THE BRAILLE MONITOR
PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

                            CONTENTS

                                                   DECEMBER, 1991

CONVENTION 1992
by Kenneth Jernigan

A TASTE OF CHARLOTTE
by Hazel Staley

CONFESSIONS OF A SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
by Jennifer Lehman

NO GOOD FOR THE BLIND IN "GOOD AND EVIL"
by Barbara Pierce

REVIEWS AND REVIEWERS: THE WORLD IN MICROCOSM
by Barbara Pierce

DENIAL: A CRITICAL STEP ON THE ROAD TO EQUALITY
by Barbara Pierce

WHEN MONEY TALKS
by Barbara Pierce

AIRLINE DENIES SEAT TO DISABLED OFFICIAL

THE EVERYDAY USEFULNESS OF BRAILLE
by Lauren L. Eckery

FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT TO LEARN BRAILLE: NEW YORK FEDERATIONISTS
ENTER THE RING

HONEYBEE VENOM: A POSSIBLE CURE FOR ARTHRITIS?
by Ehab and Sabrina Yamini

A RESPONSE TO ARTICLES ON PIANO TUNING AND A CORRECTION

OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE
by Mary Wurtzel

RECIPES

MONITOR MINIATURES




     Copyright National Federation of the Blind, Inc., 1991[2 LEAD PHOTOS/CAPTION: Our Federation family celebrates the
holiday season in many ways and in many places. In a Community
Outreach office window Frosty the Snowman (upper left) carries
his white cane proudly, and at the National Center for the Blind
in Baltimore Patricia Maurer reads a Christmas story to a group
of eager children (lower right). They are seated beside the
Christmas tree that graces our reception area each December.
Wherever you go this holiday season and however you celebrate it,
we wish you peace and joy in the coming year.]



                         CONVENTION 1992
                       by Kenneth Jernigan


     The time has come to plan for the 1992 convention of the
National Federation of the Blind. As Federationists know, the
1991 convention in New Orleans was a record-breaker. We had the
largest attendance in our history, an outstanding program,
exciting tours, and superb arrangements by the state affiliate.
However, there is every prospect that Charlotte, North Carolina,
in 1992 will be even better.
     Let's begin with hotel and meeting arrangements. Our
business sessions, banquet, and exhibits will be held in the
Convention Center. The facilities are spacious and outstanding.
Because of our growing numbers, we will require four hotels. One
of them (the Radisson) is attached to the Convention Center by an
overhead corridor. Another (the Marriott) is immediately across
the street. The other two (the Holiday and the Adam's Mark) are
close by. The Holiday Inn is two blocks from the Convention
Center, and the Adam's Mark is four. Even though the distances
are so short, we will have a bus shuttling twenty-four hours a
day in a loop from the Holiday to the Adam's Mark to the
Convention Center.
     All of these hotels are definitely up-scale. Moreover, our
rates are, as usual, the envy of all who know of them: singles,
$30; doubles and twins, $35; triples, $38; and quads, $40. These
rates are in addition to an occupancy tax, which is currently
twelve percent (12%). There will be no charge for children who
stay in the room with their parents if no extra bed is required.
As we now plan it, there will not be a headquarters hotel as
such. Rather, President Maurer will stay in one hotel; I will
stay in another; and the headquarters of the affiliate will be in
still another. Mostly division and committee meetings will not be
held in the Convention Center but will be apportioned among the
various hotels.
     We are now ready to accept requests for hotel reservations.
Do not write to the hotels. Even if one of the hotels should by
mistake accept a request for a reservation and confirm it, this
constitutes notice that such a confirmation will not be valid.
Rather, requests for hotel reservations should be sent to:
Convention 92, National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson
Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230. Requests for reservations
should be accompanied by a $40 deposit for each room requested.
Payment may either be by check made payable to National
Federation of the Blind or by credit card (MasterCard, Visa, or
Discover). If a credit card is used, the deposit charge will be
made immediately just as would be the case with a check. If a
reservation is canceled prior to June 15, 1992, $20 of the $40
deposit will be returned. Otherwise, refunds will not be made.
Although we cannot guarantee that requests for a specific hotel
can be honored, we will do the best we can to place those who
have physical problems that impair mobility as close to meeting
rooms as possible. I would remind those who wish to place credit
card reservations by telephone or who want information concerning
the convention that the phone number for the National Center for
the Blind is: (410) 659-9314. We will tend to give preference in
room placement to those who make reservations early, but we will
probably not send written confirmation of reservations and name
of hotel until sometime in the spring.
     The first official convention activity will take place on
Sunday, June 28, 1992. This will be the day for seminars for Job
Opportunities for the Blind and parents and educators of blind
children, as well as a meeting of the Merchants Division and
other activities. The remainder of the convention looks something
like this:
     Monday, June 29: Registration, exhibits, first meeting of
the Resolutions Committee, and various other committee and group
meetings. Tuesday, June 30: Meeting of the Board of Directors
(open to all); registration; exhibits; and meetings of divisions,
groups, and committees. Wednesday, July 1: General convention
sessions, morning and afternoon; registration and exhibits, prior
to morning session and during the lunch break; and reception,
dance, and committee meetings during evening. Thursday, July 2:
General convention session, morning; registration and exhibits,
prior to morning session and during afternoon; and tours,
afternoon and evening; Friday, July 3: General convention
sessions, morning and afternoon; registration and exhibits, prior
to morning session and during lunch break; and banquet, evening.
Saturday, July 4: General convention sessions, morning and
afternoon; registration and exhibits, prior to morning session
and during lunch break; and adjournment at 5:00 p.m.
     This convention will be vintage Federation--interesting
program items, exciting tours, plentiful door prizes, vital
issues to be decided, and friendships to be made and renewed.
Remember that door prizes should be contributed by individual
Federationists and by state and local affiliates throughout the
country. No prize should be worth less than $25 (cash is always
acceptable). Either bring your prizes to convention or send them
to: Mrs. Hazel Staley, 5310 Farm Pond Lane, Charlotte, North
Carolina 28212; phone: (704) 536-4256. It will be helpful if door
prizes are labeled in print and Braille, giving the estimated
value of the prize and listing the donor.
     When Mrs. Jernigan and I went to Charlotte last summer to
finalize arrangements for the convention, we were greatly
impressed not only by the physical facilities but also by the
hospitality and friendliness of the people. As you make your
plans for Charlotte in '92, add the following items to the mix:
Food prices, both in the hotel and out, are noticeably cheaper
than in any city where we have held a convention in recent years.
This will also apply to the cost of the banquet--again less than
we have experienced in quite some time. I like good restaurants,
and I found one of the finest in the nation in Charlotte. Hazel
Staley, president of the National Federation of the Blind of
North Carolina, and the other North Carolinians are making
exciting plans for next summer. This will be the first time an
NFB convention has ever been held in North Carolina or the
immediately surrounding area, and attendance figures will
probably break all records.
     South Carolina (the state immediately to the south) will be
coming en masse, as will Virginia (the state immediately to the
north). Then, there is Maryland. We intend to make a serious
effort to bring home the attendance banner, as do a number of
other states--Louisiana, for instance. However, do not rule out
the states of the far and middle west. 1992 may well be the year
when we pass the 3,000 mark in registered attendance.
     The convention program has not yet been finalized, but it
should be comparable to the one we had in New Orleans. You will
remember that we had the chairman of one of the two major
political parties, a cabinet member, a United States senator, top
federal and state officials, a first-rate panel of employed blind
persons, leading figures from the media, and a challenging array
of resolutions and discussions. Charlotte in '92 will be the
place to renew acquaintances and make new friends, get
information on the latest developments in the blindness field,
and have an important voice in determining what the future will
be like for those of us who are blind.
     For more information about Charlotte and North Carolina,
read Hazel Staley's article printed elsewhere in this issue of
the Monitor. When I talked with her today, Hazel said that she
would be giving details about tours and other convention matters
in the coming months. Meanwhile, let's all think Charlotte in
'92.












[PHOTO: Semi aerial photo of Charlotte Convention Center with
downtown skyscrapers in background. CAPTION: The Charlotte, North
Carolina, Convention Center, site of the 1992 convention of the
National Federation of the Blind, is pictured here at twilight.]


                      A TASTE OF CHARLOTTE
                         by Hazel Staley

                       Nineteen Ninety-Two
                       Is the year for you
                           And the NFB
                   To meet in Charlotte, N.C.

     This little rhyme was given to me by one of our members who
asked me to include it in my message to you as his personal
welcome. Indeed, we are all excited and delighted about hosting
our 1992 convention. Many of you have told me that you have never
been to North Carolina; so I would like to take this opportunity
to tell you a little bit about our state, particularly Charlotte,
since this is where you will be coming.
     Charlotte is located in the Piedmont region of the state,
approximately twenty miles north of the South Carolina line. It
is approximately two hours east of the Appalachian Mountains and
three and a half hours west of the Atlantic Ocean. New York City
is approximately 600 miles to the northeast, and Atlanta about
250 miles to the southwest. Charlotte is 765 feet above sea level
and enjoys a truly moderate climate. Severe cold weather is rare
due in part to the sheltering effect of the mountains to the
west. January is the coldest month with an average temperature of
forty-two degrees. Snow is light and infrequent, occurring from
December through March. Summers in Charlotte are comfortably
warm. July averages seventy-nine degrees. The frost-free season
averages 230 days from mid-March to mid-November. Our average
annual rainfall is forty-three inches.
     Charlotte covers 176 miles of the 530 square miles of
Mecklenburg County. In 1991 the population of the metro/suburban
area was approximately 500,000, making this the largest city in
North Carolina. More than 5.2 million people live within a 100-
mile radius of Charlotte. By comparison Atlanta's population
within a similar radius is 5.1 million, Miami 4 million.
     Charlotte is served by an excellent state and federal
highway network, including major north-south and east-west
interstate arteries and a modern expanded international airport.
Seven major airlines serve Charlotte, offering direct and nonstop
flights daily to 130 cities. More than 7.8 million passengers
board planes at Charlotte Douglas International Airport annually,
ranking Charlotte as the twenty-fourth largest air transportation
center in the nation. Over half the population of the United
States can be reached from Charlotte in a two-hour flight time.
     Rail service is also a vital part of Charlotte's
transportation mix. More than 275 trains pass through Charlotte
each week, including Norfolk Southern and Amtrak.
     As the largest school system in the Carolinas and the
twenty-ninth largest in the nation, the consolidated
Charlotte/Mecklenburg system serves 77,000 students. The system
operates 104 schools, including grades kindergarten through
twelve. There are 72 elementary, 16 junior high, 5 middle, and 11
senior high schools, all of which are fully accredited by the
Southern Association of Schools and Colleges. Almost seventy-five
percent of the students finishing public school continue their
education.
     Fifty thousand college students are enrolled in the 18
colleges and universities located within the metro/suburban area.
A consortium of ten colleges and universities exchange faculty
and course credits in a variety of undergraduate and graduate
degree programs. Charlotte is a national leader in teacher
incentives and discipline programs.
     Charlotte has approximately 400 Christian churches,
including Protestant, Catholic, and Greek Orthodox, plus Jewish
and other faiths.
     Watch for more "Taste of Charlotte" later.
     Now for a few quick, interesting facts about North Carolina:

Population (1990 Census): 6,628,637
Area: 52,700 square miles (The state is longest from east to
     west, approximately 700 miles.)
Capital: Raleigh
Largest City: Charlotte
Name Origin: From Latin Carolus in honor of King Charles I of
     England
Nickname: Tar Heel State
Motto: "Esse quam videre" ("To be rather than to seem")
Flower: Dogwood
Tree: Pine


               CONFESSIONS OF A SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
                       by Jennifer Lehman

     From the Associate Editor: The National Federation of the
Blind of Wisconsin this year implemented an idea which several
other state affiliates have used successfully for some time: They
decided to present their state scholarship winner this fall not
only with an academic scholarship and one to the state convention
but also one to the National Convention in New Orleans. As Bonnie
Peterson, the affiliate president, said, "Introducing a winner to
the state convention is exposing him or her to less than one
fiftieth of what the Federation is." Bonnie is absolutely right,
and the investment the Wisconsin affiliate has made this year
would seem to have been an excellent one. 
     Jennifer Lehman is a sophomore  at St. Norbert College,
majoring in communications. She reminds us all over again just
what the impact of the National Convention is on people who are
experiencing it for the first time. If you are toying with the
idea of attending the NFB convention for the first time or if you
know someone who is doing so, read this article, and consider
that this same expansion of the world and deepening of self-
confidence is available to everyone who attends our conventions
and dives into the activities and the opportunities available.
Here is the story of what happened to one young woman as first
printed in the Fall, 1991, issue of the Wisconsin Chronicle, the
publication of the NFB of Wisconsin:

     As I stepped from the oppressively humid jetway into the
startling coolness of the New Orleans airport, I felt the
apprehension I had been fighting to control begin to overwhelm
me. Flying alone for the first time, I had just arrived in an
unfamiliar city to spend a week attending a convention of a group
about which I knew almost nothing. Lurking beneath my
apprehension, however, was a spark of excitement. I realized that
this trip could be a challenging and fun adventure. I could not
have known then how much I would learn and what an exciting and
unforgettable experience the annual convention of the National
Federation of the Blind would be.
     Prior to this convention my contact with other blind people
had been limited. I was the first blind student to enter the
Watertown public school system and am presently the only one at
St. Norbert College. Apart from my younger sister, many of the
blind people I had met seemed to exemplify the stereotypic image
of blindness. They seemed totally dependent upon others to meet
all of their needs. I was not anxious to spend a week surrounded
by such people. I felt that there were no other blind people like
my sister and me--people who thought of their blindness, not as a
handicap or an insurmountable hurdle, but as something which,
though sometimes a nuisance, did not have to keep them from doing
what they wanted to do with their lives. 
     Soon after arriving at the convention, I discovered, to my
relief, that I had been wrong. The ideas about blindness which I
had thought were unique to me and my sister were actually part of
the philosophy of the NFB. I was among people whose attitudes and
accomplishments I admired and who reached out and made me feel
that I was a part of their huge family. The sense of community I
felt was one of the most positive aspects of the convention for
me.
     Another positive aspect was the chance to learn more about
the NFB. Before this trip I knew almost nothing about the group.
I had heard some mixed reports. For instance, I had heard that it
was somewhat radical, especially in its fight for exit row
seating on airplanes. I had also heard that it worked hard to
promote the teaching of Braille, something which I very much
support. Through conversations with members and many excellent
speeches, I learned a great deal about the philosophy and actions
of the National Federation of the Blind. I found that I agree
with much of this philosophy. I plan to become an active member
and may even work to start a student division in Wisconsin.
     The convention taught me as much about myself as it did
about the NFB. I have always considered myself fairly
independent, but this convention taught me to be even more so as
an improved cane traveler. Walking with so many other people who
were also using canes, I gained new skills as well as more of the
confidence I needed to help me travel better. As I relaxed and
opened up to people, I also gained much-needed self-confidence. I
hope that the positive effects this convention had on my self-
image will last a lifetime.
     Attending the annual convention of the National Federation
of the Blind is an event I will never forget. I am extremely
grateful to the members of the scholarship committee and all
those who worked to make this experience possible for me. By
winning the Wisconsin NFB scholarship, I received more than just
the money to help pay for my tuition. I gained confidence,
knowledge, friends, and memories which I will cherish forever.


[PHOTO: NFB of Minnesota members picket outside of ABC affiliate
in St. Paul. CAPTION: September 25, 1991, was the date of the
fall premier of the ABC television program "Good and Evil." The
organized blind of Minnesota made certain that ABC and the public
understood what blind people thought of the character George.
This picture of three members of the National Federation of the
Blind of Minnesota first appeared in the September 26 St. Paul
Dispatch and Pioneer Press story, which was picked up by the wire
services and reprinted across the country.]

[PHOTO: NFB members picket outside of ABC in New York City.
CAPTION: The National Federation of the Blind announced in late
September that members would picket the headquarters of ABC
television for two hours every Wednesday afternoon until "Good
and Evil" was removed from the air. It took four weeks of
walking, chanting, and carrying signs to break ABC executives'
will.]

[PHOTO: NFB members picket outside of ABC in New York City.
CAPTION: Federationists from up and down the East Coast converged
on New York City week after week to chant their message: "One,
two, three, four, Good and Evil out the door. Five, six, seven,
eight, nine, George is an insult to the blind."

            NO GOOD FOR THE BLIND IN "GOOD AND EVIL"
                        by Barbara Pierce

     It was a battle about "Good and Evil," and between good and
evil--and the good prevailed. But the battle would not have been
won--and, for that matter, would not ever have commenced--had it
not been for the coordinated, nationwide effort of the National
Federation of the Blind. In the end the victory was complete, and
the show of strength was such that neither friend nor foe will
forget it.  In fact, the threatened disaster was converted into a
vehicle for unprecedented opportunity. 
     On September 25, 1991, people in an estimated nine point
three million homes sat in their living rooms watching a blind
character on an eagerly-awaited new prime-time situation comedy
called "Good and Evil." The writer was Susan Harris, creator of
the hugely successful programs "Soap," "Golden Girls," and "Empty
Nest." The blind character George was played by Mark Blankfield,
and the portrayal made fun of blind people and our alternative
techniques. He shared billing on the program with the stars Teri
Garr and Margaret Whitton. George made his entrance the first
week halfway through the show by sweeping laboratory glassware
off every surface he could reach with his wildly flailing cane.
In the following four and a half minutes he staggered up a
staircase and around the lab looking for his lady love (mostly in
the wrong direction), made a pass at a hanging coat and struck
himself with the coat rack, groped across the body of another
male character until even he was irrefutably persuaded of his
masculinity, and choked himself on his cane as he stumbled out
the door. In subsequent weekly appearances George continued to
break any glass in his vicinity and fall up or down every
available set of stairs. In addition he created a number of
embarrassing situations by failing to recognize that silent
people were present or notice when other characters left the
room. 
     In short, every tired old saw about the oblivious, socially
inept, clumsy blind person was hauled out and played for all it
was worth. From the first preview of the "Good and Evil" pilot,
which Federationists saw last summer, we protested in the
strongest terms to ABC's Entertainment and Broadcast Standards
departments. Our complaints were met with the statement that all
the characters on "Good and Evil" were drawn broadly and intended
to be parodies of real people. In effect we were asked where our
sense of humor was. In letters to those who complained about
George to ABC and in press releases and interviews, network
officials repeatedly said that, if George had been meant to be a
true-to-life character, such a portrayal would have been in poor
taste. But no one could possibly miss the parody element, so
there was no reason to modify the character or remove him from
the script. Here are the exact words of the argument as they
appeared in letters written by Chris Hikawa, Vice President for
Broadcast Standards, and received by thousands of Federationists:

     "George is (and was, prior to his blindness) a klutz,
despite his numerous and significant academic and professional
achievements. If this series were in any way realistic, we would
agree with you that a comedic portrayal of a clumsy blind person
might be in questionable taste. However, the series, `Good and
Evil' is an exaggerated parody of life with the most outrageous
caricatures imaginable. Not one character in this program is
realistic or believable. Each is a parody of the most extreme
qualities of the values represented by the title `Good and
Evil.'"

