blind has a long-standing commitment  
to access by the blind to information and electronic services. We  
created NEWSLINE(r) for the Blind so that blind people could read  
national and local newspapers; we created America's Jobline(r) so that  
the blind and other people could find jobs listed in America's Job Bank  
without having to use a computer; and we filed suit against America  
Online (AOL) so that the blind could use this large Internet service  
provider along with their sighted friends, neighbors, and colleagues.
     The AOL lawsuit attracted the attention of Richard Blumenthal,  
Attorney General for the State of Connecticut. We exchanged phone calls  
and e-mail correspondence and conducted meetings. It became very clear  
that, like the Federation, Mr. Blumenthal was keenly interested in  
promoting equal access by the blind to the information super highway--in  
particular, to information and services offered through the World Wide  
Web.
     While we were getting acquainted, it came to our attention that the  
Federal Internal Revenue Service had announced partnerships with a  
number of companies offering on-line tax preparation services through  
the World Wide Web. We decided to find out if these Web-based services  
were accessible to blind people using screen-access technology.
     We examined the Web-based tax return filing services of four  
companies: HDVest, Intuit, H & R Block, and Gilman & Ciocia. Despite all  
of the media attention devoted to Web-page accessibility in recent  
years, we found that not one of the Web-based tax filing services was  
completely usable with screen-access technology. Here are two examples  
of the problems we encountered.
     A portion of the home page of one company contained a screen of  
advertisements which was updated about once every fifteen seconds.  
Anyone trying to use a screen-access program to read the page would be  
moved back to the top every time the screen was updated--just about the  
time one found something interesting.
     Another tax-preparation site displayed links and buttons on the  
page which could not be reached or activated using the keyboard. They  
could also not be recognized as links or buttons by the screen-access  
technology.
     We talked over our findings with Mr. Blumenthal's office. We agreed  
to send a letter to the tax-preparation companies, telling them that  
their Web-based tax services were not accessible to the blind and asking  
for a commitment to redress the problem or risk litigation. We sent the  
same letter to all four companies. The following is the text as it went  
to one of the recipients:

March 30, 2000

Mr. Herb Vest
Chairman of Directors and CEO
HD Vest, Inc.
Irving, Texas

Dear Mr. Vest:
     As a result of the publicity surrounding your partnership with the  
IRS for the filing of tax returns online, it has come to the attention  
of the State of Connecticut and the National Federation of the Blind  
that your online tax return preparation service, as well as your Web  
site as a whole, is inaccessible to the blind in violation of Title III  
of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
     Based on the information we have on your site, we believe that it  
can be made accessible, with reasonable modifications, within six  
months. Please notify us by April 4, 2000, as to whether you agree to  
make your Web site accessible and, if so, whether there is any reason  
that this could not be reasonably accomplished by October 31, 2000.  
Unless we have received those assurances, and barring the discovery of  
any sound reason to the contrary, we will proceed immediately as  
necessary to ensure the accessibility of your site.
     Please feel free to contact Daniel Goldstein [the NFB's attorney]  
or Assistant Attorney General Seth Klein with any questions, including  
those that relate to the types of accessibility problems found on your  
Web site and/or the solutions to these problems.

     Sincerely,
     Richard Blumenthal
     Attorney General
     State of Connecticut

     Daniel Goldstein
     Attorney for National Federation of the Blind

     The companies responded to the letter in very short order. Along  
with the legal discussions there was an exchange of information between  
various technical personnel and me. It was clear that nonvisual access  
had never been considered during the design of the tax-preparation Web  
sites. Only one of the companies seemed to know that blind people use  
computers and obtain information from Web pages with the help of  
screen-access technology. Ultimately, after a lot of discussion, all  
four companies wrote back to the Connecticut Attorney General expressing  
their willingness to engage in reasonable efforts to make their Web  
sites accessible within six months and pledging to work cooperatively  
with the National Federation of the Blind to resolve nonvisual access  
problems.
     Mr. Blumenthal convened a press conference on April 17 to applaud  
the agreement. Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of  
the Blind, and I were on hand to support the Attorney General, talk with  
the press, and demonstrate the techniques used by the blind to surf the  
Web. Here is the press release that was issued:

Official Press Release
Connecticut Attorney General's Office

     Attorney General, National Federation Of Blind
     Applaud On-Line Tax-Filing Services
     For Agreeing to Make Sites Blind-Accessible for 2000 Tax Season

April 17, 2000

     Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today was joined by Dr. Marc  
Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), in  
announcing agreements with four companies--HDVest, Intuit, H & R Block,  
and Gilman & Ciocia--that provide on-line federal income tax filing  
services to make their Internet sites accessible to the blind.
     The four companies have agreed to work with the Attorney General  
and the NFB to change the coding for each of the five Web sites in  
question--<hdvest.com>, <turbotax.com>, <e1040.com>, <hrblock.com>, and  
<taxcut.com>--to enable blind individuals to access the sites. According  
to the Attorney General, the changes will greatly improve the ability of  
blind individuals to access the sites through the use of standard  
screen-reader programs, which can translate screen information to  
Braille or computerized speech formats.
     These code changes will include implementation of recommendations  
by the World Wide Web Consortium, an international organization that  
works to develop universal standards for HTML coding. HTML is the  
computer language used to create and design Web sites. It allows users  
to move from page to page within and between Web sites.
     "The blind should have equal rights and effective access in  
traveling the Internet's information highway. Disabled Americans should  
not have to reinvent or reassert such basic rights in the new  
Information Age, just because the means of access is now a computer  
rather than stairs or sidewalks," said Blumenthal. "Filing tax returns  
electronically is one example--but only one--of essential access that  
should be guaranteed. Rights must be protected- kept real, not  
virtual--even in this age of new technology."
     "Blind people can and do make extensive use of computer programs  
and the Internet, so naturally we are thrilled these companies have  
decided to work with us to ensure that their sites are accessible to the  
blind," said National Federation of the Blind President Marc Maurer.  
"The world of technology is constantly growing and changing, however, so  
this is a first step in a longer journey."
     Each company's Web site was recently listed on the Internal Revenue  
Service's official Web site as an on-line partner for the purpose of  
electronically filing federal income tax returns. Each site, however,  
proved inaccessible to the blind upon testing by the Attorney General  
and the National Federation of the Blind. The Attorney General and the  
NFB alerted the four companies that their Web sites were in violation of  
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires public  
accommodations to take reasonable steps to ensure accessibility to  
individuals with disabilities. The four companies have issued written  
assurances that they will work with the Attorney General and the NFB to  
make their Web sites accessible to the blind in time for the 2000 tax  
season.

     The National Federation of the Blind has found a new friend in  
Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Attorney General. Because of his  
willingness to work with us, four more companies are learning about the  
importance of nonvisual access to the services they offer through the  
Web. This is a good beginning. Let us hope that we can form similarly  
fruitful partnerships with attorneys general from other states.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Angela Howard
     Philosophy in Practice
     by Angela Howard

     From the Editor: Angela Howard is Second Vice President of the  
National Association of Blind Students. This article first appeared in  
the Fall/Winter, 1999, issue of the Student Slate, the publication of  
the NFB's student division. This is what she says:

     When Martin Luther King, Jr., was growing up in Atlanta, he rode  
the public bus across town to school every day. Segregation laws forced  
him to take a seat in the back of the bus, even if the seats in the  
front were vacant. Unable to do anything about the situation at the  
time, Dr. King decided to leave his mind in the front seat and promised  
himself that one day he would put his body where his mind sat. Years  
later Dr. King led African-Americans in a movement to put an end to  
segregation.
     The blind do not endure the segregation laws that once confined  
African-Americans to the back of the bus. But, due to negative attitudes  
about blindness, we continue to endure a kind of spirit-squelching  
segregation that has threatened to confine us to a world of high  
unemployment and social isolation. Members of the National Federation of  
the Blind have developed a philosophy that has directed us to move  
towards a life of complete integration and full participation in  
society.
     Our movement for equality demanded at one time that we march and  
campaign in order to be heard, and this is still sometimes necessary.  
But more often today our struggle takes place in the work and play of  
our everyday lives. As Federationists we struggle to put our bodies  
where the Federation has led our minds and spirits. We struggle for the  
opportunity to participate fully in our homes, schools, and communities.
     Recently my Federationism led me to a very special place. I spent  
the summer living with the homeless of Atlanta. The Open Door is a  
community of religious leaders and former homeless people who live  
together in service to those who are on the streets. I took part in this  
community as a resident intern. In the Federation we like to say that  
blind people possess the same range of personalities that any cross  
section of society would produce. I have become convinced that this  
holds true for every other group in society as well. I faced the same  
struggles against negative attitudes living with homeless people that I  
do in any new community of which I become a part. Most assumed that I  
would hold a marginal position in the community, and in the beginning no  
one expected from me what I was capable of contributing. It was up to me  
to break down those walls that threatened to steal my right to full  
participation.
     My struggle against negative attitudes began the first night I  
moved into the house. The woman assigned to be my spiritual advisor  
reviewed with me the general rules of the house. She then suggested, "We  
thought you would be good at handing out hard-boiled eggs to the  
homeless people at breakfast." When I learned what my schedule was to be  
for the following week, it became clear to me that passing out eggs  
during breakfast was the only job they thought I could handle. After  
three days of handing out eggs from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. and having nothing  
else to do for the rest of the day, I decided that things were going to  
have to change.
     I began to voice my belief that I could do much more than hand out  
eggs. I also developed another strategy for solving this dilemma. I was  
beginning to get to know many of the people living in the house and  
could sense which ones had the most faith in my ability. When I noticed  
that one of these people was doing a certain job, I would sneak over and  
ask him or her to show me exactly how the task was performed. I even got  
people to let me try. Then during breakfast and lunch circles, when  
certain jobs were delegated, I would raise my hand.
     "Are you sure you can do that, Angela?" they would ask.
     "I've done it before," I would say. My strategy worked. I found my  
schedule for the following week much more promising.
     Phone and door duty is one job frequently delegated to resident  
interns. The responsibilities of this assignment include answering  
phones, answering the door, and supervising our homeless friends as they  
pick out T-shirts and socks from the sorting room. As you can guess, the  
leaders of the community did not consider the possibility that a blind  
person might be capable of meeting this challenge.
     By the end of my first week they decided that I might be able to  
answer the phones. I assured them that I could write out the important  
phone numbers in Braille and deliver messages personally rather than  
writing them out. They agreed to let me give it a try.
     By the end of my second week they trusted me to answer the phones,  
but fulfilling the other responsibilities of phone and door duty was out  
of the question. Another helper was always assigned to answer the door  
for me. I am not proud to admit this, but even I was not sure that I  
could handle the responsibility of managing a room of people who are  
often under the influence of drugs and who are known to try to get out  
of the house with as many things as they can. Pretty soon, however, all  
of us in the house learned a valuable lesson about blindness.
     Phone and door duty is often a demanding job. I found myself quite  
naturally falling into the role of assisting the person in charge of  
managing the folks coming in and out. This gave me the opportunity to  
develop some alternative techniques for getting the job done. For  
example, I learned very early on, because it was not possible for me to  
describe someone visually, I needed to have another method of  
identifying the people I was letting in. When a homeless person would  
come to the door and ask to be let in to grab a T-shirt, I would ask for  
his or her name. This practice also helped me to develop good  
relationships with the regulars who came through our doors. I found that  
people appreciate being called by name rather than being directed by a  
finger. Developing relationships of mutual respect with many of the  
regulars put both them and me at ease. Soon supervising the sorting room  
no longer seemed like an impossible feat.
     My biggest challenge was figuring out how to keep people from  
taking more items than they were permitted. When people are struggling  
to meet their most basic needs, they are often forced to try to survive  
by manipulating others. Some of our homeless friends have been known to  
get out of the door with eight pairs of socks instead of one. I found  
that, since I couldn't monitor with my eyes how many pairs of socks  
someone was taking, it was easier for me to hand them the socks myself.  
I also learned to listen for clues that would tell me if someone were  
trying to get out with an extra shirt or two such as a bag rustling too  
long or too many coat hangers being moved.
     I do not think these alternative techniques were entirely  
theft-proof. I am sure that some of our homeless friends sneaked out  
with an extra shirt or two. But it is an understood rule at the Open  
Door that our friends will leave the house with extra things. The key is  
not to let it be excessive. My alternative techniques worked, and after  
a few weeks I was entrusted with all of the responsibilities of  
phone-and-door duty.
     Phone-and-door duty was the most unpopular job among the resident  
interns. I hated doing it as much as anyone else. But being expected to  
do the job gave me a sense of satisfaction that ran much deeper than my  
hatred of performing the task. Being assigned to phone and door duty  
meant that I was needed. It meant that expectations of me were as high  
as they were for any other resident intern. And, perhaps most important,  
it meant that I got the chance to complain about how grueling the job  
was right along with my peers.
     Creating allies in our friends and associates is an essential  
component of achieving full participation. Befriending the other  
residents of the Open Door, as well as many of the homeless people we  
served, helped me in my struggle for equality. Many volunteers stopped  
by the Open Door at random to help us out. Coping with the negative  
attitudes of new people day in and day out was a difficult challenge for  
me last summer. My roommates and I used to joke that we had to hear the  
amazing-blind-person speech every time someone new walked through the  
door. On several occasions a new volunteer assumed that I was one of the  
people she was supposed to help. I found, however, that as those living  
in the house began to understand my struggle, they participated in  
helping me to educate the new folks.
     Every morning, after we served breakfast to the homeless, we would  
sit down with our own breakfast and reflect together on how the morning  
had gone. We learned many lessons about blindness during these  
reflection times. One morning I had been assigned to hand out tickets in  
the yard to those who wanted to come in for breakfast. A volunteer, who  
had just arrived the night before, shared in her reflection time that  
she was amazed that I could go out into the yard and hand out tickets.
     She said, "I am afraid to go out there, and I can see."
     We in the Federation know that the even-I compliment is no  
compliment at all, and I was preparing to give a little speech on the  
subject. Much to my surprise and delight, however, my housemates in the  
group picked up on the fallacy of her logic and called her on it.
     One man said, "It ain't got nothin' to do with sight. You're just  
scared of homeless people, and we've gotta help you with that." At that  
moment I felt like the teacher whose student had won the National  
Spelling Bee. Not only did my friends inside the house help me to  
educate people about blindness, but I found that my homeless friends  
also helped me to educate others in the neighborhood. I had one friend  
on the street who was particularly special to me. His street name is  
Bear. Bear is a crack addict and the most widely respected and feared  
person in the community. As one man put it, "Every homeless person and  
policeman in the city of Atlanta knows Bear." Bear has a gift for being  
brutally honest and is a champion for justice in his own way. Once a man  
who had a reputation for paying homeless workers illegal wages came into  
the yard and asked who wanted a job. Many of the men began begging him  
to let them work, and it was Bear who said, "Don't let that man take  
your dignity."
     It came as no surprise to me that Bear would help me in my struggle  
for equality. Bear became my good friend and helped me to educate  
others. When someone would make a nuisance of himself by trying to help  
me too much, I would politely try to manage the situation. But Bear did  
not believe in sugarcoating words. He would say in his gruff voice,  
"Shut up, she don't need no help." Bear disappeared for several weeks in  
July, and when I saw him again, he was excited to inform me that he had  
seen people from our National Convention downtown. I had told them all  
about the National Federation of the Blind and about our convention. "I  
saw all them people you were talking about downtown last week," he told  
me with glee.
     Bear and the other homeless people I befriended at the Open Door  
made this a summer I will cherish for years to come. I am grateful to  
all of my friends in the Federation who continue to push me to put our  
philosophy into daily practice. Let us all continue to put our hands and  
feet where the Federation has taken our minds.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Chris Weaver]
     New Computer Programs to Assist Blind Mathematicians
     by Christopher Weaver

     From the Editor: Chris Weaver is a sighted mathematician with a  
strong commitment to helping blind math students. He believes firmly in  
the Nemeth code for mathematics. I know him from his lively, informed,  
and sensible posts to the listserv sponsored by the National Association  
of Blind Students. Chris recently posted the following notice to that  
listserv and agreed to modify it slightly for publication in the Braille  
Monitor. The programs he describes will be of interest to anyone facing  
an upper-level math course. This is what he says:

     Here is a hopefully brief, readable description of our project.  
Several months ago I sent a previous draft to Curtis Chong, and he sent  
it back to me wanting the rewrite to be in English rather than  
Techno-Speak. So with much assistance from Kelly Burns of our staff, I  
have tried to make it more comprehensible. If this is either too  
technical or not technical enough, please ask questions. I am happy to  
answer anything.
     Our group is called Mathematics Accessible to Visually Impaired  
Students, MAVIS, for short. Sandy Geiger and I started as a pair of math  
teachers at New Mexico State University. We had a blind student in a  
class that we were co-teaching. Sadly, we could not provide her the same  
quality learning materials as we could our sighted students.  
Consequently, we started looking into developing software that could  
make our math curriculum accessible. After roping half of the Computer  
Science department; the National Science Foundation; and MacKichan  
Software, a local math software company, into our efforts, we have three  
accessibility programs in various stages of completion.
     The first is our scientific notebook to Nemeth code converter.  
MacKichan Software's Scientific Notebook is a high-quality, print  
math-editing program. It allows a user to write and save both text and  
math. When it prints out, the typesetting of the document is  
professional quality. Our converter can read the files that it saves  
and, from those, generate formatted Nemeth Code (Braille mathematics)  
which is ready to be printed on a Braille embosser (we use a Juliet). It  
can also be read on a refreshable Braille display. For this ability it  
won the 1999 International Conference on Technology and Collegiate  
Mathematics Award for Excellence and Ingenuity in the Use of Technology  
in Collegiate Mathematics. We are very proud of that award.  
Nevertheless, to ensure the best quality Braille, we are currently  
having Braillists test it for accuracy. A portion of it will be embedded  
in Duxbury sometime in the near future. MacKichan Software's Jack Medd  
made a significant enough contribution to the code of this converter  
that we consider him the author.
     Unfortunately, despite Jack and our best attempts, Scientific  
Notebook is not yet accessible, so blind users cannot use it to write  
print math. This left us with the question, "How can we make it easier  
for blind students to write print math?" We have two solutions. The  
first is our Nemeth code to print math converter. This program is not  
yet as finished as the scientific notebook to Nemeth code converter.  
This program is being developed by Gopal Gupta, Haifeng Guo, and me. It  
is not yet as finished as the Scientific Notebook to Nemeth Code  
Converter. However, it promises to allow users to write math on a  
Braille Lite or similar note-taker and then convert their writings to a  
Scientific Notebook file, which can be printed out on a laser printer.
     Users will have to use a very slightly altered version of Nemeth  
Code for the benefit of the computer, but the alterations will be  
minimal. One slight drawback of the program is that it does not leave  
much room for errors. That is, if you want it to work, you have to write  
good Nemeth Code or else get a not-very-helpful error message when you  
go to convert. We are working on that problem, though.
     Our third piece of software, in development by Arthur Karshmer and  
Josh Shagam, is our second attempt to make life easier for the blind  
mathematics writer with a sighted audience. We are attempting to make an  
audio math browser that could work in conjunction with a screen reader  
to make math editing packages like Scientific Notebook accessible. Our  
prototype gives users an overall view of the mathematics they are  
looking at and then lets them decide which details they want to study.  
Our research has shown that audio presentations of mathematics that  
don't allow users to select details at their own pace go in one ear and  
out the other. Our method allows users to go back over anything that  
they might have missed, much as they would with written mathematics.  
Also we provide sounds that give users hints about where they are within  
a mathematical expression. However, this software still needs much work.
     We also test other math access programs' innovations that we think  
might help blind readers and writers handle math. We are currently  
working with Duxbury, Oregon State University, Arizona State University,  
Metroplex Voice Computing, and others. If you are interested in more  
details, please write to me or call me. I will answer your questions as  
best I can.
     You can find me at Mathematics Accessible to Visually Impaired  
Students (MAVIS), New Mexico State University, Department of  
Mathematical Sciences MSC 3MB, P.O. Box 30001, Las Cruces, New Mexico  
88003, Voice: (505) 646-2664, Fax: (505) 646-1064, e-mail:  
<chrweave@nmsu.edu>.
     We also have loads of information available on the World Wide Web  
at <www.nmsu.edu/~mavis>.


