                       THE BRAILLE MONITOR

                         June-July, 1987

                    Kenneth Jernigan, Editor


     Published in inkprint, Braille, on talking-book disc, 
                        and cassette by 


              THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 
                     MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT 
 


                         National Office
                       1800 Johnson Street
                   Baltimore, Maryland 21230 

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made payable to National Federation of the Blind and sent to: 
 

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

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

ISSN 0006-8829

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CONTENTS

JUNE-JULY 1987


OF BRAILLE AND MEMORIES AND THE MATILDA ZIEGLER
  by Kenneth Jernigan

UNITED AIRLINES CONTINUES TO HARASS BLIND PEOPLE

CONGRESSIONAL MOMENTUM
IN THE AIRLINE CONTROVERSY INCREASES

THE FUTURE OF A BLIND GUY by Gary Wunder

BUILDING MY PIANO BUSINESS by Al Sanchez

PAYOFF SPEAKS--NANCY SQUEAKS by Kenneth Jernigan

THE THREE BARRETTS GROWING IN THE FEDERATION by Ramona Walhof

JIM MOYNIHAN RESPONDS TO PROFESSOR EAMES AND MS. GARDINER

BLIND OF MILWAUKEE PRODUCE TELEVISION PROGRAM

DAVID STAYER STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLE

LOW VISION AS AN ALTERNATIVE TECHNIQUE by Richard Mettler

BLOOD, SIGNATURES, AND SAFETY by Marc Maurer

ON THE NATURE OF BUDGETS, CONTROVERSY, AND CENSORSHIP

ANOTHER BARRIER FALLS:  VICTORY IN IRS EMPLOYMENT

MONITORADIO

RIGHT TO SUE UNDER SECTION 503 CONCILIATION AGREEMENT VIOLATED
  by Marc Maurer

SOME ADVICE TO BLIND INTERVIEWEES by Patti Gregory

BRAILLE TALK

RECIPES

MONITOR MINIATURES

Copyright, National Federation of the Blind, Inc., 1987
OF BRAILLE AND MEMORIES AND THE MATILDA ZIEGLER

by Kenneth Jernigan


  When I was a boy growing up in Tennessee, Braille was hard to
come by.  At the Tennessee School for the Blind (where I spent
nine months of each year) Braille was rationed.  In the first
grade we were allowed to read a book only during certain hours of
the day, and we were not permitted to take books to our rooms at
night or on weekends.  Looking back, I suppose the school didn't
have many books, and they probably thought (perhaps correctly)
that those they did have would be used more as missiles than
instruments of learning if they let us take them out.
  When we advanced to the second grade, we were allowed (yes,
allowed) to come down for thirty minutes each night to study
hall.  This was what the "big boys" did.  In the first grade we
had been ignominiously sent to bed at seven o'clock while our
elders (the second and third graders and those beyond) were
permitted to go to that mysterious place called study hall.  The
first graders (the "little boys") had no such status or
privilege.
  When we got to the third grade, we were still not permitted to
take books to our rooms, but we were allowed to increase our
study hall time.  We could actually spend a whole hour at it each
night Monday through Friday.  It was the pinnacle of status for
the primary grades.
  When we got to the "intermediate" department (the fourth,
fifth, and sixth grades) we were really "growing up," and our
status and prestige increased accordingly.  We were allowed (I
use the word advisedly--"allowed," not "forced") to go for an
hour each night Monday through Friday to study hall, and during
that time we could read books and magazines to our hearts'
content.  True, the choice was not great--but such as there was,
we could read it.  Of course, we could not take books to our
rooms during the week, but on Friday night each boy (I presume
the girls had the same privilege) could take one Braille volume
to his room for the weekend.
  Before I go further, perhaps I had better explain that comment
about the girls.  The girls sat on one side of the room, and the
boys sat on the other; and woe to the member of one sex who tried
to speak or write notes to a member of the other.  Girls, like
Braille books, were difficult to get at--and all the more
desirable for the imagining.  But back to the main thread.
  As I say, each boy in the "intermediate" department could check
out one Braille volume on Friday night.  Now, as every good
Braille reader knows, Braille is bulkier than print; and at least
four or five Braille volumes (sometimes more) are required to
make a book.  It is also a matter of common knowledge that people
in general and boys in particular (yes, and maybe girls, too) are
constantly on the lookout to "beat the system."  What system? 
Any system.
  So on Friday nights we boys formed what would today be called a
consortium.  One of us would check out volume one of a book; the
next, volume two; the next, volume three; et cetera.  With our
treasures hugged to our bosoms we would head to our rooms and
begin reading.  If you got volume three (the middle of the book),
that's where you started.  You would get to the beginning by and
by.  Now, girls and Braille books were not the only items that
were strictly regulated in the environment I am describing.  The
hours of the day and night fell into the same category.  Study
hall ended at 8:00, and you were expected to be in your room and
in bed by 9:40, the time when the "silence bell" rang.  You were
also expected to be trying to go to sleep, not reading.
  But as I have said, people like to beat the system; and to us
boys, starved for reading during the week, the hours between
Friday night and Monday morning were not to be wasted. 
(Incidentally, I should say here that there were usually no
radios around and that we were strictly forbidden--on pain of
expulsion, and God knows what else--to leave the campus except
for a brief period on Saturday afternoon--after we got big
enough, that is, and assuming we had no violations on our record
which required erasure by penalty.)  In other words the campus of
the Tennessee School for the Blind was what one might call a
closed ecology.  We found our entertainment where we could.
  Well, back to Friday night and the problem of the books.  Rules
are rules, but Braille can be read under the cover as well as
anywhere else; and when the lights are out and the sounds of
approaching footsteps are easy to detect, it is virtually
impossible to prohibit reading and make the prohibition stick. 
The night watchman was regular in his rounds and methodical in
his movements.  He came through the halls every sixty minutes on
the hour, and we could tell the time by his measured tread.  (I
suppose I need not add that we had no clocks or watches.)
  After the watchman had left our vicinity, we would meet in the
bathroom (there was one for all twenty-six of us) and discuss
what we had been reading.  We also used the occasion to keep
ourselves awake and exchange Braille volumes as we finished them.

It made for an interesting way to read a book, but we got
there--and instead of feeling deprived or abused, we felt elated.

We were beating the system; we had books to read, something the
little boys didn't have; and we were engaged in joint clandestine
activity.  Sometimes as the night advanced, one of us would go to
sleep and fail to keep the hourly rendezvous, but these were
minor aberrations--and the weekend was only beginning.
  After breakfast on Saturday morning some of us (not all) would
continue reading--usually aloud in a group.  We kept at it as
long as we could, nodding off when we couldn't take it any more. 
Then, we went at it again.  Let me be clear.  I am talking about
a general pattern, not a rigid routine.  It did not happen every
weekend, and even when it did, the pace was not uniform or the
schedule precise.  We took time for such pleasantries as running,
playing, and occasional rock fights.  We also engaged in certain
organized games, and as we grew older, we occasionally slipped
off campus at night and prowled the town.  Nevertheless, the
reading pattern was a dominant theme.
  Time, of course, is inexorable; and the day inevitably came
when we outgrew the intermediate department and advanced to "high
school"--seventh through twelfth grades.  Again, it meant a
change in status--a change in everything, of course, but
especially reading.  Not only could we come to study hall for an
hour each night Monday through Friday and take a Braille volume
to our room during weekends, but we could also check out Braille
books whenever we liked, and (within reason) we could take as
many as we wanted.
  Let me now go back once more to the early childhood years. 
Before I was six, I had an isolated existence.  My mother and
father, my older brother, and I lived on a farm about fifty miles
out of Nashville.  We had no radio, no telephone, and no
substantial contact with anybody except our immediate neighbors. 
My father had very little formal education, and my mother had
left school just prior to graduating from the eighth grade. 
Books were not an important part of our family routine.  Most of
the time we did not have a newspaper.  There were two reasons:
Our orientation was not toward reading, and money was scarce.  It
was the early thirties.  Hogs (when we had any) brought two cents
a pound; and anything else we had to sell was priced
proportionately.
  I did a lot of thinking in those preschool days, and every time
I could, I got somebody to read to me.  Read what? 
Anything--anything I could get.  I would nag and pester anybody I
could find to read me anything that was available--the Bible, an
agriculture yearbook, a part of a newspaper, or the Sears Roebuck
catalog.  It didn't matter.  Reading was magic.  It opened up new
worlds.
  I remember the joy--a joy which almost amounted to reverence
and awe--which I felt during those times I was allowed to visit
an aunt who had books in her home.  It was from her daughter (my
cousin) that I first heard the fairy stories from The Book of
Knowledge--a treasure which many of today's children have
unfortunately missed.  My cousin loved to read and was long
suffering and kind, but I know that I tried her patience with my
insatiable appetite.  It was not possible for me to get enough,
and I always dreaded going home, finding every excuse I could to
stay as long as my parents would let me.  I loved my aunt; I was
fascinated by the radio she had; and I delighted in her superb
cooking-- but the key attraction was the reading.  My aunt is
long since dead, and of course I never told her.  For that
matter, maybe I never really sorted it out in my own mind, but
there it was--no doubt about it.
  As I have already said, I started school at six--and when I say
six, I mean six.  As you might imagine, I wanted to go as soon as
I could, and I made no secret about it.  I was six in November of
1932.  However, school started in September, and six meant six. 
I was not allowed to begin until the next quarter--January of
1933.
  You can understand that after I had been in school for a few
weeks, I contemplated with mixed feelings the summer vacation
which would be coming.  I loved my family, but I had been away
from home and found stimulation and new experiences.  I did not
look forward to three months of renewed confinement in the
four-room farm house with nothing to do.
  Then, I learned that I was going to be sent a Braille magazine
during the summer months.  Each month's issue was sixty Braille
pages.  I would get one in June, one in July, and one in August. 
What joy!  I was six, but I had learned what boredom meant--and I
had also learned to plan.  So I rationed the Braille and read two
pages each day.  This gave me something new for tomorrow.  Of
course, I went back and read and re- read it again, but the two
new pages were always there for tomorrow.
  As the school years came and went I got other magazines,
learned about the Library of Congress Braille and talking book
collection, and got a talking book machine.  By the time I was in
the seventh grade I was receiving a number of Braille magazines
and ordering books from three separate regional libraries during
the summer.  Often I would read twenty hours a day--not every
day, of course, but often. I read Gone With the Wind, War and
Peace, Zane Grey, Rafael Sabatini, James Oliver Curwood, and
hundreds of others.  I read whatever the libraries sent me, every
word of it; and I often took notes.  By then it was clear to me
that books would be my release from the prison of the farm and
inactivity.  It was also clear to me that college was part of
that program and that somehow I was going to get there.  But it
was not just escape from confinement or hope for a broader
horizon or something to be gained.  It was also a deep, ingrained
love of reading.
  The background I have described conditioned me.  I did not feel
about reading the way I see most people viewing it today.  Many
of today's children seem to have the attitude that they are
"forced," not "permitted," to go to school--that they are
"required," not "given the privilege and honor," to study.  They
are inundated with reading matter.  It is not scarce but a
veritable clutter, not something to strive for but to take for
granted.  I don't want children or the general public to be
deprived of reading matter, but I sometimes think that a scald is
as bad as a freeze.  Is it worse to be deprived of books until
you feel starved for them or to be so overwhelmed with them that
you become blase about it?  I don't know, and I don't know that
it will do me any good to speculate.  All I know is that I not
only delight in reading but believe it to be a much neglected joy
and a principal passport to success, perspective, civilization,
and possibly the survival of the species.  I am of that group
which deplores the illiteracy which characterizes much of our
society and distinguishes many of its would-be leaders and role
models.  I am extremely glad I have had the opportunity and
incentive to read as broadly as I have, and I believe my life is
so much better for the experience that it borders on the
difference between living and existence.
  It is interesting to contemplate how a particular train of
thought can be set in motion.  The memories and reflections I
have been recounting were called to mind by a press release which
recently crossed my desk.  I want to share it with you and then
make a few comments about it.  Here it is:

--------------------

Free Magazine For Blind Completes 80 Years

  New York, March, 1987.  With its March issue, The Matilda
Ziegler Magazine for the Blind completes eighty years as a free
general interest magazine for blind and visually impaired
persons.  The Ziegler, as it is affectionately known by readers,
was founded in 1907 by Electa Matilda Ziegler, wealthy widow of
William Ziegler, founder of the Royal Baking Powder Company.  The
Ziegler has no print edition--its ten issues per year are in
Braille and on recorded flexible disc.
  Since one of the main difficulties faced by blind people is
lack of easy access to the thousands of print magazines and books
published every year, the Ziegler gives its readers an
informative, stimulating, and entertaining selection from these
print materials.  It reprints articles from newspapers and
magazines, and includes short stories, poetry, and humor.  While
the Ziegler is not about blindness, it does devote space to news
and information of special interest to people with vision
problems.  In Readers Forum, readers have an opportunity to
"sound off" on any subject and to discuss solutions to problems
caused by lack of, or poor, sight.  The Ziegler's highly popular
Pen Pals section enables blind and visually impaired persons
worldwide to get in touch.
  It was a highly improbable sequence of events that led to the
founding of the Ziegler.  In 1906 Walter Holmes, a Tennessee
newspaperman, was on a business trip to New York City, when he
came across a newspaper description of a large bequest to
charity.  Irritated by the fact that no money was left to benefit
blind people, he dashed off a note to the paper, pointing out how
desperately blind people needed books that they could read with
their fingers.  Few books, he noted, were transcribed into a form
that could be read by touch, and those few were far too
expensive.  The then popular Ben Hur, for example, cost only $1
in print, but an embossed version cost all of $30!
  Walter Holmes' letter was published, and he received a response
from one E.M.  Ziegler, who asked to meet him.  E.M.  Ziegler
turned out to be a woman, Electa Matilda Ziegler, and at their
meeting she agreed to pay for a magazine for the blind, if Holmes
would run it.  To this serendipitous meeting the Ziegler Magazine
traces its origins.  Why was Mrs. Ziegler so interested in blind
people?  What was Mr. Holmes' interest?  She had a blind son, and
he had a blind brother.
  True to her word, Mrs. Ziegler paid the expenses (some $20,000
per year) from her own pocket until 1928, when she set up an
endowment.  It is this carefully invested fund that has
underwritten the magazine ever since.
  The Ziegler's first issue in March, 1907, was greeted with
enormous enthusiasm by blind and sighted people alike.  Blind and
deaf Helen Keller, then twenty-six years old, wrote to Mrs. 
Ziegler, "I must send you my glad thanks for the pleasure and the
facilities which you have placed within our reach.  I have waited
many years for such a magazine."
  Mark Twain wrote: "I think this is one of the noblest
benefactions that has been conferred upon a worthy object by any
purse during the long stretch of my seventy-one years."
  Eighty years later readers are still full of praise and
gratitude for the magazine.  One old lady who has been a reader
since that first issue recently asked to have her subscription
changed from Braille to recorded disc since, at her advanced age,
she could no longer read Braille as quickly as she would like,
but she did not want to miss a single issue.
  To mark the completion of eighty years, the Ziegler asked its
readers to submit essays to a contest on the subject, "An
Unforgettable Journey." First prize was won by a reader in
Jerusalem, Siranoosh A. Ketchejian, who described a 1909 journey
as a small girl from her home in Armenia to a school for blind
children in Jerusalem.
  The second prize went to Virginia A.  Reagan of Rogersville,
Missouri.  Her essay describes her continuing journey toward
independence despite total blindness and orthopedic problems that
oblige her to use a wheelchair.  She points out, however, that
her biggest battles were with the discouraging attitudes of
doctors and others who believed she would never be capable of
living independently.
  James R. Stell of Glasgow, Kentucky,
won third prize for his vivid recollection of a journey he made
to New York City thirty years ago with the band of the Alabama
School for the Blind.  The band played at an international Lions
convention.
  These essays will be published in the Ziegler during 1987.
  A detailed history, titled "The Ziegler Magazine Story," was
prepared for the 75th anniversary.  Copies may be had on request.
  Any blind or visually impaired person who would like a free
lifetime subscription should contact: Ziegler Magazine for the
Blind, 20 West 17th Street, New York, New York 10011; (212)
242-0263.

--------------------

  By printing this press release I do not mean to imply that the
Matilda Ziegler magazine is (or ever was) the greatest thing
since sliced bread or even that I think it is unusually well
done.  I have not read or even seen a copy of it for years, and I
have often heard it snidely called the "Lydia Pinkham"
magazine--an epithet which may elude some of the members of the
younger generation.  Be that as it may, the Ziegler was one of
those early Braille magazines that I had the opportunity to get
my hands on when I was searching for anything that I could find
to read.  Along with The Search Light, The Weekly News, The
Children's Friend, Discovery, The Reader's Digest, and a host of
other Braille magazines, it provided me with both pleasure and
information at a time when I most urgently needed them--and it
was one of the first.  I must confess that the Ziegler was not my
favorite, but I read it--and I am not putting it down.
  It was one of the early Braille magazines, which was freely
made available to anybody who requested it, and I am sure that
through the years it has brought countless hours of pleasure to a
great many people.  Because of the program of the National
Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, the
advent of the computer, the Braille and recorded magazines now
available, the number of volunteer transcribers who are willing
to produce material, and the accumulation of Braille and recorded
books scattered throughout the country, the blind children and
adults of today will hopefully never have to repeat the
experiences I have described.  Yet, the hunger for Braille, the
isolation and loneliness, and the early magazines like the
Ziegler are an important part of our heritage as blind people--a
heritage we should not forget and from which we should continue
to profit and learn.


UNITED AIRLINES

CONTINUES TO HARASS BLIND PEOPLE


  (When does a situation become intolerable?)

                  Sacramento, California March 20, 1987

Certified Mail: P-475-774-682

Mr. James Hartigan, President United Airlines
Chicago, Illinois

Dear Mr. Hartigan:

  This letter will address an incident which occurred in the
Seattle-Tacoma Airport on January 18, 1987.  As you will note, I
have taken some time to write this letter (January 18th to March
20th) as I have given great consideration to the course of action
that I should take.  As a first step, I have chosen to write to
you in an effort to provide you with an opportunity equitably to
resolve the matter.
  I am a businesswoman, who travels extensively throughout the
United States.  Because of my need to travel, I frequent the
skies of United and other airlines and am a member of the United
Airlines Mileage Plus Program and other similar "frequent flyer"
programs.
  As other passengers, I am accustomed to making my way to the
gate assigned for my flight departure and, as other passengers, I
am similarly accustomed to obtaining my boarding pass and
boarding the plane in the usual manner when the flight is called.

Unlike most of the other passengers, I am blind, although
blindness poses no problem for me.
  On January 18, 1987, United Airlines
officials made me the center of unwanted and unnecessary
attention.  I was a passenger on United Airlines Flight #1053,
traveling from Seattle to Sacramento.  Dick Gray, who identified
himself as a gate agent for the flight, displayed outrageous
conduct toward me both as a blind person and as a woman.  (See
the attached copy of my affidavit of January 23, 1987, which sets
forth a detailed description of this incident.)
  Mr. Gray apparently believes that when a blind person purchases
a ticket on United Airlines, that blind person gives up all
personal rights associated with passage aboard the aircraft and
gives over one's body to the dominion and control of the airlines
as an inanimate piece of baggage.  And, if the blind person
happens to be a woman, Mr. Gray apparently believes that the
blindness diminishes his responsibility to behave as a gentleman.