     That was the position ABC maintained from the beginning, and
one is struck by its shallowness and naivety. Although the
National Federation of the Blind has succeeded in educating  many
members of the public enough for them to admit that  blind people
(in theory at least) can be capable citizens if given the chance,
there is still a large residue of unconscious prejudice in most
people that would cause them to identify a character like George
as a more or less accurate extension of a normal blind person
trying to cope ineffectually with the sighted world. ABC's
concept of George as parody would never even enter the equation.
The presence of an incompetent blind person slashing and smashing
his way through the program would necessarily give people
emotional permission to abandon their newly-learned and
difficult-to-accept notion of the blind as equal partners.
Moreover, the most devastatingly cruel form of humor at someone
else's expense is surely that in which the object of the joke is
also its unwitting perpetrator. In every episode George invited
laughter at himself by his antics, his stupidity, and his
comments. Absurd as every blind person knows his behavior to have
been, his actions assumed a semblance of reality just because
they were being performed by the blind character. There is a
degree less cruelty in wisecracks made by other characters about
or to the one being laughed at. Archie Bunker made fun of all
kinds of people in the program "All in the Family." Even those
who shared Archie's world view understood that part of the joke
was his lack of tact and taste, and Archie was usually shown to
be wrong in his opinions. The result was that, although everyone
was invited to laugh at the jokes, no one was being asked to
accept Archie's point of view. 
     When "Good and Evil" burst on the fall schedule, the
National Federation of the Blind mobilized an astonishing range
of blind people and their friends and family members. They
immediately understood the depth of the insult and the
seriousness of the danger to blind people if George were allowed
to grope and stumble his way through a weekly sitcom.
Federationists wrote thousands of letters to various ABC and
Touchstone Productions executives and to the program sponsors.
Many people turned to the telephone to lodge their protests. In
fact, on Monday, September 23, for about a half hour we flooded
ABC Television's New York switchboard with calls to urge the
network to withdraw the season premiere of the program. 
     Participants in the U.S./Canada Conference on Technology,
which took place at the National Center for the Blind September
19 to 21, sent a telegram to ABC registering their
disapprobation. Here is the text of the message and the
signatures of those who sent it: 

                              Baltimore, Maryland
                              September 20, 1991

Mr. Robert Iger, President
ABC Entertainment
Los Angeles, California

     The undersigned leaders of organizations of the blind,
service providers for the blind, and manufacturers of technology
for the blind in the U.S. and Canada today viewed a scene
involving the blind character George from the new ABC program
"Good and Evil." By this telegram we strongly request ABC not to
broadcast this program either as a pilot or as a series. It
reinforces negative attitudes about blindness and holds blind
persons up to ridicule. It demeans, humiliates, and does great
damage to much of the positive work done during the last half
century. To air this program violates the good taste and fairness
which ABC usually promotes.

Kenneth Jernigan, Executive Director
National Federation of the Blind
Baltimore, Maryland

Euclid Herie, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Toronto, Ontario

Susan Spungin, Associate Executive Director for Program Services
American Foundation for the Blind
New York, New York

William Weiner, President
Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind
     and Visually Impaired
Kalamazoo, Michigan

David Andrews, Director
International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind
Baltimore, Maryland

Deane Blazie, President
Blazie Engineering
Street, Maryland

James C. Bliss, President
TeleSensory
Mountain View, California

Barbara Bowman, Vice President
Association of Instructional Resource Centers for the Visually
     Impaired
Richmond, Virginia

Nell Carney, Commissioner
Rehabilitation Services Administration
Washington, D.C.

Curtis Chong, Chairman
Minnesota Council for the Blind
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Tim Cranmer, Director of Public Relations
National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB)
Louisville, Kentucky

Frank Kurt Cylke
Great Falls, Virginia

Judy Dixon
Arlington, Virginia

Paul Edwards
North Miami, Florida

Jim Fruchterman, President
Arkenstone, Inc.
Sunnyvale, California

Don Garner, Director
Blind Rehabilitation Services
Veterans Administration
Washington, D.C.

James C. Halliday, President
HumanWare, Inc.
Loomis, California

Ted Henter, President
Henter-Joyce
St. Petersburg, Florida

David Holladay, President
Raised Dot Computing
Madison, Wisconsin

Raymond Kurzweil, Chairman
Kurzweil Reading Machine Division
Xerox Corporation
Waltham, Massachusetts

Chris Lowrie
Nepean, Ontario

William E. McLaughlin, Deputy Director
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
Washington, D.C.

Charlene Muller
Toronto, Ontario

Lloyd Rasmussen
Washington, D.C.

Rachel Rosenbaum, Vice President
National Council of Private Agencies for the Blind
Newton, Massachusetts

Mohymen Saddeek, President
Technology for Independence, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts

Elliot Schreier, Director
National Technology Center
American Foundation for the Blind
New York, New York

R. Creig Slayton, President
National Council of State Agencies for the Blind, Inc.
Des Moines, Iowa

Graham Stoodley, Chairman
Technology Subcommittee
National Client Service Committee
Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Toronto, Ontario

Suzanne Swaffield, President
Association of State Educational Consultants for the Visually
     Impaired
Columbia, South Carolina

Tuck Tinsley, President
American Printing House for the Blind
Louisville, Kentucky

Patrick Walsh
Toronto, Ontario

     The greatest fear that blind people and their friends had
was that because of the public's inability to recognize the
absurdity of George's behavior, the stereotypical clumsiness and
obliviousness to actual events around him which George exhibited
would compound the problems blind people already have in
employment and social interactions. As more than one indignant
correspondent inquired of ABC executives, "What do you suppose
the chances would have been for a blind job applicant wanting
work in a research facility the morning after George smashed his
way around the lab in the first episode of `Good and Evil?' If
the employer had seen the show, none at all." 
     Almost equally disturbing to thoughtful blind viewers was
the response to George of the other characters on the program. No
one ever got mad at him for smashing everything in sight. Genn,
the good sister and the woman with whom George was enamored,
never once told him to go jump in the lake despite his
inappropriate behavior. On a show memorable for the rudeness,
cruelty, and selfishness of most of the characters, everyone was
the soul of tact and patience with George. They were united in
nothing but their belief that George was not a responsible adult,
capable of hearing hard truths. 
     It is just barely possible that a little of the rough and
tumble of real life on a sitcom for George might actually have
carried a whiff of humor. But the most demeaning part of this
hands-off behavior was the unstated, but graphically portrayed
conviction that George was absolutely not an acceptable candidate
as a romantic partner. At one point George was wandering around
the lab, trying to find Genn as he poured out his love to her.
She remained silent, almost cringing from the very thought of
physical contact with him. Then Eric, the man whom she loved and
her sister was blackmailing into marriage, walked in, and she
sheltered in his arms. The message was clear: Genn would not say
an unkind word to or about George, but, guilty though she felt
over it, she wanted nothing to do with this repellent and
pathetic creature. 
     As the outcry against George began to gather, ABC sent out
the program's co-stars, Teri Garr and Margaret Whitton, to make
the talk-show circuit, defending "Good and Evil" in general and
George in particular. If ABC executives believed that these two
women could strengthen their hand, they were gravely mistaken.
From the beginning they had recognized that their only possible
defense of George was that, like all the other characters on the
program, George was a parody and that no one could take him
seriously. In fact, if George were meant to be true-to-life, the
character would be in very bad taste. With this in mind, here is
the transcript of the relevant portion of an interview with Teri
Garr and Margaret Whitton on the CNN program, "Sonya Live" for
October 2. The interview was rebroadcast later the same day on
the CNN program "Showbiz Today." Here are Garr and Whitton's
remarks:

     GARR: He is handicapped and yet functioning like a
completely normal...
     WHITTON: Yeah.
     GARR: ...guy.
     WHITTON: Yeah. He's a psychiatrist.
     GARR: He's a brilliant psychiatrist. He has this great sex
life. He does all these things. He, he breaks things a couple of
times so that's the reality of someone who's blind...
     WHITTON: I break things.
     GARR: ...and he's completely...
     WHITTON: ...independent...
     GARR: ...compassionate...
     WHITTON: ...very independent...
     GARR: And I think that maybe showing somebody that is
handicapped but functions very well and goes on with their life
is a good thing.

     There you have the Garr-Whitton interview, and setting aside
the vapid silliness of the responses, one is struck by the
inconsistency of their defense of George. He is a brilliant
psychiatrist (in some interviews he is a psychologist). But the
only evidence we have of George's technique is his jumping out at
passers-by in an effort to frighten Genn's mute teenage daughter
into speaking. If George was ever a talented counselor or
physician, becoming blind has stripped him of all semblance of
good sense and professional technique. 
     George has a normal sex life, according to Teri Garr. The
programmatic evidence we have about this statement is that Genn
is repelled by the idea of physical contact with him. His wife
and her lover, apparently convinced that George won't be any the
wiser, are content to occupy his bed while he is there. Most
disturbing of all, George is incapable of recognizing that the
hand fumbling around in his front trousers pocket belongs to the
laboratory chimpanzee and not to Genn, who is talking to him
simultaneously from across the room. 
     Garr and Whitton completed their defense of George by
declaring that the reality of blindness is that people break
things and that George exhibits independence. They would have
done better to characterize George as an animated glass-
shattering machine, bearing no similarity to real blind people
and demonstrating an absurd degree of dependence. That, after
all, was the ABC line, but instead the stars' actual views about
blindness and blind people popped out of their mouths--George's
behavior is all you can expect of a blind person; and all things
considered, he does pretty well, for a blind man. That assessment
is what the National Federation of the Blind has fought for fifty
years to eradicate. It is no wonder, therefore, that the
organized blind movement rose up in dismayed fury to protest
George and all he stood for. 
     Beginning in August, thousands of letters poured into the
offices of everyone who might carry enough influence to remove
George from the program or the program from the air. The tidal
wave was not an attempt at censorship as some have claimed; we
had no power to impose our views except the strength of our
outrage at this attempt to undo the progress we have made in
educating the public about the abilities of blind people. It was
rather a sustained, coordinated effort to mobilize public opinion
in opposition to what we perceived as a dangerous attack on blind
people. Here are three of the thousands of letters we sent: 

                              Baltimore, Maryland
                              August 12, 1991

Robert Iger, President
ABC Entertainment
Los Angeles, California 

Dear Mr. Iger:
     I have just seen a clip from a show which you have in the
works called "Good and Evil." Its portrayal of a blind scientist,
in addition to being humorless, does more damage than its
creators comprehend.
     Do you know that the unemployment rate for the blind is more
than seventy percent? Are you aware that blind men and women have
had their children taken from them for no other reason than that
they are blind parents? How would you feel if, while ordering in
a restaurant with your 8-year-old daughter, the waitress asked
her, "What will he have?"
     I doubt that you find these things funny. If you are like
most people, you have no true idea of what it is like to be a
blind person in today's world. You close your eyes and imagine
what it would be like to be blind, and you are completely wrong
about it. It is both better and worse than you can imagine.
     How can it be better than you imagine? In spite of the
astronomical unemployment rate, there are competent blind men and
women in almost any field you can name. They live independently
and travel to and from work without assistance. They go out to
dinner and entertain guests in their homes. In short, the blind
are capable of doing almost anything that the sighted can do. The
character in this show is an affront to those successful blind
men and women. And he is a weight around the necks of blind men
and women who aspire to more than disability insurance and days
without purpose.
     How can it be worse than you imagine? If you want to be a
literate blind person in today's world, you will have to fight
for your literacy. Schools do not want to teach Braille because
their instructors often are not competent themselves. And you
will have to fight for training and employment because employers
cannot imagine how you could even get to work, much less do a job
for them. Most of all, you will have to fight to keep yourself
from believing that you are subhuman and incompetent because that
is the image that society paints of the blind. This is the image
of the blind presented in "Good and Evil."
     Through the National Federation of the Blind, I have met
thousands of blind people. I have never met one who goes about
feeling people's faces or mistaking a coat-rack for a woman. I
have, however, met many sighted people who believe that the blind
do exactly that. And where do these mistaken people get their
notions? Why, from those well-meaning folks who make television
shows and movies. It has to stop, and you are in a position to
stop it. Beyond that, I believe you may be in a position to do
something positive for blind people in America.
     Dana Elcar, Pete Thornton on the "MacGyver" series, has
become blind due to glaucoma. He is learning to deal with his
blindness in the real world. He was afraid, as anyone would be,
that an important part of his life was over. But he is learning
that with proper training his life can go on as it did before.
His character could be doing the same. A television show that
follows Mr. Elcar, as Pete Thornton, through the training
necessary to function in a sighted world would make for riveting
television. Personally, I'd like to see a story in which Pete
Thornton, using the techniques of blindness, gets out of a jam
that has MacGyver baffled. It would also go a long way toward
changing the prevalent hopeless image of the blind in society.
     So it seems that the title of your show, "Good and Evil," is
also the theme of this letter. Please let me know which side
wins.

                              Sincerely yours,
                              Joseph J. Miller, Jr.

cc: Garth Ancier, President
Touchstone Television

Ed Cintron, Manager
Audience Information
American Broadcasting Company

Marcellus Alexander, General Manager
WJZ Television, Channel 13

     One of the first people to learn about "Good and Evil" was
Bonnie Peterson, President of the NFB of Wisconsin. She saw a
videotape of the show in July and raised the alarm immediately.
She also wrote forthrightly to ABC executives. Here is what she
said:
     
                              Milwaukee, Wisconsin
                              July 28, 1991

Mr. Ed Cintron, Manager
American Broadcasting Corp.
New York, New York

Dear Mr. Cintron:
     I have received a copy of the program entitled "Good &
Evil," that ABC is planning to air Wednesday evenings this fall.
I have viewed the pilot in its entirety and would like to offer
my comments and suggestions regarding the demeaning way blind
people are portrayed in it.
     "Good & Evil" has a character named George who happens to be
blind. George walks into a laboratory smashing glass bottles and
equipment. He tries unsuccessfully to find Genn, saying, "I had
to see you," which makes voices on a laugh track laugh. George
speaks to a coat rack, mistaking it for Genn and saying, "We
blind develop such keenness with our other senses to compensate."
Eric enters. George places his hands on Eric, who stands
submissively. George exclaims that his senses tell him Eric is a
"woman with classic features" and a flat chest. Then he
apparently touches Eric's genitals (the camera does not follow
his hands), at which point he discovers Eric is a man. George
departs, again smashing glass and equipment with his cane.
     This is a synopsis of the four-minute segment depicting
blindness through the character of George. I am a blind woman and
member of the National Federation of the Blind. The National
Federation of the Blind is the largest organization of the blind
in the nation, with a membership of over 50,000. I find the
exhibition of blindness on "Good & Evil" insulting and demeaning
and a complete misrepresentation of the blind and blindness.
     Blind people do use the words "I had to see you," "See you
later," or other phrases utilizing words of a visual nature
without being met with gales of laughter. We "watch" TV, and now
I will "see" if I can explain to you my distress with ABC's
depiction of blind people as ignorant, inept buffoons.
     I do not walk into rooms smashing and breaking things with
my cane. I do not caress, kiss, or talk to coat racks thinking
they are people. I do not violate the personal space of others or
touch people in the manner demonstrated on "Good & Evil" to find
out who or what they are. None of it is accurate. None of it is
funny. None of it is fair to the blind of this country.
     The real problem of blindness is not the lack of eyesight.
The real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of information
which exist. Your program, "Good & Evil," displays a great deal
of misunderstanding about the blind and demonstrates that ABC has
an immense lack of information about blindness.
     I am enclosing information about the National Federation of
the Blind. I recommend that you contact the President of the
National Federation of the Blind, Mr. Marc Maurer, 1800 Johnson
St., Baltimore, Maryland, 21230, (301) 659-9314, to learn more
about blindness and the blind. Until that time, I will work to
have our local ABC affiliate and the sponsors of "Good & Evil"
cancel their support of this program.
     I'm certain that this situation can be easily resolved. I do
thank you in advance for your consideration of this matter.

                              Sincerely,
                              Bonnie Peterson
                              President, NFB of Wisconsin

cc: Marc Maurer


     That is what Bonnie Peterson had to say, and it was probably
the first letter that ABC executives received, but not the last. 
     Duane Gerstenberger is the Associate Executive Director of
the Federation. During the last several months he has written
many letters on the subject of "Good and Evil." Here is one of
the most penetrating: 

                              Baltimore, Maryland
                              September 6, 1991

Ms. Christine Hikawa
Vice President
Broadcast Standards & Practices
Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.
New York, New York 