     The Universality of a Nuisance

     From the Editor: The Internet listserv conducted by the National  
Association of Blind Students serves as an open forum for discussing  
ideas, seeking advice, and relating experiences. The discussions are  
often intriguing and thought-provoking. In the portions of the three  
posts reprinted below students discuss how to apply NFB philosophy in  
developing countries. How does one apply the NFB's philosophy of  
confidence, competence, and independence when opportunity is almost  
nonexistent and skills training can't be had?
     Mariyam Cementwala is a board member of the National Association of  
Blind Students. She travels frequently to India, and some of her most  
recent observations there inspired the following discussion. Mike  
Freeman is First Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind  
of Washington. Brian Miller is Treasurer of the National Association of  
Blind Students. He is an experienced traveler and contributed his  
perspective and reflections to the discussion. Here is what they have to  
say:

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Mariyam Cementwala]
January 6, 2000
     Mariyam Cementwala: At present I am in Bombay, India. As I talk to  
various blind people, I am faced with questions which I feel I cannot  
fairly answer because people here see me as privileged. In the U.S. we  
have the luxury of acquiring and using access technology, so the slate  
and stylus is just another tool that a blind person can use. In India  
and in most third-world countries, where no Department of Rehabilitation  
exists to buy blind people laptops, speech equipment, scanning software,  
or reading machines, the slate and stylus is the only tool a blind  
person uses. People do use Braille writers, but computer technology is  
more difficult to obtain. The affluent might have it--not the average  
blind person.
     We in the NFB would like to think that problems caused by  
misconceptions, negative attitudes, and negative stereotypes are  
universal. We believe that with proper training and opportunity  
blindness can be reduced to an inconvenience and a physical nuisance.  
How do I advocate this philosophy to a person whose only reader  
throughout his schooling has been his mother? When I asked why this  
person didn't hire a reader by placing an ad either in the newspaper or  
in a college publication, he said, "You forget that the average person  
who would apply for the position may not even correctly pronounce the A  
in apple." I asked about books on tape or Braille books. Books on tape  
are difficult to get and have very poor sound quality, and Braille books  
are not readily available.
     In India there are no chirping traffic lights. In fact I am  
occasionally shocked to find traffic lights at all. The roads are a  
free-for-all. Cars, rickshas, taxis, buses, trucks, bicycles, and people  
move simultaneously any which way they can. In the U.S. pedestrians  
almost always have the right of way. In India there are no white cane  
laws that I know of to protect blind people. If such laws exist, it is  
certain that no one adheres to them. There is no such thing as parallel  
and perpendicular traffic; everyone just goes when they feel like it.  
There are no sidewalks or pedestrian crossings. People walk on the same  
roads that cars drive on. How do I say to someone here that blind people  
should travel independently when I find it an adventure to cross the  
average street? The difference is that I cross the street because I come  
from an environment in which people believe in blind people.
     In a country where the average sighted person is trying to fend for  
himself and is usually failing, is it possible for the blind person who  
is not from an affluent family to succeed? Is it possible for the blind  
of India to adopt a philosophy such as ours when all of their lives  
they've been told that blindness is tragic? Is blindness tragic in the  
third world and not tragic in the U.S.? The overall question is whether  
the NFB's philosophy is universal, or does it work only in the U.S.?
Regards,
Mariyam

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Mike Freeman]
January 6, 2000
     Mike Freeman: To begin with, Dr. Jernigan always said that we  
couldn't fairly judge the problems of the blind in other parts of the  
world, and we shouldn't judge the merits of the solutions to those  
problems propounded by the blind in other parts of the world. In other  
words, what works for the blind of the U.S. and Canada should not  
necessarily be expected to work and might not be ideal for the blind of  
Burkina Fasso, Bangladesh, or Byeloruss. As you've discovered, Mariyam,  
the blind in many parts of the world are subject to very different  
conditions from those we face in North America. What Dr. Jernigan was  
saying is that we should not willy-nilly apply NFB philosophy in  
excruciating detail to other parts of the world though in broad outline  
it still holds.
     Remember we say that, given training and opportunity, the average  
blind person can do the average job in the average place of business as  
well as his or her sighted colleagues. Most of the blind of the world  
lack opportunity, if not training. Are Americans privileged? Is the East  
backward regarding blindness? Yes on both counts. Euclid Herie delivered  
a speech titled "Children of Lesser Wives" at an NFB convention about a  
decade ago. It speaks to the attitudinal difficulties faced by the blind  
in the third world. Though these attitudinal barriers prove  
insurmountable for the average blind person, this doesn't negate the  
truth of the NFB's philosophy; but it does temper its application.
     Your discussion of traveling independently in Bombay is a good  
illustration of the applicability and limitations of NFB philosophy.  
Certainly it is far easier for a blind person to travel in the U.S,  
where cities and countryside have some semblance of order, than it is  
for blind people to travel in such places as Bombay. You asked how you  
could credibly advocate that blind people travel independently when even  
you found traveling to be an adventure. You answered your own question  
in the next sentence. You must instill a belief by the blind that they  
can travel independently. As you've discovered, this is more easily said  
than done.
     One final comment: in "Blindness: Concepts and Misconceptions," Dr.  
Jernigan tacitly addressed this question. He wrote that in primitive  
times seeing meant survival. Sight gave a survival edge, and it was an  
advantage to be able to handle or dodge a spear. Light was equated with  
good; absence of light meant increased risk. Blindness was equated with  
darkness, risk, and evil. Dr. Jernigan wrote that in the present, when  
there is no great premium in being able to dodge a spear, these  
disadvantages and antiquated notions of blindness no longer hold. Thus  
by implication modern civilization has made it easier for the blind. It  
is hard to argue with this notion. Although some blind people in  
third-world countries have always succeeded, the average blind person in  
the West has it far better and is far more able to function with minimal  
assistance. Thank you, Mariyam, for your provocative post.
Mike Freeman

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Brian Miller]
January 7, 2000
     Brian Miller: I have traveled throughout the developing world,  
including China, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and some  
other locations. I have always found a direct correlation between the  
level of resources a society has to expend and the attitudes towards  
blindness and other disabilities. The reality is that for the vast  
majority of human beings life is a constant struggle merely to survive.  
Nearly two billion human beings live at a level of bare subsistence,  
where meeting the daily requirements for food, shelter, and potable  
water requires unceasing effort. It is important to speak of good cane  
travel skills, but what good are they when no one obeys traffic signals,  
no sidewalks exist, and basic pedestrian safety is ignored by the  
sighted, let alone the blind? What good is it to talk about competence  
on the part of the blind when given an opportunity, when even the  
sighted have no such opportunities?
     Our NFB history is a short one: a mere sixty years out of millennia  
of human history. However, despite the seeming bubble phenomenon, the  
most important component of NFB philosophy can stand apart from the  
burden of social and economic resources. I refer to proper attitude. We  
must start with the basic assumption that blind human beings have value,  
have worth, and can have meaningful lives despite limited resources. In  
some ways the lack of opportunity for all people in the developing  
nations is a great leveler. One can easily see how close to the margin  
of existence all humans live in places like Bombay. It is abundantly  
clear that human beings, blind or sighted, are fragile creatures.       
Dr. Jernigan told us the story of Sir John Fielding, the blind  
magistrate of the Bow Street Court in London in the latter eighteenth  
century. Did Fielding have computers with speech? Did he have Braille?  
Did he have a telescoping cane? Were there traffic lights with regulated  
signals that directed the carriages and pedestrians alike? Of course  
not, but he still made a difference in his community, in his life, and  
in history. We have to start internally, keep it simple, keep it  
meaningful. We can't export all of our techniques, but we can export  
attitude. We can liberate the blind from the historic notions of  
blindness as a curse or divine retribution.
     Yours,
     Brian Miller


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Ruby Polk]
     The National Center: A First-Time View
     by Ruby Polk

     From the Editor: Ruby Polk is Vice President of the St. Louis  
Chapter of the NFB of Missouri. She had always wanted to visit the  
National Center for the Blind since it is the headquarters of the  
organization she loves. Last fall she and her husband decided the time  
had come to make her dream come true. What follows is her story of that  
visit to the building that belongs to every Federationist. Her article  
first appeared in the Winter, 2000, issue of the Blind Missourian, the  
publication of the NFB of Missouri. This is what she says:

     What a thrill it was to see the National Center for the Blind for  
the first time. It was more awesome than I ever expected. My husband  
Larry and I planned to visit the National Center on November 11, 1999.  
We called three weeks before our departure and spoke to Ms. Patricia  
Maurer, who was more than happy to make us an appointment.
     With directions from Sandy Halverson, our Chapter President, we  
arrived at the National Center in Baltimore an hour early. From outside  
I used my cell phone and was connected with Aloma Bouma, who said she  
was expecting us because of our appointment, but she also said that she  
had received a telephone call from her friend and mine Sheila Wright to  
let her know personally that we were arriving. Ms. Bouma asked us to  
come right in so that we could start our tour. What a nice welcome!
     The building was quite accessible and pleasant. Upon entering, we  
turned left to the elevator, which took us to the fourth floor. Ms.  
Bouma welcomed us heartily and offered to show us anything we wanted to  
see.
     I first noticed that I was standing on a beautifully crafted marble  
floor. Ms. Bouma explained that the entire National Center had been  
renovated and that this marble floor was part of the exquisite  
workmanship. Portraits of Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan,  
and Dr. Marc Maurer, with plaques indicating when they served as NFB  
presidents, hung in the reception area.
     I discovered that a reception and dinner in celebration of  
Newsline(r) for the Blind was to be held that very evening with 300  
guests invited. So this was a very busy day for the National Office  
staff, preparing for all those guests. Ms. Bouma said we would be able  
to see how everyone on the staff came together to work toward a common  
goal.
     We started our tour of the Center with Curtis Chong, Director of  
the Technology Department, and Richard Ring, who runs the International  
Braille and Technology Center. Mr. Chong showed us all the equipment I  
was interested in. Mr. Chong even used his very own brand new  
twenty-dollar bill to demonstrate the Openbook scanning program. How  
nice it was to see all the newest technology under one roof.
     We went next to the Materials Center. I purchased a slate and a  
talking pedometer to use when I exercised. Also I bought a support cane  
for one of our chapter members who is ninety-two years old.
     Then we visited the Harbor Room, which has a six-foot-wide  
fireplace with a twelve-foot mantel. In that comfortable room guests can  
eat, visit, and relax.
     The exercise room, a brainchild of Dr. Jernigan, is full of all  
kinds of fitness equipment for the use of guests and the staff.
     The magnificent 5,000-square-foot deck was being enclosed and  
heated for the NEWSLINE(r) Night guests to enjoy a little later. The  
comfortable National Center conference room, with Braille books on every  
wall from floor to ceiling, also displayed a hands-on model of the new  
National Research and Training Institute to be built when we complete  
our capital campaign. The room measures forty by forty feet and has a  
large U-shaped conference table in its center with thirty-seven padded  
swivel chairs drawn up around it. The 120-by-70-foot Records Center  
houses all the files and other records of the NFB. This is where the  
history of the Federation is located. The book Walking Alone and  
Marching Together, which many of us have read, was mostly researched  
with the resources in this room.
     President Marc Maurer and Barbara Pierce, Editor of the Braille  
Monitor, were not available, but we did get to meet Craig Gildner, the  
voice of both the Braille Monitor and the Voice of the Diabetic. We also  
ran into Kris Cox, who spoke to a visitor from Brazil in our tour group  
in fluent Portuguese. That was a nice surprise for all of us. All the  
other staff members who greeted us along the way were informative and  
friendly.
     After viewing the spacious and gleaming kitchens amid all the  
hustle and bustle of preparations for NEWSLINE(r) Night, I was able to  
understand how three hundred guests would be superbly accommodated that  
evening.
     At last we looked at the fifty-two framed charters placed side by  
side alphabetically down a long hall. Each state name was displayed in  
Braille. I found the one for Missouri. It was wonderful to read the  
large framed charters stretching down the hallway. There was nothing,  
according to Ms. Bouma, that I could not examine by touch. That was  
important to me as a blind person.      My visit to the National Center  
has given me a greater understanding of how local chapters and State  
Affiliates cooperate with the National Office to advance positive  
attitudes about blindness in the United States and throughout the world.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Tom Bickford]
     Mowing the Lawn
     by Thomas Bickford

     From the Editor: Tom Bickford is a frequent contributor to these  
pages. He takes his Federationism seriously. Here he talks about mowing  
the lawn. This is what he says:

     When I was ten years old, I didn't care who mowed the lawn as long  
as it was someone else. My parents had a different idea about it, so I  
pushed the lawn mower around and cut the grass. Yes, that was in the  
days of the boy-powered lawn mower, and I felt very much "put upon."  
After all, I had two older sisters living at home, but that was before  
the days of women's liberation.
     When I was thirteen, we lived in a different house with a bigger  
lawn, and, even though I got paid, I discovered too late that I had  
underestimated the price I should have asked. Result: bad feelings.  
Blindness came along in my late teens.
     Now that I am the home owner and feel some pride in home ownership  
and the appearance of the yard, things are different. For too many years  
I didn't think I could really do the job because I was blind. Then I  
went to my NFB state convention and heard Fred Schroeder tell about his  
experiences mowing his lawn as a blind man. It was a good story; he told  
it well; and I knew I had run out of excuses. At this writing several  
years later, Fred Schroeder is the Federal Commissioner of the  
Rehabilitation Services Administration. Yes, some people, blind or  
sighted, cut their own grass, and some people, blind or sighted, get  
someone else to cut their grass, but I decided that my time had come.
     The principle of mowing the lawn is quite simple: cut a swath. Move  
over, and cut another swath. Keep doing that until the job is done. With  
some practice you can learn how far to move without either cutting the  
same space again or leaving some grass uncut. Anytime I am in doubt, I  
hold the mower with one hand to keep the engine running and lean over to  
feel the area I think I have just cut. If there is tall grass that I  
missed, the only thing to do is to move back and make another pass at  
it, feel again for assurance, and then go on.
     The most efficient approach would be to cut long, straight strips  
which waste less time in turning around. My trouble is that I don't walk  
straight for more than six or eight steps while pushing a mower over  
slightly uneven ground. The grass between the sidewalk and curb is just  
right, ten feet wide and level. That is the easy part. The hard part is  
all the rest of it, about five thousand square feet. That is a moderate  
amount by suburban standards.
     The thing that makes the rest of the lawn hard is this. Even though  
the lot, the house, and all the areas covered by concrete are  
rectangular, there is a moderate hill along one side, and the house is  
set at an angle on the lot. In spite of all the straight lines, the lawn  
area has a very irregular shape. As you might expect, there are trees,  
flower gardens, and other things to bump into or avoid. I deliberately  
bump into trees and cut past them from all directions; then I put one  
hand on the tree and walk backward around it while pulling the mower as  
close to the tree as possible.
     There is a plastic strip marking the edge of the flower gardens  
which serves two purposes. It helps to keep the grass from invading the  
garden area, and I find that I can slide one foot along the strip as I  
walk backward while pulling the mower. With the first pass up against  
the plastic strip and the next pass a little farther out as I hold the  
mower by the corner of the handle, I have enough space to stand while I  
cut straight away from the garden. In case you wonder about my walking  
backward, I find that I am leading the mower when I go backward and can  
direct it better that way.
     Since I have a corner lot at the intersection of two streets, I  
have plenty of straight edge along the sidewalk to use as a straight  
starting edge. I can tell by feel if the two front wheels of the mower  
are going onto the grass at the same time. Then, as my feet come to the  
edge of the grass, I check again to make sure I am facing straight in. I  
walk in six or eight steps and back out as straight as I can. Sometimes  
I do move over a bit and try to cut some new grass on the way back, but  
I know I may be missing something, so I lean over and check the cut.  
Fortunately for me I can reach all the areas of the lawn by going in six  
or eight steps from each of the borders. The hill is the worst part, so  
I get plenty of exercise by going straight up and holding the mower as I  
back down.
     How do I know where I am? I first learned the shape of the yard  
while raking leaves in the fall. Raking covers the same area as mowing.  
I can hear the rustle of the leaves and feel the pull of the leaves  
against the rake, but it is not quite as critical in spacing as mowing  
is. With the lawn mower the grass must be very high for me to hear the  
swish of the grass as it is cut, but listening over the roar of the  
mower engine is one of the least efficient ways to know what I am  
cutting.
     One of the things I learned about moving over at the inner end of a  
cut is that, when I turn to move, I usually leave a small area right at  
the corner between the two cuts, so I angle back, go forward to be sure  
that the cut is square at the top, and then back out.
     When I am finished, or think I am, I usually walk along the more  
critical areas while leaning over to feel for spots I may have missed. I  
also usually have a sighted critic, my wife, check for spots I have  
missed. If I really did miss some small area and I didn't know about it,  
the worst thing that could happen is that it would keep growing until  
the next time. I think I would be unlikely to miss the same spot twice  
in a row.
     I am sure by now you have decided that some of my techniques would  
not work well for you, and you may even have thought of some others of  
your own that would work on your lawn. Happy lawn mowing.