Mr. Gray apparently believed that he had been given the right to
push, shove, touch, and verbally abuse me, a blind woman--
conduct which I am certain he would not dare to levy on a sighted
woman passenger who presented herself at Gate 6- North.
  Mr. Hartigan, it may be appropriate for a gate agent to inquire
of a blind passenger whether assistance is needed in the gate
area and in the boarding process.  It is definitely appropriate
for a gate agent or other airline personnel to give directions,
when requested by air travelers, including blind travelers. 
However, if any traveler, including a blind traveler, declines
assistance in the gate area or in the boarding process, it should
be assumed that the traveler can manage.  It should be no more
and no less for all travelers, be they sighted or blind.
  It is definitely inappropriate for airline personnel to force
unnecessary and unwanted assistance upon any traveler, including
a blind traveler.  Further, it is intolerable for airline
personnel to push, shove, and otherwise invade the person of any
traveler, including a blind traveler.  Thus, it was inappropriate
and intolerable for Mr. Gray to have pushed me, shoved me, and
otherwise to have invaded my person by the touching of my breast.

Mr.  Gray's extreme and outrageous conduct caused me severe
emotional distress and has caused me to be apprehensive when
encountering flight personnel and fearful of returning to Seattle
by means of United Airlines.
  Your attention to this matter and response to this letter is
respectfully requested.

                       Very truly yours, Sharon Gold

--------------------

Affidavit of Sharon Gold

  I, Sharon Gold, hereby swear and depose:
  1. My name is Sharon Gold.
  2. I reside at 1233 47th Avenue, in the City of Sacramento,
which is located in the County of Sacramento, California.
  3. I am legally blind and at all times carry and use a long
white cane.
  4. I am a frequent flyer and participate in the United Airlines
Mileage Plus Program.
  5. On Sunday afternoon, January 18, 1987, I was a passenger on
United Airlines Flight #1053 traveling from Seattle, Washington,
to Sacramento, California.
  6. At approximately 12:20 p.m., I arrived at the Seattle-Tacoma
Airport by way of the Grayline Airport Bus.
  7. Using my white cane, I traveled alone and independently from
the front of the main terminal to the North Satellite by way of
an escalator, the train, and hallways.
  8. On or about 12:35 p.m., I walked to Gate N-3 and approached
the check-in counter to check into the flight and to claim my
seat assignment.
  9. The gate agent offered me preboarding, which I declined by
saying "no thank you, that won't be necessary."
  10. The gate agent acknowledged my desire not to preboard by
saying "that will be fine."
  11. I asked the location of the jet way and the gate agent
explained that I should turn to my left, go approximately 10 feet
beyond the ticket counter and then turn to my right.  I thanked
the gate agent and stepped away from the counter.
  12. Deciding that I was hungry, I left the gate area and went
to a nearby cafeteria where I purchased a sandwich "to go."
  13. Returning to the gate area, I observed that it was empty of
passengers.  Concluding that the flight had been called, I walked
in front of the check-in counter following the directions
previously given to me by the gate agent.
  14. The gate agent suddenly appeared as I was passing in front
of the check- in counter and grabbed me by the arm saying that he
had procured a special assistant to walk down the jet way with
me.
  15. I took a step back from the gate agent and he released my
arm.  I explained that I did not require assistance in boarding
the aircraft, thanked the agent, and continued walking toward the
jet way.   The agent fell in step at my side.
  16. While walking toward the jet way with the agent beside me,
he again told me that I would be assisted to the airplane.  I
thanked him again and repeated that it was not necessary for
someone to walk with me down the jet way.
  17. The agent said "we're liable for you and that jet way is
treacherous".  I replied that the airlines was no more liable for
me than for any other passenger, that I was certain that the jet
way was not treacherous, and that I have walked down many, many
jet ways.
  18. The gate agent again said that I could not walk alone and
that the special assistant would walk with me.
  19. I gave my boarding pass to a lady who was standing some
distance from the entrance to the jet way and collecting boarding
passes.  I then turned toward the jet way.
  20. The agent put his hand on my back, began pushing me on the
back and shoulders, and said that the special assistant "would
walk with me down the jet way whether I liked it or not."
  21. The special assistant, who was standing at the opening of
the jet way, began laughing and jeering at me because I believed
that I, a blind person, could walk down the jet way unassisted.
  22. I stepped to the left to break away from the agent's
pushing and turned slightly toward the agent.
  23. The gate agent verbally lashed out at me again.  I don't
remember his exact words but it was to the effect that I would do
what United Airlines told me to do and that I could not decide
for myself that I was capable of walking down the jet way alone.
  24.  The gate agent reached for me again, and then began
pushing me on the right breast, apparently in an effort to turn
me around and shove me toward the special assistant.  In a quiet
but firm voice, I told the agent "take your hands off of me."
  25.  I felt humiliated, embarrassed, and personally violated by
the behavior of the gate agent and the special assistant.
  26. I moved away from the gate agent and quickly proceeded to
the opening of the jet way.  The agent again stated that I would
be accompanied to the plane whether I liked it or not.
  27. I began to quickly walk down the jet way.  I could hear the
footsteps of at least one of the men, the agent and/or his
assistant, as the man/men started chasing after me.
  28. Frightened and not wanting to be again grabbed, touched,
pushed, humiliated, or scorned by either of the men, I ran toward
the plane.  I just wanted to be left alone and allowed to board
without grandeur.
  29. One of the men yelled at me that I was going to "crash" and
I replied that I would sooner trip or run over something if he
continued to come after me than I would if he would leave me
alone.
  30. As I slowed a little to make the left turn toward the
plane, I could still hear feet running behind me.  I continued to
run to the plane.  I stepped into the cabin, turned to the right,
and went directly down the aisle to my seat.
  31. Realizing that I had entered the airplane under stress,
Flight Attendant Barbara Mackland came immediately to my seat to
inquire if I understood the safety features of the aircraft.
  32. After awhile and before the plane left the gate, I got up
out of my seat and went forward in the cabin to ask Flight
Attendant Mackland the identity of the gate agent.
  33. A man was shutting the door of the airplane.  When I asked
the flight attendant the identity of the gate agent, the man
shutting the door spoke up and said that he had been the gate
agent and that he was Dick Gray.
  34. Mr. Gray turned from the door he had closed, faced me, and
said that he was going to be riding on the plane.  While the
flight attendant was still present, I told Mr. Gray that I did
not like the way that I had been treated at the gate.  Mr. Gray
replied "thank you".
  35. While airborne, Flight Attendant Mackland came to my seat
and I explained to her in detail what had happened to me in the
process of boarding the airplane.
  36. Upon landing in Sacramento, I left the plane unassisted and
unbothered.

Sharon Gold

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

  I, John W. Urda, a Notary Public in
and for the State of California certify that Sharon Gold,
personally known or satisfactorily proved to me to be the same,
personally appeared before me and took oath in due form of law
that the statements made in the foregoing affidavit are true and
correct this 23rd day of January, 1987.


CONGRESSIONAL MOMENTUM

IN THE AIRLINE CONTROVERSY INCREASES


  During the March on Washington in early February we talked with
Senators and members of the House of Representatives about the
airline problem.  Overwhelmingly the reaction was positive.  The
Senators and Representatives promised to take action, and they
are delivering on their promises.  The following letter (signed
by thirty-nine members of the House) is illustrative:

--------------------

                        Washington, D.C.  February 27, 1987

Mrs. Elizabeth Hanford Dole Secretary of Transportation
Washington, D.C.

Dear Madam Secretary:

  We are writing regarding P.L. 99-435, The Air Carrier Access
Act of 1986 and existing DOT regulations published at 14 CFR part
382, non-discrimination on the basis of handicap in air travel. 
We are concerned that this law and existing regulations--and
Congressional intent-- are not being followed.
  We receive continual reports that blind air travelers suffer
harassment and discriminatory treatment from some air carriers. 
The National Federation of the Blind has tried to alleviate the
situation through the Department of Transportation, but to no
avail.  In three cases brought by the Federation, the Department
ruled in favor of the airlines.  This occurred despite strong
evidence by the Federation that the airlines' arguments were
based on faulty reasoning.  Their concern seems well justified. 
We respectfully request answers to the following three questions.
  Has the Department begun the regulatory negotiation process to
implement P.L. 99-435?
  Since this process is a lengthy one, will you use your informal
powers as Secretary to urge airline officials to comply with the
law and DOT's existing part 382 regulations?
  Will you instruct DOT enforcement personnel to require airlines
to comply strictly with 14 CFR part 382 as an interim step to
carry out congressional intent expressed in enactment of P.L. 
99-435?  The enforcement strategy for part 382 should include
acceptance and vigorous prosecution of complaints of
discrimination which may be filed under part 382.
  Thank you for your prompt and careful attention to this matter.

We look forward to your response to these important questions.

                              Sincerely,

                      Gerry Sikorski, MC Ron Dellums, MC
                     Harley Staggers, MC Stephen Solarz, MC
                         Nick Rahall, MC Vic Fazio, MC
                    Larry J. Hopkins, MC Dante B. Fascell, MC
                    James H. Scheuer, MC
                        Kweisi Mfume, MC Barbara Boxer, MC
                        Billy Tauzin, MC Dan Daniel, MC
                  James A. Traficant, MC Barney Frank, MC
                          Jim Cooper, MC Howard Berman, MC
                            Hal Daub, MC Larry Smith, MC
                   Gerald D. Kleczka, MC Charles Rose, MC
                    Augustus Hawkins, MC Bill Schuette, MC
                          Doug Bosco, MC Byron Dorgan, MC
                     Thomas J. Tauke, MC Thomas M. Foglietta, MC
                       Robert A. Roe, MC Jim Slattery, MC
                    Robert J. Garcia, MC Mike Espy, MC
                 Elizabeth Patterson, MC Albert G. Bustamante, MC
                   Richard Stallings, MC John Conyers, MC
                  Peter H. Kostmayer, MC Tommy F. Robinson, MC
                       Bob Whittaker, MC Thomas C. McMillen, MC


THE FUTURE OF A BLIND GUY

by Gary Wunder


  (This article appears in the February, 1987, Blind Missourian,
the publication of the National Federation of the Blind of
Missouri.)

  Several weeks ago I received a call from a friend who lives in
my town.  My friend is blind.  I asked him if I could return his
call since I was busy caring for my daughter.  I said he had
caught me at a bad time, and he replied that he seemed always to
catch people at bad times.
  I returned my friend's call about an hour later.  He asked how
I was, and we spoke for several minutes about me, and then I
asked about him.  He said he was okay.  I asked what he had been
doing, and he said "nothing."  I asked what was exciting about
his future, and he replied, "Well, we're going to get an easy
listening station in about a month.  That will be exciting."
  When I think about my friend, I'm reminded of the many persons
I see who still live at the school for the blind in their dreams.