Dear Ms. Hikawa:
     I have your letter of August 22, 1991, received in response
to my letter of August 14, 1991, to Mr. Robert Iger, President,
ABC Entertainment, regarding the pilot program for the new ABC
series "Good and Evil" (which apparently will be shown at 10:30
P.M. Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 25). I understand from
your letter that ABC Entertainment intends to broadcast this
entire program as it now exists despite my suggestion to withhold
distribution or at least remove one scene involving a blind
character. I write to encourage you to reconsider your decision.
     In your letter you tell me that it is the responsibility of
the Department of Broadcast Standards to review "all program and
commercial material prior to broadcast to ensure that ABC
standards and policies are satisfied. In addition to the
elimination of gratuitous violence and explicit sexuality, our
concerns extend to issues of balance and accuracy, moral tone,
and the elimination of negative stereotypes." In the succeeding
paragraph you defend and condone the portrayal of blindness in
"Good and Evil" by telling me to understand the blind character
(George) in the context of the form, theme, tone, and action of
the entire program. You say: "However, the series, `Good and
Evil' is an exaggerated parody of life with the most outrageous
caricatures imaginable. Not one character in this program is
realistic or believable. Each is a parody of the most extreme
qualities of the values represented by the title `Good and
Evil.'" Yet you precede this admonition to consider and
understand George in context with this utterly preposterous out-
of-context description: "George is (and was, prior to his
blindness) a klutz, despite his numerous and significant academic
achievements."  There is absolutely nothing in this program that
suggests, let alone confirms, your description of George. (This
is television--not live theater where the audience has a playbill
introducing the characters and providing background and context
for the action.) Nothing in the opening or closing credits,
nothing in any scene prior to or following the scene involving
George, nothing in the objectionable scene itself, explicitly or
even remotely implicitly, conveys such an understanding of
George. How can the viewer possibly know that he was "prior to
his blindness" a klutz? The exceedingly brief shot of the actor
who plays George in the opening credits perhaps suggests that
George is a bit immature or goofy or silly but does not provide
the knowledge you apparently have about George. Where, Ms.
Hikawa, can the viewer learn of George's "numerous and
significant academic achievements"? Are we to tell by his dress?
Are we to tell by his speech? Are we to tell by his conduct? Are
we to tell by his friends and acquaintances? When he enters,
George is unknown to the viewer. No other character refers to him
or speaks of him prior to his entrance or after his exit; he
plays absolutely no part in the narrative of the program beyond
the one scene in which he appears. What the viewer knows about
George is available only from the very limited context of the
opening credits and what we learn about him during his scene.
     One fact we do have seems to me inconsistent with your
description of George. In your letter you note that George "has
recently been blinded." Ms. Hikawa, George himself tells us he's
been blind for over a year: "Oh Genn, I've loved you for over a
year now. Ever since you saved my life. I remember it was the day
of the accident. I lay there blind, but I was happy because I
knew that you existed in the world." Granted, there is no
universal, definite, or specific meaning for the word recently.
However, in the context of an individual's life--especially a
relatively young person--I believe most of us do not regard
something that happened more than a year before as recent. So in
George we are not watching a character who is struggling with the
initial fears and problems that confront a newly blinded person,
but rather watching a man who has had some opportunities to
adjust to his situation. Yet we see nothing more than a bungling
idiot.
     However, whether George's blindness will be understood in
the context as you describe it or the context as I interpret it
is not the critical issue. The real problem about George is the
assumption about blindness that you very clearly state in your
letter: "Rather, this clown-like performance is that of a klutz
whose antics are exacerbated by his unfortunate handicap."
     Ms. Hikawa, I wish that at least part of what you presume
about viewers' reactions to George could be counted on as true;
that is "that the broad caricature depicted in this program will
[not] be perceived by others as representative of any actual
blind persons." If this presumption can be counted on, then one
wonders why George was conceived of as blind. Do you believe the
creator/writer just happened to pick a blind person to exhibit
such behavior?  No, I believe that millions of viewers will--as
do you and the creators of George and "Good and Evil"--perceive
that this performance is that of a person "whose antics are
exacerbated by his unfortunate handicap." (Emphasis added) And it
is that which troubles me. Blindness itself does not exacerbate
klutziness, femininity, deceptiveness, honesty, sexuality, or any
of hundreds of other characteristics and personality traits. My
experience--my recent experience--my experience of today--refutes
your perception. And the daily experience of thousands of blind
persons refutes it; but the public perception (misperception) of
blindness as an exacerbating handicap will be confirmed by this
portrayal. 
     Allow me to share with you one recent personal experience
which illustrates my point. On Thursday evening, August 1, 1991,
I accompanied Mr. Marc Maurer, President of the National
Federation of the Blind, to Baltimore-Washington International
(BWI) Airport to meet someone on an arriving flight. Mr. Maurer
and I are both white males in our early forties. We are of
similar size and stature. We were both dressed in dark suits and
ties. He is blind, and I am sighted. As we approached airport
security on our way to the gate, we stopped before entering the
walk-through metal detector to unload our pockets of various
metal objects. While we were doing so, a female security guard
noticed Mr. Maurer's long white cane and said to me: "Is his cane
metal?" Why do you suppose she addressed the question to me
rather than to Mr. Maurer? It was his cane; he carries it several
hours every day. I expect she asked me for two reasons. First,
because she couldn't achieve eye contact with Mr. Maurer, she
felt more comfortable speaking to me. But additionally, I think
there was an underlying assumption on her part that I, sighted,
would be more apt to know than Mr. Maurer, blind, what his cane
is made of. If this woman watches the pilot of "Good and Evil,"
do you think she will reach the conclusions about George and his
blindness that you suggest? 
     Ms. Hikawa, blind persons encounter the kind of
misunderstanding shown by this BWI security guard day in and day
out. In the experience I observed with Mr. Maurer, of course, no
real damage was done. He did not take offense at being ignored.
He did not demand that she address him; he simply responded to
the question saying that there is some metal on it and that he
would walk through without it. Likewise, a visitor to Mr.
Maurer's office who--without the slightest hint that he needs
assistance--takes Mr. Maurer's arm to guide him around his own
office does so not to offend or patronize. The proffered
assistance is well-intended and rooted in lack of personal
experience and lack of understanding. However, if this person
watches "Good and Evil," do you think he or she will reach the
conclusions about George and his blindness that you suggest? 
     When a blind person goes to apply for a job and is asked
during the interview how he or she will find the bathroom (which
does happen), more than a simple, harmless misunderstanding
occurs. If the interviewer regards locating the bathroom by a
blind person as either a) difficult or b) critical or c) any of
his or her business, this is a perception which makes it
exceedingly difficult for the blind job applicant to get that
job. It is no exaggeration and no misstatement of fact to tell
you that the portrayal of blindness in "Good and Evil" will make
it more difficult for individual blind people to get jobs, to
travel freely on public transportation, and to enjoy many of the
other vocational, educational, recreational, and incidental
opportunities so many of us who are sighted take for granted. 
     Let me point out again (as I did in my first letter) the
subtle and more vicious commentary about blind persons made by
the portrayal of George and ask you to consider the inconsistency
of your statement "Each [character] is a parody of the most
extreme qualities of the values represented by the title `Good
and Evil'" with the words and actions of the characters taken as
a whole from start to finish. Each of the ten characters in the
ensemble cast, except George, does act from unmistakably clear
motives of good or evil. George, however, just reacts. Which of
the "extreme qualities of the values" good or evil does George
represent? 
     The teaser for the second program in this series, which
follows the credits for this first program, reflects an unstated
but unmistakable amorality on the part of George as does the
whole program itself. Through him the viewer learns or has
confirmed the belief that blind persons are incapable of behaving
with either good or evil intent; their actions are inept and
clumsy but are not derived from either high-minded altruism or
venomous villainy. No, blind persons are so removed from the
mainstream of life--they are so emasculated by their blindness--
their "unfortunate handicap"--that they can only stand by and
react emotionally to the actions of those around them. This
teaser includes seven exceedingly brief clips with an announcer's
interrogatory comments about each major character shown in the
clip. Six of the seven deal with characters' actions or motives;
the announcer labels these actions or motives good or evil by his
comments. However, the clip focusing on George deals, not with
his actions or motives, but with his feelings in response to
someone else's actions: "And how good will George feel if she
[Genn] can't?" Poor, pathetic George. Not good. Not evil. Just
responding to life as others live it. Again, Ms. Hikawa, do you
believe the passivity is coincidentally assigned to George by the
creator/writer? Or is the viewer expected to know that George is
(and was, prior to his blindness) a passive, co-dependent
personality?  
     You say ABC Television Network "has always been, and remains
sensitive to, the concerns of and issues facing ethnic and
religious minorities as well as other special interest groups,
including the physically challenged." It is one thing to remain
sensitive to concerns and issues but another to take actions in
response to sensitivities and concerns expressed by
representatives of a minority group. And that is precisely what
ABC has done in this instance--remained sensitive but done
nothing. Sensitivity without action is essentially meaningless to
the individual or individuals who are the recipients--no,
victims--of such sensitivity. Sensitivity without constructive
action is really indifference. Ms. Hikawa, do you and your
colleagues actually believe that you eliminate negative
stereotypes from your programming by sanctioning an "exaggerated
parody of life with the most outrageous caricatures imaginable"?
     Since 1940 the National Federation of the Blind has been
dealing with the real problems and issues confronting blind
persons. The hundreds of thousands of men and women--the vast
majority of them blind persons--who have been a part of our
organization throughout these fifty years know what blindness is
and what it isn't; we talk about it, we write about it, we think
about it seriously. We know both the real problems of blindness
and the imagined problems the public mistakenly associates with
blindness. The portrayal of blindness rendered in "Good and Evil"
is insensitive to the blind; it reinforces negative stereotypes
about the blind. 
     We have no interest in a public confrontation with ABC about
"Good and Evil." We have no interest in causing ABC public
embarrassment about this matter. As soon as we became aware of
this program and had the opportunity to view and evaluate it
thoroughly and carefully, we immediately (by my letter of August
14 to Mr. Iger sent by Federal Express) informed ABC television
and your Baltimore affiliate of our concerns and suggested what
we believed would be appropriate action on your part. We do not
regard your letter of August 22 as appropriate action.
     I repeat what I said in my earlier letter to Mr. Iger:
broadcasting this program would be a malicious, informed act.
Removing this program from your schedule (or at least deleting
the scene involving George) would be in the best interest of
blind persons. It would also be fair and right. This letter
should be regarded as a formal, official request by the National
Federation of the Blind to take one of these two actions.

                              Very truly yours,
                              Duane Gerstenberger
                              Associate Executive Director
                              National Federation of the Blind

P.S. You may be interested to know that a reporter from a major
weekly news magazine called Mr. Maurer on Monday, August 16,
inquiring about our reaction to the blind character in "Good and
Evil." I believe no one within our organization initiated contact
with this magazine. Do you believe this reporter called from idle
curiosity, or because he thought we might have a reason to react
to the portrayal of blindness in this program? If the latter is
the case, does it not suggest that at least one other person
questioned the appropriateness of this characterization of       
blindness?

cc: John Sias, President
ABC Television Network

Mr. Robert Iger, President
ABC Entertainment

Mr. Ed Cintron, Manager
Audience Information
American Broadcasting Company

Mr. Garth Ancier, President
Touchstone Television

Mr. Marcellus Alexander, General Manager
WJZ Television/Channel 13

Ms. Phyllis Shelton-Reese
WJZ TV/Channel 13

Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Executive Director
National Federation of the Blind

Mr. Marc Maurer, President
National Federation of the Blind

     There you have a sample of the letters that poured into ABC
from every corner of the country, and in case network executives
failed to get the message, Federationists deluged the New York
switchboard for about a half hour on September 23 with calls
urging and demanding that "Good and Evil" not air on the twenty-
fifth. It was clear to everyone, however, that the show would go
on, so NFB members began gearing up for the next level of
protest. 
     The NFB of Minnesota mobilized itself in time to conduct a
demonstration outside the local ABC affiliate in St. Paul on
Wednesday afternoon, September 25, the day of the show's
premiere. Harold Crump, the station's General Manager and
President, came out to the picket line with coffee and doughnuts
in an effort to defuse the demonstration, but Federationists told
him politely that they had work to do and kept on marching. This
is the story that appeared in the St.Paul Dispatch & Pioneer
Press on Thursday, September 26: 

          Blind Group Complains About TV Show Character
                     by Lydia Villalva Lijo

     George is meant to be a funny character on the new
television show "Good & Evil." But some blind people, including a
group in the Twin Cities, believe the clumsy blind character is
getting all the wrong kinds of laughs.
     "No, we don't have a sense of humor when it comes to putting
us down," said Joyce Scanlan, president of the National
Federation of the Blind of Minnesota. Scanlan and about 25 others
demonstrated Wednesday evening in front of KSTP-TV on University
Avenue in St. Paul.
     Scanlan said blind people and those sympathetic to them
don't like George because he reinforces old notions about the
blind--that they cannot tell when someone else is in a room and
that they are bumbling and incompetent.
     Those stereotypes lead sighted people to make fun of the
blind, to discriminate against them in the work place and to
ignore their need for training in reading, employment and
everyday life skills, said Scanlan, of Minneapolis.
     The Minnesota chapter of the National Federation of the
Blind has about 500 members statewide.
     "Good and Evil," a comedy, had its debut Wednesday night on
the ABC network. KSTP-TV is the ABC affiliate in the Twin Cities.
     The demonstrators, and the president of the National
Federation of the Blind in Baltimore, want ABC to get rid of the
character of George. If ABC doesn't heed their demand, the show's
sponsors will be pressured to drop their support for the program,
said Marc Maurer of the 50,000-member national organization.
     Protests against the series are being planned in New York
and New Jersey, Maurer said.
     Maurer said ABC received thousands of telephone calls
earlier this week complaining about the show. 
     Harold Crump, KSTP president and general manager, said
Wednesday he had not watched the show. If he found it offensive,
Crump said he would "be on the phone (with network officials)
first thing in the morning with a very strong complaint."
     Crump said the station wants "no part in causing problems
for the blind in this area, or causing embarrassment to the
blind."
     Crump said he telephoned the network on Tuesday to let them
know that the show had drawn complaints. He noted that the
behavior blind people find offensive in George may not be part of
the series' future episodes.
     The demonstrators in front of the KSTP on Wednesday carried
signs with slogans such as "Good and Evil Lies About the Blind,"
and "Don't Bring Back Mr. McGoo," a reference to an old cartoon
character.
                      ____________________
     That was what the Dispatch and Pioneer Press had to say, and
the story was picked up by a number of other papers across the
country. By October 2 the battle was well and truly joined.
Federationists everywhere had circulated the names and addresses
of program advertisers to add to their lists of ABC executives,
and the mail was pouring into corporate headquarters around the
nation. We announced that we would begin picketing the New York
offices of ABC Television every Wednesday afternoon until "Good
and Evil" vanished from the ABC prime-time line-up. In addition,
Federationists in other cities began taking to the streets to go
on record personally in opposition to George and all he stood
for. Demonstrations were organized outside ABC affiliates in
Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Denver; Colorado Springs; and Los
Angeles in addition to the one in New York. One-time-only pickets
took place in other cities as Federationists urged station
managers to press harder on network executives to remove George
and his friends from the air. Brochures were prepared and picket
signs constructed. Federationists cancelled personal plans and
took to the streets. Newspapers across the country made note of
the events. The following is a sample drawn from the hundreds of
articles that were printed throughout October. It is an
Associated Press story that appeared in The Seattle Times,
Friday, October 4, 1991:

          Blind Group Intensifies Protest of ABC Sitcom
                          by John Roll 

     A group opposed to the portrayal of a blind man on the ABC
sitcom "Good & Evil" is stepping up its campaign to have the
character rewritten or the show canceled.
     "The writers of this show simply don't understand what life
is like for blind people. The lives and futures of the blind are
on the line here," said James Gashel, Director of Governmental
Affairs for the National Federation of the Blind.
     Gashel complained that in a recent episode, the character
George entered a laboratory wildly wielding a cane. He virtually
demolished the lab, fondled a man he thought was a woman, and
made a sexual pass at a coat rack.
     "We don't see George as a joke," Gashel said yesterday. "The
program showed an image of blindness that is admittedly extreme
but is very much in tune with what a lot of people think we
really are. And it's not funny."
     The Baltimore-based advocacy group started writing and
phoning ABC, its affiliates, and the program's sponsors this
summer; but George's character wasn't changed, said Marc Maurer,
its president.
     "There is nothing left but to take to the streets," he said.
     The group began picketing Wednesday in front of ABC's New
York City headquarters and affiliates in Chicago, Denver, and Los
Angeles. Gashel said about 75 people participated in the New York
protest.
     "Good & Evil" is an exaggerated parody of life with the most
outrageous caricatures imaginable," ABC said in a statement. "Not
one character in this series is intended to be realistic or
believable....
     "If this series were in any way realistic, we would agree
that a comedic portrayal of a clumsy blind person would be in
questionable taste," the statement said.
     But Gashel said the portrayal of a blind person as a
physically unattractive, incompetent person only adds to
misconceptions that blind people are unable to participate in
society on an equal basis.
     The series stars Teri Garr and Margaret Whitton.
                      ____________________
     That's what the newspapers were saying. Sometimes it was
clear that reporters did not understand our point, but most of
those who covered the story grasped the issue and made it clear
that they were sympathetic to our efforts. 
     Los Angeles, home of ABC Entertainment, was a particularly
important place in which to argue our case clearly before the
public. We were helped considerably by Chuck Ashman, the host of
a weekday afternoon radio program called California Drive. Ashman
boradcasts over Station KBLA, the ABC radio network affiliate in
Los Angeles. He read one of our early press releases and arranged
interviews with President Maurer and Sharon Gold, President of
the NFB of California, on his 4-to-7-p.m. program Tuesday,
October 1. He later suggested to his listeners that they call ABC
Entertainment President Robert Iger to tell him that they didn't
appreciate having blind people ridiculed on prime-time
television. Ashman told Sharon Gold what he had done later in the
week and commented that lots of people must have taken his
suggestion since Iger's office called to tell him he had gone too
far. 
     Despite the fact that NBC and CBS television network
affiliates consistently refused to cover this story (they
maintained that they didn't want to give free publicity to a
rival, but the blind remain convinced that out of self-interest
they preferred to protect their colleagues), our protest against
"Good and Evil" and the demonstrations across the country
garnered a good bit of media attention. Newspapers and the wire
services carried stories every time we circulated a press
release. The Fox and CNN television networks filmed our
demonstrations and aired interviews with Federation spokesmen.
Even "Entertainment Tonight," a syndicated program produced by
ABC Television, covered the story twice. The first time Dr.
Jernigan was interviewed for a show aired September 20. Footage
from the first episode of "Good and Evil" showing George crashing
around the laboratory illustrated our objections, and a statement
from ABC executives was read saying that George wasn't meant to
be an insult, so he wasn't, and, therefore, that the show would
go on. The second clip appeared on "Entertainment Tonight" on
Thursday, October 17, and included film of the New York and
Washington, D.C. demonstrations of October 16. The voiceover for
this footage consisted of interviews with Peggy Pinder, Second
Vice President of the NFB, and James Gashel, its Director of
Governmental Affairs. The ABC position was set forth in Teri Garr
and Margaret Whitton's statement about how normal and competent
George is. The consensus among most people who saw the segment
seemed to be that, all in all, the Federation appeared
determined, disciplined, and articulate while ABC looked absurd. 
     With media pressure on network officials building in Los
Angeles on October 2, about fifty Federationists gathered outside
of ABC Entertainment at 3 p.m. for two hours of picketing and
leafleting passers-by. When four representatives from the
Federation, including the Presidents of the California and New
Mexico affiliates, walked into the corporate offices to ask in
person for the meeting with ABC officials that they had been
requesting for days by phone and letter, the heat was on. It took
almost an hour of negotiation, but the upshot was agreement by
ABC to meet with Federation representatives at 11:00 Thursday
morning. 
     President Maurer asked Sharon Gold to represent the NFB at
that meeting, which she understood was to take place with Bret
White, Vice President of Broadcast Standards. She returned to
Sacramento with some of the picketers Wednesday evening and was
back in Los Angeles the next morning for her appointment. 
     She and Sheryl Pickering, her Administrative Assistant, 
were ushered into the meeting only to discover that, in addition
to Bret White and Roland McFarland, Manager of Program Standards
in Los Angeles, Chris Hikawa, Senior Vice President of Broadcast
Standards for ABC and White's boss, had flown from New York to
take part in the discussion. During the meeting Miss Gold was
forced to explain repeatedly with various examples why George was
unacceptable to blind people, even in the name of humor. She
described how completely Americans misunderstand the capacities
of blind people and what the impact of George would necessarily
be on the lives and jobs of the blind. The executives asked if
there was any way that George could be made acceptable, and they
were told no. The country is not ready to understand the limits
of satire and parody when the object is a blind person. The
meeting concluded with the announcement that the ABC executives
would meet with the program's producers to see what could be
done. 
     In the meantime the Federation was increasing its pressure
on advertisers. Blind people all over the country were inviting
friends and family members to join them in writing letters.
Several companies told us that they would not purchase further
advertising on the show. On Thursday, October 17, The Wall Street
Journal printed a story that demonstrated just how hot things
were becoming for sponsors and ABC executives alike. Here it is: 