     The New Impressionists
     by Blake Gopnik

     From the Editor: The following article first appeared in Toronto's  
The Globe and Mail, on Monday, April 17, 2000. Those interested in the  
psychology of perception or who have an interest in art will find it  
particularly intriguing. Here it is:

     A few years back some waggish art-history students were looking for  
a mascot for their departmental association. With much hilarity--a laugh  
a minute, we art historians--they settled on Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo, a  
less-than-celebrated sixteenth-century critic and theorist. The joke?  
Lomazzo wasn't always right-on about art. What with him being blind and  
all. But turns out now the joke may be on them. John Kennedy, a  
professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, is busy showing  
that paying close attention to the blind may tell us a whole lot about  
art after all.
     Over three decades of experiments the Irish-born scientist has  
shown that the blind can make and understand pictures in ways that no  
one had imagined. And that fact forces us to rethink many of our  
preconceptions about representational art in general.
     "We can do an awful lot more with senses that we regarded as being  
limited," explained Kennedy, an inveterate enthusiast whose gift of the  
gab confirms his place of birth. "You'd have to be intellectually dead  
not to be excited by the idea that we may have thought about  
representation in much too limited a way for much too long."
     Kennedy's excitement about his research seems to be spreading to  
the broader academic community. In 1993 Yale University Press published  
his seminal book, Drawings and the Blind. Right now Oxford University  
Press is releasing an entire volume of original essays on the  
subject--including one by Kennedy, a pioneer in the fast-growing field.  
(Full disclosure: I became a Kennedyite some years ago when I was the  
token art historian in a research group of his.)
     If we tend to think of pictures as eye candy, it isn't hard to make  
them finger food as well. Take a sheet of plastic, set it on a soft  
support, draw on it with a ballpoint pen, and any lines you make turn  
into little ridges just ready to be explored by the fingers of the  
blind.
     Or better yet, give them the pen, and they'll make pictures just  
about anyone--sighted or blind--is likely to recognize, by sight or  
feel. A credible cat, a man standing or lying down, a water glass, a  
chair, a bathtub--all produced by blind people who've never looked at  
those things in their lives, who've certainly never seen a drawing or  
touched or drawn one before. Within a few minutes of taking up the pen,  
a person who has grown up without sight can move from the skills of a  
two- or three-year-old to the skills of a kindergarten kid, to those of  
a grade-schooler, even, for those with a special knack, to  
junior-high-school level.
     Their pictures may not seem impressive works of art, but when you  
think that they were made entirely by touch and show a world only ever  
known by feel, they become a minor miracle.
     Meeting me for lunch at the Art Gallery of Ontario--frequent field  
trips take the scientist out of the lab and into museums--Kennedy, a  
sprightly fifty-seven-year-old with a mustache and antic eyes, waxed  
eloquent about the many and varied implications of his work. "It always  
seemed that [pictures] should be anchored in vision, and that all our  
thoughts about them should be about them as visual matters." For  
generations of scholars and theorists--including Kennedy, who got his  
start at Cornell under the great perceptual psychologists James and  
Eleanor Gibson--the psychology of vision seemed the obvious place to go  
to figure out how pictures work.
     "What we're learning from the blind is that that's only half the  
story. Vision may be a route into the part of the brain that understands  
pictures, but it isn't the only route. . . . It seems that another road  
that leads to the center that understands pictures can be touch."
     Of course, like the sighted, not all blind people are particularly  
interested in the images that tickle that center. But when they are,  
there's no stopping them.
     One evening awhile ago Kennedy went to test a man. His subject  
began by pointing out what seemed like a no-brainer--"I can't draw. I'm  
blind"--and then spent two hours immersed in drawing. "My God, I can do  
it." At 9 p.m., when Kennedy suggested calling it a night, the man asked  
for more time. When 11 p.m. rolled around, he still wasn't ready to  
stop. "At 1 o'clock in the morning, he was willing to let us go,"  
laughed Kennedy. Seems that a fascination with pictures may just be so  
natural, you'd have to be more than blind not to see it.
     And that is one of the crucial findings of Kennedy's research. Over  
the years various skeptics and relativists have tried to argue that  
realistic pictures are as artificial as, say, the shapes of the  
alphabet, and that culture--especially Western, imperialist  
culture--teaches us to use and understand pictures the way it teaches us  
that ketchup goes with fries. But Kennedy's work is the final nail in  
the coffin for such improbable conceits.
     "If a blind person who has not had a picture in their life before .  
. . produces a picture for the first time when we say, `Take up thy pen,  
and draw,' then that says whatever they're producing--if it's  
immediately recognizable to other blind people and to sighted people--is  
not arbitrary. It's a fundamental universal of perception and  
cognition." Picture-making isn't some artificial invention of  
oversophisticated elites. It ties right in to the deepest parts of the  
human brain--to a place so deep, in fact, that it's equally accessible  
to both sight and touch.
     And when we find out something's wired that hard and deep in the  
brain, we shouldn't be surprised that people get pleasure from fooling  
around with it--that they like exploring pictures and making them.
     One of the reasons we like representational art so much--and have  
since at least the days of our cave-decorator ancestors--is that we  
don't have to learn to grasp its basic content the way we do with texts  
or many other symbol systems. Images hit us "where we live, right away,  
intuitively, implicitly. . . . I've seen people look at pictures, and  
tears came to their eyes immediately."
     But the other reason we like it so much is that, no matter how  
automatically we all may get the subject of a realistic picture, it took  
hard, rewarding work for our ancestors to become really good at making  
them. (Whether artists should still win kudos for simply using those  
ancient inventions is another matter.) By studying the blind, Kennedy  
can watch the learning about picture-making that the sighted spread out  
over decades and that cultures spread out over centuries happen  
overnight. "I've seen blind people who begin to enjoy drawing coming up  
with systems, then discarding them and inventing a better system. I have  
seen one person move dramatically from 'I'm just showing the front of an  
object' to 'I'm showing foreshortening,' which is generally five or six  
years later in sighted people."
     That some blind people can actually understand the basic principles  
of foreshortening and perspective and even begin to apply them  
spontaneously in their drawings is one of Kennedy's most flabbergasting  
discoveries. One blind man called Ray made a picture of a table with its  
four legs splayed out, as though looming forward at the viewer, and the  
tabletop between them smaller, as though farther away. "He said  
expressly, 'This is from underneath.' And then he said, 'I'll give you  
another drawing,' and he drew it from up above. And then only the  
rectangle of the top was shown--no legs, he said, 'because the legs are  
hidden behind.' I realized that this man understands how to use a  
vantage point in a drawing."
     On the one hand this is extraordinary. Perspective--the set of  
precise rules that tell us how to draw nearby things larger than what's  
far away--is the ultimate tool for making realistic pictures, but it was  
invented only once, in Renaissance Italy. "Everybody gets it from them,"  
said Kennedy. So you might expect it to be the last thing blind people  
would ever come up with on their own. On the other hand, the reason  
perspective works so well--and the reason many cultures have come up  
with informal versions of it--is that it capitalizes on our most basic  
understanding of where things are in the world around us and how they  
relate to where we are. "It's about the direction of parts," said  
Kennedy, explaining his crucial insight. "And that's not something  
inherently visual."
     For the sighted vision simply discovers the same things about the  
world that touch reveals to the blind. "Blind people understand a lot  
about the directions of objects in the world. They often have to judge  
where they are with respect to objects as they move around in the world  
and change their vantage points." A blind person who didn't have a rich  
idea about the way the world's laid out, and how things change around  
them as they move through it, would be permanently chair-bound. And  
that's something Kennedy is keen to help prevent.
     Kennedy's work with blind people started as an offshoot of his work  
on pictures by and for the sighted. But years of working with the blind  
and spelling out how rich their vision really is have made him something  
of an activist. The old idea that training for the blind should be about  
protecting them from the world has to give way to helping them explore  
it to the full. Giving them the chance to make and read pictures can  
have a part in this exploration, just as it does for the sighted.
     "Many of the blind people that I've been asking to participate in  
my experiments have then said to me, 'I would like to show you  
something,' and have taken the materials for making raised-line drawings  
and made drawings of subjects I would never have dared ask them to  
draw." One blind woman, having just discovered drawings, lamented the  
lack of picture books in her own childhood and asked for drawing  
materials so she could try her hand at making some for the next  
generation. "I remember one blind man who said 'This is wonderful. I've  
always wanted to make drawings. But people told me I was blind, and I  
couldn't do it. But I can do it.'" Only give them the chance to explore  
the magic of pictures and, like sighted people everywhere, the blind  
will jump at it.
     "Many blind people are very proud of the fact that they can get on  
the TTC, go to Pearson Airport, get onto Air Canada, fly to a foreign  
city, make their way around, use tactile maps, get tactile diagrams and  
pictures of things, go to seek things out. Go to art galleries, knock on  
the door, and say `I want to know what's in here.' Go to museums, and  
say, `Lemme know which things here I can grasp, and which things are too  
fragile and too precious for people to put their fingers on. I'm  
interested. I want to know about these things.'"


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Lisa Mauldin]
     Gelding the Bull or Shoveling the Manure...
     It just Depends on your Perspective
     by Lisa LaNell Mauldin

     From the Editor: Lisa Mauldin is a Federationist who lives in  
Alabama. On April 6 she read an editorial in New York Newsday which  
annoyed her. She undertook a good deal of research before sitting down  
to respond. She first sent her article to the paper, inviting the  
editorial staff to use it as an op-ed piece, but to date New York  
Newsday has exhibited no interest in setting the record straight. Lisa  
then circulated her response to a number of listservs, and the Web site  
<EnableLink.com> posted it almost immediately. Here it is as it was  
posted:

     One of the hottest topics inside the Beltway of our nation's  
capital these days is the digital divide. A techno-term created with the  
advent of the Internet, digital divide describes the ever-widening chasm  
that exists between the Internet access haves and have nots. As the  
debate becomes more heated, the access issue--like so many others--has  
fallen victim to the great legislation versus free-enterprise  
tug-of-war, which has colored our political palette from the beginning  
of time and shows no sign of dissipating any time soon. The firestorm  
surrounding this issue got a little hotter last week, however, as the  
anti-legislation army launched a major offensive through a newspaper  
article to which I would like to respond.
     The article in question was entitled "Federal Gorilla Is Loose in  
Silicon Valley," which appeared in the April 6, 2000, edition of the New  
York Newsday, (notes 1 & 2) written by staff columnist James P.  
Pinkerton (note 3.)
     Mr. Pinkerton begins by discussing the Microsoft verdict and its  
resulting proliferation of federal regulation (in his opinion) of  
computer and Internet companies. While this matter will no doubt be  
discussed for years in the hallowed, ivy-covered halls of business and  
law schools, as well as the mahogany-paneled board rooms of  
international conglomerates, I will move on to other issues, but not  
before I make one observation, the importance of which will become clear  
later. Mr. Pinkerton characterizes the federal government's activities  
both in the Microsoft matter and throughout the rest of Silicon Valley  
as "gratuitous meddling." In the meantime let's look at Mr. Pinkerton's  
position on federal legislation of Internet access for people with  
disabilities through Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
     Citing it as an issue that has the potential to "geld the bull  
market" (referring to the NASDAQ composite upon which most technology  
stocks are listed) Mr. Pinkerton opens his debate about Section 508 with  
these words: "Consider just one item: Section 508 of the federal  
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended in 1998. It requires federal  
agencies to make sure that the electronic technology they use is equally  
accessible to employees with disabilities. In addition, it requires that  
members of the public with disabilities have equal access to public  
information."
     Mr. Pinkerton goes on to add: "That sounds reasonable, but what  
about blind employees and computers--and the Internet? Or blind members  
of the public? How does one go about making the so-called graphical user  
interface accessible to those who can't see graphics?"
     It would appear that Mr. Pinkerton might have pulled a Rip Van  
Winkle, for his question about how one goes about making the GUI  
accessible to people who are blind raises the inescapable inquiry,  
"Where has he been for the past twenty years?"
     Mr. Pinkerton is asking a question that the disability technology  
community has already resoundingly answered. Blind people have been  
using screen-reading software to access not only the Internet but  
off-the-shelf e-mail, word processing, spread-sheet, and database  
software (just to name a few) for years now.
     At this point the article takes a nasty turn as Mr. Pinkerton  
appeals to the destructive attitude of racism, employing the  
see-how-you-got-taken? strategy as he gives the reader his historical  
perspective on civil rights enforcement. "But history suggests that  
civil rights enforcement starts small, grows big, and then grows  
burdensome. That process usually begins with Washington setting model  
standards, then rippling them out across society."
     Burdensome? Civil rights? To whom? ...only to those card-carrying  
members of the ruling class whose absolute power is somehow threatened  
by the equality of others? Color me enlightened.
     The reader will be comforted to know that Mr. Pinkerton goes on to  
cite the creation of the Fair Employment Practices Commission during  
World War II and its use by the federal government as a springboard to  
bring about racial integration and anti-discrimination laws as his  
supporting argument for "burdensome."
     Having dispensed his racial views, Mr. Pinkerton demonstrates that  
he is an equal opportunity discriminator, moving on to address people  
who are blind. "But it's one thing to argue that people of equal  
abilities ought to enjoy equal opportunity; it's quite another to argue  
that those who can't see must somehow be empowered to use an inherently  
visual medium."
     Blind individuals are not asking to be "empowered" to drive or  
perform brain surgery, but rather that Internet Web site developers use  
the well-documented Web Content Accessibility Guidelines created by the  
Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C -  
note 4) in the design phase so that blind "individuals with equal  
abilities can enjoy equal opportunities"--guidelines, I might add, that  
would benefit non-disabled Internet users as well. Section 508 and other  
legislation does not mandate that a solution be created but rather that  
demonstrated models of success be used and supported.
     Mr. Pinkerton would be shocked (apparently) to know that the  
Information Technology industry employs many blind people, who work in  
all facets of the business--even as Web-site developers. (You really  
should get out more, James.) In addition, the federal government is also  
a large employer of people with disabilities, including blind people. Is  
he now suggesting that blind employees are not entitled to the same  
access to information necessary to perform their jobs as their sighted  
counterparts?
     Even more ironic to me is the fact that he could ask such a  
question in such a prominent daily publication. Unfortunately, this  
disturbing development is a clear indication of just how pervasive and  
politically correct discrimination against people with disabilities has  
become in our society. Have we really forgotten this tone so quickly? If  
Mr. Pinkerton were asking, "But it's one thing to argue that people of  
equal abilities ought to enjoy equal opportunity; it's quite another to  
argue that those who are African-American must somehow be empowered to  
use an inherently white medium," the expression of  
outrage--African-American and white alike--would be overwhelming, and I  
would question if his inflammatory rhetoric would even have been printed  
in such a mainstream publication as New York Newsday.
     Finally we get down to the ultimate purpose for Mr. Pinkerton's  
article. (Pay close attention here. things are about to get political.)  
Mr. Pinkerton now quotes Walter Olson, senior fellow at the Manhattan  
Institute, who asserts that, if these standards are ever enforced,  
"hundreds of millions of Web pages would have to be torn down."
     Walter Olson must be the foremost authority on the Internet and  
accessibility for people with disabilities, wouldn't you think? I mean,  
after all, based on the concise and authoritative statements made here,  
one gets the distinct impression that he would surely know best. I  
certainly did. So I went in search of answers.
     Well, according to the Bio page on the Walter Olson Home Page (note  
5), he is...are you sitting down?...an attorney. And not just an  
attorney, but an attorney with an agenda.
     Investor's Business Daily called Olson "Perhaps America's leading  
authority on over-litigation" and the Washington Post dubbed Olson an  
"intellectual guru of tort reform." Olson has authored two books: The  
Litigation Explosion (reviewed favorably in the New York Times by the  
late Chief Justice Warren Burger) and The Excuse Factory, his book on  
litigation in the workplace, which has received rave reviews (A.B.A.  
Journal, "wittily scathing" and The American Spectator, "devastating and  
eloquent"). Do we detect a pattern yet? Hang on; it gets better.
     Mr. Olson is the Senior Fellow for the Manhattan Institute (note 6)  
which describes itself as "a think tank whose mission is to develop and  
disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual  
responsibility,"..."an important force in shaping American political  
culture." How, might you ask, is this lofty goal accomplished? In their  
own words (note 7) "We have cultivated a staff of senior fellows and  
writers who blend intellectual rigor, sound principles, and strong  
writing ability. Their provocative books, reviews, interviews, speeches,  
articles, and op-ed pieces have been the main vehicle for communicating  
our message."
     Yes, it's true. Walter Olson is hardly an expert on Internet  
accessibility for people with disabilities, but rather he is an  
unashamed, "cultivated" mouthpiece for a conservative Manhattan think  
tank seeking to shape our government's public policy according to their  
own principles and standards. (Walks like a lobbyist, talks like a  
lobbyist...) I have no problem with that--that's the way our system  
works, but for Mr. Pinkerton to base a majority of his article on the  
propaganda of one individual representing a special interest group  
without clearly identifying his agenda is...well, I'll let you be the  
judge. It is true that Pinkerton mentions "Senior Fellow...conservative  
think tank Manhattan Institute," but this hardly constitutes full  
disclosure of the wide-ranging scope of Olson's underlying bias.
     Finally, Mr. Pinkerton sinks to the lowest point in his article,  
resorting to the tactic of presenting examples of abuses (in his  
opinion) of the Americans with Disabilities Act that can only be  
described as extreme and isolated circumstances as widespread and  
commonplace. Again the writer returns to his favorite source--his only  
source--Walter Olson, since this same example has been used by Olson  
repeatedly to support his position against Internet legislation (note  
8). Citing a February Miami Daily Business Review article (which is  
actually a December 21, 1999, article - note 9), Pinkerton "suggests"  
that ADA lawsuits have reached epidemic proportions and represent a real  
threat to life as we know it. (Oh brother!) Let's take a rational look  
at the situation in question.
     The Review article opens with, "South Florida businesses big and  
small are under siege from a handful of litigious advocates for the  
disabled...." It goes on to say, "Plaintiffs, including a half-dozen  
non-profit corporations and associated individuals, have filed more than  
600 federal suits in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach." Who  
are these plaintiffs?
     Again from the Miami article, "Nearly all those cases, generally  
brought by a few disabled people acting as surrogates for others..." and  
"At the forefront of this legal assault is a six-lawyer Miami Beach law  
firm, Fuller Mallah & Associates. Since May, 1998, state records show  
Fuller Mallah helped form a trio of nonprofit companies in Broward,  
Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties respectively, the Alliance for ADA  
Compliance, Inc.; Advocates for the Disabled, Inc.; and the Boca Access  
Group. Today those nonprofits are plaintiffs in more than 300 ADA cases  
in South Florida. Advocates for the Disabled brought 276 of those  
cases." According to the article, "Advocates for the Disabled was  
originally incorporated by Ernst Rosenkrantz, seventy-two, of Miami  
Beach." The writer goes on to say of Rosenkrantz, "He is also a  
plaintiff in 323 cases, some in league with Advocates for Disabled. The  
Fuller Mallah law firm represents both Advocates for the Disabled and  
Rosenkrantz, a retired architect who has been confined to a wheelchair  
for fifty-three years." As it turns out, attorney John D. Mallah is  
Rosenkrantz's nephew.
     Handful? Half dozen? A few disabled people? One six-lawyer law  
firm? A trio of non-profits? One seventy-two-year-old man and his  
nephew? Surely Olson and Pinkerton are not holding up this tightly-knit  
group--for all practical purposes to be considered as a single  
entity--as their proof of widespread over-litifgation? It is widely held  
that there are about fifty-four million people with disabilities in the  
United States, and they are suggesting that this one example of  
seemingly bad behavior on the part of less than twenty individuals  
constitutes an epidemic? Talk about scare tactics.
     Using the high end of his figures ($20,000 per settlement) times  
even a ten fold exaggeration of 6,000 lawsuits, we have arrived at the  
grand total of $12 million. That wouldn't even pay one decent  
professional basketball player for a single year or a high-flying  
dot-com CEO (not including perks and benefits). For both Olson and  
Pinkerton even to hint that in the mind of every disabled person lies a  
lawsuit waiting to get out, as well as to raise the issue that maybe our  
society just can't afford accessibility, is irresponsible at best and  
outright deception at worst.
     While everyone is examining the bottom line, let's consider what it  
costs to support people with disabilities using tax dollars. With  
estimates for the blind population of the U.S. around 1.1 million and  
their unemployment figures estimated to be about 74 percent, that leaves  
814,000 blind and visually impaired individuals without jobs. Figure  
conservatively that only half of that number collect some kind of SSI or  
SSDI benefit and that that benefit includes a monthly check for $500  
(again conservatively), the U.S. tax-paying citizen is shelling out  
$203.5 million per month in cash benefits (not including Medicare and  
Medicaid.) That's $203,500,000, and that is only for people who are  
blind, making no consideration for people with any other kind of  
disability. And Pinkerton says we can't afford the Americans with  
Disabilities Act?
     Now that we have a pretty clear understanding of Olson's and  
Pinkerton's political affiliation, you may be more than a little  
surprised to learn that I, too, profess ultra-conservative political  
views, even going so far as to consider myself a civil libertarian, as  
do both of these gentlemen. Back in the beginning of this article, I  
told you that Mr. Pinkerton believed that the government's actions  
against Microsoft were unwarranted, and I have to confess that--at many  
levels--I too believe that to be true. I do not believe that the  
solution to every problem lies in federal legislation, and I too am a  
huge proponent of individual responsibility. However, unlike Mr. Olson  
and Mr. Pinkerton, I cannot afford to advocate for lofty ideals which  
are not practical in the real world. I guess it would be fair to say  
that what separates my civil libertarian views from theirs is the scope.  
I believe that civil liberties should be extended to include people with  
disabilities, while apparently they do not.
     The purist civil libertarian viewpoint says that accessibility  
should be voluntary, leaving the market to find and implement  
appropriate solutions. This sounds good in a political debate or as the  
topic of rousing dinner party conversation among individuals who have  
never experienced firsthand the devastating effects of discrimination,  
but when all is said and done--unlike Olson and Pinkerton--I have to  
live my personal politics and principles day in and day out in a reality  
that bears little or no resemblance to theirs.
     I am blind. I have been around the block enough times to know that  
in a market-driven society concerned almost exclusively with stock  
prices and shareholders, doing the right thing isn't always at the top  
of everyone's list. In fact, oftentimes it doesn't make the list at all.  
Had society in general been willing to do the right thing in the first  
place, the Americans with Disabilities Act--celebrating its tenth  
anniversary this year--would never have been necessary. The reality is  
that--like racial integration--Internet access to people with  
disabilities isn't going to happen by itself, and--like racial  
segregation--denial or delay of access has profound and nearly  
irrevocable consequences on the educational and economic opportunities  
available to people with disabilities.
     Walter Olson recently testified before the Subcommittee on the  
Constitution of the House Judiciary Committee in a February 9, 2000,  
hearing on "The Applicability of the Americans with Disabilities Act  
(ADA) to Private Internet Sites" (note 10), where he argued that the  
government should not mandate that the Internet be made accessible to  
people with disabilities because in his opinion such action would limit  
or stifle that which may be enjoyed by other Internet consumers. In  
effect he was suggesting that it was okay to trample on the civil rights  
of one group in order to ensure that the privileges of another group  
would not be denied.
     If you're older than thirty, this attitude should sound very  
familiar. It wasn't all that long ago that segregationists argued that  
integration of our public schools would infringe upon the quality of  
education for white children and that integration of the work place  
would take jobs away from white workers, thereby justifying the  
continued educational and economic oppression of African-Americans  
because to do otherwise just wasn't convenient for the white  
establishment. Have we as a nation forgotten this so quickly?
      In closing let me say that reading Pinkerton's article reminded me  
of our old family home movies. Within the flash of a single frame the  
screen would switch from scenes of us sledding down the neighbor's steep  
front yard to building sand castles on the beach, from hunting for  
Easter eggs in our back yard to cutting the Thanksgiving turkey, from  
opening our Christmas presents to Mother's Day Sunday dinner. He jumped  
from disjointed subject to unrelated concept in the blink of an eye, and  
to follow his misguided logic from the Microsoft verdict to the  
Americans with Disabilities Act required some serious imagination.
     In the end my greatest regret is that many who read Pinkerton's  
flight of fancy will take it as gospel, never fully understanding the  
load of manure they have been dealt, and ultimately, the only ones who  
will pay for Pinkerton's actions are people with disabilities, who only  
want a chance to pursue our share of the American Dream. Is that too  
much to ask? Apparently Mr. Pinkerton thinks so. (note 11)
     (Author's Note: Every single Web site I referenced in researching  
this article--including the article itself--was fully accessible to me  
with no trouble whatsoever. I guess here are at least ten Web pages out  
of the "hundreds of millions" that won't have to be "torn down" in order  
to comply with emerging federal access legislation.
     Special thanks to Gregg and Kelly for technical and editorial  
advice and insights without which this article would not have been  
possible. My e-mail address is <lisamauldin@earthlink.net>.
     Note 1: Newsday "Federal Gorilla Loose in Silicon Valley"  
<http://www.newsday.com/coverage/current/columns/thursday/nd3840.htm>
Note 2: For the print-dependent, Thursday, April 6, 2000, Page A 49
Note 3: James P. Pinkerton's e-mail address is <pinkerto@ix.netcom.com>.
Note 4: World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) <http://www.w3c.org/wai>
Note 5: Bio <http://walterolson.com/bio.html>
Note 6: Manhattan Institute <http://manhattan-institute.org/>
Note 7: About the Manhattan Institute  
<http://manhattan-institute.org/html/about_mi.htm>
Note 8: Olson on South Florida ADA Lawsuits  
<http://www.overlawyered.com/archives/00jan2.html#000126a>
Note 9: "Besieged by Suits"  
<http://www.lawnewsnetwork.com/stories/A11964-1999Dec20.html>
Note 10: Testimony Presented to Subcommittee on Constitution  
<http://www.house.gov/judiciary/2.htm>
Note 11: Lisa LaNell Mauldin's e-mail address is  
<lisamauldin@earthlink.net>.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Michael Baillif]
     A Fundamental Lesson
     by Michael Baillif

     From the Editor: Michael Baillif was a 1984 NFB scholarship winner.  
He had just graduated from high school. Even then it was clear that with  
the help of the NFB he was going places. Michael graduated from  
Claremont McKenna College, used a Watson Fellowship to travel around  
Europe, received his J.D. from Yale Law School, and earned an LLM at  
Georgetown. Today he is back in Washington, D.C., having been hired away  
from the New York law firm mentioned below. Michael and Lynn Mattioli, a  
1987 NFB scholarship winner, were married on June 3 this year. The  
following story appeared in Reflecting the Flame, the seventeenth in the  
NFB's Kernel Book series of paperbacks. It begins with President  
Maurer's introduction. Here it is:

     Michael Baillif is a past President of the Student Division of the  
National Federation of the Blind. He is an up and coming New York lawyer  
and a Yankees fan, and he doesn't let blindness get in his way--not, at  
least, when he can help it. But sometimes it doesn't work out that way.  
In "A Fundamental Lesson" Michael shares with us an incident that  
started out wrong and ended up right. Here is what he has to say:

     I first arrived at my new apartment in New York City one evening  
last summer around midnight. The doorman, a hard-boiled seventy-year-old  
New Yorker named Leno, was somewhat taken aback to see, emerging from a  
taxicab at that late hour, a blind man laboring under the weight of  
several suitcases. That night, and for several days thereafter, Leno was  
constantly over-helpful, being quite concerned with the numerous  
disasters that could conceivably have befallen me in the lobby of the  
apartment building.
     After awhile, however, when I didn't tumble down the stairs or set  
off any fire alarms, the novelty of my blindness wore off. Before long  
we were talking of the weather, the Yankees, and Leno's children in  
Florida as I traversed the lobby of the apartment building on my way to  
and from work or recreation.
     Blindness soon ceased to be an issue in Leno's mind, so we never  
discussed it. We were both more interested in whether or not the  
Yankees, who were playing great fundamental baseball and getting all the  
little things right, would set the record for winning the most ball  
games in a single season. Although I would have been happy enough to  
engage in a conversation regarding blindness, the topic just didn't come  
up.
     One evening, after I had been living in the apartment building for  
a few weeks, I was returning from the theater in the company of a young  
lady I particularly wanted to impress. You can imagine my chagrin,  
therefore, when, upon pulling up in front of the apartment building, our  
taxi driver refused to accept any money for the cab ride.
     Now, if I had been short on funds, I might have been thankful for  
the gesture. Or, if the cabbie had offered money to be put toward the  
programs of the National Federation of the Blind to help all blind  
people, I would have been deeply appreciative. But in this case I had  
received a service for which I wanted to pay the going rate. Being  
fortunate enough to have a good job, I wanted to pay my fair share;  
that's what equality is all about. Besides, all philosophy aside, there  
was still the matter of this date on whom I wanted to make a good  
impression.
          Regardless of my protestations, however, the cab driver  
remained unwilling to take my money. There we were, standing out in  
front of the apartment building--he saying, "No money. No money," and me  
responding, "No, really. I want to pay."
          At this point Leno emerged from the apartment building and  
approached us saying, "Hey, what's going on out here? What's this  
about?"
     My first reaction was, "Oh, no. Now Leno's going to get involved.  
There'll be an even bigger scene, and I'm going to have to deal with him  
as well. He's going to want me just to let the cabbie drive off without  
payment."
          But, much to my surprise and delight, Leno accosted the cabbie  
and said, "Hey, that's not the way we do things around here." Pointing  
to me, he said, "He likes to pay and be treated just like anyone else.  
So you let him pay. He's the boss." The cab driver wilted under Leno's  
onslaught and relented, finally accepting my cab fare.
          As we walked into the apartment building, I thanked Leno  
profusely for coming to my aid and marveled to myself at the  
understanding of blindness he had acquired from somewhere in only a few  
weeks. This thought sparked in me a minor revelation.
          Using me as his vehicle for observation, Leno had quickly  
learned a great deal about blindness without my ever having had the  
intention, or even awareness, of teaching any lessons. Luckily, however,  
Leno, like the Yankees, had mastered the fundamentals and proved to be a  
champion.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Lynn Mattioli]
     Cat-and-Mouse Games
     by Lynn Mattioli

     From the Editor: Lynn Mattioli was a 1987 NFB scholarship winner.  
The following story of compassion and daring-do first appeared in  
Reflecting the Flame, the seventeenth in the Kernel Book series of  
paperbacks we publish to educate the public about the abilities of blind  
people. It begins with President Maurer's introduction:

     Not all of us have what it takes to stalk a mouse through the  
house. But, as Lynn Mattioli shows us in her story, "Cat-and-Mouse  
Games," blindness is not the deciding factor. Lynn is a registered  
dietitian employed by Harbor Hospital Center and is president of the  
Baltimore Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland.  
Here is what she has to say:

     My cats, Ben and Jerry, are creatures of habit. We have a daily  
routine. When I come home from work, they greet me at the door and then  
expect to be fed their dinner. One evening I returned from work, but  
they did not greet me at the door. When I went into the kitchen, they  
were both sitting on the floor intently watching the refrigerator.
     I put out the cat food, but they did not want to eat. They wanted  
to keep their cat eyes on the refrigerator. Ben and Jerry are robust  
cats, so I know, if they did not want their cat food, something pretty  
intense was going on.
     I watched them for a while. Ben was sniffing under the  
refrigerator. The appliance sits in the corner of the kitchen, so he was  
able to get at it from two sides. From time to time he would move around  
the refrigerator as if to get at things from a different angle.
     Jerry was following his lead as if his big brother was teaching him  
something new. From the way they were acting I suspected we had a mouse  
in the house. It had not happened before, but, since I live in an older  
apartment building, I knew it was possible.
     I have never been afraid of mice, but I knew I did not want one to  
move in and start a family. At the same time I did not want to hurt it.  
I definitely did not want Ben and Jerry to have the mouse for dinner. I  
stood there for a while thinking, "How am I going to catch this mouse if  
I can't see where it is?" I decided that Ben and Jerry could help me  
corner the mouse so that I could grab it and put it outside.
     First we needed to get the mouse out from under the refrigerator. I  
have an extra long white cane that I use to fish cat toys out from under  
the sofa. I used it to check under the refrigerator, but no mouse came  
out. So I moved the refrigerator out from the corner, thinking that  
might scare it out. But again no mouse.
     At this point I started thinking that Ben and Jerry were sending me  
on a wild mouse chase. Maybe they were confused. Maybe there was no  
mouse. I waited to see what the boys would do next. Ben started sniffing  
the grill on the back of the refrigerator. He then tried to climb up the  
grill. I figured that had to be where the mouse was hiding. I felt  
around the grill but did not feel anything. But then I heard it  
scurrying up the grill. So I tapped on the grill. There was a "plop"  
sound, and the mouse had fallen to the floor.
     Ben and Jerry jumped into action. They chased the mouse right  
behind the stereo in the living room. This was not working well. I was  
worried I would spend the better part of the evening chasing the mouse  
from one appliance to another.
     The cats were guarding either end of the stereo so the mouse could  
not escape. I used my extra long white cane to direct the mouse out one  
end. Ben took charge and chased the mouse into the fireplace. Luckily  
the fireplace was free of ashes.
     Things were looking up. I thought Ben had the mouse cornered. Now  
my dilemma was how to grab the mouse so that neither of us would get  
hurt. I decided to use a plastic grocery bag to scoop it up. I figured  
the mouse would be unable to bite me through the bag.
     When I returned to the fireplace, Ben was dismayed. He was  
searching around the fireplace for the mouse, but it was not there. I  
searched with him. I felt around the fireplace, but no mouse. Where  
could it have gone? How could a mouse escape with two cats and me on its  
tail? I didn't think it could have gone up the chimney unless it was  
Santa Claus mouse.
     Ben came to the rescue again. He started sniffing the fireplace  
screen. I covered my hand with the bag and felt around the screen. There  
was the mouse, clinging to the top of the screen. I scooped it up and  
took it outside. I felt so bad for the mouse. It must have been scared.  
But at least I was able to get it outside unharmed.
     I learned something from this experience. Initially I did not think  
I could catch the mouse because I am blind. I thought the mouse would  
move too fast for me to find it. I did not think I could catch it  
without being bitten. But now I know I was wrong. I found ways to get  
the job done. Blindness won't stop me from keeping that mouse out of my  
house.
     To simplify the task next time, I think I will invest in a live  
mouse trap. But I would do this whether I was blind or sighted. It just  
makes practical sense. I doubt the mouse will be back, though, with Ben  
and Jerry on guard. They also keep the elephants away!