They believe they have no future.  They have no accomplishments
except the race they won some fifteen years ago as a freshman.
  I write this because it is easy to become removed from those in
our midst who desperately need our experience, strength, and
hope.  Loneliness can be a terrible thing.  It is only through
success in relationships that we build confidence.  Let's make
sure we are actively reaching out to provide those opportunities
to our blind brothers and sisters.  We can help them find a
future.


BUILDING MY PIANO BUSINESS

by Al Sanchez


  The following article is taken from the December-January,
1986/87, NFB Merchants Division Newsletter.  It shows how one
blind Federationist is achieving economic independence.  With
very little capital and no contacts in the city he picked, he
systematically set about creating a business for himself.  The
key factors were a willingness to work as many hours as it took,
a sensible plan of action, and a determination to satisfy his
customers.  In the case of this particular Federationist it is a
piano business, but it could just as well be something else.  The
method, the planning, and the determination are what count.  Here
is the way Al Sanchez tells it:

--------------------

  In November, 1985, I moved to Spokane to begin a piano service
business.  I had just completed twenty months of training at the
Emil Fries Piano Hospital in Vancouver, Washington.  I chose
Spokane because it had a good public transportation system and
was a big enough city to offer good prospects for my business.  I
had an opportunity to learn more about the city when I attended
the annual seminar of the Piano Technicians Guild, which was held
in Spokane in April of 1985.  At that time I met some people who
were already engaged in the business here, and they assured me
that business prospects continued to be good.  After I got
started, some of them referred me some business, which I
appreciated very much.
  It took a few weeks after my arrival for me to find a place to
live and work.  I needed and found a house on the city bus line
with enough space for me to do some work at home.  I also had to
get the proper licenses and tax identification number.
  I put up notices on bulletin boards everywhere they could be
found: grocery stores, bowling alleys, laundromats, et cetera.  I
began to get some calls to work on pianos.  I walked into Music
City Spokane, which is the largest piano store in the area, and
explained to them I would like to tune and repair pianos for
them.  Before long, they began to need me for a day a week, and
now it is sometimes more than that.  I contacted churches and got
some contracts for one year, which generally means at least two
service jobs.  Now I am getting referrals from satisfied
customers.
  I feel good about the way my business is growing.  The most
pianos I can handle in one day should be four, although I have
done as many as five by working into the evening.  I am willing
to work six days a week (fifty or sixty hours).  Of course, I
must have some time to do book work.
  I hire a person to drive me four to five days a week.  The best
way to find such a person I have found is generally run an ad in
the paper.  That person drives, reads, and if not busy, does
certain assigned tasks during the servicing of a piano.  I do
twenty to thirty percent of my work using public transportation
and my white cane or dog guide.  I do not think it is wise to
take the dog into people's homes.  You never know how they or
their cats may feel about it.  I do take the dog to the music
store, to schools, and to churches.  It is important to be
flexible in one's ability to travel.
  I am now tuning from two to three pianos a day.  I have not
done everything I might have done to get business, because I want
to build right and keep my customers happy.  The volume of calls
continues to grow, and I believe I am keeping up with it.  I am
now beginning to see some profit over all expenses and can safely
say that there is no question that it will continue to increase. 
It is a good business for me, because I do not like to be cooped
up in the building all day long, and blindness has not been a
major problem.


PAYOFF SPEAKS--NANCY SQUEAKS

by Kenneth Jernigan


  In the recent sorry history of the Iowa Commission for the
Blind no episode has been more grubby than the story of Nancy
Norman.  When John Taylor was fired as director in 1982, the
Governor's office and the Commission board made a great to-do
about the fact that they were instituting a nationwide search to
get the best possible candidate.  After much fanfare and window
dressing an unknown named Nancy Norman was given the nod.  This
was done despite the fact that there were qualified applicants
and that Ms. Norman had no experience at all in the field of work
with the blind.
  As the full scenario began to be revealed, the story was even
worse than it had first appeared.  Ms. Norman's husband was the
law partner of the man who was then chairman of the Iowa
Commission for the Blind.  Moreover, her husband was also a heavy
contributor to the war chest of Iowa's current Governor, who was
at that time a candidate and running hard.  So the much
ballyhooed search was simply a disgusting charade, and the
appointment was nothing more than a political payoff and (in view
of the law partnership) a sort of secondhand nepotism.  Under the
circumstances it is not surprising that the results were a
failure.
  When Norman became director of the Commission, it was an
independent department of government.  Today it is a subdivision
of a newly created department.  When she took office, the
Commission board made policy, and the head of the agency had
director status.  Now, the board supposedly has policy-making
authority, but the Governor controls appointments.  Moreover, the
policy- making is more in name than reality.
  During the 1986 legislative session the board instructed
director Norman to fight to maintain the independent status of
the agency.  She disregarded their instructions, and the
Commission became part of the newly created Department of Human
Rights.  In view of the fact that Norman was soon appointed head
of the new department, some irreverently said that she was
getting the customary payoff for her husband's political
contributions.  Of course, during all of this time the interests
of the blind of the state (those for whom the program was
presumably created in the first place) took a back seat.
  Meanwhile Norman was not only made director of the new
Department of Human Rights but was also retained as director (now
downgraded to "administrator") of the Iowa Commission for the
Blind.  This was a violation of federal law, but nobody bothered
about that--nobody, that is, except the blind of the state and
the emasculated Commission board.  The blind thought they had the
right to a full-time director, even if a poor one; and the board
seemed to think that it ought to have at least the pretense of
some authority.
  In the fall of 1986 the board, by formal vote, instructed
Norman to choose one or the other--either be head of the new
Department of Human Rights or be head of the Commission for the
Blind, but not both.  She didn't even bother to make a response. 
Then, when the board complained, she sent a breezy letter saying
that the Governor wanted it the way it was and that she hoped to
get around to resigning one or the other of the positions by the
beginning of 1987.  Then (under date of October 28, 1986) Dr.
Russell Watt, who had apparently had enough, quit the Commission
board with a blast (see Braille Monitor for March, 1987).
  Next, the problem was apparently solved by a new rabbit pulled
from the Governor's hat.  He promoted Norman from head of the
Department of Human Rights to head of the Department of Human
Services.  Does it sound like Alice in Wonderland?--well, maybe;
but just wait.  Ms. Norman's behavior in the new job was no more
successful than in the two which preceded it.
  There was a family named Cooper.  The mother had mental
problems and had allegedly abused her children, who were taken
from her and placed in a foster home.  Norman's department (Human
Services, that is) handled the Cooper case in such a noteworthy
way that it was featured in an unflattering expose on a recent
nationwide "60 Minutes" program.
  When her name came up for confirmation in the Iowa Senate, the
debate was stormy.  Confirmation would have required thirty-four
affirmative votes of the fifty-member Senate.  Norman got
twenty-three.  Under her stewardship the Iowa Commission for the
Blind had sunk so low that her mishandling of that program was
not even a factor in the confirmation battle.  The fight was over
the Cooper case.
  The tone of things can be judged by the newspaper stories and
cartoons.  One cartoon shows the Iowa Governor (rather boyish)
cowering under his desk.  The desk is loaded with papers, and a
secretary is placing more mail on it.  A large crate is sitting
on the desk with someone peeping out of it.  On the crate is
written: "Return to Sender" and "Contents 1 Nancy Norman."  The
secretary is saying: "We have some more mail on the 60 Minutes
piece about the Cooper kids, and a package from the legislature."
  But what about services for the blind?  The Governor's office,
the Commission board, the state personnel department, the
director of the Department of Human Rights--well, somebody--has
announced that an impartial "nationwide search" is underway to
find the "best qualified" person to be "administrator" (no longer
director) of the Iowa Commission for the Blind.  The list of
applicants shows better than anything else could how the
Commission is now regarded.  If it were not so tragic and
pathetic, it would be uproariously funny.  Somehow it seems
appropriate that a photographer and a tractor driver are among
the candidates.  Here is the list just as it was printed:

--------------------

Applicants for the Position of Commission for the Blind
Administrator
(In Alphabetical Order)

  Clifton Alford, Jr., Charlottesville,
Virginia, Administrative Manager, Thomas Jefferson Health
District; Elaine Amber, West Des Moines, Iowa, Owner/Manager,
Secretarial Services of Iowa; Richard Dean Arbuckle, Des Moines,
Iowa, President, Econogy Corporation; Babak Ashayeri, Nashville,
Tennessee, Holiday Inn Company; Vernon N. Bennett, Sr., Des
Moines, Iowa, Management Consultant, Professional Advisory
Company; C.L.  "Vince" Caudle, Des Moines, Iowa, Private
Insurance Broker; Terry M.  Cunningham, Des Moines, Iowa, Vice
President, Goodwill Industries; Dr. John
E. Derby, Marshalltown, Iowa, Principal/Administrator, Sac and
Fox Day School; Charles B. Evans, Baltimore, Maryland, Current
Employment Unknown; Michael C. Flaherty, LeMars, Iowa, Executive
Director, Plains Area Community Mental Health Center; Glen C. 
Geiger, Carlisle, Iowa, Retail Sales/Account Manager,
Hockenberg-Rubin Company; B. Barry Hemphill, Austin, Texas,
Tractor Operator, J.W. Wright Landscaping; Shirley Johnson, Des
Moines, Iowa, Current Employment Unknown; Patricia G. Kallsen,
Madison, Wisconsin, Acting Director, Supported Employment Project
for Wisconsin; David
T. Kennedy, III, Charleston, West Virginia, Current Employment
Unknown; John M. Lewis, Charles City, Iowa, Current Employment
Unknown; Dr. Steven
D. Machalow, Des Moines, Iowa, Current Employment Unknown; Dr.
J.L. Mahoney, Devils Lake, North Dakota, International Executive
Director, American/Eastern; Edward J. McHugh, Wellesley,
Massachusetts, Facilities Specialist, Massachusetts
Rehabilitation Commission; Elizabeth G. Meyer, West Des Moines,
Iowa, Current Employment Unknown; Darold
L. Powers, Des Moines, Iowa, Library Associate, Iowa Commission
for the Blind; R. Thomas Quick, Toledo, Iowa, Administrator,
Bethesda Care Centers; R.  Creig Slayton, Des Moines, Iowa,
Acting Administrator, Iowa Commission for the Blind; Dale K.
Travis, Warrens, Wisconsin, Photographer, World Photo, Inc.;
Harvey J. Weiss, Atlanta, Georgia, General Manager, Servisco.