                      ABC Series Loses Ads

     At least one advertiser has pulled its spots from the new
ABC series "Good & Evil," the new situation comedy that has been
the subject of a threatened boycott from the National Federation
of the Blind because of its depiction of a blind character.
     Unilever United States, Inc., which produces Lipton Tea and
Soups, Wisk and Mrs. Butterworth syrup, said it "determined that
purchasing time on this series was not within established
guidelines." The company had purchased advertising on each
episode of the show on ABC, a unit of Capital Cities/ABC Inc.
     And Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the
Blind, the Baltimore organization with 50,000 members nationwide,
said Playtex Family Products Corporation also pulled its spots.
Joel E. Smilow, chairman of Playtex Apparel Inc. and Playtex
Family Productions, said in an interview he couldn't "confirm nor
deny" the assertion. "I do know that I had received some mail in
conjunction with that program," he said.
     ABC declined to comment. The character who offended the
National Federation of the Blind is often seen crashing into
objects with his cane. In September, ABC said the show is an
"exaggerated parody" and "if this series were in any way
realistic, we would agree that a comedic portrayal of a clumsy
blind person would be in questionable taste."
                      ____________________
     That is what the Wall Street Journal had to say the day
after the fourth broadcast of "Good and Evil," and it focused
public attention on the pressure the NFB was bringing to bear on
advertisers. Following the third episode, only one sponsor had
actually purchased advertising on all three. This was Unilever
United States, Inc., and the Federation decided, in the absence
of any indication that company officials were contemplating
removal of their support from the show, to organize a boycott of
three Unilever product lines: Lipton soup and tea products, Mrs.
Butterworth's Syrup, and Wisk detergent. We then discovered that
Unilever headquarters were not far from those of ABC in New York,
so we announced that on Wednesday, October 23, we would
demonstrate outside Unilever instead of ABC and conduct an up-
dated version of the historic Boston Tea Party using Lipton Tea
and dumping it into the New York Harbor. That was the last straw
for Unilever. After negotiations with the National Federation of
the Blind corporate officials faxed a press release around the
country Tuesday afternoon, October 22, announcing that they were
pulling out of sponsorship of "Good and Evil." 
     Federationists were delighted to revert to the original
plans for the Wednesday afternoon picket of ABC. This time we
passed out red balloons saying in white print, "National
Federation of the Blind says: ABC must STOP `Good and Evil!'" The
word "STOP" was pictured as a stop sign. By this time, the fourth
week of demonstrations, the people in the vicinity of ABC
headquarters began to recognize Federationists and welcome us
back. Cab drivers waved leafleteers over in order to get flyers
for themselves and their passengers. Even ABC employees took
balloons and brochures. A number commented that the network did
not show much respect for other minority group members either. 
     By now ABC officials were talking about conducting a meeting
between senior network executives and President Maurer. They were
evidently feeling the pressure. The Nielsen ratings, which
reflect the number of households watching prime-time television
programs and the audience share that each show has achieved,
indicated that "Good and Evil" was doing badly. Advertisers were
leaving at an increasing rate, and the publicly visible pressure
that blind people were exerting on the network was not going
away. If anything, it was growing. 
     Then, on Thursday, October 24, 1991, ABC announced that it
had ordered production of "Good and Evil" stopped. With eleven
episodes already completed, it was not immediately clear just how
many more would actually air. In unofficial discussions,
Federation leaders told ABC executives that we understood the
time it takes to make arrangements to replace a canceled program,
but we would be mightily displeased if more than one more episode
were to appear. In the end, only one more, that of October 30,
was broadcast. With that, the curtain came down on one of the
sorriest experiments in television humor ever conducted. 
     The time may come--one hopes that it will--when the American
people are ready and able to laugh together about the funny
things that happen to blind people. Nothing would be a healthier
indication of our final emergence into first-class status and
full equality. But that time is not in the foreseeable future. As
long as the general public presumes our incompetence, our
clumsiness, and our inability to understand or appreciate what is
going on around us, blind characters on television who exhibit
these traits cannot be funny. Until every blind person has an
opportunity to receive effective training and a chance to compete
for good jobs, we will all suffer from caricatures like George. 
     Unfortunately, we cannot go back to business as usual now
that George and company are off the airways. George has done
damage to us all. We must be particularly vigilant because the
danger we face is subtle. George and his behavior were a real and
obvious threat. His memory will subside into a vague impression,
the confirmation of a general belief. Such impressions are
insidious enemies because they are only half-formed and
semiconscious. But the impact they have is profound. 
     Let us close this recital of the stunning victory we have
won, this call-to-arms against an ongoing menace, by printing a
letter that President Maurer received from a blind chemist, who
has until now had very little contact with the organized blind
movement. His life has been affected by George and his antics,
and all of us must fight to undo the damage. Here is the letter: 


                              November 1, 1991

Mr. Marc Maurer
National Federation of the Blind
Baltimore, Maryland

Dear Mr. Maurer:
     I wish to thank you for providing the videotapes of the TV
program "Good and Evil." I am disappointed that the American
Chemical Society Committee on the Handicapped did not believe it
proper to view the tape at their meeting or prepare a letter
expressing their objections. As a past member of that committee I
believed such action would be appropriate since it has always
been a concern of the committee that disabled persons are
discouraged from pursuing careers in science or technology
because of false stereotypical images maintained by the public.
The committee has attempted to present positive images of
disabled scientists in publications and meetings. It was my
opinion that the ludicrous image portrayed on the TV program
could only damage public perception of blind persons in the
laboratory, even though the character was not portrayed as
working in that environment.
     I am particularly sensitive to this issue since I am a
chemist currently working in the Chemistry Department at a
technical university and carried out an experimental rather than
theoretical project for my doctoral research at another
distinguished university. Though I utilized student assistants
and technicians in the lab work, I performed a considerable
amount of the laboratory work myself and was always working
alongside the assistants. Additionally, I have been working at my
institution in the Mechanical Engineering Department to develop
devices and strategies to allow blind persons to work more
independently in a laboratory and gain more benefit from this
work.
     I usually present a lecture each semester here, including
the summer, to an introductory psychology class concerning the
barriers faced by disabled persons and the strategies used to
solve some of the problems encountered. A major part of my
presentation is concerned with the attitude problem and the false
images that we have to face. I plan to use the tape you sent me
at the start of the lecture to demonstrate graphically the
problem.
     I am also attempting to have the university's Committee on
Disabled Persons consider sending a letter, which I prepared, to
ABC. Again, I wish to thank you for the tape and would like to
express my thanks to my NFB state president for bringing this to
my attention.

                                                       Sincerely,

     There you have a summary of the thoughts and actions of one
blind chemist in the wake of the "Good and Evil" program. None of
us can afford to sit back and assume that the battle is won.
Never before has the organized blind movement achieved such a
clear-cut and decisive victory, and in very real ways things will
never be the same again. But George and all he stands for still
lurk around every corner. Until blind people, all blind people,
have won the right to dignity and independence, the National
Federation of the Blind must stand ready to defend our good name
and counteract the evil efforts of those who would push us down
and out of our rightful place.
     Yes, it was a battle about "Good and Evil," and between good
and evil--and the good prevailed.




          REVIEWS AND REVIEWERS: THE WORLD IN MICROCOSM
                        by Barbara Pierce

     Nowhere has the controversy over "Good and Evil" been more
clear-cut than in the rather peculiar world of the television
reviewers. These folks are by nature critical, and they must find
someone to criticize on a regular basis or risk personal
unhappiness and probably unemployment. Anytime a new television
program comes along that departs from the run-of-the-mill
prescription for the medium, all these critics are likely to look
very closely at it. Predictably some will love it, no matter what
it is; and some will hate it. You can't please all of the people
all of the time. 
     The reviews of "Good and Evil" followed this scattered
pattern with the predominant view (as far as I can tell from
reading articles in twenty-five to thirty publications) being
disgust at the bad taste at every level of the program. A typical
representative was the review which appeared in the Chicago Sun-
Times on September 15, 1991, written by Ginny Holbert: 

           Stupidity Wins the Battle of "Good & Evil" 

     I can see how ABC got talked into "Good & Evil," a sitcom
that premieres at 9:30 tonight on WLS-Channel 7. The premise--the
battle between good and evil as played out between two sisters--
has potential. The executive producers, Paul Junger Witt, Tony
Thomas, and Susan Harris, had some successes behind them,
including "Soap" and "Golden Girls." And the star, Teri Garr, is
generally funny and sexy and awkwardly touching.
     But what I can't see is why ABC didn't dump "Good & Evil"
immediately after seeing the pilot. The episode, which airs at
9:30 tonight on WLS-Channel 7, is one of the worst half-hours on
the fall schedule.
     Like "Soap," the show is apparently meant to parody the
convoluted plot twists and simplistic character development of
soap operas. But this isn't parody; this is stupidity. The jokes
are leaden, the writing is aggressively inane, and the characters
are too flimsy to be called cardboard cutouts. And Garr, who
comes across as hammy, unpolished, and totally self-conscious, is
a crashing disappointment as the evil sister Denise.
     In tonight's episode we learn that Denise is plotting to
steal her mother's cosmetics business and that Denise's lover has
fallen for Genny (Margaret Whitton), her angelic sister. We also
learn that Denise ("The only thing I was ever good at was being
bad") has deep reasons for being so nasty.
     "When I was little, I did everything I could to please you,"
whines Denise to her aristocratic mother. "But no matter what I
did, you always liked Gen better."
     "She was cuter," replies Mommie Dearest.
     Although the show stinks, you may want to tune in for the
slapstick laboratory scene, an all-time classic in the annals of
truly tasteless television. In it, a scientist who recently lost
his sight comes to court Genny, who is a medical researcher. In
the incredibly long, unbelievably unfunny lab scene, the guy
thrashes around tripping on his cane and smashing petri dishes.
I'm not kidding.
     Not evil, but definitely not good.

     There you have the Sun Times review, and it was similar in
tone and substance to a number of the reviews that appeared the
week of the premiere of "Good and Evil." But perhaps the best
review of all was written by Paul Johnson and published on
September 25 in the Arkansas Gazette. A portion of it is omitted
here because its general description of the program is
repetitious of the Sun Times review. Here are the relevant
portions of the Paul Johnson story:

     Tonight's premiere of ABC's new Teri Garr sitcom, "Good &
Evil," gives every indication of marking the debut of the fall
season's most noxious weed.
     A preview of this thirty-minute show turned up not a shred
of redeeming quality. It's loud, it's offensive, it's
predictable, it's imitative. Worst of all, it's unfunny on an
epic scale.
     Cranked out by the Witt-Thomas-Harris people who have been
responsible for a flock of flops and a couple of hits ("The
Golden Girls," "Soap,") "Good & Evil" appears to be little more
than a venomous recycling of the "Soap" formula....
     Word already has gotten out about a particularly noxious
scene in tonight's opening episode.
     In it a blind associate (Mark Blankfield) comes to Genny's
laboratory.
     The character, carrying the familiar white cane, proceeds to
reel around in the lab for what seems like half the episode.
     The blind man takes fully ten minutes to break every piece
of glassware in the room as he staggers and stumbles and flails
outrageously with his cane.
     He introduces himself repeatedly to a coat rack, which he
unexplainably mistakes for a human being. 
     He reels around some more and breaks some more laboratory
equipment.
     He lurches and falls down.
     He tumbles backward over a lab counter.
     He walks into walls and crashes into doors.
     The producers have insisted that this shouldn't be offensive
to blind people. 
     Of course they would.
     You think they're going to confess that there's a
possibility that anyone might consider such carrying-on
offensive?
     After all, they say, this is just a comedy, just a
television show.
     The catch is that they may think this show is a comedy. But
if it is, why did no one in the room when the show was previewed
laugh a single time?
     There's an underlying maliciousness to this show that simply
precludes much laughter.
     From Garr's character's cruelty and venomous behavior to the
business with the blind guy, "Good & Evil" comes down too heavily
on the side of evil.
     And Whitton's character's goodness is portrayed in a mocking
spitefulness that makes it clear that Harris believes good is
bad.
     What's evil here is the mind-set that came up with this
objectionable show.

     There you have the Arkansas Gazette review, and at every
level it is on target. Predictably, blind George, as one of the
most controversial elements of the show, called forth special
comment from most reviewers, which in itself demonstrates the
danger faced by the blind as a result of George and his antics.
Julia Keller, the television critic for the Columbus [Ohio]
Dispatch, was not impressed by the program, but here is what she
had to say about George in her September 25 review:

     ...These situations, from the mute woman to the return of
the almost-murdered husband, are played strictly for laughs. Most
puzzling is a strange scene in which Genny fends off the advances
of a blind man in her laboratory: as the sightless man thrashes
about with his cane, beakers and flasks shatter; desks are
toppled.
     I don't want to turn into one of those critics who scream,
"Insensitivity!" at every unusual kink in a writer's imagination,
but...making fun of a blind person's clumsiness?

     There it is in a nutshell: blind people are clumsy, and
making fun of them because of that is in extremely bad taste.
What we feared from the beginning of this fiasco was the public's
inability to distinguish between the actual and the absurd where
blindness was concerned, and we were right. 
     But not every critic thought bumbling, oblivious George was
an embarrassment. Dave Rhein of the Des Moines Register also
wrote a review on September 25. Like many others, he found the
program astonishingly bad. But with one difference: this reviewer
thought George was funny. This is what Rhein wrote:

              "Good and Evil" in Need of Salvation

     Fourteen years ago, writer-producer Susan Harris hit the
big-time with a comedy called "Soap." It was a devilishly funny
spoof of daytime soap operas. Tonight, Harris is at the creative
helm for a new comedy called "Good and Evil."
     "Soap" had a satirical edge that cut like a machete through
such taboos of the times (late 1970's) as sex, religion, and
homosexuality. "Good and Evil" cuts like a dull butter knife
through an overripe tomato--all you get is a disgusting mess.
It's a shame, because the show has a good cast. Teri Garr plays
Denise, a nasty woman determined to take over the cosmetics
company founded by her mother, Charlotte (Marian Seldes).
Margaret Whitton plays Denise's sister, Genny, a pure-hearted
university microbiologist.
     Denise, whose husband suspiciously fell off Mount Everest
four years ago, is in love with Eric (Lane Davies) and is
determined to marry him. Eric wants to dump Denise in favor of
Genny. Meanwhile, George (Mark Blankfield), a klutzy blind
colleague at the university, is smitten with Genny.
     In tonight's premiere, the only funny scene is one in which
George, the blind university psychiatrist armed with a lethal
white cane, wanders into a chemistry lab overflowing with
beakers, flasks, and test tubes to tell Genny how much he loves
her.
     That scene aside, "Good and Evil" needs help, and it better
arrive quickly.

     Peggy Pinder, Second Vice President of the National
Federation of the Blind and President of the NFB of Iowa,
contacted David Rhein to discuss his reaction to George with him.
Rhein had the grace to pronounce himself somewhat embarrassed to
be asked about his reaction to George by a blind person, and he
admitted that it had never occurred to him to consider the impact
of George on actual blind people. He maintained, however, that
the laboratory-bashing segment in the first episode was good
physical humor and the only funny part of the program. 
     A handful of reviewers actually seem to have liked "Good and
Evil," amazing as that may seem to blind viewers and those
interested in justice for blind people and human dignity. Their
views are exemplified by Marvin Kitman's review, which appeared
in Newsday on September 23. Most other critics refrained from
attacking the National Federation of the Blind in their pieces,
but here are Mr. Kitman's words: 

                "So Funny It'll Scare Sponsors" 

     They will deny it, but there is a hit list at advertising
agencies, a list of certain programs that sponsors direct an
account executive to avoid. The list is an old institution that
has had some of our favorite programs on it, including "Mary
Hartman, Mary Hartman." Anybody who tells you the hit list does
not exist is either not being truthful or just doesn't know
what's going on.
     And at the head of the list this year is "Good and Evil,"
which premieres Wednesday night at 10:30 on WABC/7, Susan
("Soap") Harris' new comedy about two sisters, one very good and
one very bad, the year's most controversial new show.
     Agencies want to keep their clients out of it. This is true
of any controversial show. The higher the saccharine quality
content of a show the less likely it is to get into trouble. They
don't like trouble on Madison Avenue, whatever they say. 
     And "Good and Evil," the least saccharine show of the year,
is trouble.
     Amazingly, the blind people's lobby has protested the
premiere episode. They say it's defamatory. The National
Federation of the Blind, according to Variety, has written to ABC
asking it to cancel the premiere episode. And the Federation
hasn't even seen it yet!
     What its leaders object to is the portrayal of a blind
person by actor Mark Blankfield. He is George, a klutzy
university psychiatrist who hasn't adjusted to the loss of his
sight. He is pursuing the good sister, a microbiologist. George,
who doesn't have the hang of his cane and whose seeing eye dog
ran after cars, manages to devastate the lab in the course of
confessing his love. 
     The scene is not politically correct. Nobody is allowed to
do this sort of thing on TV anymore. It's a no-no in comedy
today.
     At first I felt ashamed, finding humor based on a physical
handicap hilarious. But then I remembered the movie in which W.C.
Fields played a man who owns a grocery store that has a waist-
high display of light bulbs. In one of the great comedy scenes of
all time, Fields is trying to serve a customer who wants
kumquats. A blind gentleman walks in and proceeds to level the
light bulb display and glass door.
     This kind of thing, ineptly done, could be obscene. But
Susan Harris has done it aptly. It's a brilliantly funny scene.
     Admittedly it's close to the bone. But that shouldn't be
surprising. "Soap's" humor was always close to the bone. There
are two ways to cut to the bone, one of which is cutting the arm
off, funny bone and all. In "Good and Evil," Harris goes just so
far. She knows how to reach the limits of bad taste without going
over the top.
     The animal rights people may be heard from next. The good
sister, who is dedicating her life to science, favors animal
rights. She refuses to test her new miracle vaccine on YoYo, the
lab monkey, because it wouldn't be fair. It has no free choice.
So she does it on herself with visible results. 
     The cosmetics industry will not be thrilled with the
discussions about testing cosmetics that have only one small
problem (they make faces peel off) or other humorous facts about
the cosmetics industry.
     The controversy over "Good and Evil" reminds me about the
protests over "Soap" when it started in 1977. The moral minority
groups found it guilty of obscenity. It was attacked as the
raunchiest, most offensive show even before it went on the air.
The letter writers were asking that it be killed without even
seeing it. How wrong they were.
     It's a free country, so anybody can protest anything. What
bothers me is when they haven't even seen a show. What these
protesting groups have in common is they don't want us to see the
show. Sight unseen, they would not let "Good and Evil" go on.
     Right now ABC is resisting the blind people lobby. But
advertisers hear them. All controversy is equal. ABC won't budge,
but wait until the Rev. Donald Wildmon and his people come
around, complaining about some of the wilder jokes. Eventually
the protests catch up to the show. Networks are not going to keep
on a show that is on the hit list for very long. They will kill
it sooner than if it wasn't on the hit list.
     This would be a real tragedy in the case of "Good and Evil."
Yes, it is a controversial show. People will love it or hate it.
I happen to think it's the funniest show since "Soap."
     As you can probably tell, I'm a Soaphead of the worst kind.
I still think about the wackiest sitcom of the 1970's.
     "Good and Evil" is not a "Brooklyn Bridge," a drama with
funny things in it. Nor is it like those sitcoms that strive to
be funny. Even laugh tracks have trouble laughing at some of
these.
     It's unabashedly funny. Sometimes it works; sometimes it
doesn't. But when you laugh you really laugh.
     I defy anybody not to laugh at the discovery of evil sister
Denise's husband Ronald--found frozen in the Himalayas by Rolex
collectors from China--defrosting in a Nepal hospital.
     "Good and Evil" is a soap operetta, if you will, about a
very rich family in the cosmetics business run by a Helene
Lauder-type dowager queen, her two daughters and their offspring.
     There is the good daughter, generous, gracious Genny
(Margaret Whitton), the one devoting her life to medical science
in the aforementioned lab. Then there is the beautiful but evil
sister, Denise (Teri Garr), who is scheming to acquire her mother
Charlotte's (Marian Seldes) empire as well as her sister's
boyfriend Dr. Eric (Lane Davies), who she is trying to coerce
into marriage unaware that Ronald, who she left for dead in the
frozen Himalayas, is about to reappear.
     Executive producers Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas, Tom
Straw, along with Susan Harris also have assembled a repertory
company of characters in the "Soap" tradition. Teri Garr, who I
think is very funny, has the juiciest part as the hated sister.
She can do anything--from flashing at her doctor-sweetheart in a
fur coat to asking her mother why she never kisses her like
Genny, but only shakes her hand--and it makes me laugh.
     Marian Seldes is super as Charlotte, the mother who has to
explain why she never cared for Denise: as a child she had bad
skin. They had to put her out in the garden for a year, hoping it
would improve.
     Mark Blankfield is the funniest professor-in-love seen in a
long time.
     And Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara will be opening and closing
each show asking those "Soap"-like soap questions: Is Denise evil
enough to try to take over her mother Charlotte's company? Will
the advertisers kill the show?
     "Good and Evil" is the show that people will be discussing
at the beauty parlor and on the train into the city the next day,
probably the only one this year. It's a raunchy, offensive, sick
black comedy.
     If you don't know what I mean yet, just compare it to
"Sibs," on ABC Wednesdays at 9:30 and "Princesses" on CBS Fridays
at 8, both of which I'll be discussing on Thursday.