     You can create a gift annuity by transferring money or property to  
the National Federation of the Blind. In turn, the NFB contracts to pay  
you income for life or your spouse or loved ones after your death. How  
much you and your heirs receive as income depends on the amount of the  
gift and your age when payments begin. You will receive a tax deduction  
for the full amount of your contribution, less the value of the income  
the NFB pays to you or your heirs.
     You would be wise to consult an attorney or accountant when making  
such arrangements so that he or she can assist you to calculate current  
IRS regulations and the earning potential of your funds. The following  
example illustrates how a charitable gift annuity can work to your  
advantage.
     Mary Jones, age sixty-five, decides to set up a charitable gift  
annuity by transferring $10,000 to the NFB. In return the NFB agrees to  
pay Mary a lifetime annuity of $750 per year, of which $299 is tax-free.  
Mary is also allowed to claim a tax deduction of $4,044 in the year the  
NFB receives the $10,000 contribution.
     For more information about charitable gift annuities, contact the  
National Federation of the Blind, Special Gifts, 1800 Johnson Street,  
Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998, (410) 659-9314, fax (410) 685-5653.



[PHOTO/CAPTION: Gary Wunder]
     Between Kindness and Honesty
     by Gary Wunder

     From the Editor: Gary Wunder is a Member of the Board of Directors  
of the National Federation of the Blind. He is also a wise and gentle  
man who is not above using subterfuge to acquire the information he  
wants. The story he tells about his need to know appeared in Reflecting  
the Flame, the seventeenth in the NFB's Kernel Book series. Here it is,  
beginning with President Maurer's introduction:

     How does a blind person deal with things that are done primarily  
for visual effect? How does he know if he's done them right if his  
friends are hesitant to tell him for fear of hurting his feelings? These  
are the questions Gary Wunder, who is President of the National  
Federation of the Blind of Missouri, explores in "Between Kindness and  
Honesty." Here is what he has to say:

     One of the most difficult challenges for blind people is to  
determine how well we do things which are done primarily for visual  
effect. Does the bathroom mirror have streaks? Is the window clean? Is  
the shirt wrinkled or smoothly pressed? Is the fence well sanded and  
painted?
     There are several issues to address when we tackle some of these  
everyday chores. We must create an effect which, since it is visual, may  
be one about which we have very little understanding. Is the visual  
effect we're trying to create one which corresponds to something we can  
feel? In the case of sanding the fence, the answer is yes. But in the  
case of the window or the mirror, the answer is no. If we can use our  
sense of touch, will the act of touching to verify our work alter the  
positive outcome we seek?
     Touching the fence to inspect one's painting job will probably have  
no long-lasting effects if the paint is dry, but touching the mirror or  
the window to see that one's efforts have been successful will probably  
go a great distance toward undoing the good work which was intended.
     Striving to achieve a satisfactory visual effect isn't limited only  
to house cleaning and simple home repairs. Some of the clothing we wear  
is to meet a functional need, such as keeping warm. But a good deal of  
how we dress has to do with looking visually appealing as defined by the  
communities in which we live.
     When I was a boy growing up on a farm, being well dressed meant  
putting on a clean pair of jeans and a clean shirt every two or three  
days and occasionally dropping one's sneakers into the laundry. After  
high school, college, and eventually a professional job, I found that  
the rules for being well dressed had changed. Now the requirement was  
that I wear a pressed white shirt, a nice two- or three-piece suit, and  
freshly shined wing tip shoes.
     In my family buying a pair of wing tip shoes was quite an occasion.  
Wing tips were not a part of normal footwear in a family which made its  
living by running large dirt-moving machinery used in the construction  
of houses and other buildings. Wing tips were special-occasion, church  
shoes, which also made their appearance at weddings and funerals.
     I suspect that, in my eighteen years at home, I had never seen my  
father polish a fancy pair of shoes more than two or three times. Even  
then my experience of seeing him do it really meant listening to the  
noise he made while rubbing the shoes with a cloth, a foam rubber pad,  
or whatever it was he happened to be using.
     I was familiar with the smell of shoe polish and had a general idea  
that it was being applied to improve the looks of the shoes, but never  
had I tried polishing a pair myself. Any thought voiced about trying my  
hand at it brought forth the admonition that shoe polish was very messy  
and quite difficult to get off one's hands and that I would do well to  
avoid it.
     All of this changed, of course, when wing tips were transformed  
from fancy shoes to working shoes. Wearing them for two weeks on a daily  
basis was probably equivalent to a year of use such shoes would have had  
when I was a child. It soon became obvious that I had to figure out a  
way to maintain them if they were to add to rather than detract from my  
appearance.
     When I went to the drugstore for my first purchase of polish, I  
learned that it came in two forms--liquid and wax. Which should I get? A  
description by the druggist convinced me that wax would probably be  
easier for me to handle, so I handed over the money and went home to try  
my hand at the first polish.
     My initial assumption was that what improved the look of the shoe  
was coating it with polish, much as one would cover bread with peanut  
butter. I had the idea that the polish would serve as protection for the  
shoes, so I laid on as much protection as I dared. Remembering the  
warnings about getting polish on my hands, I applied it with a foam  
rubber pad and was very diligent in seeing that none of it got on me.  
>From the description of how hard it would be to remove if, God forbid, I  
ever got any on my hands, I came to think of the shoe polish as  
something close to toxic and held the conviction that, if I ever got any  
of it on me, I would be forever scarred, like those who, on a drunken  
impulse, have their bodies tattooed and then must carry the results of  
that mistake with them for the rest of their lives.
     When I presented my shoes for their first inspection by a sighted  
friend, he told me that it looked like I had failed to remove the  
polish. I had no idea what he meant, as you can understand from my  
previous explanation. As he explained it, the visual effect had  
something to do with applying the polish and then meticulously removing  
it, the end result being an improvement in the appearance of the shoe.
     So, with a new understanding of the art of shoe shining, I set to  
work on my shoes with a towel, rubbing vigorously to remove polish I had  
so generously applied. A second inspection brought me a higher score  
than had the first, but my shine still had major problems. Not only had  
I used too much polish, but I had applied it spottily and  
inconsistently.
     Worse than all of this, I learned (horror of horrors) that this  
time I had actually gotten shoe polish on my hands. For a few moments  
the condition of my shoes was of no consequence whatsoever. The only  
thing that mattered was figuring out how I could undo this terrible  
accident which would forever label me as the careless and hapless blind  
man who had disregarded the loving advice of his family and had  
experimented with--yes, had actually tried--shoe polish. Would it matter  
that I hadn't inhaled?
     Much to my relief, I learned soap, water, and several repetitions  
of vigorous hand washing would remove any trace of the stuff. So, when I  
went back to the task once more, I did so knowing that I had the freedom  
to use my hands, not only to apply the polish, but to help ensure I was  
spreading it consistently.
     After a time my shoe-shining efforts moved from unqualified  
failures to something more acceptable. Just what that something was I  
couldn't say, but I began to notice that shoes I paid to have shined at  
the airport brought me compliments, while shoes I shined myself seemed  
to bring only silence.
     If I inquired of family or friends about the condition of my shoes  
and explained that I had shined them the night before, invariably I was  
told that it certainly looked like I had worked on them. Thereafter the  
conversation would move from the appearance of the shoes to the virtues  
of cleanliness and attention to one's appearance. It was admirable that  
I cared about my shoes and bothered to shine them when so many, who were  
probably more able than I, completely neglected their footwear.
     Since I was aware that airport-shined shoes generated compliments  
while my own efforts did not, my assumption was that somehow the quality  
of my work just wasn't as good as that of the shoeshine experts. To try  
to learn how my shoeshines were different, I would ask friends to  
critique my work and give me suggestions for the improvement of the  
shine.
     Again the conversation would soon move from the work I had done to  
how wonderful it was that I cared and would bother to take the time to  
shine them. I almost never got suggestions about how to enhance the  
appearance of my shines, no matter how much I coaxed and pleaded, and no  
matter which of the trusted friends I asked.
     From time to time I would think about the problem of evaluating my  
shoeshines and would wonder whether there was really a problem at all.  
Perhaps I was just showing an unflattering lack of trust, and the real  
problem wasn't the shine on my shoes but a lack of confidence in myself.
     If people advising me were really my valued friends, why didn't I  
just take their word for the fact that my shoes looked okay? Wasn't it  
true that one always got more compliments on his hair on the day when it  
was cut and styled by a professional than on the days following his  
washing and combing it himself?
     My reservation about simply accepting the assessment of my  
shoeshines had its roots in an incident which occurred when I was a  
teenager. From time to time my parents would meet a blind person or  
would meet a person who knew a blind person and would ask if I wished to  
be introduced.
     On one such occasion my mother had the opportunity for us to meet  
with a blind couple who were visiting friends in our little town. My  
mother and I agreed that this would be a good thing. So on a Saturday  
afternoon we were escorted into the living room to wait for the blind  
couple to come downstairs. We were seated on furniture which the blind  
man had upholstered for his friends, and while his work was greatly  
admired, in whispered voices we were cautioned not to mention the defect  
on the arm of one chair. We were given to understand that the man took  
great pride in his work and that his friends were concerned that his  
feelings would be hurt were they to tell him about the mark or the  
scratch or the stain or whatever it was which marred this otherwise  
admirable work.
     Obviously I didn't pay much attention to exactly what the defect  
was, so flattered was I by being taken into the confidence of the  
grown-ups with our little secret. I felt some discomfort about knowing  
and keeping the secret, but the source of that discomfort didn't really  
come to me for some time. I was too caught up in being talked with like  
I was actually an adult (and at fourteen I certainly knew I was).
     If the adults thought concealment was the right path to take, far  
be it from me, the newest person in the room to be elevated to  
adulthood, to dispute with them about it. Besides, I too felt sorry for  
the blind man, somehow believing that he was very different from me, and  
only realizing long after that one day, if my luck held, I too would  
grow into a blind man.
     On the day I've just described, I met a nice blind couple, and we  
shared some food and drink. But what I really took with me went far  
beyond two new acquaintances and some cordial conversation. What I  
learned was that in the name of charity and kindness it would be  
considered unacceptable by many with whom I would associate for them to  
give me a candid and unbiased assessment of anything I might do.
     The charity which I was so willing to extend to that blind man was  
unwelcome when it came to me, but it didn't matter whether I welcomed it  
or not, for the decision whether or not to extend that questionable  
charity would be made by someone else. It didn't matter that the someone  
else was a good friend or that there were strong bonds of trust between  
us. In fact, the very friendship we shared might be the strongest and  
most compelling reason for the secrecy with which my friends would  
proceed.
     Given this as background, perhaps you can understand why I kept  
looking for a way to get a candid, unbiased assessment of my shoes. The  
inspiration came to me one morning while taking a cab to attend a  
National Federation of the Blind-sponsored event. The cab driver who  
drove me was one I knew quite well, he and I both sharing an interest in  
computers and baseball and politics and religion and any number of  
things one talks about to keep from being haunted by the ever-present  
clicking of the cab meter.
     When the cab driver greeted me with the question, "Well, young man,  
how has your morning been?" I said that it had been a busy morning for  
me, that I'd gone out to breakfast, had gone to get my shoes shined, and  
was now on the way to the airport. Glancing down at my shoes, the cab  
driver remarked, "Well, so you went and got your shoes shined this  
morning, did you?"
     I said yes, that I thought keeping them shined was important, and  
this seemed as good a day as any to do the job.
     The cab driver next turned to the subject of baseball and the  
rivalry between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals, who  
were, at that time, engaged in World Series play. Right in the middle of  
his commentary on the game, he hesitated, and almost as an aside said,  
"So you got them shoes shined this morning, did ya?"
     "Yes," I said, "I got them done early this morning when I would  
rather have slept in."
     Next the driver's commentary moved from baseball to computers, he  
being an amateur computer enthusiast, and knowing me to be a computer  
programmer. Often he had picked my brain for tidbits of information to  
make his system perform more efficiently.
     Again, right in the middle of his strongly held views about the  
dominance of IBM and the superiority of other systems on the market, the  
driver interrupted himself to say "Got them shoes shined today, did ya?"  
Again I replied in the affirmative.
     When we neared the airport, the conversation moved from computers  
to crime, as we talked about a recent murder which had shaken our small  
city. In the middle of his discourse on the sad state of the world when  
crime lurked just outside our door, the driver interrupted himself once  
again and said, "Tell me, young man, just who was the dirty ___ who  
charged you to shine them shoes?"
     I sputtered, realizing that, while I had probably just evoked an  
unbiased judgment on the appearance of my wing tips, I hadn't reckoned  
with the possibility that this angry man might want to go and settle the  
score for me. I danced around the question and asked what kind of job  
they had done. The cab driver had every bit as much to say about my  
shoes as he did about baseball, computers, and crime--which he was  
certain had been committed here.
     According to the driver, the negligent shiner seemed to believe  
that the only part of the shoe that would be visible was the toe. With  
great emotion he explained that the sides of the shoes still had streaks  
of polish on them, and the heels looked like they hadn't been touched at  
all. Yes, it was clear that from the cab driver's perspective we were  
still talking about the issue of crime, and I should avoid whoever it  
was who had given me that shoe shine.
     Now at least I had some data with which to work. We had moved  
beyond how wonderful it was that I cared and how brave I was to attempt  
the job myself. As bad as that review sounded at the time, I now had  
reason to believe I was capable of delivering a quality shine, if only  
on the toe of the shoe. I reasoned that, if I was more methodical in  
applying and removing the shoe polish, my work would indeed be  
acceptable.
     To my surprise and great benefit, I also found that, if I could  
tell my friends I knew I was having problems with certain areas of the  
shoe, then, for whatever reason, they felt free to offer constructive  
criticism of their own.
     It would be wonderful if I could end this tale by telling you that  
I've now become such an accomplished shoeshiner that I work nights and  
weekends to supplement my income so that my daughter can attend the best  
college in the United States. Well, I hope she can, but if it turns out  
that she needs income other than what I can provide from my day job,  
she'll have to find some way to earn it herself.
     The truth of the matter is that my shoeshines are something less  
than those offered by the professionals. Still, my ability to shine  
shoes at least now gets me an occasional compliment, and my work is  
normally free from those untouched spots and globs of polish which were  
once my trademark and signature.
     Sometimes in my work with the National Federation of the Blind I'm  
asked to attend state conventions where this story finds its way into my  
remarks. When I first started using it, the purpose was to introduce a  
fairly serious banquet address with a tinge of humor. Later the story  
evolved into a tool I could use to explain how we who are blind  
sometimes need to be clever to get at visual information which others  
are afraid to give to us. At other times I have introduced the story to  
interject some self-deprecating humor when I thought my lecture on some  
subject or other was causing me to come across as someone who thought he  
had great pearls of wisdom to dispense.
     Now, however, when I tell this story, my intent is to have it hint  
at the kind of balance we must have when dealing with one another. As  
blind people we need to realize that, in the name of charity, people  
will sometimes be reluctant to tell us things we think we need to know.  
If we want that information, blindness will require us to work at a way  
of getting it.
     Balance enters in when we simply accept this truth and cease to  
feel put out by having to make the extra effort to get the information  
we need. Balance comes into play when we realize that the charity and  
kindness which frustrate us in one situation are the same charity and  
kindness which reach out to us when we ask for a hand up and a chance to  
get an education, take a job, and live full lives in our communities.
     The suspicion that one may not be getting the whole truth has to  
live side by side with the knowledge that we who are blind are every bit  
as reticent about giving people information which may come across as  
critical as sighted folks sometimes are when we ask them for information  
that they think we cannot use or may not really want. Walking the line  
between kindness and honesty isn't easy for anyone, blind or sighted,  
but I leave the subject feeling grateful that both exist and that both  
serve their own distinct functions in helping us in our journey.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: David House]
     Being a Role Model Is a Responsibility
     He Takes Seriously
     by Steve Dolan

     From the Editor: David House is Treasurer of the East San Diego  
Chapter of the NFB of California. The following article appeared in the  
August 31, 1999, edition of the Daily Californian.

     As David House sits behind the desk of his office here, he speaks  
about a vision he has as manager for House Properties. David would like  
to see the company, owned by his father, Mike, continue to be among the  
county's more successful commercial real estate operations.
     What separates House's vision from his competitors' is that he  
cannot see. He suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited disorder  
characterized by a gradual degeneration of photoreceptor cells and a  
progressive loss of vision.
     Blind for half his life, House, forty-one, doesn't allow blindness  
to limit him personally or professionally.
     "I figure we all have crosses and burdens to deal with," he said.  
"As with anything else, it's how well you handle it mentally. I don't  
think blindness is most debilitating. If you have a positive outlook and  
forge ahead, you'll be successful regardless of what your handicap might  
be."
     House leads a remarkably normal life. He and Theresa, his wife of  
fifteen years, spent last week whitewater rafting and horseback riding  
with their four children, seven to fourteen, in the Klamath area near  
the Oregon border.
     The eldest of five children, House was diagnosed with RP at the age  
of five, when his parents took him to have his eyes examined. They  
thought he needed glasses.
     His next three siblings also suffer from RP, but his youngest  
brother does not.
     House's children are tested annually for the disease, but none have  
shown signs of RP.
     "You don't notice it each day," House said. "It's a slow process.  
As a kid I would sit close to the chalkboard. As soon as I got to high  
school, I relied more on large print. With the heavy work load in  
college I got cassette tapes, had someone read to me, and used Braille."
     House said he became aware of vision loss while in high school. "As  
a senior in high school I went to the movies with a couple of buddies  
and couldn't see the screen," he said. "I could never see well enough to  
get a driver's license. As a teenage guy, that was tough to deal with,  
but I overcame it."
     At work House said he offsets his lack of sight by using  
alternative techniques, such as one that makes use of the telephone and  
a mini-cassette recorder.
     When he completes a call, he transcribes the information from his  
cassette into Braille to create a permanent record he can consult later.
     House said he figured out some time back that he could get a ride  
to work each day if the maintenance truck were parked at his home, where  
an employee picks it (and him) up each morning and delivers them each  
night.
     House, one of 100,000 people in the U.S. suffering from RP,  
believes the disease has given him a special responsibility.
     "There's such a negative stereotype with the stigma of blindness  
that there needs to be a positive role-model to show others that you can  
be happy and successful, even with blindness," he said.
     "Believe it or not, the normal unemployment rate for blind people  
is 70 percent. If you are working full-time, you almost have a duty to  
help other blind people obtain gainful employment."
     To that end House hosts a monthly meeting of the National  
Federation of the Blind in his El Cajon office. Although the group  
doesn't specifically place people in jobs, it leads them to agencies  
that can help them gain employment.
     Patty Klimczyk, a bookkeeper for the company, said House is "just  
like any of us, pretty much. His attitude is good all the time. I  
haven't really noticed that his blindness has handicapped him."
     House said he does not believe blindness is a factor.
     "For the most part," he said, "people focus on the business aspects  
[of their dealings with House]. If, once in a blue moon, someone has a  
condescending attitude, it's advantageous for me. I feel I have them  
beat right off the bat because they've underestimated my situation. My  
blindness is not a problem in the business world."