--------------------

  The Norman confirmation came before the Senate on March 16. 
Here are excerpts from the Des Moines Register account of what
happened:

--------------------

DES MOINES REGISTER Tuesday, March 17, 1987

Senate Says No to
Norman Appointment
Cooper Case Likened to "Miami Vice" Drug Raid

by Jane Norman

  The Iowa Senate Monday rejected the
confirmation of Nancy Norman as commissioner of the Department of
Human Services, sharply criticizing the way her agency handled
the foster care case involving the five Cooper children.
  "It can only resemble a drug raid on 'Miami Vice,'" said
Senator John Soorholtz, describing the way the five children were
removed from their foster parents, Larry and Paula Mick of
Kellogg, who live in his district.
  "I don't even wean my pigs in this manner, nor do I separate
them from their litter mates in a time of crisis," said
Soorholtz, a Melbourne hog farmer and a Republican.
  Norman's backers unsuccessfully argued that instead of blaming
her, senators should change state foster care laws that require
children to be reunited with their natural parents.

Third Rejection

  "Let's seize upon this opportunity to correct what is
wrong--let's not do it at the expense of Nancy Norman," said
Senator Richard Vande Hoef.  "Any other director would have to do
and react in the same way."
  Following a highly charged debate, senators voted 24-23 to not
confirm Norman.  Four Republicans voted against her, and eighteen
Democrats.  Senate Minority Leader Calvin Hultman changed his
vote from an "aye" to a "no" so that he could file a motion to
reconsider the vote....
  Norman's opponents repeatedly cited the CBS television show "60
Minutes," which recently featured the case.  Critics said Norman
must be responsible for the department's actions, although she
was appointed only a few days before the children were removed
from the Micks' home.
  The agency violated the children's rights, said Soorholtz, who
said he questions the way the department has acted, and not the
reason why.
  Senator William Dieleman, a Pella
Democrat, said he is "concerned about the image the state has
gotten from the Cooper case."  He said changes may be needed in
state laws on foster care but he's not sure Norman would be the
right person to make those changes.
  Other opponents said they were unhappy with the way Norman was
selected by Branstad.  Branstad did not conduct a nationwide
search for a director and did not consult the Human Services
Council on her appointment.
  Senator Jack Rife said he has voted for every appointment the
Governor has ever sent to the Senate in the five years he has
served, but he couldn't vote for Norman.
  Rife, a Moscow Republican, said he knows Norman personally.  "I
like her.... However, I do not like the process that was used in
selecting her."

--------------------

  This is what the Des Moines Register said on March 17, but it
was not through.  On March 18 it carried the following editorial:

--------------------

A Well-Deserved Message

  This is the message that the Department of Human Services
should have received loud and clear: Placing the preservation of
a bureaucracy's rules and procedures ahead of the interests of
the five Cooper children was unacceptable.
  Governor Terry Branstad, who is ultimately responsible for the
department, should have received the same message, plus this one:
Ineptitude in making major appointments in state government will
catch up with you.
  The Iowa Senate sent those messages bluntly when it refused to
confirm Nancy Norman as director of the department.
  Norman had entered the confirmation arena with a mark against
her, thanks to Branstad's failure to consult with key legislators
or with his own Council on Human Services before his surprise
appointment of her in December.
  Hackles were up in the Democratic- controlled Senate because
Norman's husband was active in Republican Branstad's re-election
campaign and because no nationwide search was conducted for the
director of the largest division of state government.
  Norman seems to have been qualified for the post, but her
appointment was poisoned by Branstad's clumsy handling of it. 
Still, she might have won confirmation had it not been for her
own clumsy handling of the Cooper case.
  The case was a crisis that would have severely tested the most
experienced department head.  As a newcomer arriving on the job
in the midst of the case, Norman was in a spot any administrator
would dread.
  She can't be blamed for a situation she inherited, but she can
be judged on her performance since taking over.  It has not been
impressive.
  The five Cooper children were separated and removed from a
foster home where they had found love and security.  The removal
followed a Department of Human Services plan to eventually
reunite the children with their mother, under whose care they had
suffered abuse earlier.
  The department has behaved like a bureaucracy hell-bent on
having its way, upholding its procedures and punishing those who
have dared to oppose the plan, regardless of any price the
children may pay in the process.
  Throughout, the department has refused to justify its actions,
cloaking itself in secrecy.
  Norman wasn't responsible for the department's actions, but as
a new head of the department she would have demonstrated she was
in charge by calling a halt and thoroughly reviewing an endeavor
that was damaging the department as well as the lives of five
children.
  She didn't.  Instead, she lay low as the bureaucracy ground
relentlessly onward in the tragic case.
  On the basis of such a weak performance, the Senate was
justified in refusing to confirm her.

--------------------

  With all of this newspaper publicity and the rejection by the
Iowa Senate the blind of the state cautiously hoped they had
heard the last of Nancy Norman.  Let the state play its games as
it would.  But there were those who feared that the Commission
for the Blind was about to experience a second round--and this
time with rejected merchandise.  Unless the Iowa Senate decided
to reconsider, Ms.  Norman could not have the job as head of the
Department of Human Services.  Then, how about the position as
director of the Department of Human Rights, one of the jobs she
had just left?  No, she couldn't have that one either.  Someone
else had already been appointed.  Well, then maybe back to the
Commission for the Blind.  After all, the Governor was in the
midst of another of those famous nationwide searches.  Maybe he
would find (much to his surprise) that right there under his nose
had been the best candidate after all--none other than good old
reliable, trustworthy, conscientious, knowledgeable, personable,
modest, well-funded, properly connected Nancy Norman.  Presumably
her husband still had money, and one day there would be a race
for the U. S. Senate.  Who could tell?  Maybe--just maybe-- 
After all, why go elsewhere and buy margarine when you have
butter at home in your own ice box, and Iowa butter at that?
  This is how matters stood on March 31, 1987, the day before
April Fools' Day.  The Norman confirmation came up for
reconsideration during the morning session.  There was a good
deal of pulling and hauling, blustering and posturing-- but it
was clear that there had been a lot of behind-the-scenes work. 
It may be significant that a number of Senators kept protesting
that no "deals" had been made.  As the proceedings went forward,
it seemed that Norman and the Governor might still be a vote
short of the necessary two-thirds.  Questions were raised as to
whether the Governor might consider withdrawing the appointment,
and there were indications that this could be a live option. 
There was also a proposal that perhaps a deal could be struck
whereby Norman could be confirmed on a temporary basis while
another of those famous "nationwide searches" was undertaken for
a permanent director.
  Then, the session ended and lunchtime came around; and the
calls and cloakrooms buzzed.  Late in the afternoon the matter
came up again, and the deed was finally done.  Nancy Norman
squeaked through to confirmation--squeaked, but not squeaky
clean.  The rumors were as thick as snow in a mid-winter
blizzard.  Deals had been cut; the Democrats had decided that
Norman would do such an incompetent job that the embarrassment to
the Governor would be better for them than rejection--especially,
after the mauling which Norman and the Governor had already
taken.  Norman would get her confirmation and soon quietly bow
out.  Pick your rumor, and you could find it.
  All that can be said for certain is that the goings-on in Iowa
in recent years have been a credit to no one.  The state (a
wonderful state with wonderful people) deserves better.  So do
the blind.  There was a time when programs for the blind in Iowa
were the envy of the nation and a model for the world.  They are
now a laughingstock and a source of shame.  Perhaps something
constructive can still come out of all of the recent shenanigans.

Perhaps the public (that ultimate arbiter of all decisions) will
finally arouse itself and insist on a return to sanity and moral
values--a thorough housecleaning, an orderly process of
government, and a chance for blind people again to have
meaningful programs and real opportunities.  Not too long ago the
blind were approaching true equality with the sighted and
first-class citizenship, to a degree never before achieved in all
of history.  Maybe it is too much to hope that it can all be put
together again and the journey to full status in society
completed, but many still hope.  A thing must be said before it
can be believed, and believed before it can come true.  In any
case Nancy Norman will hopefully no longer be a factor in the
lives of the blind.  That stumbling block, at least, would appear
to have been removed.


THE THREE BARRETTS
GROWING IN THE FEDERATION

by Ramona Walhof


  I first met the Barretts, Pat and Trudy, in 1980 or so, but I
really got to know them after I came to live in Idaho in 1982. 
As the new director of the Idaho Commission for the Blind, I
called a staff meeting.  Pat Barrett brought me one of my first
surprises.  He wanted to know if he should come to the staff
meeting.  I asked him if he was on the staff, to which he
answered, "Well, I don't know."  I assured him that if he got
paid by the Commission and worked in the Building, he should
consider himself a staff member and that we needed him to attend
the staff meeting.  His pleasure at this information was one of
many indications that there was a great need for more teamwork. 
Since that time I have watched Pat take on more and more
responsibility and do each job well.  He served as state
convention chairman and President of the Western Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of Idaho.  He is now Second Vice
President of the NFB of Idaho, Social Chairman of the Western
Chapter, and Editor of our newsletter (Milestones).
  Trudy in 1982 was by turns poised and angry.  She had many
things to be angry about, and she had things to be glad about. 
Through the years Trudy learned to accept the things that made
her angry with more and more composure.  The day I was fired for
no stated reason as Commission for the Blind director over
protests of board chairman Norm Gardner and many blind persons
and Commission staff, Trudy was upset, as we all were.  She
totally lost her temper and then cried and cried from
embarrassment and regret.  Those of us with her loved her for her
concern and shared her regret.  But Trudy has continued to grow
also.  Poise has come to dominate her behavior, and she deserves
to be commended for it.  She has asked for no glory or honor, but
she is always here when needed, reliable and ready.
  Since I have known the two Barretts they have wanted to adopt a
child.  They made application and saved their money.  They were
first very impatient and a little angry because the adoption
agency was not confident that a blind couple should have a child.