     There you have one of a handful of favorable reviews of
"Good and Evil." Duane Gerstenberger, Associate Executive
Director of the National Federation of the Blind, wrote to Marvin
Kitman under date of September 27, 1991, as follows: 

Mr. Marvin Kitman
Newsday
Melville, New York

Dear Mr. Kitman:
     I have read your commentary "So Funny It'll Scare Sponsors,"
which appeared in Newsday on Monday, September 23, 1991. Twice
within this piece you make declaratory statements which are
errors in fact. In criticizing our reaction to the ABC Program,
"Good & Evil" you say: "And the Federation hasn't even seen it
yet!"; "Sight unseen, they would not let `Good & Evil' go on."
     Mr. Kitman, we have in our possession a complete, unedited
videotape of the program discussed in your commentary. This copy
was transmitted by ABC Closed Circuit to ABC affiliated stations
sometime in mid to late July. We have had this tape since Monday,
August 5, 1991. By August 14, 1991, the date of one of our
earliest letters to ABC about this program, numerous elected
leaders, staff members, and volunteers of our organization had
viewed this program--complete, whole, unedited, without
commercials. One of the leaders of our organization wrote ABC
about the program July 28, 1991. Prior to writing, she, her
husband, and her children viewed this program--complete, whole,
unedited, without commercial interruptions. By mid August I had
watched this show so many times I could quote dialogue from it. I
estimate that before our organization made a concentrated effort
to contact ABC about "Good & Evil" more than a hundred of our
active, leading members had viewed this program--complete, whole,
unedited, without commercial interruptions.
     If you wish to see the correspondence we had with ABC about
this matter, we would be pleased to send it to you. We would have
shared it with you before you wrote your commentary had you
talked with us. I find it ironic that you castigate our
organization for our actions in this matter without talking with
us directly, and your main reason for castigating us is based on
your presumption that we did not have the facts, i.e., we had not
seen the program. Mr. Kitman, we knew what we were objecting to;
we knew the facts. When you write about us, please get the facts.

Very truly yours,
Duane Gerstenberger
Associate Executive Director
National Federation of the Blind

P.S. I am sending this letter via fax and in hardcopy by first
class mail. Along with the original I am sending information
about our organization. I hope you will take the time to read it.

     There you have a sampler of views of "Good and Evil" and
George. It isn't scientific, but it is representative. Regardless
of what Marvin Kitman and his friends may think, from the
standpoint of the blind, at least, the world is a more civilized
place now that "Good and Evil" is off the air and can be
forgotten.


         DENIAL: A CRITICAL STEP ON THE ROAD TO EQUALITY
                        by Barbara Pierce

     A day or two after ABC announced that it was canceling "Good
and Evil," Dr. Jernigan was working in his office at the National
Center for the Blind when his phone rang and the receptionist
told him that someone from "Entertainment Tonight" was on the
line. He of course took the call and found himself answering the
question that everyone has been asking since the ABC
announcement: "What is your reaction to the cancellation of `Good
and Evil?'" Dr. Jernigan replied that he was naturally delighted
to have an end to a program that was doing steady and profound
damage to blind people and that he was encouraged to learn that
collective action could still exert influence on powerful
organizations in this country. At that the interviewer said with
some surprise, "You don't actually believe that the Federation's
activities had anything to do with the decision, do you?" 
     To which Dr. Jernigan replied, "Of course I do, and the
proof is that you have called me to ask my reaction. You wouldn't
have sought me out if you thought that the National Federation of
the Blind wasn't a player in this game." The interviewer laughed
and acknowledged the truth of Dr. Jernigan's statement before
ending their conversation. ABC and the executives and the
corporate sponsors who bailed out will no doubt continue to deny
that public pressure orchestrated by the organized blind movement
had anything to do with the demise of this ill-conceived sitcom,
but it is immensely important that we and the public understand
what the organized blind have accomplished. Never before have we
accomplished such a victory, and it is an important step forward
in our march toward equality and first class status. 
     The one thing that everyone on both sides of the "Good and
Evil" controversy can probably agree upon is that the name of
this program cannot be too soon forgotten. The writers,
production company, network, and sponsors all got their fingers
burned on this one, and there are more than enough hard feelings
to go around. All of these people gambled on a wacky idea for a
new kind of sitcom and lost. 
     But what about the blind? The program's Nielsen ratings were
never high, but even so, each week people in some ten million
homes tuned in to see blind George make a fool of himself and, by
extension, of every other blind person. That's a good bit of
reinforcement of the old stereotypes that will now have to be
overcome. Almost more frustrating than this increase in the load
of public education still to be done is the monolithic
unwillingness on the part of the entertainment personnel involved
in this dispute to understand the damage they have done to blind
people or to admit the impact that our protest had on their
ultimate decision to cancel the show. Here is the cancellation
notice that appeared in USA Today on October 24, 1991: 

          ABC Lets the AX Fall: "Good & Evil" Canceled
                        by Peter Johnson

     ABC canceled the controversial sitcom "Good & Evil"
Wednesday, making its first schedule adjustment of the season.
The irreverent series--which starred Teri Garr as the evil heir
apparent to a cosmetics empire and Margaret Whitton as her good
sister--had come under attack for its comic portrayal of blind
people. It also pulled in very low ratings. The move by ABC is
one of several the network is expected to make to shore up its
low Wednesday night ratings. An official announcement of the
cancellation is expected today.
                      ____________________
     ABC and company never did publicly acknowledge the impact of
our collective action, but the National Federation of the Blind
did not hesitate to announce our victory far and wide, and a
number of newspapers mentioned our protest as a clear factor in
the decision. Typical of the stories printed was one in the Los
Angeles Times for October 24. The remarkable part of this story
is the extended quotation from Susan Harris, chief writer of the
show. Ms. Harris is clearly bitter about the fact that ABC did
not tinker with the time slot for "Good and Evil" in order to put
it in a more advantageous position. She appears to remain
convinced that it would have succeeded if it had been given
another chance. One should never underestimate the human capacity
for self-delusion; Ms. Harris can apparently not conceive that
the controversy stirred up by George might have been sufficiently
unpleasant and damaging to have persuaded ABC to cut its losses
or, even more inconceivable,  that the program's concept might
have been a bad idea. The unpalatable truth of the matter is, Ms.
Harris, that the show wasn't funny--none of it. But if the
writers hadn't decided to engage in blind-bashing in every
episode, we would, as an organization, have kept quiet. They
chose the battleground. We warned ABC, the production company,
and the sponsors that George's presence on the program would mean
war, a war that the blind have won.  Here is the Los Angeles
Times story: 

          ABC Drops "Good & Evil," Irks Series Creator
                        by Daniel Cerone

     The cancellation of "Good & Evil," which pitted Teri Garr as
the evil executive of a cosmetics empire against Margaret Whitton
as her good sister, had nothing to do with the controversy over
the sitcom's portrayal of a blind character, ABC maintained
Thursday.
     Network spokesman Jim Brochu cited low ratings--the comedy
series ranks 77th out of 101 prime-time series that have aired on
the four major commercial networks this season--as the primary
reason why production was halted after eleven episodes of a
thirteen-episode order.
     Ever since its debut September 25, the series from Witt-
Thomas-Harris Productions has been under attack by organizations
representing the visually impaired, led by the National
Federation of the Blind, for its depiction of a bumbling blind
psychologist, played by Mark Blankfield.
     The Federation's Director of Governmental Affairs, James
Gashel, called the cancellation a "definite victory.
     "I think ABC officials had become aware of the fact that
blind people all over the country found this show totally
unacceptable and demeaning," he said Thursday from Maryland. "ABC
wouldn't talk about the show [to the press]. They were
embarrassed by it. They didn't consider its portrayal of blind
people from the start, and they took a hit over it."
     Series creator and co-executive producer Susan Harris sided
with ABC in denying that "Good & Evil," which was in a tough time
slot on Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m., was canceled because several
major advertisers had pulled out of the show under pressure from
advocacy groups.
     Beyond that, however, she was miffed.
     "We're all upset," she said Thursday from her home in Los
Angeles. "It was very sudden. The series aired only five times.
Once it was opposite the Country Music Awards. Two other times it
was opposite baseball playoff games. And [this week] it aired
opposite a pivotal game in the World Series.
     "To pull it off the air at this point and not try to move it
around is not fair," she said. "It was never given a proper time
period. This is too good a show to do this to."
     Witt-Thomas-Harris has three other series on NBC--the hits
"Empty Nest" and "Golden Girls" and newcomer "Nurses." She said
they wouldn't do another for ABC without up-front guarantees of
getting a better shot at staying on.
     Harris, who was once harassed and later embraced by the gay
community for the Billy Crystal character on "Soap," said that
the blind character in "Good & Evil" would have evolved in a
similar fashion given the chance.
     "I'm sorry we offended the blind," she said. "It certainly
was not our intent. We've always kind of poked fun at and found
humor in everything, the darker sides of life as well."
     ABC did not immediately announce how many of the remaining
"Good & Evil" episodes will air, or what will replace it.
                      ____________________
     That is what the article said, and Susan Harris is far from
being the only one to misunderstand the real issues involved in
this entire controversy. On October 26 in a Gannett News Service
story printed in the Wausau, Wisconsin, Daily Herald, Tony
Thomas, one of the "Good and Evil" producers, explained that the
tragedy of a decision like ABC's to cancel is that real people
lose real jobs as a result. The seventy-percent unemployment rate
among working-age blind people is quite obviously not real to Mr.
Thomas. One is left to wonder what such people thought the blind
were objecting to when we argued that George perpetuated public
attitudes about blindness that are the root cause of the job
discrimination we face. The blind are apparently not real people,
and we are not lacking real jobs. Here is the opening of the
Wausau story as it appeared on October 26:

                   ABC's "Good & Evil" Gets Ax

     ABC's cancellation of the comedy "Good & Evil" leaves 11
actors, 30 crew members, eight writers, and a director out of
work.
     "What everybody forgets is that when a show is canceled, so
are a lot of hopes and dreams," says executive producer Tony
Thomas.
     Wednesday, ABC told Thomas and partners Paul Junger Witt and
Susan Harris their show was dead after five episodes, the first
cancellation of a major new fall series.... 
     "Everybody's career was on the line here," Thomas says.
"There were a lot of late nights and sweating it out, spending
two hours on one joke to make sure it was just right." 
                      ____________________
     There you have the thoughts of Tony Thomas, and it is
obvious that he shares Susan Harris's and ABC executives'
capacity for denying painful truths and rejecting timely
warnings. The organized blind will continue to fight for equality
for the blind at every level of society, and we hope that
someday, when we have achieved our goal, we will be able to
afford to engage in the verbal slug-fests of situation comedy.
But let us also hope that even then we will not be made the
objects of ridicule solely because of blindness. Rather, we can
work toward laughing together at the genuinely funny aspects of
blindness and absurd contrasts between its realities and the
misconceptions of the public.




























                 ******************************
     If you or a friend would like to remember the National
Federation of the Blind in your will, you can do so by employing
the following language:
     "I give, devise, and bequeath unto National Federation of
the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, a
District of Columbia nonprofit corporation, the sum of $_____ (or
"_____ percent of my net estate" or "The following stocks and
bonds: _____") to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of
blind persons."
                 ******************************

                        WHEN MONEY TALKS
                        by Barbara Pierce

     Perhaps the most closely guarded secret prior to the season
premiere of "Good and Evil" was the identity of the program's
sponsors. Shortly before the first episode, President Maurer sent
a letter urging twenty-three potential sponsors not to purchase
advertising on the show because of the damage the character
George would do to all blind people. What impact that letter had
on sponsors is not absolutely discernible, but  one thing was
clear when the program aired September 25: the program had a lot
of unsold advertising. Several spots were used to promote other
new ABC shows; and Touchstone Productions, the company that
produced "Good and Evil," bought one thirty-second slot to
promote one of its upcoming motion pictures. 
     Those companies which did purchase space on the show
discovered several days later that the sky had fallen on their
heads in the form of outraged letters. In an effort organized and
coordinated by National Federation of the Blind members around
the country, blind people and others offended by the program
began writing to corporate headquarters with objections to "Good
and Evil" and to the sponsor's association with it. Each week the
scenario was repeated. The turnover among sponsors was
astonishing. A total of 26 different advertisers purchased space
on "Good and Evil" during its first five weeks, and  only four
bought time on more than one episode during that time. Several
companies had apparently purchased time on other programs which
either did not air or did not produce the audience share that ABC
had promised; so, according to the terms of the advertising
contracts, the network was responsible for airing the advertising
on programs that would provide the company with the guaranteed
audience exposure. "Good and Evil" seems to have received several
advertisers through this interesting back door. The sponsors (Dow
Chemical Company being the most vociferous so far) say that they
had no notion that their good names were being associated with
"Good and Evil," and Dow promised the many who wrote letters of
protest that they would certainly not have anything more to do
with the program. 
     PepsiCo, however, presented a different situation. The
National Federation of the Blind has had a good working
relationship with company executives, who have consulted with us
about the appropriateness of several of their advertising
campaigns. The blind were distressed to find that two of
PepsiCo's subsidiaries had purchased advertising on "Good and
Evil." Federation officials contacted PepsiCo immediately and
were assured that the matter would be dealt with. The NFB agreed
not to use PepsiCo's name in subsequent press releases, and we
did not. PepsiCo was as good as its word; no further advertising
by any of the PepsiCo group appeared on "Good and Evil" during
the remainder of its short, controversy-filled life. 
     Playtex, Aetna Life and Casualty, RJR Nabisco, and Walmart
dealt with the wave of consumer protest in a different way. All
four responded to the people who wrote to them by saying that
they had purchased advertising on only one episode and that they
had no intention of supporting programs that were controversial
or offensive. They had no further plans to buy space on "Good and
Evil," and they were pleased to know about the objections that
had been voiced. These were hardly bold and courageously
principled pronouncements, but the company decisions resulted in
a clear erosion of the program's sponsor base. 
     Unilever United States, Inc. provided the most interesting
and certainly the most significant sponsor activity in the "Good
and Evil" struggle. During each of the first three episodes,
Unilever advertised at least one product. The company was
bombarded with letters and calls, but no positive corporate
response seemed forthcoming. So after the third program with
Unilever sponsorship, the NFB announced a boycott of three of its
products: Lipton soup and tea products, Mrs. Butterworth's Syrup,
and Wisk detergent. Then, on the eve of the fourth episode of
"Good and Evil," the NFB announced that we would picket Unilever
headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, October 16, and execute a
symbolic dumping of Lipton Tea in the New York Harbor. That did
the trick. Tuesday afternoon Unilever faxed a press release to
media outlets across the country. Here is the text: 

     New York, NY, October 15, 1991--Unilever United States, Inc.
today announced that its operating companies will no longer
purchase advertising participations on the ABC television program
"Good and Evil." Unilever's initial decision to advertise on this
new television series was based on a pilot episode. After
reviewing subsequent programs, as is company policy for all
television programming, it was determined that purchasing time on
this series was not within established guidelines.

     That was the brief statement Unilever made, and again, it is
notable for its unwillingness to admit that pressure from the
blind forced its change of policy, if not heart. But the pilot,
which Unilever personnel admit to having watched in making the
decision to buy advertising time on the program, was in fact the
first episode, in which George smashed the research lab and made
a pass at a coat rack, and they did not conclude from that
footage that the program was in bad taste or would do damage to
blind people. Unilever continues to send letters to those who
wrote to them protesting their involvement with "Good and Evil,"
and the company code on recent correspondence indicates that they
have now sent well over three thousand placatory letters. Be all
this as it may, every concerned blind person should be pleased
and grateful to Unilever for its decision to extricate itself
from "Good and Evil," and NFB leaders rapidly changed plans and
resumed the usual picket outside of ABC's New York offices
instead of visiting Unilever. 
     On Tuesday, October 29, the Braille Monitor  learned that
inadvertently the NFB had accused one company which was actually
innocent of having purchased advertising on "Good and Evil." The
Corporate Secretary of American Home Products called to explain
that it had sold the company that produces Woolite, one of the
products advertised on the fourth episode. American Home Products
sold the company months ago, and the product information provided
to the NFB did not reflect this fact. Moreover, to add insult to
injury, American Home Products had planned to buy advertising
space on "Good and Evil" but had reviewed the pilot and decided,
based on what their reviewers saw, that the program did not meet
company standards, so they canceled their sponsorship plans
before the program ever aired. Despite that action, they were now
being deluged with letters from blind people asking them to
desist. The Associate Editor gladly assured the American Home
Products executive that the Braille Monitor would be pleased to
set the record straight. American Home Products and probably a
number of other companies deserve commendation for recognizing
the damage being done by "Good and Evil" and refusing to have
anything to do with it. 
     There is no doubt about it; money talks, and whether ABC
wishes to admit it or not, the exodus of program sponsors has to
have played a significant part in its decision to cancel "Good
and Evil." The collective action of blind people was undoubtedly
instrumental in persuading these sponsors to steer clear of what
they were made to see was a controversial program. The organized
blind can take pride in the knowledge that we refused to remain
victims of some people's perverted sense of humor and instead
forced an end to a disgraceful media attack on us.


[PHOTO: Portrait of Justin Dart. CAPTION: Justin Dart, Chairman
of the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities.]

            AIRLINE DENIES SEAT TO DISABLED OFFICIAL

     From the Associate Editor: As Monitor readers know all too
well, the federal Air Carrier Access Act was passed in 1986 in an
effort to protect disabled air passengers from discrimination at
the hands of airline personnel. Members of the House of
Representatives and Senate made it clear in floor debate that
they intended to protect disabled people from such injustices as
the exclusion of blind people from exit row seats. As everyone
who flies on commercial planes today also knows, ever since the
Department of Transportation finished writing the regulations
intended to implement the Air Carrier Access Act, the disabled
have been in many ways even worse off. 
     True, airline personnel now bend over backwards to see that
no one that they deem to be unqualified to handle an emergency is
assigned to a seat in an exit row. In the old days a blind person
was occasionally assigned to such a seat and, if he or she was
unlucky, arrested for refusing to move in compliance with airline
policy. But by and large, the subject of the capacity of disabled
people to deal with the various responsibilities of air travel
did not arise. 
     Today, hundreds of times every hour, cabin crews across the
United States make an announcement at the beginning of the flight
in which, by direct statement or by implication, the passengers
are reminded that blind people cannot carry out the
responsibilities required of those seated in exit rows during
emergencies. We know that in fact it is not necessary to assess
conditions visually in an emergency in order to do as good a job
as others can during a crash, but whether a blind person is
present on the plane or not, every passenger on every commercial
flight is reminded that the airline thinks that we are
incompetent. All this is just one more reminder that disabled
people are still being treated like second-class citizens and
that we must continue to do what we can to change the situation. 
     Blind people are not the only ones who face demeaning
treatment by the airlines. Justin Dart is the Chairman of the
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.
He is also a friend and colleague of the organized blind.
Recently he has been traveling around the country encouraging
people to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act. This
means that he flies in and out of all kinds of airports on all
sorts of aircraft. Mr. Dart uses a wheelchair, and as a result he
has had some clashes with airline personnel that rival the worst
of the degradations that blind people have faced in exit row
confrontations. In early August of 1991 Mr. Dart had a very
distasteful encounter with the flight crew of a small aircraft.
The incident reminds us that our battles with the airlines are
far from over and that others have reason to stand with us. This
is the way that the New York Times described the incident on
August 6, 1991:

     In an act that has outraged some advocates for the disabled,
a commuter airline affiliated with Northwest Airlines refused to
allow the head of a White House committee on the disabled and his
assistant aboard a flight on Saturday because both were in
wheelchairs.
     Workers at the commuter airline, Mesaba Aviation, told the
chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People
with Disabilities, Justin Dart Jr., and his executive assistant,
John Lancaster, that they would not be allowed to board its
flight from Minneapolis to Pierre, South Dakota. Mr. Dart and his
party were then flown in a larger aircraft to another city in
South Dakota and driven 165 miles to Pierre.
     Officials with the airline say they have a policy of denying
people in wheelchairs access to aircraft that seat fewer than
thirty passengers. Such a policy is allowed under Federal law,
according to Department of Transportation officials and legal
experts with groups representing the disabled.
     "What really got me angry or upset--no, anger is not the
right word--depressed and sobered was the abrupt and shocking
revelation of just how far we have to go," Mr. Dart said today in
a telephone interview from his hotel in Pierre. "If this thing
can happen to a Presidential appointee, someone they know is a
Presidential appointee, you wonder what happens to others."