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Connie Leblond]
     Hanging Up My Painter's Hat
     by Connie Leblond

     From the Editor: Connie Leblond is President of the NFB of Maine.  
She is a wife, mother, and businesswoman. Like the rest of us she  
tackles home-repair jobs around the house with varying amounts of  
enthusiasm. Here she talks about a recent project the completion of  
which left her both satisfied and relieved. This is the story:

     Every home goes through renovations. Whether they are done by the  
homeowner or by contractors depends on the size of one's checkbook and  
one's ability to do the work. I have learned a lot about house repairs  
since we purchased our home in 1994. I had never painted, mowed lawns,  
fixed leaky faucets, laid linoleum, or applied caulking until then. The  
local hardware store employees are becoming quite good at describing  
various aspects of specific tasks to me. So it was when my son Seth and  
I decided to paint the ceiling in his room.
     Seth, who is now seventeen and who has never shied away from a  
challenge, was a little skeptical when I informed him that we were going  
to paint his ceiling. There weren't many alternatives since the paint  
was chipping, falling, and creating quite a mess. My checkbook could not  
provide the monetary cure, so Seth and I had to tackle the job  
ourselves.
     I made a list of the things I would need. We already had some tools  
since we had painted some exterior parts of the house the previous  
summer. The hardware store was the place to pick up a nine-by-twelve  
plastic sheet to cover the floor. That was the best size because it  
would collect all the debris. With paint, rollers, scrapers, paint pans,  
stirrers, and a positive attitude we approached the designated weekend  
for beginning our work.
     Seth was on vacation from school, so he was available to help me.  
We began early on Friday morning. He had removed most of his furniture,  
so we covered what was left with drop cloths. With me on the ladder and  
Seth on a step stool, we began scraping the ceiling. At first Seth and I  
enjoyed the sound of the falling paint. We felt like a demolition team.  
We were not particularly affected by the dust we stirred up. Being able  
to keep our eyes closed was certainly an asset. But no matter how hard  
we tried, some stubborn parts of the ceiling just would not give up  
their paint. At one point I stopped to sooth my throbbing blisters and  
telephoned the hardware store. I explained our difficulty and asked what  
we could do to make the job easier. I was told that I should use sand  
paper to smooth the areas that were not coming down.
     Time for reinforcements seemed to be at hand. I sent my husband Bob  
to the hardware store, and he returned with a sanding disk that attached  
to our drill. It was quite powerful, and, when I tried sanding, it  
almost threw me off the ladder. Seth took charge and quickly found the  
areas that required sanding by feeling the ceiling. The day was slipping  
away, and we both recognized that we could not go further with the  
project that day after the scraping was complete. We would wait until  
the next morning to begin the actual painting.
     By the end of the day we really had scraped the ceiling. When I had  
first entertained the notion of doing this job, I had wondered if we  
would be able to do it. Work tools were not our only means of getting  
this job done, however. The philosophy of the National Federation of the  
Blind, which for years has taught us to rely on our skills, our  
intuition, and our belief in the possibilities got us started and did  
not fail us. We really got to know that ceiling. We had also built on  
the foundation that our NFB colleagues helped us to create in ourselves.
     After the scraping, I taped the molding so that the following day  
we could begin painting without delay. Seth asked why I bothered with  
the tape because, after all, the molding was white. I laughed and said  
that this was not the time to mention such a detail to me; the tape was  
up, and it would stay.
     Saturday morning came, and I was anxious to tackle the painting.  
How bad could it be? I thought about the dimensions of the room and  
exactly where I would start and where I would finish. Because we had  
only one true ladder, I told Seth that I would do the actual painting. I  
began by opening the paint can, stirring the paint, and pouring it into  
the paint pan. I had my roller, my painting hat, and old clothes. I was  
ready.
     Everything began quite well. It seemed that I would be done  
quickly. But, as I began using the roller on the final section of the  
ceiling, chips of paint began to fall--not just fall--they were sticking  
to my roller. The chips must have been moistened by the paint, and now  
they decided to wreak havoc. I was perplexed. Should I stop, scrape, or  
what!
     I went downstairs to consult with my husband, who was busy meeting  
deadlines on a Web site he was developing, so I was certain he would be  
less than pleased to hear from me. He could see my frustration and went  
up to take a look. We decided to let the paint dry and get back to it  
the following day. Bob pointed out that there were two affected areas,  
and he showed me where they were located. We decided to scrape those two  
areas the next day, repaint the entire ceiling, and then do any  
touch-ups that were necessary.
     Sunday morning Bob said he would sand and get things ready. He then  
began painting and just didn't stop. It wasn't that he felt he had to;  
he just knew how much more work there was, so he jumped in to help. When  
the painting was finished, which really didn't take long, we let it dry  
for a couple of hours. Now the entire family had taken part in this  
project, and we all knew the end was near.
     Cleaning up was pretty easy. I have lots of experience with it. We  
sent Bob back to his desk before Seth and I rolled up the plastic room  
sheet, washed the paneling with Murphy's Oil Soap, removed the tape from  
the molding ever so carefully, folded up the drop cloths, and moved the  
remaining furniture out. After sweeping and vacuuming up all the debris,  
I washed the floor. Seth found the curtains we planned to put up and  
made sure the window shade was in place. Seth was anxious to arrange his  
room the way he liked it. By nightfall he and his possessions were back  
where they belonged.
     It didn't make any difference to the successful completion of this  
project that Seth and I were blind. Bob's lending a hand was merely  
another family member pitching in. As a team we are pretty terrific. If  
I had to scrape and paint with anyone, I am quite pleased that it was  
Seth and Bob. But I have realized that I don't actually enjoy painting.  
For now I am hanging up my painters hat until I must do it again. In  
short, I will be delighted when my checkbook becomes my most effective  
tool for home repair. In the meantime I will be content to get the job  
done, assured that I can do it. There is always something to do when you  
own a home, so I think I will order some home repair reference books in  
preparation for the next job. I figure that, with those books and my  
monthly issue of the Braille Monitor magazine from the NFB, I have a  
winning combination.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Donna Balaski]
     Doctor Finds a New Life
     Loss of Sight No Trouble Now
     by Jamie P. Olmstead

     From the Editor: This is the kind of pre-convention newspaper story  
that any state-convention organizer would give her eye teeth to get.  
This story appeared in the November 4, 1999, edition of the Waterbury  
Republican-American.

     On any given day one can find Donna Balaski outdoors tending to the  
orange, yellow, and rust-colored marigolds growing in beds bordering her  
home. Friends, family, and neighbors often comment on her green thumb,  
marveling at her Crayola-colored creations.
     Even more remarkable than her way with flowers is the fact that  
Donna Balaski can't see what she's tending.
     "My gardening has become a true passion for me," said Balaski, a  
Waterbury resident who lost her sight three years ago.
     Balaski, a facial trauma surgeon who earned her medical degree from  
the University of Connecticut, was finishing her residency at the  
Catholic Medical Center in New York state when she had trouble seeing.
     While visiting her parents in Waterbury for an anniversary  
celebration, she awoke to discover dark black spots clouding her vision.  
Balaski, thirty-three at the time, was diagnosed with diabetic  
retinopathy and retinitis pigmentosa.
     "Losing my sight was the farthest thing from my mind," she said.  
Falling into a depression, Balaski didn't return to work and despaired  
over living in darkness.
     "I took my sight for granted. I was depressed and didn't know where  
I was going in life or what I was going to do."
     At her doctor's office Balaski picked up a brochure featuring the  
National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut. That brochure changed  
her life.
     Through the Federation Balaski discovered options. She learned  
about the Board of Education Service for the Blind and the Louisiana  
Center for the Blind. With the organizational support she needed,  
Balaski headed south. "Just because you're blind doesn't mean you can't  
go on living," Balaski said. The Louisiana Center for the Blind taught  
her just that. Described by Balaski as a "progressive/aggressive  
school," the center doesn't take no for an answer.
     It was there that she joined the ranks of blind men and women in  
activities usually reserved for people with more than a modicum of  
sight: rock climbing, white water rafting, and firearms training. The  
center gave them an opportunity to keep active and the courage to live  
their lives to the fullest.
     Today Balaski leads a full life. Currently working as a vision  
rehabilitation counselor at Ophthalmic Surgical Associates in Waterbury,  
she counsels low-vision patients who find themselves in similar  
situations.
     "There is no reason for people to sit home as I once did," she  
said. "There is a whole host of wonderful resources out there, and I see  
to it that people are aware of all their options. Doing what I do, I can  
help so many people get their lives back on track."
     Much of her success in coping with blindness, Balaski said, is owed  
to the National Federation of the Blind.
     "If it wasn't for the NFB, I wouldn't be where I am today," she  
said. "I've learned that life goes on. I may have to do things a little  
differently than most, but I'm just an average person."
     She can even joke about her condition. "At least now I'm sure that  
every guy I date looks like Tom Cruise," Balaski said with a chuckle.
     In conjunction with Chris Boisvert, Balaski has organized the 1999  
annual state convention sponsored by the National Federation of the  
Blind.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Corinne Kirchner]
     A Compilation of Meaningful and Meaningless Typographical Errors     
  on Blindness and Visual Impairment
     by Corinne Kirchner, Ph.D.

     From the Editor: The following article is reprinted with permission  
from the April, 2000, issue of the Journal of Visual Impairment and  
Blindness, Volume 94, Number 4, 2000, pp. 243-246, Copyright 2000  
American Foundation for the Blind. All rights reserved. JVIB readers can  
find many interesting and sometimes astonishing things in its pages, but  
humor is not high on the list of the expected. Corinne Kirchner is  
Director of Program Evaluation and Policy Research for the American  
Foundation for the Blind. She is to be commended for this insightful  
compilation of information about our field.

     For decades a little-known research project has been underway at  
the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) to collect the most  
outrageous and humorous typographical errors related to visual  
impairment. The effort has resulted in a bursting folder of source  
materials filed in the author's office. Although an important source of  
the data has been articles submitted to the Journal of Visual Impairment  
& Blindness (JVIB), especially those not published, there have been  
other unexpectedly fruitful sources: grant proposals, books, speeches,  
newspapers, inquiries received by telephone, and envelopes.

     The Population

     A major concern in compiling demographic statistics on blindness is  
how best to identify which parts of the population merit attention. A  
letter sent to AFB a few years ago highlighted a special population that  
has been overlooked by services; the envelope was addressed to the  
American Foundation for the Bland (emphasis added here and throughout  
this report). National surveys do not measure the prevalence of  
blandness. Therefore it is not possible to estimate how many people in  
the United States are totally bland or severely bland, much less how  
many meet the criteria of legal blandness.
     Another needy population was targeted by an AFB researcher (former  
AFB researcher) while she was leading a focus group. She had apparently  
made one too many references to the sample that included blind and  
sighted people and therefore blurted that AFB was studying "blighted  
people." The blighted and the bland should be added to the traditional  
groups covered in the first edition of a book by the author, which  
referred to services needed by the undeserved.
     Another relevant group that is hard to pin down for statistical  
purposes was featured in a chapter on vocational issues. The title, as  
repeated on every page, identified that elusive group as "the Blind and  
Usually Impaired."
     After researchers or policymakers specify the population of  
concern, there remains the challenge of how to assess which people fit  
the population definition. One article submitted to (and rejected by)  
JVIB made the following hard-to-assail proposal: "The system should  
allow for the assessment of visual levels of functioning for people with  
visual vision."

     Causes and Type of Onset

     AFB usually refers questions about causes of blindness to  
organizations that specialize in medical matters. However, it seemed  
that a religious organization might be more appropriate to answer the  
consumer who inquired, "How many people are blind from immaculate  
degeneration?" At least it was clear that the questioner could not be  
referred to the Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped, which  
(as reported by a former staff member in that agency) once received a  
letter addressed to the "Department of the Virginally Handicapped."
     It may be a revelation to epidemiologists that blindness is not  
only geographically linked, but may actually be geographically caused.  
The evidence comes from a listserv on which a new member introduced  
himself as "thirty-nine years old and blind since birth from Pittsburgh,  
Pennsylvania."
     Closer to AFB's expertise on social aspects of blindness are  
questions about types of onset; nevertheless, AFB was unable to provide  
statistics matching the category listed in one paper submitted to JVIB  
that referred to people who are "congenially blind." That group  
contrasted with another submission that referred to people who are  
"advantageously blind." Of course practitioners work toward the day when  
all blind people will be both congenially and advantageously blind.
     In line with these positive cultural depictions of blindness, a  
newspaper clipping referred to celebrating "Helen Keller Dear-Blind  
Awareness Week."
     Apparently multiple impairment is also cherished by the community.  
The sharp increase in age-related causes of blindness was recognized  
with particular sensitivity to problems of elderly persons in an  
invitation for this author to speak to an audience of practitioners. The  
letter explained, "We are interested in . . . the groaning population of  
older adults becoming blind or visually impaired."

     Problems of Low Incidence

     The sources for this project include ingenious solutions to the  
persistent problem of finding sufficient numbers of blind people for  
research projects. One forward-looking solution was suggested by an  
envelope addressed to the American Fund of the Blind. Unfortunately, the  
issue remains how to stock the fund.
     There are some rather drastic approaches. For example, a grant  
proposal for doctoral research (whose written report must be presented  
as a bound volume) included a budget item of $200 for "typing and  
blinding."
     Another researcher proudly credited her own work with creating its  
study population. She wrote, "We can look forward to obtaining very  
useful data on children who are blind or visually impaired from this  
study." (Full disclosure: That source material came from this very  
author.)
     Another timely and horrific idea for assuring a sizable blind  
population was inadvertently proposed by a respected leader in  
vocational rehabilitation, referring to employment possibilities in data  
collection for the 2000 U.S.
Census. He saw great potential for people to be hired as "enucleators"  
(the job otherwise known as "enumerators").
     Not all such ideas yield solutions to the need for more research  
subjects. There are other examples that, although equally shocking,  
would have the opposite effect. For example, at an advocacy meeting a  
representative signed in on behalf of "the Death Blind Coalition." And  
in one state that shall remain anonymous there is a "State School for  
the Dead and the Blind"--that is, according to an appropriately  
now-defunct mailing list at AFB.
     By contrast, it is amazing to learn that much of the blind  
population might not only be assisted but actually cured by modern  
information technology. That possibility is revealed in a newspaper that  
reported a blind Internet user's "sight on the Web"--a remarkable  
phenomenon.
     An inspiring note for increasing the supply of research subjects  
was sounded in a draft of an AFB policy paper. The paper implies that  
many more people could achieve visual impairment with the right  
motivation. It refers to "programs that serve only those who are  
determined to be legally blind." You too can become legally blind, if  
you are really determined.
     A totally different approach that could be adapted for recruiting  
volunteers as research subjects is to ignore visual status and simply  
require court-approved evidence of personhood. That approach was used by  
a nonprofit organization "looking for two legally people interested in  
serving on the board."

     Who Does What to Whom?