But they did exactly what they needed to do.  They asked NFBI
President Norm Gardner to help.  He did.  After talking with the
appropriate people, he was assured that the Barretts were on the
waiting list and should have a baby in less than a year.
  It has been more than a year, but the Barretts' optimism has
increased.  Sure enough, in early February they got a call to
come and pick up the baby--with only three hours' notice. 
Imagine trying to get a crib and clothes and formula and
everything else ready in three hours.  But they did it.
  I first met RaeAnn a couple of days later.  She was a little
less than two months old, and Mama and Papa Barrett were learning
new things about a tiny baby just as all new parents do. 
Blindness was not very significant when I sat in their living
room with the three Barretts and both sets of grandparents. 
Grandma or I could make a suggestion to Mom or Dad, and they were
not offended or threatened.  But they really had things under
control.  Trudy found a bottle of medicine in the diaper bag.  No
one had told them the baby was taking medication.  A call to the
pharmacy to find out what the stuff was for....  It was Saturday
night, so seeing a doctor for less than an emergency was not very
practical.  Dry skin on the fact and a yeast problem in the mouth
were soon cleared up under Pat and Trudy's care.  Trudy was
better than Pat at changing diapers and giving baths.  What's new
about that?  It was an altogether delightful evening.  The second
time I saw RaeAnn she was more alert and holding her head up
better.
  Today (early in March) Pat called to say that the natural
parents have now released all claims to the baby.  There is only
the standard six-month (now five) waiting period for the adoption
to be final.  No one doubts that all is going well.  I can't help
thinking how much difference the Federation has made to the
Barretts and to so many others.  And how much one couple can do
for the Federation.  So now instead of two there are three
Barretts, and the champion punster is forever Papa Barrett.


JIM MOYNIHAN RESPONDS TO

PROFESSOR EAMES AND MS. GARDINER


  (Jim Moynihan is a long-time Federationist and dog guide user. 
He is a member of the National Federation of the Blind of
Missouri and an employee of the Federal Office for Civil Rights. 
The June, 1985, Braille Monitor carried an article entitled: "The
Moynihan Case:  What Happens When the Office for Civil Rights
Engages in Discrimination.")

                   Kansas City, Missouri March 7, 1987

Dear Dr. Jernigan:

  With some annoyance I read the article entitled "A Stride
Forward in the Dog Guide Movement" by Professor Edwin Eames and
Ms. Tony Anne Gardiner, published in the February, 1987, Braille
Monitor.  In the article the authors refer to their
self-described highly acclaimed best- seller "A Guide to Guide
Dog Schools." Highly acclaimed by whom, and how many copies did
the book sell?
  There was a great deal of fanfare about this book for many
months before it was finally published.  Dog guide, or is it
guide dog, schools were being consulted and input was being
requested from dog guide users.  During my talk with Professor
Eames I mentioned that I received dogs from two schools--Guiding
Eyes for the Blind and the Seeing Eye.  Professor Eames said that
he would like to know my feelings since I attended two schools.
  I told Professor Eames that I received two good dog guides. 
However, I preferred Seeing Eye because Guiding Eyes was
NAC-accredited and forced users to sign a contract in which the
school kept legal ownership of the dog.  I also said that Seeing
Eye did a better job of stressing the fundamentals.
  Professor Eames told me that these views were negative and that
he was not looking for this type of comment.  Although I am not a
trained sociologist or psychologist, I believe that feelings may
be negative or positive.  After reading their book, I am reminded
of Peggy Lee's song "Is That All There Is?"
  The book was primarily intended for blind persons who are
deciding whether to get a dog guide dog or are simply curious
about the subject.  To be fair, I realize that I am using my
second dog and have done some reading on the subject.  However, I
did not find the book instructive.  Its approach was shallow and
superficial.  Readers were informed that the user holds on to a
harness with a u-shaped handle and that the dog responds to the
commands "forward," "left," and "right."  Puppies are raised by
4-H families and are then trained for three to four months. 
Students go to the school for three to four weeks of training
after being accepted into class.  The authors stop just short of
telling us that the dogs have four legs, a head, and a tail.  If
you are suffering from insomnia, just read the cassette version
of this book.
  The most helpful part of the book is the Directory of Guide Dog
Schools, but this information could be obtained by sending away
to the schools.  What happened to all the consumer input?  There
are a few self-serving references to the experiences of the
authors, but what about the real-life experiences of consumers.
  Why do people decide to leave home for three to four weeks to
go to Pilot, Leader, San Rafael, et cetera?  What is it like at
school, and how do people react?  Incidents range from funny to
inspirational.  I would bet that the authors had a gold mine of
material if they would just let people share their feelings.
  At Guiding Eyes at the end of training we were dropped off and
not told where we were.  We were expected to find our way back to
school.  One student was in a state of panic worrying about her
trip that afternoon.  My roommate, who was an ex-Vietnam veteran
told me that they got their behinds shot off every day in
Vietnam: That was something to worry about.
  In New York students sat in the lounge waiting to go for subway
training.  One of the students fell asleep, and his dog got up
and started walking out the door.  The instructor returned the
dog to him and asked if he was missing something.
  Mr. Ramon Arenas, a wonderful human being and one of Seeing
Eye's finest instructors, came to this country from Spain.  When
he first arrived, his knowledge of English was quite limited.  He
told us that one day he went to the store to buy a pack of
cigarettes but did not know the word "cigarette."  He became
frustrated when the clerk did not comply with his request.  He
got down on all fours and made noises like a camel since he had
heard of that brand of cigarette.
  One student at Seeing Eye was involved in a serious auto
accident.  He and other members of his family were given last
rights.  The student recovered but became blind as a result of
the accident.  After years of depending on friends, he decided to
become an independent traveler by getting a dog guide.
  There was an executive at Xerox who was losing his sight.  He
thought of himself as visually impaired--canes, dog guides, and
talking books were degrading and were for blind people.  He
finally got smart and got a dog guide.  I would give Professor
Eames and his colleagues a grade of "C" for their efforts.  If a
sequel is to be written, let's hear what consumers have to say.
  The problem with the article in the February Monitor is that
the general public and many users do not take dog guide ownership
seriously.
  No, I don't have much trouble getting my "large" dog out of the
way on buses or under tables in restaurants.  On the bus I use a
seat facing forward rather than a seat facing the aisle.  The dog
is underneath the seat and is usually not seen until it is time
to get off the bus.  In restaurants I like to sit at a table, if
possible with the dog under my chair.  When I am sitting in a
booth it only takes a few seconds to make sure that the dog's
paws are not in the aisle.  While carrying on normal conversation
and activities, you should always be subconsciously aware of
where your dog is and what he is doing.
  Do I resent taking the dog out on cold winter mornings?  This
is not my favorite activity, but it is preferable to cleaning up
a mess on my carpet.  This becomes your responsibility just as
grading papers is the responsibility of a professor.  Yes, I
would rather have a large dog that is strong enough to pull me
out of danger and that can play with me and my kids when I return
home from work.
  People really have a thing about dog guides taking up so much
room.  Airline personnel want to put you in bulkhead seats or
block off seats so that you have a whole row to yourself. 
Restaurant managers want to give you a booth or sit you in the
corner so that the dog will be "out of the way."  When I am going
to ride in a car, a man will say that his wife can sit in the
back so that there will be room for Dean and me up front.  I
explain that there is plenty of room for Dean and me in the back.

If I am riding with one person he or she will offer to let Dean
ride on the back seat so he will have enough room.
  It is my feeling that Professor Eames and Ms. Gardiner are
indulging a private fantasy, which they have chosen to share with
us.  A small, unobtrusive, pocket poodle would be just the thing,
just as a small, folding cane which you can put in your pocket is
preferable to those long, inconvenient, and awkward fiberglass
canes.
  A stride forward, indeed.  I would love to see how Morris Frank
would have reacted to Professor Eames's article.

                              Sincerely, James Moynihan


BLIND OF MILWAUKEE

PRODUCE TELEVISION PROGRAM


  Wherever there are NFB local chapters, things begin to
happen--constructive, worthwhile things which make a difference
in the lives of the blind.  This is exemplified by what occurred
earlier this year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
  Under date of March 10, 1987, the Milwaukee Journal carried an
article headlined "Cable Specials: Warner Presents Shows for
Blind, Deaf."  In the article Robert Devine, Executive Director
of the Milwaukee Access Telecommunications Authority (MATA), told
how his organization and the Milwaukee Chapter of the Federation
were teaming up to produce a television show:
  "Cameras, sound equipment, and other technical production
devices for the show, he said, will be operated by the blind.
  "'A few are partially sighted,' Devine said, 'but we've had
totally blind people operating the cameras.  I know that sounds
incredible.'
  "Devine said the telecommunications authority had made some
minor adjustments to the studio equipment to allow the blind to
use the devices more effectively...."
  Under date of March 16, 1987, the Milwaukee Sentinel carried
the following article:

--------------------

Blind Woman Tackles Visual World of TV

by Robert Anthony

  When Bonnie L. Peterson, who is legally blind, walked into the
offices of Milwaukee Access Telecommunications Authority a few
months ago and told the people there what she wanted to do, even
the innovative folks at MATA seemed astounded.
  In just more than a year, MATA has turned hundreds of novices
into well- trained producers of public access programs aired on
the city's cable television system.  But the task laid before it
by Peterson was obviously one that MATA hadn't expected.
  Could it be that a team of legally blind people could produce
their own television show?
  Peterson said "yes," and she intended to prove it.
  "Blind Perspectives" will air at 6:30 p.m. March 24 as the
state's only television show completely developed by blind
people, said Peterson, the program's moderator and President of
the Milwaukee Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
Wisconsin.
  The first show will feature Thomas Kujawa, president and
managing director of the Milwaukee County Transit System, and
Bruce Colburn, president of Amalgamated Transit Workers Union
Local 998.  She said she would discuss the recent increase in
transit fares and the services offered by the bus company and the
union.
  "Nobody particularly asks what services the union offers," she
noted.
  "They were just totally intrigued," said Peterson of her first
encounters at MATA.  "In the beginning they were walking on
eggshells....  They were so tender."
  She said that in case she forgets her questions, her notes will
be available on a table in front of her in Braille.  Other than
the notes, the microphone, and the large screens attached to the
cameras, the adaptations for the blind crew are few, she said. 
She said blind people often are hurt by people who make wide
assumptions about them or try to infringe on their independence
by not allowing them to attempt certain tasks.
  "We're doing something that most people thought was impossible.