                   Airline Informed in Advance

     Mr. Dart said he was particularly upset because his office
had made the reservations and bought the tickets in advance and
had informed the airline that he and Mr. Lancaster used
wheelchairs. But until the two men actually tried to board the
aircraft, no one informed them that they would be barred.
     The incident was, in some ways, one of the more glaring
examples of what advocates for the disabled view as the
difficulties endured by those with physical and mental handicaps
who travel by plane. It also highlighted two trends that appear
to be on a collision course: the increasing mobility of the
disabled and the steady rise of commuter airlines, which often
use smaller aircraft on which it is difficult to accommodate the
needs of people with physical impairments. 
     Jeffrey Jones, director of market planning for Mesaba
Aviation, said the policy was not meant to discriminate against
people with disabilities. He said the narrow aisles and doorway
on the 19-seat Fairchild Metro III aircraft that his company
flies between Minneapolis and Pierre made it impossible for
company workers to carry someone in a wheelchair onto the plane.
     Yet such a policy places some cities virtually off-limits to
some people with physical disabilities. Other than Continental
Airlines, which provides service from Denver, Mesaba Aviation is
the only passenger airline serving Pierre, the capital of South
Dakota. Mr. Jones said that, because the city was so small, the
company decided earlier this year to stop using a fifty-seat
Fokker F-27 aircraft it had been using on the route. It now only
flies the smaller Fairchild Metro III.

                City Becomes Almost Inaccessible

     Advocates for the disabled say this means the city becomes
virtually inaccessible for anyone in a wheelchair who is not
flying from Denver.
     Mesaba Aviation is a publicly held corporation that has a
contractual relationship with Northwest Airlines, which is also
its largest shareholder. Although it is a separate company, it
uses the same colors as Northwest and operates at airports under
the name, Northwest Airline; often reservations on its flights
are made through Northwest.
     Mr. Jones said that the refusal to allow Mr. Dart and Mr.
Lancaster to board at Minneapolis airport was the first incident
of this type he knew of at Mesaba Aviation and that it could
prompt the company to revise its policy.
     But advocates for the disabled insist such incidents are a
frequent occurrence because Federal regulations allow it.
     "This doesn't surprise me," said John Bollinger, an official
with the Paralyzed Veterans of America. "It's the kind of thing
that travelers with disabilities face all the time.
Unfortunately, the final rules that the Department of
Transportation wrote provide a technical way out for the airlines
not to board Justin and others like him."

                  Special Lifts Being Developed

     Several companies are in the process of developing special
hydraulic lifts and wheelchairs that can be used to help people
in wheelchairs board small commuter aircraft. On June 12, the
Federal Aviation Administration ruled that the Federal Government
would reimburse airports for up to seventy-five percent of the
cost of such devices.
     Mr. Dart, sixty, is the son of a prominent California
Republican who was a major adviser to former President Ronald
Reagan. The elder Mr. Dart died in 1984. The younger Mr. Dart was
disabled when he contracted polio at the age of 19.
     On the trip Mr. Dart was joined by his wife, Yoshiko, and
Mr. Lancaster. They were able to reach their destination only
after the company arranged to have them fly in a larger airplane
to Aberdeen, South Dakota, and had a van take them to Pierre.
But, Mr. Dart said, the van provided by the airline had no back
seats, forcing him and his wife to spend the three-hour trip
sitting on its floor amid two wheelchairs and luggage.
     "It made me feel like a real second-class citizen," said Mr.
Lancaster, a former marine who has been in a wheelchair since
suffering spinal cord damage when he was wounded in Vietnam in
1968. "I thought these kinds of problems were pretty much behind
us."
     Mr. Dart and his party have been traveling around the
country talking with businessmen, state officials, and advocates
for the disabled on how to implement the Americans with
Disabilities Act, a landmark civil rights law enacted a year ago
banning discrimination against individuals with physical and
mental impairments. In order to make a connection to their next
destination, Anchorage, South Dakota officials had chartered a
plane to fly them back to Minneapolis.
     But after inquiries from reporters, officials at Mesaba
Aviation apparently changed their minds. Late Monday afternoon
Mr. Dart called to say the airline was sending one of their
larger aircraft to pick them up in Pierre.

[PHOTO: Blind woman works in kitchen with appliances. She is
reading a Braille card taken from a recipe box on the counter.
CAPTION: Naomi Dvorski of Iowa uses Braille as naturally as other
cooks use print.]

               THE EVERYDAY USEFULNESS OF BRAILLE
                       by Lauren L. Eckery

     From the Associate Editor: We can hope that the time will
come, sooner rather than later, when an article like the
following will no longer be an appropriate candidate for
inclusion in the pages of the Braille Monitor. No one needs to
persuade the sighted about the pervasive usefulness of print; the
case has been made so effectively that even those for whom it is
inconvenient, awkward, or painful struggle to use it. But would-
be Braille-users and parents of children for whom print is not an
efficient tool still need down-to-earth examples of the value of
Braille in the conduct of everyday life. So here are some
practical reminders about Braille from a busy, organized working
woman and mother who uses Braille as efficiently and
automatically as her sighted counterparts use print. 
     Lauren Eckery contributes feature articles to News From
Blind Nebraskans, the publication of the National Federation of
the Blind of Nebraska. They are always lively and interesting,
and many of them find their way into the Braille Monitor. This
one first appeared in the Fall, 1991, issue of News From Blind
Nebraskans. Here it is:

     It is the early 1970s, and my family is traveling by car to
Minnesota for a vacation. Both my mother and I like to read and
crochet on long trips.
     The dimness of the evening sky envelops us gradually, and my
mother stops reading. She also decides she can no longer crochet.
She wants to check the time but cannot see her watch without
turning on the overhead light. She chooses to listen to the radio
or take a nap.
     Meanwhile, in the back seat of the car, I continue my
activities. I read my Braille magazine for a while. Then I
crochet several rows on my afghan. Braille labels help me keep
the different colors of yarn in order. Now and then, I check the
time on my Braille watch, the excitement mounting as we near our
final destination.
     It is the later 1970s or early 1980s. I am singing in my
church choir. During our Thursday evening service prior to Good
Friday, the lights are extinguished one by one until it is nearly
dark in the sanctuary. While the choir sings, I notice a discreet
scramble for notes and lyrics. I continue singing the alto part I
have memorized and reading the lyrics in Braille. Rather than
becoming anxious and embarrassed by struggling to continue the
music, I go on as before, experiencing the special tone of the
service.
     It is any day. I am speaking to a group of school children,
who are interested in what I am saying about blindness: "Given
the proper training and opportunity, blind people can lead normal
lives." But their favorite part of the presentation is the show-
and-tell segment, during which I demonstrate various aids and
appliances enabling the blind to be independent. Their greatest
curiosity seems to revolve around Braille. "What is it? What do
you do with it? How do you read and write it? Is it hard to
learn?"
     Simply telling the children that Braille is a blind person's
equivalent to print is seldom enough. They seem to understand
that Braille can be used in school for reading and taking notes,
but for what else can one use it? Again, to oversimplify, saying
that we use Braille for the same purposes one uses print often
goes uncomprehended. The children want concrete examples.
     At our 1991 annual convention of the National Federation of
the Blind, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, the usefulness of
Braille was one of the underlying themes of our discussions. In
the course of attending convention activities, I was observed and
approached by several new Federation members who were losing some
of their vision. They were grappling with the fact that they
needed to learn Braille. Two young women who spoke with me knew
that it made sense. They had been told that Braille could be
useful to them, but they were reluctant to commit the full amount
of time and effort necessary to learn Braille well enough to use
it on a daily basis. Their lack of motivation seemed to stem from
a lack of everyday examples in which using Braille could be
useful and necessary for them. They, like the children I have
spoken of previously, understood that Braille was useful for
academic and employment pursuits, but what about blind people who
are neither in school nor working? How could they make Braille
such a part of their lives that they couldn't resist learning and
using it efficiently? I was pleased to give these convention
delegates concrete examples and encouragement in the use of
Braille.
     With the advent of our efforts to obtain a Braille bill in
Nebraska, readers of News From Blind Nebraskans and other
interested parties might appreciate some further examples of the
everyday usefulness of Braille in the lives of everyday
independent blind persons. Although the list is endless, here are
some examples which have occurred to me during the writing of
this article:
     Taking telephone and other messages; making grocery and
other lists; keeping telephone numbers, addresses, and other
informational index files; placing Brailled clear plastic sheet
overlays into printed children's books so that blind parents,
teachers, and others can read to blind or sighted children;
keeping recipes, crochet or knitting patterns, and instructions
of various types in Braille for efficient and independent access-
-and the list goes on.
     One can label almost anything in Braille: photographs;
phonograph records; cassette tapes; video tapes; games; puzzle
pieces; food items; medications; printed materials for later
filing; checks; receipts; bills and other documents for
independent handling of finances; household and other appliances;
newsletter mailers; coupons; greeting cards; post cards; gift
tags; yarn, thread, and other needlework equipment; etc.
     At this point one might decide that such labeling mania is
overwhelmingly time-consuming. Abbreviations to the rescue! For
instance, when I label a spool of thread, I abbreviate the color
so that the small label will fit on the end of the spool--"bl"
for blue, "br" for brown, "bk" for black, "gy" for gray, "pk" for
pink. Most blind people use a combination of memory, recognition
by touch, sighted assistance, and Braille labeling for
identification.
     An especially interesting example of labeling comes from my
storehouse of childhood memories. One of my favorite pastimes for
most of my youth was cutting out and coloring paper dolls
freehand. For several years I could see blobs of color well
enough to use a color-coded system for naming my paper dolls
("Laurie" was blue skirt and white top, for example). As my
vision waned and the diversity in the names I chose for these
paper dolls increased, I eventually changed my naming system to
one in which I wrote each doll's name in Braille on it. To this
day, I have a collection of some of those paper dolls. My ten-
year-old daughter, Lynden, has enjoyed looking at Mommy's
collection. She has asked me the names of many of the dolls.
Although I do still remember the names of some of the dolls with
colored clothing by recognizing some other characteristic about
them, reading the Braille names is foolproof. If I had wanted to
continue coloring the dolls' clothing, I could have devised a
labeling system for my crayons and paints, but at the time
Braille was my preferred choice, whether I colored the dolls or
not.
     Years later, as a young adult, I took a cue from my creative
childhood's adaptive technique. When I lost the slight amount of
vision I had, it was simple and natural for me to separate my
yarn colors into individual bags and place a Braille label in
each one for identification. This method works well for
multicolored crochet projects.
     One who is just beginning to learn Braille might feel
exhausted by this incomplete list of examples. But believe me, if
one has no opportunity to learn or use Braille or if one is
limited in his or her creative capacity in devising multiple
practical applications of Braille, he or she can indeed be
illiterate and unnecessarily dependent on others for assistance.
     On the other hand, if we use Braille pervasively in our
lives, we will become experts at reading and writing it just as
print users do with print. One of Lynden's earliest and best
methods for beginning to learn print, besides watching "Sesame
Street," was reading labels and signs in her environment. Why not
make Braille as normal a part of our environment?
     The main purpose for passing a Braille bill in every state
of the Union is to maximize the independence and equality of
blind persons, be they children or adults. Now, who could in good
conscience oppose adoption of a Braille bill once they truly
understood the everyday usefulness of Braille?


            FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT TO LEARN BRAILLE:
             NEW YORK FEDERATIONISTS ENTER THE RING

     From the Associate Editor: Despite the advances that have
been made recently with distinguished members of the special
education and rehabilitation fields raising their voices in
defense of Braille and its importance to blind people,
beleaguered parents of blind children in many states are still
facing unpleasant battles with school personnel to win adequate
Braille instruction for their youngsters. But what recourse does
a mother have when her child comes home from school with
headaches because the teacher insists that large print, read
slowly with eye strain and poor posture, is preferable to
Braille? In such a situation Tracy Soto of Rochester, New York,
turned to her local chapter of the National Federation of the
Blind. Together they are fighting to get more Braille instruction
for Ms. Soto's eight-year-old daughter. They have also launched a
campaign to educate the state legislature and the members of New
York's Board of Regents, which has primary jurisdiction over all
education matters in the state. Here is an article describing the
conflict of wills. It appeared on October 1, 1991, in the
Democrat and Chronicle:

                 Mother Wants Braille in Schools
                     by Linda K. Wertheimer

     With her legally blind daughter's academic struggles as her
impetus, a Rochester woman has helped start a movement to require
more Braille instruction in New York State.
     "She can't read a book unless it's large, large print. She
needs more Braille," said Tracy Soto of her 8-year-old daughter,
Winada Fleig.
     Soto has been working locally to get more services for
Winada, a student at School 29. Soto also belongs to the National
Federation of the Blind of New York's Rochester chapter, which
met last week to gather support for a statewide policy on Braille
instruction. Some state legislators' representatives also
attended.
     "We launched a statewide effort in Rochester because Tracy
Soto has been so interested in getting her child what she needs,"
said David Arocho, president of the 1,000-member New York State
affiliate.
     Other states in the last few years have approved bills that
give blind children the right to become literate in Braille
through their school, Arocho said. The Braille system of raised
dots lets blind people read and write through touch.
     A blind child needs to take Braille daily to learn the
system well, Arocho said. Winada gets a few hours a week of
Braille, Soto said.
     Members of the state federation plan to meet with state
Education Department officials in the next month to promote the
proposal. Other chapters around the state will follow the twenty-
member Rochester group's lead by running meetings for local
lawmakers.
     "The tendency the last fifteen to twenty years is to prefer
that children use vision to the exclusion of Braille. It gets you
blind children who are functionally illiterate," Arocho said.
     He said blind children then grow up relying on recordings or
large-type books; they can't take notes or perform other tasks.
Legally blind children have vision of twenty over two hundred or
less in their better eye with corrective lenses or have a medical
problem that causes visual deterioration.
     Kathryn Hargis, acting coordinating director of special
instructional services for the City School District, has
reservations about the federation's proposal.
     "I object to the presumption that visually impaired people
should be Braille readers," Hargis said. "I don't think we can
say something is right for everybody."
     Hargis said the district decides whether it's best for a
child to learn Braille or to read with other devices. The
district also adheres to a research-based philosophy when it
comes to its twenty-eight visually impaired students, she said.
     "We try to keep kids using vision as much as possible,"
Hargis said.
     Getting Braille material takes too long, she said. The
district obtains its Braille books through a Braille lending
library. 
     "With Braille, people in the vision field believe it should
be taught when it's needed," Hargis said. "I think, in the not
too far future, the technology is such that Braille may become
obsolete."
     Arocho called it a myth that Braille material is difficult
to obtain. Technology allows publishers to convert material they
put on computer software into Braille, quickly, at about 5 cents
a page, he said.
     With an enlargement system a blind child can read eighty
words a minute at best, Arocho said. If children learn Braille at
a young age, they can eventually read up to three or four hundred
words of Braille a minute, he said.
     Beth Hatch-Alleyne, secretary of the Federation's Rochester
chapter, said her parents fought for her right to take Braille
when she was a primary school student in Maine. Her school
eventually agreed to send her to a school for the blind for a
year so she could learn Braille. The twenty-three-year-old said
she has used Braille regularly ever since.
     For most of her school day, Winada reads her work in large
print through a closed-circuit television system, Soto said.
Winada reads her homework in large print by a high intensity lamp
at home; when she read something last week, she put her head
within an inch of the page to see the words.
     "She gets headaches from trying to read the large print,"
Soto said.
     Hargis would not comment about Winada's case, which will be
discussed at a hearing at a later date.
     "If she's getting headaches, she needs further assessment.
Reading with their nose to the book is normal for kids with
vision impairments."

     That was the way the newspaper reported the difference of
opinion between the special education professionals and a parent
who knew only that her daughter needed more Braille and fewer
headaches. Tracy Soto, however, had the support of her local
chapter of the National Federation of the Blind--people who knew
first-hand how important her struggle was, important for her own
child, but critical, too, for all the other youngsters across New
York who are being denied the Braille that would enable them to
learn and work competitively. The Rochester chapter was
determined to use every opportunity it could find to educate the
public, the legislature, the State Department of Education, and
local school officials. Kathleen Hart, an active and committed
new member of the Rochester chapter, sat down to write a letter
to the editor of the Democrat and Chronicle, which had published
the original story. Someone had to undercut the presumed
expertise of the special education professional who had gone on
record saying that Braille was quite likely to become obsolete
and who saw no future difficulties for a youngster who can read
large print only when the page is an inch from her face. A blind
adult, speaking from  a wisdom born of painful experience, can
also command respect. The expertise acquired in the school of
hard knocks often has a solidity and power that academic theory
lacks. Here is the letter to the editor that Kathleen Hart wrote
in support of learning Braille: 

                                                 October 10, 1991

Dear Editor:
     This letter is a response to the article entitled, "Mother
wants Braille in Schools," found in the October 1, 1991, issue of
the Democrat and Chronicle. I am thirty-two years old and have
been blind since birth. I just learned Braille this summer
because, when I was in school, everybody believed that I should
use print since I had usable vision. No one in the school system
considered the effects of reading printed material, i.e., eye
strain and headaches. At best I might read eight to ten pages of
printed material an hour. I am now determined to make Braille a
more efficient means of reading.
     Learning to read Braille as an adult is frustrating. The
best analogy I can give is that of a person who has had a stroke
and must learn to speak again. You know you possess the skill,
but it takes time to relearn it. I may know all the characters,
but now I must build my speed to a point where the skill becomes
practical. What makes this more of a challenge is that I am
currently in seminary and am carrying a full course load. Closed
circuit television systems, recorded materials, and readers are
not the most efficient means to study and research papers. I hope
to begin using some Braille by next semester.
     The National Federation of the Blind is not asking for
mandated Braille for every blind child. We are saying that
Braille should be a viable option for all blind children,
regardless of their visual acuity. The school system should
present all options to the parents and students without bias.
When Braille is the desired medium, then competent instructors of
Braille must be employed. Large print may appear useful in the
elementary years when the teachers perceive the work load to be
light, but as load increases through high school and into
college, it becomes less efficient and more burdensome. This I
report from experience.
     Both as a blind person and as a former teacher of special
education, I am genuinely concerned about the view of Ms. Hargis. 
She said that the district determines whether or not a child
should learn Braille. By this statement she and the district have
denied the parents and child their rights in the education
process. An Individualized Education Plan is a process that
grants the parents and student the right to participate in the
development of the educational goals of any child with a
disability. The City School District is denying parents and
students this right, which is  given under P.L. 94-142 and
subsequent laws. If a parent, such as Ms. Soto, is in
disagreement with the school, he or she needs to be taken
seriously and supported.
     Attitudes such as those of Ms. Hargis do not address
individual differences; rather they promote conformity. God has
given each human being gifts that need to be nurtured. God
encourages us to embrace the differences of our sisters and
brothers, not insist that all conform to one way of life. One
should not be made to feel that the use of printed material is
superior to the use of Braille, for truly this is not the case.
Both are valid systems. Just as printed material will not become
obsolete for persons who have sight, so too, Braille will not
become obsolete for blind persons. The key to this open-minded
attitude is that educators become receptive to diversity and
allow children the means to achieve their maximum potential.
     I wish my parents and I had known about the National
Federation of the Blind when I was a child. I might have learned
much earlier than six months ago that I could use Braille. Then
studying would not have been as difficult, and reading for
pleasure would truly have been a pleasure.
     I encourage any parents who have questions about Braille or
any other blindness-connected concern to contact the Rochester
chapter of the National Federation of the Blind at 251-1334 or
join us at our monthly meetings held this month on October 19,
1991, at 2:00 p.m. at St. John's Home.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                    Kathleen Hart



[PHOTO: Family portrait of members of the Yamini family. CAPTION:
Ehab and Sabrina Yamini and seven of their children.]