     Up to this point this report has focused on the recipients of  
services. Now it will turn its attention to types of specialized  
services and the practitioners who provide those services.
     Definitely the most exalted specialized service we have encountered  
is "Leader Gods for the Blind." It seems there is no training program  
for these rare specialists; they just miraculously appear. It is a sharp  
drop from the sublime to the ridiculous in a study report on orientation  
and mobility (O&M) services that dealt at length with training in use of  
the long can.
     As everyone familiar with the politics of detectable warnings can  
appreciate, that realm of services is a battlefield of opinions. Thus it  
is not surprising that one grant proposal described its plan to study  
detestable warnings, and another project was titled "Tactical Warnings  
in Curb Ramps."
     Now this report shifts from established service specialties like  
O&M to an emerging one. A grant proposal recently stated that there is a  
serious need throughout the country to help blind and visually impaired  
people acquire "assertive technology."
     One obstacle to providing needed services is the critical shortage  
of specially trained personnel. It is with mixed emotions, therefore,  
that the author reports on the attempt at recruitment of graduate  
students posted on the Internet by a respected university. To quote:  
"Enhance your career by becoming dully certified in the field of vision  
impairment with the addition of an O&M therapy certification." Of course  
acquiring both certifications is probably less dull than either one  
alone.
     As a closing note there is poetic justice in realizing that people  
who might choose to become dully certified will be ideally trained to  
serve the population mentioned at the outset--whose most severe  
impairment is blandness.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: John Rowley]
     Christmas in June
     by John and Mary Rowley

     From the Editor: Early this year Joanne Wilson, director of the  
Louisiana Center for the Blind, passed along a Christmas letter that she  
and the staff had received in December from Dr. John Rowley and his wife  
Mary. John was a scientist who had lost his sight and turned to the  
Louisiana Center for advice and training in 1988. He got the training he  
needed and returned to his family and his busy life in the Far West.
     So what? Isn't that what our adult rehabilitation centers intend to  
enable people to do? Yes, of course, and the pattern is repeated across  
the country and even around the world all day, every day. That is  
precisely the reason for sharing the letter that the Rowleys sent to  
Joanne Wilson. It is a reaffirming reminder of the importance of the  
NFB's work training the minds and hands and spirits of blind people to  
go out and live their lives as fully as they can. This letter reminds us  
that our lives are the instruments we use to change what it means to be  
blind in the twenty-first century. Everything we can do to further this  
work must be done. Here, in the odd, Christmas-letter combination of  
first-person and third-person narrative is the Rowleys' letter to the  
Louisiana Center staff:

Dear Joanne and Staff,
     We wish to express our heartfelt thanks for your cheerful, warm,  
and informative yearly newsletter at the holiday season. It is a  
wonderful and meaningful reminder of John's six months at the Center in  
1988. This year it is especially important for us, and John especially,  
to recall this major event in our lives.
     It was, as you will perhaps recall, that training and introduction  
to the world of the blind that started John on a new career. Blindness  
training first made it possible to complete his professional service to  
the Los Alamos National Lab and to manage a two-year graduate course in  
independent living by living alone in Las Vegas, Nevada, and carrying  
out a rather difficult technical/scientific task for his employer. Then  
it was the normal time for retirement from what had been thirty-seven  
years of very rewarding and effective professional employment.
     During my six months of training at the Louisiana Center for the  
Blind I had many hours to consider and to reflect on my past life and to  
debate and decide on a future course. Because the Center had clearly  
taught me that I could very likely continue in science and technology,  
which had been my life-long vocation, we decided to set up a  
consulting-service company, and we have very successfully done so.
     A key skill has been the use of a computer with speech and access  
software. This training and technology has enabled John to hone his  
writing skills and made possible the major product for our consulting  
services. Because this approach was started by John's employer before  
retirement, we elected to purchase a computer system that John is still  
using today. The creation of technical reports on various scientific and  
technological subjects has been our major product.
     We had been working in the general field of energy resources and  
energy research and development (R & D) before retirement, so we  
continued in that field. We had become rather expert in the specific  
area of geothermal energy and associated technology R & D.  So we  
elected to continue in that direction.
     Fortunately, since 1985 we had worked with and for several  
geothermal developers in Japan. They seemed to find our consulting  
services valuable, so we expanded that effort and used yearly travel to  
Japan to extend our client base. We have made at least one major--more  
than a month-long--trip to Japan each year since 1985. We have visited,  
inspected, and advised at nearly all the geothermal reservoir  
developments in Japan at one time or another. In addition we have met,  
interacted with, and made colleagues of many engineers and scientists  
working in geothermal energy in Japan. We have also learned a bit of the  
Japanese language and have formed some rather close relationships  
outside of the technical areas.
     For example, we know the individual at the Japanese Institute for  
Vocational Rehabilitation organization, who is charged with training the  
blind rehabilitation instructors to train Japanese blind people in  
job-related skills. Mr. Chuji Sashida is blind, now married, and has  
three children. We have visited with him several times at his offices  
and training center just outside Tokyo and stayed in their new home in  
Chiba City. In much of our extensive travels around Japan, John has  
sought to provide and demonstrate the skills of blindness that John  
initiated at the Louisiana Center and has sharpened ever since. Note: In  
Japan John always uses his cane in his left hand since they drive on the  
opposite side of the road from Americans. It is good to have a constant  
reminder of that fact.
     In Japan John has developed several strong collegial ties and has  
prepared and presented technical papers at Japanese conferences,  
seminars, and university lectures. On such occasions the approach has  
been to make use of all the skills of blindness to conduct affairs,  
travel, and all other activities in as completely normal, independent a  
manner as possible. This example has provided a valuable example to all  
our Japanese friends, colleagues, clients, and casual contacts in  
streets, parks, hotels, and transportation and in every aspect of our  
social interactions. Indeed John always conducts himself as he does in  
the USA, namely as though being blind is just a part of his busy life.
     We have made contact and become great friends with a family in the  
Wakayama Prefecture region of Japan. This is basically a rural area  
south of Osaka and has a long history. We met with a group that provides  
overseas tourists specialized tours of that region and visited and  
toured there each year from 1995 through 1998. We have become quite  
close friends with the organizer of this volunteer group, Mrs. Emiko  
Horikawa. She visited here in Los Alamos this past summer for eleven  
days, and her major interest was to learn about the spirit and functions  
of the many volunteer and service groups in the USA. This is because, in  
addition to the Wakayama Interpreters Volunteer club, she has also  
started a Social Welfare volunteer organization in her home town of  
Hashimoto, where she teaches English to high school students.
     It is still very difficult for her to understand the position of a  
blind person like John in USA society. Indeed the idea of private  
volunteer service organizations is rather new in Japan; there is now a  
movement called NPO (non-profit organizations). This grassroots movement  
had its origins in the spontaneous and rather unique efforts to help the  
victims of the horrible Kobe earthquake, which happened rather close to  
Wakayama in 1995.
     We have sought to demonstrate the skills of blindness in all our  
travels, but especially in our visits and venturing in Wakayama. During  
our visit in 1998 we planned a tour of several ancient temples (many  
founded in the late 600's and early 700's). These are part of a famous  
pilgrimage route of thirty-three Buddhist temples dedicated to that  
aspect (there are thirteen) of Buddha called Kannon, depicted as a  
woman, and seen as the goddess of mercy.
     During that tour we were able to visit the temple called  
Tubosakadera, located South of Nara (the most ancient capital of Japan);  
and dedicated to the blind. This temple was founded by a Buddhist sect  
from Northern India and has several branch temples and facilities  
throughout Japan. It featured a large hostel--dormitories for the care  
of the elderly blind. It was famous for a special herbal medicine sold  
at the temple and said to cure blindness. This is a very ancient idea.  
The staff, monks, and priests, and others were astounded by John's use  
of the long white cane.
     An interesting aspect of Japanese society and culture is that they  
do not ask about John's blindness since that would be a major  
discourtesy and very impolite. So any direct discussion on that subject  
must be initiated by us. It is interesting to note that, while we still  
seldom see blind people traveling alone (they usually use a sighted  
guide), we have recently seen several people using their canes and  
traveling independently. We believe that this is a result of the rather  
recent passage of the Japanese equivalent of our Americans with  
Disabilities Act.
     Well, this is the time of the year, decade, and millennium when we  
tend to look back to the past, consider our present status, and reflect  
on and plan for the future. We were very impressed, not surprised, to  
learn of the progress at the Louisiana Center and found the  
establishment of the educational opportunities at Louisiana Tech very  
important and a clear fulfillment of one of the Louisiana Center dreams,  
since O&M is at the heart of any true rehabilitation program. Great  
instructors are always needed and, more important, those who can teach  
and train instructors.
     We can imagine the excitement at the establishment of the new  
education center and a career center. What rewarding and important  
advances! We can almost visualize the start of the establishment of a  
new campus for the study, research, training, and furtherance of all  
issues for blind persons.
     We wish you all a most rewarding and productive New Year 2000!
     With all our love and warmest regards,
     John and Mary Rowley
     Graduate of the LCB in the class of July, 1988
PS: For the future and in Y2K we plan to carry on with our consulting  
business and have been participating in the organization of the  
technical program for a World Geothermal Congress 2000 (WGC 2K) in Japan  
from Mid-May to Mid-June, so we will be returning to some of our very  
favorite places and can meet with some of our colleagues, friends, and  
clients again.
     We have purchased a new computer system, which is Windows 98-based  
and has new voice and access software installed. John is attempting to  
learn how to use this new GUI [graphical user interface] world.
     We believe the mission has not changed; the mission is change. So  
we are dedicated to this idea and have helped a number of our clients in  
Japan to realize the need for change and to start the process of change.
     We can well appreciate the busy and effective year ahead for the  
Louisiana Center and its staff and for the many students and learners  
who will participate. We do wish you all a very rewarding, meaningful  
year and envy a bit those who will have the chance to participate and  
learn at the Louisiana Center for the Blind.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Don Capps]
     Sharing the Vision
     by Donald C. Capps

     From the Editor: As Monitor readers know, Don Capps is the senior  
member of the National Federation of the Blind's Board of Directors. He  
serves as President of the NFB of South Carolina, and in recent months  
he and his wife Betty have been tireless volunteers working to raise  
funds for our capital campaign. This is what he says:

     Dr. Kenneth Jernigan was unquestionably one of the greatest  
visionaries of the twentieth century. His service spanned a half century  
of selfless service to the blind of the nation and the world, and Dr.  
Jernigan has left a legacy which includes a myriad of unprecedented  
accomplishments. We remember him particularly for his masterful facility  
development. Having been blessed by more than four decades of close  
personal friendship, I marveled at Dr. Jernigan's ability to transform  
virtually useless things into substantive resources. More than forty  
years ago, when Dr. Jernigan assumed the leadership of the Iowa  
Commission for the Blind in 1958, one of his first major initiatives was  
successfully to renovate an old YMCA building, converting it into one of  
the nation's finest facilities. Twenty years later, in 1978, Dr.  
Jernigan continued to demonstrate his uncanny ability when he converted  
a building constructed at the turn of the century into what we now know  
as the National Center for the Blind, regarded as perhaps the finest  
facility of its type in the country.
     Most of us would have been willing to rest upon our laurels, but  
Dr. Jernigan possessed an incomparable fervor, envisioning still another  
needed facility. For most of the decade of the '90's, he discussed with  
many of us his dream of designing a much-'needed facility dedicated to  
research and training. His dream is now being carried out as we work  
together to raise eighteen million dollars to fund the construction of  
the National Research and Training Institute for the Blind.
     To demonstrate our total commitment to Dr. Jernigan's dream, Betty  
and I at the 1999 National Convention deeply felt that we wanted to make  
a sacrificial pledge of $25,000. Since that time it has been my  
heartfelt pleasure to encourage others to have a meaningful part in this  
capital campaign as well. At state conventions which I have attended  
since the Atlanta convention, I have strongly encouraged Federationists  
to do their fair share in helping to make this capital campaign a  
success. We've also encouraged members of the NFB of South Carolina to  
pitch in making their gifts. Recently, one officer of the NFB of South  
Carolina made a sacrificial pledge of $1,000. We have also had meetings  
with businesses and foundations as we continue to convert Dr. Jernigan's  
dream into reality. Dr. Jernigan enriched the lives of hundreds of  
thousands of blind people, and we can honor his lifetime of service by  
getting involved in this challenging and meritorious capital campaign to  
honor the memory of a great American visionary. Remember that victories  
in life are not fashioned in the first mile, but in the last.


     Draft Honor Roll
     The Campaign to Change What It Means to Be Blind

     Thank you to everyone who has made a pledge to our Capital Campaign  
thus far. We've already raised $4 million from almost 200 contributors.  
We encourage pledges to be paid over five years to enable contributors  
to make the strongest gift possible. What follows is a preliminary draft  
listing of Capital Campaign contributors for whom we have a signed  
pledge form (as of May 2, 2000). This list excludes contributors who  
have asked that their gifts not be published. If your name is not listed  
as you prefer or if you believe that your name has been omitted, please  
let us know. If you have made a pledge but have not yet signed and  
completed a pledge form, please do so as soon as possible. Our goal is  
100% participation. Every pledge is important!


     President's Circle, Program Builder
     $500,000+
Dr. Tim Cranmer, Deane & Marty Blazie, Ted & Mel Henter
National Federation of the Blind of Utah


     Director's Circle, Opportunity Builder
     $250,000+
Mrs. Emerson Foulke in memory of Dr. Emerson Foulke


     Leaders' Circle, Independence Builder
     $100,000+
Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP
Mr. & Mrs. W. Michael Gretschel, Mr. & Mrs. John Alahouzos, Jr.,
     Mr. & Mrs. David J. Ganz
Larry & Kathleen Sebranek


     Patrons
     $50,000+
Plextor (Shinano Kenshi)
Primo Electric Company
Mimi & Marvin Sandler in memory of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
Wilhelm Commercial Builders, Inc. & Wayne & Debbie Wilhelm


     Partners
     $25,000+
J.A. Ammon & Associates, Inc.
Donald & Betty Capps
Glenn & Norma Crosby
Mitchell J. Diamond in memory of Irene C. Diamond
Sharon Gold
Guardian Mechanical
Mary Ellen Jernigan
Kurzweil Foundation
Herbert Magin
Marc & Patricia Maurer
C. Frederick Muhl
Gene Parker
Wayne Rivera
Tom & Joyce Scanlan
Dr. & Mrs. Fredric K. Schroeder
David & Carolyn Seymour
Mr. James A. Valliant
VisuAide, Inc.
Charles & Ramona Walhof
Kevan & Bridget Worley in honor of James & Darlene Worley


     Benefactors
     $10,000+
Charles & Betty Allen
Stephen & Margaret Benson
Charles & Jacqueline Brown
John A. Cheadle
Mr. Richard China
Curtis & Peggy Chong
Colorforms/Wallace, Inc.
T.V. (Tim) Cranmer
Duxbury Systems, Inc.
Doug & Peggy Elliott
James Gashel & Betsy Zaborowski
Daniel Goldstein & Laura Williams
Gary Grassman
John & Sandy Halverson
Mr. Daniel J. Harman
Allen & Joy Harris
Mr. & Mrs. Don Hudson
Carl & Sally Jacobsen
Clarence E. Mitchell/Mitchco International
Don & Shirley Morris
Monica Stugelmeyer
Rosen, Sapperstein & Friedlander, Chartered (Sheldon J. Berman, CPA)
Arthur A. Schreiber
Joseph & Lora Van Lent
Harold Wenning
Melissa & Jon Williamson


     Fellows
     $5,000+
Lynn & Michael Baillif
Douglas & Christine Boone
Cheralyn Braithwaite
Charles F. Brown, Jr.
Ron Brown
Mac & Denise Carnes in memory of Betty Niceley
Anthony D. & Marie Cobb
Vincent F. Connelly
Enabling Technologies, Inc.
Bob & Pat Eschbach
Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Gardner
Alice & Michael Gosse
Herman & Penny Gruber
Steve Hastalis
National Federation of the Blind of Idaho
The Jewish Braille Institute of America
Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Jorgensen
Scott C. LaBarre
Sharon & Al Maneki
Marie & Michael Marucci
Marie Marucci in honor of Cosimo & Anna Farace
Marie Marucci in memory of Cosimo Farace
Floyd W. Matson
Thomas W. McKenzie
The McQuillan Family
Joseph & Patricia Miller
John & Holly Mooney in memory of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
Gary & Karen Nelson
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
Barbara & Bob Pierce
Larry & Donna Posont in memory of Arthur Segal
Policy Management Systems Corporation
Primo Electric Employees
Mr. & Mrs. Ray Raysor
Lorraine Rovig
Pamela J. Schnurr
Dr. & Mrs. Harold W. Snider
Dr. David A. Ticchi
Mrs. Marionhelen Weiland in memory of Robert S. Jaquiss, Sr.
Mr. & Mrs. James Welch
Bernard & Patricia Werwie, Jr.
D. Curtis & Doris M. Willoughby
Fred & Mary Wurtzel


     Friends
     Gifts less than $5,000
Mrs. M. Anabelle Alexander
Mr. Robert L. Anderson
Adrienne Asch
Mr. Robert F. Blackford
Aloma Bouma
Robert Braswell
Mollie & Theron Bucy
Carol Castellano & William Cucco, Jr.
Mrs. Barbara Cheadle
Mr. Walter L. Childs
Mr. & Mrs. Cox and Family
Mr. Robert Darling/Statewide Communications
Justin & Yoshiko Dart
Wayne & Carmen Davis
Des Moines Chapter, NFB of Iowa in memory of Mrs. Glenys Israel
Mrs. Revanne Duckett
Marsha Woodward Dyer in memory of Ruth & Walter Woodward
Priscilla A. Ferris
Michael & Fatos Floyd
Mr. James Fruchterman
Mary Jane Fry
Bruce A. & Rebecca L. Gardner
Mr. & Mrs. Harry Gawith
General Finishes Corp./George Adams
Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Gingerich
Sam & Vanessa Gleese
Joyce Green
David & Darlene Houck
Barry Humphries
Mr. & Mrs. William O. Jacobs in memory of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
Robert S. Jaquiss, Jr. in memory of Robert S. Jaquiss, Sr.
Mrs. Tami Dodd Jones
Allison Joyce
Deborah Kent & Richard C. Stein
Ann-Marie Laney
National Federation of the Blind of Lorain County, Ohio
Gary Mackenstadt
Pat MacRae
Ray & Diane McGeorge
Mr. & Mrs. John Munson
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
Noel Nightingale & Jim Peterson
Ms. Maureen O'Gorman
Mr. & Mrs. James H. Omvig, Sr.
Anne E. Orr
Bill Pearce & Sue Monath
Potomac Chapter, NFB of Virginia
Rev. Melvin L. Ray, Jr.
Barbara J. Reynolds
Mark A. Riccobono & Melissa Lehman
Richard & Donna Ring
Mrs. Ruth I. Schroeder
Ray & Marla Sewell
Hazel Staley
The Stayer Family in memory of Thelma Rosenfeld
Mr. & Mrs. Charles (Tom) Stevens
Dr. Jeff Stickel
Ms. Joie Stuart
Miss Sara Sunder
Kelly Taylor
Treasure Valley Chapter, NFB of Idaho
National Federation of the Blind of Virginia
Whittier Wood Products
Joanne & Harold Wilson
Bruce & Betty Woodward
Gary L. Wunder


     Matching Gifts:
CNA

     Have you made your campaign pledge yet? We need everyone's help.  
The construction cost of our projected National Research and Training  
Institute for the Blind is eighteen million dollars. Please take this  
opportunity to complete your pledge form. Without you our job will be  
just that much harder.


     The Campaign To Change What It Means To Be Blind
     Capital Campaign Pledge Intention

Name:_______________________________________
Home Address:_______________________________
City, State, and Zip:_______________________
Home Phone: ____________________
Work Phone:_____________________
E-mail address:_____________________________
Employer:___________________________________
Work Address:_______________________________
City, State, Zip:___________________________

     To support the priorities of the Campaign, I (we) pledge the sum of  
$___________.