Something like this should help out all blind people.
  "We as a group knew that we had to gain access to the
community," said Peterson, who said she felt a strong need to put
on a well-produced show.

--------------------

  These articles in the Milwaukee press reflect the enthusiasm
and cooperative spirit which characterize the joint effort by the
Milwaukee Access Telecommunications Authority and the Federation.

In a press release issued prior to the program MATA officials
said:

--------------------

Wisconsin's First Blind T.V. Crew To Debut on Milwaukee's
Community Access Channel

  On Tuesday, March 24, 1987, at 6:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. the
National Federation of the Blind will premiere the first of
several programs planned for showing on Channels 14 and 46
(Warner Cable) through the Milwaukee Access Telecommunications
Authority (MATA).
  The program developed and produced by the National Federation
of the Blind is called "Blind Perspectives."
  It will be a Live Call-in show.  Interested persons are asked
to call MATA at 225-3560 during the last half of the program.
  Bonnie Peterson, President of the Milwaukee Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind, will moderate the program. 
Other functions such as directing, camera work, audio, character
generator (video typewriter), phone screening, and talent
coordination are all done by NFB members who are all legally
blind.
  Both MATA and the NFB are excited about this new kind of
programming involving the blind community.  Art Tyson, Vice
President of the Milwaukee NFB, believes that through this
opportunity individuals who are blind now have real access to the
medium of television because "we produce, direct, and serve as
the crew for the production." The NFB has another Blind
Perspectives program in the planning stages, a parenting program
to focus on the issues of raising and educating blind children.
  For more information about Blind Perspectives contact Bonnie
Peterson at 483-3336 or James Mosely at MATA, 225- 3560.


DAVID STAYER

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLE


  To David and Loraine Stayer Federationism is important. 
Loraine (Lori to her friends) is an officer of the Writers
Division, and those who have attended recent national conventions
have delighted in David's clear tenor as he has delivered the
invocation in song.
  David is a quiet man, but he knows what he believes and does
not waver in his principles.  He is employed as a social worker
at the Nassau County Medical Center in New York, and he is a past
president of the New York affiliate.
  Recently David wrote to Dr. Jernigan saying in part:
  "This letter is being written to explain the enclosed two
articles.  There is a new publication on Long Island called
"Challenge," which deals specifically with the disabled
community.  I was interviewed and am featured in their initial
issue....  Several conventions ago you indicated that if any of
us make the press, sharing is the thing to do.  The second item
is our Temple bulletin in which an article I wrote has been
published.  There is one point that should be clarified, and that
is my blindness has existed since birth, but I did not realize it
until age six...."
  We thought Monitor readers might like to see David's article
which appeared in the Temple bulletin:

--------------------

REFLECTIONS

by David R. Stayer

  The time comes when I believe that everyone should search and
reminisce regarding what has occurred in his life and where one
is going.  Review of my years shows me how my striving to be a
better person has led me down the road to Judaism and
Federationism--which are not inconsistent.  Explanation requires
traveling with me to my childhood and up to current activities.
  I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and learned about my
blindness at approximately six.  My parents learned earlier
because of my being born prematurely.  Most of my early education
was spent at schools for the blind.  Our religious instructions
consisted of a Rabbi coming once a week.  When I was studying for
my Bar Mitzvah nothing was available in Hebrew Braille.  Sunday
was spent with a Rabbi at our local Synagogue, studying.  The
entire week would pass, and I had to keep reviewing in my mind
the lessons learned.
  In those days I was a boy Soprano and the envy of the girls. 
Our family was poor, and my Bar Mitzvah ceremony and party were
small.  I can still remember chanting my Haftorah.
  While I was attending Brooklyn College, my first genuine
contact with a group religious experience occurred at the Hillel
Foundation.  Some twenty of us or so studied together Sabbath
weekends with the Rabbis.  I spent many hours in joy and
fellowship.  Few books were available in Braille, and I had to
have material read aloud to me.  The Cassette recorder had not
come into vogue yet.  After completing studies at Brooklyn
College I proceeded on to graduate school at New York University
School of Social Work.
  During graduate school I first learned about discrimination
because of blindness.  Social Work School requires two years of
practical contact with clients at reputable agencies under
supervision of Master's degree personnel.  During my summer
between the first and second year of graduate school I contacted
thirty- nine hospitals before securing employment.  At that time
I did not know about, or belong to, the National Federation of
the Blind.  My battle was basically fought alone.  My New York
State Commission for the Blind counselor was of no assistance. 
After completing graduation I found a position with the city
hospital where I had worked the previous summer.  This was tinged
with disappointment because New York City personnel indicated
that if the hospital had not wanted me back, no job was available
for a blind social worker.
  Years passed, and I was married.  My job had changed, and I had
sought and found employment at the Nassau County Medical Center,
where I am today.  I joined the National Federation of the Blind
and have been attending national conventions.  The Federation has
taught me that it is okay to be blind.  I have also learned that,
spiritually, a movement of brotherhood accomplishes many things. 
Because of the intervention of friends, the National Federation
of the Blind no longer serves pork at its banquets.
  Now, because of the National Federation of the Blind and
agencies such as the Jewish Braille Institute of America, the
Jewish blind youngsters can receive Hebrew material in Braille or
on records or cassettes.
  Let us travel the road to the present.  Because of my activity
within the Federation and my involvement with our congregation,
Jewishness is important to me.  This past September I received a
letter from Dr. Jernigan, the immediate past president of the
National Federation of the Blind.  This letter was from a
prisoner in New York, who is both blind and Jewish.  This
prisoner's letter cried out for help for himself and the other
prisoners who are blind in the special unit at Eastern New York
Correctional Facility.  My decision was to act and spread the
philosophy of the Federation regarding the positive attitude of
blindness.  In March of last year a friend and I visited the
facility and spoke with the prisoners and the staff....  One
specific prisoner, Ari Thomas McAvoy, asked us specifically for
help in obtaining a job and housing.  My family and I agreed that
we would help him....  For three months he was with us, sharing
in our family activities.  This included attending Hebrew school
graduation and services at our Synagogue.  Additionally, we
taught him how to travel with a cane.  The Commission for the
Blind, although acting fairly quickly to open his case, did not
respond to the need for mobility.  We spent many hours discussing
blindness and what it means.  Ari had no training, and his
feelings about blindness were rather tragic.  He is now attending
Queens College and did work for VAST, assisting prisoners with
legal problems.  He hopes to be an attorney some day.  Ari
deserves credit for his persistence.  His accomplishments have
been many....  I am happy to have been given the opportunity to
help affect another life positively.  Ari has taught me the way
to put on T'fillin, and I have discussed with him what life is
about and how as a blind person he is as normal as anyone else.
  I would like to have enhancements such as computers with
talking features, but educating my daughters Jewishly is more
important.  I truly enjoy being Jewish and a member of the
National Federation of the Blind.  Spiritually I have grown.
  Reflection has demonstrated that my life has been productive,
and I pray that many years of achieving goals of helping others
will be my privilege.


LOW VISION AS AN ALTERNATIVE TECHNIQUE

by Richard Mettler


  (Richard Mettler is Public Information Specialist at the
Nebraska Services for the Visually Impaired.  His article will
undoubtedly be controversial, but it should stimulate thought and
discussion.)