         HONEYBEE VENOM: A POSSIBLE CURE FOR ARTHRITIS?
                   by Ehab and Sabrina Yamini

     From the Editor: Ehab Yamini is a long-time Federationist. I
don't know when I first met him, but it was undoubtedly sometime
during the seventies. About that time or a little later he was
president of the National Federation of the Blind of Georgia--and
he was a strong and energetic president.
     Ehab was working (and still is) as a masseur at a health
club in Atlanta. I have experienced the refreshing and
restorative value of his massage, and I can give personal
testimony to its effectiveness. Apparently others feel the same,
for Ehab has letters of commendation from everybody from
President Bush to some of the finest athletes in the country.
     But Ehab has not been content to work at just one job.
Several months ago he and an associate visited the National
Center for the Blind to talk about his plans to establish a
school for training masseurs. He said he felt that this was a
much neglected profession by the blind, one that could offer an
opportunity for good pay and real service to people.
     While he was here at the Center, Ehab also told President
Maurer and me about another enterprise in which he is engaged. He
has hundreds of hives of bees and has broadened the business far
beyond the mere selling of honey. He sells bee pollen, royal
jelly, and associated products. As Federationists will remember
from his appearance at last summer's NFB convention in New
Orleans, Ehab is a major producer and a national player in the
bee business. He has his own product labels and does large-scale
shipping throughout the country.
     Even so (and perhaps this is part of the secret) Ehab's
operation is still very much a family business. His wife Sabrina
and his children were busy filling individual bottles of bee
pollen from bulk containers at all hours during the New Orleans
convention. And Ehab believes very strongly in the value and
efficacy of what he is doing. He is like that--whether he is
doing massage, planning the establishment of a school, or
extolling the virtues of the honeybee. He is also a man of high
principle, one who believes in working hard for what he gets and
paying his own way.
     Recently he sent me an article (the one we are printing
here) on the curative values of honeybee venom. I have heard a
little about these theories before, and I am sure they will be
controversial. This is not why we are printing the article.
Rather, it is to show how varied and diverse are the occupations
which blind persons are entering and how vigorously and
individualistically the blind are moving toward first-class
status and full participation in society. It is not necessary to
agree with the premise in order to respect the effort and honor
the spirit. Ehab and Sabrina thought Monitor readers might find
their article interesting, and I agree with them--so here it is:

     Arthritis is a serious disease that affects some 37 to 50
million Americans.  That's one in every seven people.  With over
100 different types of arthritis its victims include people
varying in age and background, including children and young
adults.  Arthritis is no longer thought of as the "old folks'
disease."
     The word arthritis basically means joint inflammation,
"arth" (joint); "itis" (inflammation).  A joint is defined as any
place in the body where two bones meet. The ends of these two
bones are covered by cartilage, a tough, stretchy tissue that
performs as a shock absorber and prevents the bones from rubbing
against each other.  In many arthritic patients this is where the
problem lies and arthritis is at its worst, causing much
inflammation and pain.  Normally, inflammation is the natural way
the body responds to injury by sending healthy cells of the
immune system to repair damaged and injured cells in the injured
area.  During the healing process the inflammation usually will
dissipate; not so with many forms of arthritis.  With arthritis,
inflammation becomes a constant part of the problem and may
result in the death of healthy tissue, causing even more damage
and more inflammation.  Hence, a vicious cycle is born.
     The human body secretes cortisone, a natural hormone
produced by the adrenal glands, to relieve inflammation of an
injury during its healing process.  However, in arthritic
patients it seems that the natural, useful production of
cortisone becomes somewhat limited.  This, undoubtedly, is where
Apis Mellifera (the honeybee), and the science of apitherapy (bee
venom therapy) comes in.
     Upon stinging her victim subcutaneously, the honeybee's
venom immediately acts on the central nervous system, which
stimulates our pituitary and adrenal glands, enabling the body to
increase production of cortisone to the injured area.
     When an individual who is afflicted with arthritis is
treated with honeybee venom, the patient receives stings directly
on the arthritic area (usually a joint).  The venom immediately
soothes the area by producing a numbing effect which helps
alleviate the pain associated with arthritis.  After several days
of inflammation (from the stings and/or arthritis), the swelling
and pain should diminish or leave completely. (Extent of
treatment may vary according to severity and type of arthritis. 
In addition, some types of arthritis may not respond as well as
others.)
     The honeybee venom has for many years proven effective
against the ills of arthritis on arthritic humans, monkeys, mice,
horses, and even dogs.  There are many, many research papers by
German, English, Russian, and American scientists and doctors
that indicate the effectiveness bee venom has on arthritis and
how it surpasses the medications on the market, past and present,
in the relief of pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. 
(Honeybee venom is also known to have a positive effect on other
types of inflammatory disorders that include tendinitis, gout,
bursitis, carpel tunnel syndrome, and others.)
     In 1965, a study was conducted by the New York Cancer
Institute in which there was found that "beekeepers have the
lowest incidence of cancer of all the occupations!"  In addition,
a study was conducted in 1971 by another group that concluded
"honeybee venom injected up to twelve milligrams per week had no
adverse physiological or mental effects."
     The father of modern-day apitherapy, Dr. Philip Terc, used
bee venom treatment on different types of arthritis for forty
years.  He often said he was convinced that almost all true
arthritis and rheumatism can be radically and permanently cured
with bee stings, except those cases of many years standing, where
the joints already have been destroyed and ossification has taken
place.  Six-hundred and sixty (660) arthritis cases by Dr. Terc
were published-and the results were as follows: 544 cases (82
percent) perfectly cured, 99 cases (15 percent) improved, and 17
cases (3 percent) unimproved.
     Used to medically treat arthritis are a group of drugs
produced in the laboratory to resemble the cortisone produced
naturally by our bodies.  Unlike our naturally produced
cortisone, the synthetic cortisones, commonly termed
corticosteroids, are powerful drugs with sometimes
death-threatening side effects.  Additionally, corticosteroids
are given in unusually large dosages in comparison to our bodily
produced cortisone which is released in small, minute dosages. 
Some of the serious side effects of corticosteroids include
cataracts, ulcers, increased bodily hair, softening of the spine,
and diabetes, to name a few.  These drugs do not cure and no
scientist, doctor, or drug manufacturer has claimed so.  They
only offer temporary relief.  However, there is much world-wide
research with scientific data to substantiate the many successful
claims of a "cure" of many forms of arthritis with honeybee
venom.
     So why, with 37 to 50 million Americans being afflicted by
this debilitating disease, isn't honeybee venom being used in the
United States?  Why is the medical profession holding on to the
dangerous corticosteroids that only offer temporary relief from
the ills of arthritis and allow so many helpless victims to look
to "false hope" medications on the market?  Maybe the answers lie
in the fact that there are billions of dollars generated from the
suffering of arthritic patients in the form of medicines,
disability aid and insurance, and medical care; or it may be just
plain ignorance.  Another pioneer in bee venom therapy, Dr.
Joseph Broadman, author of the book, Bee Venom: The Natural
Curative for Arthritis and Rheumatism, wrote: "Resistance to bee
venom as a curative has been strong in America, and it is strange
that one of the most advanced countries in the world allows
millions to go in agony and be crippled unnecessarily; even
worse, almost all of the medical profession is completely
ignorant of what bee venom can do and has done.  It is this
resistance and ignorance that has forced me to write this
book...."
     Why, in 1928, could we accept the accidental discovery of
the world's first antibiotic, penicillin, (by Sir Alexander
Fleming) from a green mold, the same green mold oftentimes found
on foodstuffs in our refrigerators, and today not accept that an
insect, created by the same Creator of the mold, could have the
answer to many of man's ills.  And to say that bee venom research
is not a priority in the U.S. with the medical community is a
Hippocratic shame!
     Only about one percent of the populus are allergic to bee
stings.  A simple swelling from a bee sting is a natural reaction
by the body; and even if a person is stung, for example, on the
knee and swelling spreads to the hip, this is normal.  An allergy
to bee venom will show exaggerated symptoms such as excessive
itching over the entire body, breathing difficulties, and intense
swelling over a greater part of the body.  Immediate medical
attention is needed. (Special note: Before any bee venom therapy
is begun, one should be tested by one's doctor for any possible
allergic reactions.)
     The components of bee venom have been analyzed and reported
in several scientific papers. Honeybee venom is very complicated
chemically, and is said to contain histamine, dopamine, melittin,
MCD-peptide, including several enzymes and a host of proteins.
     We hope that, in some way, this article has affected the
suffering patient, the common citizen, and/or the scientist to
further inquire into the medicinal use of honeybee venom as a
tool against the ills of arthritis and possibly other human ills. 
And more importantly we hope that we have influenced someone in
the general public to join us in seeking new discoveries from
Apis Mellifera (the honeybee)! For further information write to
the authors at 954 Byron Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30310.

Bibliography

Bee Venom: The Natural Curative For Arthritis and Rheumatism,
Broadman, Joseph, M.D., 1962

Bees Don't Get Arthritis, Nalone, Fred, 1979



             A RESPONSE TO ARTICLES ON PIANO TUNING
                        AND A CORRECTION

     From the Editor: Our recent articles concerning piano tuning
and repair brought us an interesting letter and a correction. We
are glad for the one and sorry that we goofed concerning the
other. Here are the letters:

                                                    Bethel, Maine
                                                 October 27, 1991

Dear Dr. Jernigan:
     I have just finished reading the two articles on piano
tuning in the October, 1991, issue of the Braille Monitor. I am
glad to see that somebody is finally saying what I have thought
for years--namely, that piano tuning, although it is a
traditional field for the blind, is one in which a blind person
can earn a good living. However, the two articles leave a little
out.
     It is true that a blind person working on pianos is
extremely visible because he/she is constantly dealing with the
public. What is also true is that a blind piano tuner will find
that this skill is extremely portable and can always be counted
on to bring in a little extra money. Here is what I mean.
     When you and I last spoke (in Massachusetts sometime in the
mid-eighties), I was working for the Massachusetts Commission for
the Blind as a subcontractor tuning pianos in school systems. I
left that position in late 1986 because I was burned out. A move
to the state of Maine took me through several career changes, but
I always had a few pianos to tune along the way. My family and I
recently moved to Bethel, where I began work as studio editor for
a publication called Voices for the Blind. I am still tuning both
pianos and people as I edit audio tapes. It is what is called
patchwork economics. But piano tuning plays a major part in the
way a buck is made in the Wood family.
     Anyway, thank you for running those articles in the Monitor.
I needed to see it in print to reaffirm my feeling about piano
tuning.

                                          Yours in Federationism,
                                        Rich Wood, Vice President
                        National Federation of the Blind of Maine
                      ____________________
                                              Spokane, Washington
                                                 October 25, 1991

Dear Dr. Jernigan:
     As you might imagine, I was delighted to read in the October
Braille Monitor the articles by Mr. Gray and Mr. Oliver regarding
piano tuning. The servicing of pianos has been, for me, both
enjoyable as a career and nicely profitable financially. I was,
however, surprised when I read the caption on the photograph of
Mr. Oliver and me. There is one slight error. I am a graduate of
the Emil Fries Piano Hospital, not a director.

                                            Very cordially yours,
                                                   Albert Sanchez




[3 PHOTOS: Activities in the child care room during an NFB
convention: Blind child standing with a cane next to a crib;
adult and blind child playing with blocks; two blind children
seated on floor reading print/Braille books. CAPTION: Child care
is a happy place at the annual conventions of the National
Federation of the Blind. There's lots to do, new friends to make,
and pleasant adults to play with and teach the children. The 1992
convention in Charlotte will be no exception.]

                    OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE
                         by Mary Wurtzel

     From the Editor: Recently Mary Wurtzel, who has worked in
our child care program during national conventions, sent me the
following article. She said that it had been written for the
fiftieth anniversary convention in Dallas but that she had been
too busy with her children and a host of other things to get it
to me. I thought it was as pertinent now as it would have been
following the Dallas convention, so here it is:

     During this fiftieth anniversary year it seemed fitting to
me that something be shared with Federationists about the
development of child care given at our national conventions. It
seemed even more appropriate after the generosity shown by
everyone at the convention in Dallas in 1990, when on the last
day about $800 was collected to help cover child care costs.
     I can best share with you from my own perspective, which
began in 1982 in Minneapolis. I first took my daughter Maria,
then seventeen months old, and my son Freddie, four and a half.
We took them with us for the next seven years, and then our new
little son Marc came to the convention when he was three months
old.
     It seemed to me that more Federationists were having
children, and they wished to bring them to national conventions.
I want to make it clear that I am not advocating that all parents
bring children to conventions, but it may be helpful for people
to understand why more parents do opt to do so. As the years have
passed, more and more children have come to convention. We now
serve over sixty children altogether during convention week, and
this doesn't reflect the preteen or teenage population not served
in child care.
     So why do people bring kids to convention? Wouldn't it be
easier to leave them home? My guess is that in earlier decades
people were more likely to leave kids home with friends or
relatives. This option is not as feasible for parents of the
'90s. One reason for this is that our society has become so
mobile that many parents live far away from any relatives and
also because people move around so often that it is hard to make
friends with whom one feels close enough to ask that several
children be left for perhaps as long as ten days, even with pay.
It is possible to find a care-giver by advertising in the
newspaper, but parents may feel reluctant to do so with all the
horror stories out there about child abuse and such.
     For many families NFB convention is the only "vacation" they
can afford for the year, so they wish to include their children.
I believe, though, for many parents in the NFB the reasons for
bringing kids to convention go even deeper. We want our children
to feel a part of the movement. Our children make involuntary
sacrifices for the Federation. Their parent or parents must go
out of town on a weekend so can't share in their school or extra-
curricular activities. Other times mom or dad is on the phone in
the evening and isn't available to discuss the child's problem of
that day or to help with homework. They are left with baby
sitters while their parents attend one more meeting, or sometimes
if a sitter can't be found, they attend the meeting and are bored
to tears and get the feeling people are unhappy with the noise
they can't help but make just because they are kids. They also
participate in fundraisers. My own kids have hiked ten miles in a
hike-a-thon or sold candy.
     Returning to the subject of convention, for many families
the convention is the only vacation they can afford to take
either because of time constraints or money. If this is the case,
then people want to include their whole family. It is also a
fantastic experience for children to be able to see different
parts of the country every year. They also grow more and more
knowledgeable about blindness. They are the future public and
live in the same society we do. Thus, they pick up stereotypic
attitudes, too. Their education also must be an ongoing process.
     Parents of blind children want to bring them so they feel a
part of things from the beginning. It is also an opportunity for
them to make friends with other Federation kids, both blind and
sighted. They also make friends with adults in the NFB who can
serve as role models.
     I want to share a word about convention costs, not in any
sense of complaining or martyrdom, but just to indicate that
financially this is also a major sacrifice and calls for
commitment on the part of families. It has cost over $3,000 to
take our family of five to convention.
     I coordinated child care for eight years. In 1991 in New
Orleans, Carol Coulter was in charge. At first I began an NFB toy
chest to which people donated toys, and I went to garage sales
and bought toys. Then Greg Bartholomay wrote letters and got
several beautiful toys donated.
     Many state affiliates, local chapters, and individuals
continue to work to make child care at NFB conventions possible.
Mostly they do not get recognition for this work, but they
certainly deserve the thanks of us all.
     In conclusion, I hope everyone better understands the role
of the child care at our national convention. I hope you will all
help in the future--financially, with your time, but especially
by just valuing our fine family of children and getting to know
them. The children are our future, and that's why it's important
for them to experience NFB and our national convention in a
positive way, for this is what they will carry with them
throughout their lives.


                             RECIPES

     From the Associate Editor: One of the pleasures of this
column in the Monitor is the opportunity for us all to get to
know a little more about the members of our Federation family who
send in recipes. In an effort to broaden the group of people
whose culinary offerings are shared in these pages, the editors
have decided to invite each state in turn to contribute a month's
recipes. It will be up to the president and anyone else whom he
or she chooses to pull into the decision to determine whether one
person or several will be invited to select recipes. States are
welcome to choose state or regional favorites or take advantage
of the season of the year. This month it is Alabama's turn.
Louise Greene, President of the affiliate asked Robert Kelly,
First President of the Huntsville chapter and a member of the
Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind of
Alabama, to gather up some of his favorite recipes. Here they
are:

                           APPLE CAKE
                         by Robert Kelly

Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup oil
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups chopped apples
1 cup chopped nuts

Icing:
1 3-ounce package cream cheese
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup oleo
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt

     Method: Beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together, then
beat in oil until smooth. Sift dry ingredients and stir into
mixture. Add apples and nuts to mixture, then turn into 9 x 13-
inch pan. Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees. Beat icing ingredients
until fluffy and spread on cooled cake.

           PASTA AND SHRIMP WITH RICOTTA CHEESE SAUCE
                         by Robert Kelly

Ingredients:
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped, optional
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon reduced-calorie margarine
1/2 cup skim milk
3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
8 ounces small shrimp, shelled, deveined, and sliced lengthwise
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed completely
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2-3 dashes liquid red pepper seasoning
1/4 cup shredded, low-fat Monterey Jack cheese (1 ounce)
12 ounces of linguine

     Method: Saut garlic and red pepper flakes in hot margarine
in a 10-inch non-stick skillet for 2 minutes, or until garlic is
golden. Whisk in milk and ricotta, stirring until smooth. Add
shrimp, peas, parsley, salt, nutmeg, and liquid red pepper
seasoning. Cook over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until
shrimp turn pink. Stir in cheese. Meanwhile, cook linguine in a
large pan of boiling water following package directions. Drain
and rinse quickly in hot water. Transfer to large bowl. Top pasta
with hot sauce. Toss well to coat. Serve immediately.

                      PORK CHOPS & POTATOES
                         by Robert Kelly

Ingredients:
5 or 6 medium baking potatoes
1 medium onion, sliced for rings
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 10-ounce can golden mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
6-8 pork chops

     Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and slice potatoes
and place in lightly buttered baking dish. Place onion rings over
potatoes and add bell pepper. Combine condensed soup and milk and
spread mixture over vegetables. Add salt and pepper. Season pork
chops and place on top of mixture in dish. Bake for 1 hour at 350
degrees. Thick chops should be turned once to assure thorough
cooking.