     My (our) pledge will be payable in installments of $ __________  
over the next ____ years (we encourage pledges paid over five years),  
beginning _____________, on the following schedule (check one): __  
annually, __ semi-annually, __ quarterly, __ monthly, __ Pre-authorized  
Check plan (PAC)
     I (we) have enclosed a down payment of $ ________________
___ Gift of stock: _____________________ shares of _____________
___ My employer will match my gift.
     Please list (my) our names in all Campaign Reports and on the  
Campaign Wall of Honor in the appropriate Giving Circle as follows:
__ I (We) wish to remain anonymous.
Signed: ________________________________ Date: __________________



[PHOTO/CAPTION: William F. Gallagher]
     Bill Gallagher Dies
     by Marc Maurer

     A man who became a prominent leader in work with the blind in the  
twentieth century, William Gallagher, died at age seventy-seven on April  
19, 2000. His career in the blindness field began in 1954 and continued  
for the next thirty-six years. In 1980 William Gallagher was appointed  
Executive Director of the American Foundation for the Blind. During the  
1970's and early 1980's there was dramatic strife between organized  
blind consumers and certain of the agencies established to serve the  
blind. Mr. William Gallagher worked closely with Dr. Kenneth Jernigan to  
try to bring understanding between consumers and service providers. Mr.  
Gallagher, who was himself blind, recognized the importance of  
discussion with the National Federation of the Blind. Strife and  
bitterness do not change to harmony and cooperation without time and  
effort, but they do change. By the mid 1980's Dr. Jernigan nominated  
Bill Gallagher to serve as President of the North America/Caribbean  
Region of the World Blind Union, and he was elected.
     By the end of his tenure as the Executive Director of the American  
Foundation for the Blind, Bill Gallagher had come to have respect and  
affection for a great many leaders of the organized blind movement, and  
these feelings were returned. Bill Gallagher took the time and made the  
effort to understand the driving force behind the movement for  
collective action by the blind of America. He served an essential part  
in bringing harmony into the field. He could not have done it alone, but  
without him it could not have been done. He has made extraordinary  
contributions to the lives and the future of the blind. It is not too  
much to say of Bill Gallagher that he was a statesman.


     Recipes

     This month's recipes come from members of the NFB of Arkansas.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Chris McKenzie]
     Peanut Butter Brownies
     by Chris McKenzie

     Chris McKenzie is President of the NFB of Arkansas and Pulaski  
County Chapter Secretary.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

     Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together salt and flour.  
Set aside. Cream peanut butter, margarine, and vanilla; stir in eggs and  
brown sugar. Add flour mixture and mix well. Pour batter into a greased  
eight-by-eight-inch pan. Bake for thirty to thirty-five minutes. Cool  
slightly before cutting into squares.


     Chicken Supreme
     by Chris McKenzie

Ingredients:
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
flour for dredging
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 stick margarine, cut into pieces

     Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place margarine in a  
nine-by-thirteen-inch baking dish. Place in oven till melted. Mix salt,  
pepper, and flour together. Dredge chicken in flour mixture and place in  
pan in a single layer. Bake for fifteen minutes. Turn chicken and return  
to the oven for fifteen more minutes. Then pour soup evenly over  
chicken. Bake for thirty more minutes.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Pat Whitlow]
     Pat's Seasoned Rice
     by Pat Whitlow

     Pat Whitlow is president of the Jonesboro Chapter.

Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 teaspoons (or 2 cubes) chicken bouillon
1/4 cup (or more) minced onion
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 tablespoon margarine
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
few dashes of garlic powder
dash of celery salt
pepper to taste
1 cup long grain rice, rinsed
1 cup (1/2 can) Spam or ham, chopped

     Method: Mix together the first ten ingredients, then bring to a  
boil. Cover and simmer for a few minutes. Return to a boil and add rice.  
Stir, then cover and reduce heat to simmer for about twenty minutes. Add  
the chopped meat and toss lightly. This goes well with chicken. If it is  
to be served with Teriyaki, use beef or chicken bouillon depending on  
the meat used and add soy sauce to the rice before cooking. Makes four  
to five cups.


     Cashew and Broccoli Salad
     by Pat Whitlow

Ingredients:
8 cups raw broccoli florets
1 package (12 or 16 ounces) of bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
1 medium red or white onion, chopped
1 cup raisins
1 cup cashews, chopped

Dressing ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar

     Method: In a large bowl gently mix together all ingredients for  
salad. In a small bowl mix ingredients for dressing. Just before  
serving, pour dressing over salad and toss well.


     Butter Pound Cake
     by Pearl McKenzie

     Pearl McKenzie is Pulaski County Chapter Treasurer and Chris  
McKenzie's mother.

Ingredients:
1 Duncan Hines Golden Butter Cake Mix
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup liquid margarine
1/3 cup oil
1 8-ounce container sour cream
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla

     Method: Mix all ingredients well. Bake in greased and floured bundt  
or tube pan at 375 degrees for forty-five minutes. Let cake sit in pan  
on cooling rack for about ten minutes. Remove from pan to plate.
     Note: Chocolate cake mix may be substituted, but, if you do, omit  
vanilla.


     Seven-layer Casserole
     by Pearl Mckenzie

Ingredients:
Layer 1:
1 cup rice, cooked according to package directions
Layer 2:
1 can whole-kernel corn, drained
salt and pepper to taste
Layer 3:
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce mixed with 1/2 can water
Layer 4:
2/3 cup diced onion
Layer 5:
2/3 cup diced bell pepper
Layer 6:
1 pound browned ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
Layer 7:
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce, mixed with 1/2 can water
3 strips of bacon (optional garnish)

     Method: Layer ingredients as specified in nine-by-thirteen-inch  
baking dish, cover and bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Uncover and  
bake thirty minutes more, until the bacon is crisp.


     Monitor Miniatures

Knock, Knock, Knock:
     Opportunity is knocking on your door. Job Fair 2000 is coming soon;  
make sure you are ready. The National Federation of the Blind will host  
its premier Job Fair at the 2000 National Convention. This will be an  
opportunity you do not want to miss. Where else can you meet with twenty  
companies in one setting? Explore different employment opportunities,  
talk to recruiters about your skills, make contacts, and interview for a  
job.
     We are constantly adding to our list of nationwide companies  
looking for experienced employees. If you want to work in high tech,  
customer service, general office, industry, or hospitality or travel  
departments, you must attend Job Fair 2000.      To attend, submit a  
resume and cover letter outlining your skills and qualifications to the  
Colorado Center for the Blind, 1830 South Acoma, Denver, Colorado 80223  
or e-mail <jstevens@ccb-denver.org>. Space is limited; get your resumes  
in as soon as possible. If you have questions, call Jennifer Stevens at  
(800) 401-4632.
**********
Y2K Wedding Bells:
     We recently received the following wedding announcement:
     A Crystal, Minnesota, couple celebrated the millennium by getting  
married on Leap Day, 2000. Eric Smith and Laura DeMarais were married at  
8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 29, at the Como Park Conservatory in St.  
Paul. About twenty family members and friends attended the ceremony,  
which took place amid the blooming azaleas, cyclamen, and assorted flora  
of the Conservatory's glass-enclosed sunken garden.
     An active member of the National Federation of the Blind for the  
past twenty-nine years, Smith currently serves on the Board of Directors  
of the NFB of Minnesota. He is a communications specialist for the  
Internal Revenue Service and was recently elected vice-chair of the  
Minnesota State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind, the advisory body  
for State Services for the Blind.
     DeMarais has done volunteer work for BLIND, Inc., the NFB's adult  
rehabilitation training center in Minnesota, and played a key role in  
designing the agency's Internet Web site <www.blindinc.org>. She is  
director of the Reading and Study Skills Center at the University of St.  
Thomas in St. Paul and currently serves as president of the Minnesota  
affiliate of the National Association for Developmental Education.
     According to Smith and DeMarais, they chose the date because it  
symbolizes the unique nature of their love and commitment to each other.  
February 29 happens infrequently, occurring once every four years under  
ordinary circumstances and just once every 400 years in century-change  
years such as 2000.

Elected:
     On Saturday, March 18, 2000, the Capitol District Chapter of the  
NFB of New York held elections, and the following officers were elected:  
Gisela Distel, President; Charlie Richardson, Vice President; Joy  
Harris, Secretary; David Hoskinson, Treasurer; and Teresa Downie, Board  
member.

For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     I wish to sell a DECtalk PC1 with an internal speaker system that  
requires a 5-1/4-inch bay. Asking $225 or best offer. Buyer pays  
shipping and can select shipping method. Contact Marty R. McKenzie, SCCB  
Outreach Program, beeper: (800) 420-1952, e-mail: <marty2@ftc-i.net>, or  
SCSDB Web site: <http://scsdb.k12.sc.us>.

New Chapter:
     The newly formed Suburban West Chapter of the National Federation  
of the Blind of Massachusetts is pleased to inform Monitor readers that  
the chapter, which covers the towns of Watertown, Waltham, Newton, and  
other surrounding communities within the suburban west area near Boston,  
held an organizational meeting on October 9. The following officers were  
elected: Mary Ann Lareau, President; Thomas Duffy, Vice President;  
Lucille Burkhardt, Secretary; and George Blake, Treasurer.

Elected:
     The National Federation of the Blind of Greater Long Island has  
elected new officers. They are David Stayer, President; Christine Faltz,  
First Vice President; George Dominguez, Second Vice President; Lorraine  
Stayer, Recording Secretary; Sara S. Berger, Corresponding Secretary; Jo  
Anne Masgard, Treasurer; and Brad Greenspan and John Stevenson, Board  
Members.

New Commission in Nebraska:
     Mike Floyd, President of the National Federation of the Blind of  
Nebraska, recently wrote to tell us the following joyful news:
     The National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska is pleased to  
announce that L.B. 352, Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired,  
was passed April 4 in the Nebraska State Unicameral by a vote of 37  
ayes, 10 nays, and 2 not voting. Our special thanks go to Senator Lavon  
Crosby of Lincoln, who introduced and fought for our bill for many  
years.
     Then, on Monday, April 10, 2000, Governor Mike Johanns signed the  
bill into law, creating the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and  
Visually Impaired. On July 1 the existing state agency providing  
vocational rehabilitation services for Nebraska's adult blind population  
will be separated from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human  
Services. It will be established as a free-standing, independent  
commission, otherwise retaining its previously held assets.
     The Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired will by  
law henceforth be administered by a board of five commissioners, three  
of whom shall be blind and one of whom shall be a Federationist.
     Nebraska Federationists are excited, relieved, and looking forward  
to the challenges ahead. We offer thanks to the many who have worked  
hard here in Nebraska, and we also thank those of our Federation family  
outside the state who have shared their inspiration and their prayers.

PHOTO/CAPTION: Edna Nemeth, March 14, 1909, to March 31, 2000]
In Memoriam:
     We regret to report that on Friday, March 31, 2000, Edna Nemeth,  
the wife of Dr. Abraham Nemeth, died quietly. Mrs Nemeth was bilingual  
in English and Hungarian due to having lived in Hungary during the First  
World War. At the time of her death the Nemeths had just celebrated  
their twenty-ninth wedding anniversary. Mrs. Nemeth had three children  
from her first marriage, nine grandchildren, and eight  
great-grandchildren with two on the way. We extend our sympathy to Dr.  
Nemeth and his family in their sorrow.

Elected:
     The San Fernando Valley Chapter of the National Federation of the  
Blind of California held its election on February 12, 2000. The new  
officers are Tina Thomas, President; Robert Stigile, Vice President; Ron  
Smith, Treasurer; Shari Main, Secretary; and Donna Roysner, Board  
Member.

APH Announces Math Flash:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     The American Printing House for the Blind's Math Flash software  
helps visually impaired or blind elementary students sharpen and improve  
math skills. This self-voicing program uses the computer's sound card to  
communicate instructions, drills, practice sessions, and games. Math  
Flash allows students to modify the presentation as well as control the  
difficulty of the math drills and tests.
     The easy-to-use Math Flash program allows students to select their  
favorite Math Mentor to lead the exercises. The Mentor's voice (created  
with professionally narrated human speech rather than computer-generated  
speech) guides the student through problems in addition, subtraction,  
multiplication, or division.
     A free demonstration of this product is available on the APH Web  
site. Visit <www.aph.org> to download a demo. For more information  
contact American Printing House for the Blind, Inc., 1839 Frankfort  
Avenue, P.O. Box 6085, Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085, phone (502)  
895-2405, (800) 223-1839, fax (502) 899-2274, e-mail <info@aph.org>.

Elected:
     The Kanawha Valley Chapter of the NFB of West Virginia elected new  
officers. They are Roland Payne, President; Eddie Greenleaf, Vice  
President and Board Member; Barbara Smith, Secretary; Barbara Olive,  
Treasurer; Mike Smith, Chaplain; and James Olive, alternate Board  
Member.

Honored:
     On March 7, 2000, Eddie Greenleaf of Charleston, West Virginia, and  
an active member of the Kanawha Valley Chapter of the NFB of West  
Virginia, received one of Bell Atlantic's top awards. He was chosen from  
among 47,000 employees as one of six recipients of the Service to the  
Community award. He was flown to New York City, where he was wined and  
dined at Tavern on the Green and met top Bell Atlantic officials.
     Eddie has been active for twenty-five years in the NFB of West  
Virginia. He has served as an affiliate Board Member and as Vice  
President of his local chapter. He has raised funds for NEWSLINE(r) and  
educated legislators about the importance of Braille and access  
technology. He has also advised companies in the Bell System about  
effective access technology for blind employees.
     Congratulations to Eddie upon this well deserved honor.

World Series Baseball Game:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     With the 2000 baseball season now underway you can play your own  
games and look up baseball facts by obtaining Version 14 of the World  
Series Baseball Game and Information System. Among the 269 teams that  
come with the game are all the pennant winners from 1901 through 1999,  
all-star teams, and Japanese and Negro league teams. You can also review  
the history of baseball, find out who is in the Hall of Fame, check out  
all the baseball records, and try out your knowledge of the game on a  
1,000-question quiz.
     The game is being played by sight-impaired baseball fans of all  
ages in forty-eight states on IBM-compatible computers with screen  
readers and synthesizers. The price is still the same as when the game  
was first introduced in 1986, only $15 to new users, $5 for the annual  
update (which comes out after the World Series).
     Send your check to Harry Hollingsworth, 692 S. Sheraton Drive,  
Akron, Ohio 44319, or call (330) 644-2421 or e-mail  
<hhhollingsworth@attglobal.net>.

"Nickelodeon" Demonstrates Internet Access for Kids:
     We are pleased to report that on its April 30 broadcast the  
children's program "Nickelodeon" turned its attention to the problem of  
Internet access for kids who use access technology. A producer contacted  
Mrs. Maurer, who helped the staff identify Michael Forzano, age nine, of  
Yonkers, New York, to demonstrate the way he surfs the Net using his  
talking computer. Curtis Chong, director of the NFB's Technology  
Department, provided the voice-over. Both Michael and Curtis stressed  
the importance of having those who design children's Web sites include  
text tags labeling the many pictures. Congratulations to "Nickelodeon"  
for accurately covering this important subject.

Green Thumb Seeks Older Workers to Honor:
     In an effort to identify blind seniors who are still contributing  
to their communities, we have been asked to carry the following  
announcement:
     Green Thumb, Inc., the country's oldest and largest provider of  
mature-worker training and employment, has launched its third national  
Prime Time Awards search for the Outstanding Older Worker to represent  
each state. The winners will be announced and recognized in their  
respective states and at the Prime Time Awards dinner on October 6,  
2000, in the East Hall of the historic Union Station in Washington, D.C.
     To be recognized as an Outstanding Older Worker, nominees must work  
at least twenty hours a week in paid employment, be over age sixty-five,  
and be a resident of the state for which they are being nominated. To  
obtain the nomination form, entrants should visit the "Outstanding Older  
Worker" page of Green Thumb's Web site at <www.greenthumb.org>. Deadline  
for entries is June 30, 2000. Entrants may submit their own names or be  
nominated by employer, family, or friends.

Smithsonian Publications Available on Audio Tape:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     You can now choose to listen to Smithsonian's National Museum of  
American History exhibit brochures and the script texts recorded on  
audiocassette. The new audio tapes for people with disabilities are  
produced by the Smithsonian Accessibility Program's Voices to Access  
2000 project.
     Voices to Access 2000 can provide audiocassette alternative format  
for most Smithsonian publications. This service brings the Smithsonian  
closer to its goal of making its publications readable by anyone in  
formats accessible to everyone. For information on the nearly 100 audio  
tapes currently available or to request taping of a particular  
Smithsonian publication, call (202) 786-2942. The audio tapes list will  
also be posted on the Web at <http://www.si.edu/resource/access>.
     There is no charge to people with disabilities for the taped  
versions, and much of the related print material is free. However,  
audiocassettes will accompany only paid subscriptions to such  
publications as Smithsonian Magazine.

New Tape Magazine:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Disabled Christian Tape Fellowship is a monthly, non-charismatic  
Christian tape magazine. It is a forum in which you can share  
information or ask questions. The first issue is expected to be released  
in July, and it is free. After that you may subscribe for $5, August  
through December, 2000. It will then cost $12 for the year 2001.
     You can submit a cassette with your testimony, favorite Christian  
Web site, Christian libraries, your business, or music, etc., but your  
contribution must be five minutes or less. Send your request for the  
July issue to Disabled Christian Tape Fellowship, 610 B Avenue, Vinton,  
Iowa 52349, or e-mail your request to <disabledchristian@juno.com>.

Are You Prepared:
     Are you prepared for the challenge of finding a job? Job  
Opportunities for the Blind is hosting Success Every Step of the Way, an  
employment seminar.
     Come and learn about
* Interviewing
* How to access those hidden jobs
* Best ways to disclose
* Dressing to impress
* What to do as a student to prepare for your career
* Do you need blindness skills training?
     Bring your resume for review by employment staff of the National  
Federation of the Blind training centers. Learn about new and exciting  
jobs and much, much more.
     Attend Success Every Step of the Way at the Marriott Marquis Hotel  
in Atlanta on Sunday, July 2, 2000, 12:30 to 4:00 p.m. See the  
convention pre-agenda for specific room assignments.


     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.





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