                 SWEET 'N' SAVORY CHICKEN SALAD
                         by Robert Kelly

Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain, nonfat yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed
2 cups cooked chicken, cut in chunks
1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) unsweetened mandarin oranges, drained
1 can (4 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 small cucumber, diced
1 scallion, finely chopped
lettuce leaves

     Method: Mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, and tarragon
to make a dressing. In a large bowl combine the remaining
ingredients, except lettuce leaves. Pour the dressing over the
chicken salad and toss lightly. Serve on lettuce leaves of your
choice.

                           POUND CAKE
                         by Robert Kelly

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
3 cups plain flour
1 cup milk
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup Crisco shortening

     Method: Cream butter, Crisco, and sugar until smooth. Add
eggs, one at a time, beat well after each. Add milk and flour, a
little at a time. Add vanilla and lemon flavor. Fold in baking
powder last. Grease and flour a large angel cake or Bundt pan.
Pour batter into pan and place it in a cold oven. Then turn the
temperature to 350 degrees. Let it cook 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Before opening the oven, turn off the heat and let the cake cool
in the pan.

                         SWEET POTATOES
                         by Robert Kelly

Ingredients:
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 stick margarine, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup nuts, optional
1/3 stick butter or margarine

     Method: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all
ingredients, except those for topping, and pour into large
buttered casserole dish. Combine topping ingredients and put on
top of sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
Serves 8.


                   * * MONITOR MINIATURES * *

**For Sale:
     Sue Drapinski, Treasurer of the NFB of Michigan has asked us
to print the following reminder: 
     NFB tote bags and "Braille Readers are Leaders" T-shirts and
sweatshirts are available from the NFB of Michigan. The tote bags
are $10, T-shirts are $9, and sweatshirts are $15. All shirts are
available in children's sizes S, M, and L, and adult sizes S, M,
L, XL, and XXL. 
     Please include $2.00 for shipping cost per item and send
orders to NFB of Michigan, 111 W. Woodward Hts., Hazel Park,
Michigan 48030.

**Elected:
     Sandy Hansen, Vice President/Secretary of the Black Hills
Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of South Dakota,
writes as follows: On June 6, 1991, the National Federation of
the Blind of South Dakota, Black Hills Chapter, held their annual
election. The following people were elected: Joe Bollwerk,
President; Sandy Hansen, Vice President/Secretary; Jean Thompson,
Treasurer; Board of Directors: Tommie Blake, Irene Sears, and
Polly Weedman.

**Wyoming Libraries Receive Our Book:
     NFB chapters everywhere are on the move. It's still a good
idea to encourage librarians to purchase our books for their
collections, but if for whatever reason they will not, sometimes
the only way to be sure that the books are available for those
who need to read them is to present copies to the library staff.
This article appeared in the Lander Wyoming newspaper:

     The President of the Fremont County Chapter of the National
Federation of the Blind was in Lander Thursday to present a copy
of a new book on the blind to the Fremont County Library.
     Bud Peterson, a visually handicapped person and president of
the local organization, presented a copy of Walking Alone and
Marching Together: A History of the Organized Blind Movement in
the United States, 1940-1990 by Floyd Matson. Peterson said the
chapter meets once a month, usually on a Wednesday near the end
of each month, at the Riverton Senior Citizens Center.
     A copy of the book was also presented to the Riverton Branch
of the Fremont County Library. Roberta Olson, Librarian at the
Lander Library accepted the book from Peterson. Olson then
demonstrated the use of a sophisticated reading machine, which
the library has available for the visually handicapped, using the
new book.

**Change of Address:
     The address for the National Association to Promote the Use
of Braille (NAPUB) International Braille Pen Pals Club has
changed because Ronda Del Boccio has moved to Colorado Springs.
If you are interested in participating in this international
program, please write to her at 1915 E. Van Buren St., #12,
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80909, or call (719) 475-8586 (work)
or (719) 475-8680 (home).
     We need participants from other countries. Please let Ronda
know of any organizations, schools, clubs, or individuals who
might be interested.

**Attention Martial Arts Enthusiasts:
     Gregory Hanson is seeking correspondence with any blind
person who is studying or would like to study martial arts. He
has been involved with Tae Kwon Do, the Korean form of Karate,
for more than five years and has recently received the black belt
and certification to teach. Respond in Braille, print, or
cassette to Gregory Hanson, 2010-A Broadway Street, Iowa City,
Iowa 52240, or call (319) 354-6314.

**Self-Inking Stamp for Sale:
     The Albuquerque Chapter of the National Federation of the
Blind of New Mexico is selling self-inking stamps embossed with
the Free Matter for the Blind postal designation. These stamps
produce a perfect imprint every time without the mess associated
with conventional stamps. They are ideal for chapters that must
put out large mailings or individuals who wish to dispense with
messy and old-fashioned ink pads. Each stamp costs $10. Orders
should be sent to Greg Trapp, 1309 Wagontrain Court, S.E.,
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123.

[PHOTO: Scott LaBarre seated at table microphone, reading Braille
notes. CAPTION: Scott LaBarre, President of the National
Association of Blind Students.]

**Student Division Winter Conference:
     Scott LaBarre, President of the National Association of
Blind Students has asked us to print the following: 
     The National Association of Blind Students (NABS) will
conduct its third annual national conference for blind students
on January 31 and February 1, 1992, in Washington, D.C. We will
kick off the conference with a fun-filled reception on Friday
evening at 8:00 p.m., location in the headquarters hotel to be
announced. On Saturday, the first, there will be both morning and
afternoon sessions, in which we will discuss a wide variety of
topics ranging from the how-to's of being a successful blind
student to the current issues which confront blind students. On
Saturday evening we'll cap the conference with a festive banquet,
featuring a keynote address from a prominent leader in the
blindness field. In past years the student conference has been a
high-spirited, educational, and inspirational event.
     At the conclusion of the conference the National Federation
of the Blind will conduct our annual Washington Seminar from
Sunday, February 2 to Wednesday, February 5. Students are
strongly encouraged to remain in Washington for the rest of the
seminar. It is our opportunity to inform our nation's legislative
leaders about issues which are of the greatest importance to the
blind of America.
     The NABS conference and the Washington Seminar will be held
at the Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C Street SW, Washington, D.C.
Room rates are $69 for singles, $74 for doubles, $79 for triples,
and $84 for quads. The cost of registration, including a banquet
ticket, is $20. To make your reservations, please contact Diane
McGeorge at the Colorado Center for the Blind, 2232 South
Broadway, Denver, Colorado 80210, (303) 778-1130. Hotel
reservations must be made by January 1. 
     For any other questions regarding the conference, please
contact Scott LaBarre, 2809 Fremont Avenue South, Apartment 214,
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55408, (612) 874-8327.
     Don't miss this exciting chance to change what it means to
be blind. Come join us in Washington.

**As the World Turns:
     As this issue of the Braille Monitor goes to press, we have
about come to the end of state convention season in the
Federation. September, October, and November witnessed twenty-
seven this year, and as one might have expected, the result has
been a number of changes on the political map of the Federation.
For your information, here are the names of the new chief
executives of our state affiliates: West Virginia, Ed McDonald;
Colorado, Homer Page; Vermont, Renee Pavlus; Georgia, Max Parker;
Indiana, Paul Howard; North Dakota, Greg Beach; and New York,
Gisela Distel. Congratulations and good luck to all these new
state presidents. 

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dick Morris holds son Christopher during a
meeting of the Public Relations Committee at the annual
convention of the National Federation of the Blind.]

**In Memoriam:
     From the Associate Editor: It is with deep sorrow that we
announce the death on November 11, 1991, of Christopher Morris,
the six-year-old son of Dick and Dianna Morris of Missouri. Dick
is the Recording Secretary of the National Federation of the
Blind of Missouri and the Treasurer of the Springfield chapter.
He is also the voice of the recorded edition of The Blind
Missourian, the publication of the NFB of Missouri. 
     The Morrises adopted Chris in December of 1986, when he was
sixteen months old. He had been abused as an infant and as a
result never developed properly. But Chris was a loving and
appealing little boy. He was happy to be rocked by any
affectionate pair of arms, as long as his parents were nearby.
Chris always attended the Public Relations Committee's seminars
and meetings at our national conventions with his daddy and won
everybody's heart. He will be deeply missed by his big brother
Kevin and his devoted parents. Dick and Dianna have our deepest
sympathy and also our profound admiration for the quality of love
and life they gave Chris and continue to give Kevin. 


[PHOTO: Greg Beach and Barbara Walker stand with Greg's guide dog
Rocky. CAPTION: Greg Beach, newly elected President of the NFB of
North Dakota, stands here with Barbara Walker, President of the
NFB of Nebraska.]

**News from North Dakota:
     Greg Beach, President of the National Federation of the
Blind of North Dakota, has asked us to print the following:
     The National Federation of the Blind of North Dakota held
its state convention on Saturday, September 21, 1991. In an
attempt to meet the goal of the National Federation of the Blind
to educate the public about the abilities of the blind, we
invited professionals (such as home health nurses, social
workers, and special education instructors) to come to our
convention. We provided continuing education credits to those who
attended.
     As our special project for 1992 we are in the process of
preparing resource information folders for distribution to those
health care providers who work with people who are losing their
sight. Walmart has agreed to donate the folders, and the Lions
have agreed to assist with the cost of distribution.
     The following Federationists were elected to serve as
officers: President, Greg Beach; Vice President, Tom Capes;
Secretary, Bev Rilley; and Treasurer, Connie Norheim.

**Cookbook Being Compiled:
     We have been asked to print the following: 
     The NFB's Cultural Exchange and International Programs
Committee is engaged in a new fund-raising activity--a foreign
cookbook called International Dining. It will be exciting to have
each of you send in foreign recipes. The cookbook will be
produced in both Braille and print, and for each recipe that you
send in, your name will be placed in a pot, giving you a chance
later to win a copy of the cookbook. Please be sure your recipes
have ingredients that are available in the United States, and
send them to Cheryl McCaslin, 3115 Crestview, Apt. 107, Dallas,
Texas 75235.

**For Sale:
     We have been asked to print the following:
     For sale: Visualtek Voyager with 14-inch amber screen. The
unit is in excellent condition, having had only approximately six
to eight hours of use by one individual. I am asking $1,300,
which includes owner's manual, dust cover, and insured shipping
in its original carton. All reasonable offers will be considered.
A $50.00 donation will be made to the National Federation of the
Blind if sold through this publication.
     If interested, contact Barry Wood at 6904 Bergenwood Avenue,
North Bergen, New Jersey 07047, or call (201) 868-3336.

**Appointed
     We recently received the following announcement: 
     The Decatur Area Chapter of the National Federation of the
Blind of Georgia proudly announces the appointment of our first
vice president, Robert James Smith, to the Elderly and
Handicapped Committee of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit
Authority Board. As blind and visually impaired persons, we
reserve the right to express our views and needs concerning
public transportation. Therefore, we congratulate Robert James
Smith for this important appointment, and we encourage him to
speak out continually on issues affecting blind and visually
impaired persons.

**Elected:
     Sandra Parkinson of the NFB of Connecticut writes as
follows: "The Thames Chapter of the National Federation of the
Blind of Connecticut elected the following officers on October
19, 1991: President, Junerose Killian; Vice President, Michael
D'Amico; Secretary, Sandra Parkinson; Treasurer, Glenn Killian;
and Director, Fatima Perez. We have our meetings on the third 
Saturday of every month."

**Walks With India:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     "I am writing to request that you include in your magazine
some information about the audio cassette recordings which have
recently been released by VOLKARIEL PRODUCTIONS. The two-cassette
album, entitled "Walks With India," is composed of four
meditations which guide the listener into country walks during
the four seasons. The voice recording is accompanied by original
music composed and performed especially for this album. Together
the voice and music have created love songs to nature. The album
is accompanied by a booklet which contains the main text of the
recordings. The booklet has been translated into Braille and
accompanies the original packaging. Without the Braille the album
retails for $29.95; the price is $34 with the Braille. Contact:
India G. Monroe, VOLKARIEL PRODUCTIONS, 2614 Plata Drive, Santa
Rosa, California 95403; phone: (707) 578-4538. California
residents must include 7-1/2 percent tax."

**What's In A Name:
     From the Editor: Here is the end of a long trail. Apparently
sometime in late August Mary Wurtzel, acting in behalf of the
Committee on Parental Concerns of the National Federation of the
Blind, sent me a letter announcing the establishment of a
newsletter and asking that Monitor readers suggest a name for it.
The first issue of the newsletter was slated for October. And,
for all I know, it made its debut in timely fashion. In any case,
I assume that a name is still wanted. Here is Mary Wurtzel's
announcement:

     It's been long awaited. It's here now. It's been worth the
wait. What is it? It's the newsletter from the National
Federation of the Blind Committee on Parental Concerns. Who will
want to read it? Any parent. Any blind parent. Anyone who wants
to be the best parent possible. Anyone interested in issues
surrounding being a blind parent. This will be a general interest
newsletter focusing on ways to parent as a blind person. There
will be product reviews, personal interviews with blind parents,
discussion of adoptions by blind parents, and much, much, much
more.
     When will the first issue be published? October 1, 1991. It
will be a quarterly publication, issued January, April, July, and
October. What format will it be published in? The newsletter is
designed to be "interactive." That is, it is hoped that the
subscribers will be active participants in each issue. For this
reason the newsletter will be produced on tape. These tapes are
to be returned, hopefully with comments which can be used in
future issues. How much will it cost? Subscriptions will be $15
per year. Checks should be made payable to: Blind Parents
Newsletter, c/o Mary Wurtzel, 1212 North Foster, Lansing,
Michigan 48912.
     What is its name? Well, Blind Parents Newsletter just won't
make it as a name for a great newsletter. Remember interactive?
There will be a contest to name the newsletter. Everyone who
subscribes will have an opportunity to submit a name. There will
be a prize for the creative person who submits the chosen name.
Be the first. Send your subscription in today.

**Sell:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement: "I
have the following items for sale: Complete Braille chess set,
$10; Clovernook Braille Cookbook, one Braille volume, $2.50; The
Problem of Wineskins: Church Structure in Today's Technological
Age--by Howard A. Snyder, 5 thermoform Braille volumes, $15; The
Day the World Ended--by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witz,
nonfiction, cassette, $3.50; and soft plastic cassette boxes, 8
cents each. Write in Braille or tape: Elizabeth R. Saunders, Post
Office Box 667, Macomb, Illinois 61455."

**The Lion Magazine Available on Tape:
     Pat Barrett, one of the leaders of the National Federation
of the Blind of Idaho, writes to say that The Lion, the
publication of the Lions service organization, is available on
tape at no charge. Those interested in receiving it should
contact Variety Audio, San Jose Public Library, 180 San Carlos
Street, San Jose, California 95113-2096. 

**Conference:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     The Blind Children's Fund and the New Mexico School for the
Visually Handicapped Preschool have announced their sponsorship
of a five-day national conference: Innovative Methods and
Materials from Denmark: Developing the Full Potential of Infant,
Preschool, and Multiply Impaired Blind and Visually Impaired
Children, featuring Lilli Nielsen, Ph.D. of Denmark. The
conference will be held September 21-25, 1992, in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. For further information contact: Sherry Raynor, Blind
Children's Fund, 230 Central Street, Auburndale, Massachusetts
02166, Phone: (617) 332-4014, FAX: (617) 244-0690; or Betty
Dominguez, NMSVH Preschool, 230 Truman, N.E., Albuquerque, New
Mexico 87108, Phone: (505) 268-9506, FAX: (505) 265-4866.

**Biography and Request for Book:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
"First, the third part of my biography (My Testimony) is
available in Braille from: Mrs. Lois Baskerville, 1015 Oxford
Avenue, Sparks, Nevada 89431. The first two parts are: My Search
for Myself and HAM Radio at My Fingertips. Anyone interested
should send at least $10 with his or her order. Also, does
anybody have a Braille copy of John Donne's poems? If so, I would
either like to borrow it, or if it is not needed anymore, I would
hope it could be donated. Contact: Ms. Gayle Sabonaitis, 11
Maxwell Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01607."

**Correction:
     From the Editor: Sometime back we carried an announcement
that Edgar Sammons of Mountain City, Tennessee 37683, would like
to have pen pals in Braille. Apparently we gave his address as
RFD 2, Box 1840. We should have given it as RFD 1, Box 1840.
Edgar Sammons is a long-time member of the Federation, and anyone
who corresponds with him will find his letters interesting.
Incidentally, he was seventy-eight years old October 30 of this
year. He and I have been exchanging letters for twenty or thirty
years.

**Donation and Recognition:
     As Federationists know, Barbara Cheadle is the editor of
Future Reflections magazine and the president of the Parents of
Blind Children Division of the National Federation of the Blind.
Under date of October 16, 1991, she received the following
letter:

Dear Mrs. Cheadle:
     I am writing on behalf of Barbara Aiello and Jeffrey
Shulman, authors of The Kids on the Block Book Series. Their
story, Business is Looking Up, which features a visually impaired
main character, has been chosen by Silver, Burdett & Ginn for
inclusion in the 1993 edition of the World of Reading Program.
Barbara is the president of The Kids on the Block, Inc., and
Jeffrey is the publisher at Twenty-First Century Books. They have
chosen to give the $1,000 reprint fee for this project to the
National Federation of the Blind. You should be receiving the
donation shortly. Thank you.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                               Teresa S. Tauscher
                                               Marketing Director
                                       Twenty-First Century Books

**Elected:
     We recently received the following announcement from Helen
Dodge: "I am asked by the Bay Area Chapter of the National
Federation of the Blind of California to let you know of the
results of our election of officers for the coming year. The
following were elected: President, Jana Littrell; First Vice
President, Pinky Johnson; Second Vice President, Mildred Rivera;
Secretary, Helen Dodge; and Treasurer, Lief Johnson. Corinne
Vieville and Doug Edwards were elected to the Board of Directors.
Our chapter has been steadily growing in membership. Five new
people were voted in at the last meeting.

**Christmas Reminder:
     The National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico is
participating in a fund raising project with Wild Orchid
Productions, a company which makes audio tape dramatizations of
romance novels. For fans of this form of casual reading (both
blind and sighted), these books on tape can be a fun new way to
enjoy a favorite pastime. The NFB of New Mexico receives one-
quarter of the purchase price on all books ordered by calling
(800) 347-2160. Order now for gifts to your romance novel reading
friends for Christmas or for those long winter nights by the fire
in January.

**A Gift of Love: 
     From the Associate Editor: These thoughts were submitted by
one Federationist, but it is really a message from the collective
body of the National Federation of the Blind and is meant for
every blind and sighted reader of these pages. Here it is:
 
     December is the time of year when we think especially about
giving. Giving warms the heart and restores the soul. When we
give, we are more likely to count our blessings and give thanks
for the benefits we have received.  
     When we count the blessings of 1991, let us remember to
include the National Federation of the Blind. If it were not for
the Federation, we who are blind would not be abroad in the land,
taking our place in society and sharing in the responsibilities
of membership in it. Although more blind people are an integral
part of their communities than ever before, full integration and
equal participation for all of us continue to be our most
precious dream for the future.
     Blind and sighted people alike have a responsibility to
ourselves and to the generations that follow us to be certain
that the National Federation of the Blind continues to be there
when blindness strikes a family or when a blind person needs the
strength and support of other blind people.
     This December, when you consider making your gifts of love,
please remember the National Federation of the Blind and make a
donation. If the NFB is to be here for all of us in the coming
year and decade and century, it will be because each of us has
helped to make it so.