  For quite some time NSVI has considered the use of sleep shades
to be indispensable in training people who have limited vision. 
Implicit in this practice is the understanding that the skillful
use of remaining vision is a viable alternative technique.  A
well- trained client with remaining vision will have at his or
her disposal a set of low vision alternative techniques as well
as a set of non-visual alternative techniques which can be used
independently or in combination.  In this paper we explain how
the cognitive model which is used in the training of non-visual
techniques is extended to encompass systematic low vision
training.  So as to explain just how low vision training grows
out of training in non-visual techniques a review of the agency's
rationale behind the use of sleep shades is in order.
  In "On the Use of the Blindfold"[1] Carl Olson explains that
while training under sleep shades an individual is in a
systematic and total immersion learning situation.  The skillful
use of non- visual techniques is learned best by factoring out
vision altogether and so leaving the client to concentrate
exclusively on the non-visual techniques.  A client cannot
therefore attribute failure or success at a task to the amount of
vision which remains.  As competence in the use of these
techniques increases an individual becomes increasingly more
confident in those techniques as a reasonable way to approach the
world.  Once a certain mastery of the techniques is achieved,
this confidence is generated into a heightened sense of
self-confidence.  An individual trained in this way knows from
personal experience that regardless of how well remaining vision
may serve in a particular situation, there is a well-tested
strategy of non-visual techniques with proven efficiency.  Thus,
the individual comes to understand that the limitations of visual
functioning need not define the limits of functioning in the
world.
  Three more or less peripheral reasons often adduced for using
sleep shades in training are: (1) that it assists people with
limited vision to make better use of other sensory stimuli; (2)
that it helps people with a progressive condition prepare for
total blindness; and
(3) that it simulates night travel conditions for people with
"night blindness."  Reasons (2) and (3) have some validity in a
small number of cases but are not primary even in those cases. 
Reason (1) comes closest to capturing the relevance of the
agency's rationale to all clients with limited vision, but the
rationale still goes much deeper.  Toward developing a full
account of the agency's rationale for sleep shade training it's
useful to consider three reasons which have been advanced in
opposition to the practice.
  First, it's argued that sleep shade training deprives clients
of training in the use of remaining vision.  We can isolate three
assumptions underlying this reason: Sleep shade training is
incompatible with low vision training; specific training in
interpreting and utilizing visual data is the only way to assist
a client to make better use of remaining vision; and sleep shade
training precludes training in low vision.  The substance of this
paper is a response to these assumptions.
  A second reason advanced in opposition to sleep shade training
is that since sleep shades commonly represent a client's greatest
fear, viz. total blindness, the stress that sleep shade training
induces in a client may be severe enough to cause that person to
simply withdraw from the training program altogether.  Our
initial response to this kind of case is that the client's
counselor has probably not been successful at fully explaining
the rationale for the sleep shades and the benefits that the
client can expect from training with them.  Furthermore, the
learning opportunities available through sleep shade training are
an effective way for an individual to confront and overcome this
stress by being disabused of the beliefs about vision loss which
precipitate it.  If all reasonable efforts at explanation and all
opportunities at exploration prove unsuccessful, then the source
of this resistance to sleep shades is likely too deep- seated to
be resolved in a training program per se.  Proceeding with
training without the sleep shades will not promote effective
skill training and will allow the client to manage this stress
only through avoidance.  But the stress and the personal issues
behind it will still lurk just beneath the surface and will
inevitably continue to impact on the individual's self-concept in
the way of self-limiting beliefs.
  This brings us to a third reason for not employing sleep
shades.  It's argued that by systematically training a client
with limited vision with sleep shades the client is encouraged to
accept "the life style of the totally blind."  The client would
thereby adopt a more restrictive life style than is necessary. 
Olson quotes from Samuel Genensky[2] in this regard:
". . . Partially sighted persons using their residual vision are
able to do many things for themselves which are beyond the
sensory capability of the functionally blind. . . for example,
they are able to walk down even an unfamiliar street without
bumping into trees, parking meters, fire hydrants, or parked
cars."[3]  Genensky also states that ". . . a resignation to
'blindness' implies the surrender of the valuable remaining
powers of residual vision and the acceptance of a much more
restricted life than is warranted."[4]  An obvious assumption
here is that the quality of one's style of life is at least
partly a function of one's ability to approach the world
visually.  This view as with one of its consequences, that
functionally blind people cannot do commonplace things such as ".
. . walk down. . . an unfamiliar street without bumping into
trees, parking meters, fire hydrants, or parked cars" is familiar
to us all.  But it's interesting to note that Genensky apparently
is prepared to grant that having limited vision does impose a
"restricted life" as well, albeit not as restricted as is the
case with functional blindness.
  With this we have the first move in establishing a hierarchy of
vision.  People with limited vision are presumed more capable and
generally better off than the functionally blind because of the
greater visual contact those with even limited vision have with
the world.  But the second move forces itself ineluctably.  By
the same reasoning we are forced to conclude that fully sighted
people are more capable and generally better off than people with
limited vision.  The hierarchy of vision is established and
maintained only by attaching a tremendous significance to the
role of vision loss in human endeavor.  We resist the hierarchy
of vision at each move.  We are no more prepared to agree that
fully sighted people are ipso facto better able to function in
the world competently and successfully than people with limited
vision than we are to agree that people with limited vision are
ipso facto better able to so function than those who are totally
blind.  Olson brings this out in the following:
  "The blindfold enables the partially sighted client to
experience success in the performance of many activities which
are important to him--success which he cannot attribute to his
ability to see.  Through this experience he is compelled to
recognize that there are other of his human capacities which bear
more heavily than vision on his ability to get on in the world. 
He discovers that those capacities which are related to his worth
as a human being--his ability to think and reason, his ability to
learn and to master new skills, his ingenuity and creativity, his
flexibility and adaptability--these remain intact."[5] (emphasis
added)
  Given this general assumption on the part of those who oppose
sleep shade training, viz. that on the whole visual techniques
are not just superior to non- visual ones but that visual
techniques are the only way to do a great many important things,
it's understandable that these individuals encourage people with
limited vision to approach tasks visually whenever possible.  But
regardless of how much training and how many vision enhancement
aids a client with limited vision receives, there will inevitably
arise situations in which:
(1) a visual performance of a task is cumbersome, inefficient,
and, at times, unsafe; or (2) simply impossible.  For people with
a great deal of remaining vision these recalcitrant situations
may be relatively few and far between as well as relatively
inconsequential.  This subjective determination must be based
upon what kinds of things one values the ability to do.  In any
case, it would not take long as we consider individuals with
increasingly less amounts of remaining vision before we reached a
point where an exclusively visual approach to the world is
clearly and distinctly an imposition and restriction.  It stands
to reason that if one only knows how to approach the world
visually the limits of remaining vision will define the limits of
participation in the world.  Training in non-visual techniques is
typically introduced by these people only after it's determined
that a visual performance of a task is not possible, and even
then it's presented without enthusiasm-- considered as a
desperate resort to something which is inherently inferior.
  Olson provides another way of viewing the matter by developing
a distinction between maximum use of remaining vision and optimum
use of remaining vision.  No one questions that exclusive
training in low vision techniques can teach an individual to use
remaining vision whenever it's possible to do so.  However,
maximum use of remaining vision is not a reasonable end in
itself.  The goal in rehabilitation ought to be optimum
functioning, and this entails optimum use of all sensory data
including remaining vision.  Optimum use of remaining vision
cashes out to the following:
  (1) Tasks approached visually are done efficiently; (2) the
individual has a firm foundation from which to objectively and
from personal experience assess the relative effectiveness of
this or that visually performed task; and (3) the individual is
in a position to choose to not attempt a task visually if
remaining vision is not sufficient to do so efficiently and,
instead, to employ non-visual techniques with skill and
efficiency.
  Optimum use of remaining vision, considered as that which best
promotes optimum functioning, may require a person with limited
vision to use remaining vision extremely selectively.  'Maximum
use of remaining vision' on the other hand turns out for many to
mean exclusive use.  The problem is that maximum use of remaining
vision is not equivalent to optimum use and often is not
compatible with optimum use.  There are many circumstances in
which it's possible to use vision (the job gets done) but at the
expense of optimum efficiency.  As visually approached tasks are
found to be difficult to perform, the individual not trained in
non- visual techniques predictably tends to withdraw from
activities involving those tasks.  For example, we know of people
who avoid a full range of activities when there is low available
lighting, such as independent travel at night, dining in dimly
lit restaurants, attending concerts and plays, and so on.  This
tends not to be the case with individuals trained under sleep
shades.  The individual trained only in the use of low vision
techniques, lacking the confident ability to approach the world
non-visually, turns out on final analysis to be more prepared to
accept a restricted life style than the individual trained in
both kinds of techniques.
  Having reviewed the agency's rationale as stated in Olson's
paper, we now move on to a fuller account of what we mean by
'optimum use of remaining vision' and how this can be learned. 
While it's clear that there exists a natural inclination to use
any remaining vision, it's equally clear from experience that the
wise and skillful use of remaining vision does not always flow so
naturally.  This is not to say that low vision untrained is not
useful.  On the contrary, we know of many people who have used
their remaining vision for a variety of tasks long before they
ever considered rehabilitation training.  The same can be said of
self-taught non- visual functioning.  The problem here is that
this autodidactic approach can leave considerable gaps in both
skills and understanding.  Informal exploration and
experimentation lacks the direction and the process to move most
efficiently from a workable use of remaining vision to the use of
low vision as a trained technique.  As with any skill, the
efficient use of remaining vision requires practice and purposive
exploration and is learned best in an instructional setting. 
Without the development of the use of remaining vision as a skill
(regardless of how successful the sleep shade training) early
efforts at integrating the two types of technique can be attended
with confusion and frustration and result in marginal utility.
  Sleep shade training is highly structured and systematic, and
as a result clients gather a good understanding of non-visual
techniques.  The numerous variables which affect any one person's
remaining vision suggest that low vision training must be
individualized.  But this doesn't mean that it can't be
approached systematically.  Successful low vision training should
assist clients in gathering an equally good understanding of
their remaining vision.  Only at this point in some cases will
clients be able to make meaningful comparisons between the two
types of technique and so be in a position to make an informed
decision as to which technique promotes optimum efficiency in
performing a given task.  While the sleep shade training provides
the foundation for these comparisons, low vision training can
provide the personal knowledge to carry the comparisons through. 
Our goal with clients who have limited vision then is not just
that they come to learn how to use their remaining vision
skillfully but that they reach rational decisions about their
remaining vision.
  As clients acquire a deeper understanding of where and how
their remaining vision factors usefully into their lives and,
thereby, acquire a deeper understanding of where and how non-
visual techniques so factor in, we can expect clients to realize
three benefits.  The obvious and immediate benefit will be the
increased efficiency with which clients visually perform tasks
for which their remaining vision is sufficient and the increased
ease with which this ability is achieved.  A related benefit
should be the increased efficiency with which non-visual
techniques are used.  Having begun the process of deciding and
generalizing when non-visual techniques work best, clients will
begin to practice those techniques unambiguously and so avoid the
approach to tasks as though a new decision had to be made each
time.  This can only facilitate the meaningful integration of the
two types of technique not just with respect to one another but
with respect to those "other human capacities" that Olson
mentions.  Since we're speaking so specifically about non-visual
and low vision alternative techniques, it would be good to remind
ourselves that regardless of the kind of technique taught,
success is contingent on the student's capacity to learn, reason,
adapt, and so on, and any skill training must build on these
faculties.
  Our training approach, described by Professor Allan Dodds as
"structured discovery learning,"[6] is a vehicle through which
clients systematically explore the environment as they build a
model of the world which is useful in managing the world as it is
revealed to them.  The skillful use of remaining vision as an
alternative technique is learned best through the same structured
discovery approach.  Consider a client's progress through sleep
shade training.
  Clients come to us with a familiar though imperfect visually
dominated model of the world.  While training under sleep shades
they are placed in a foreign perceptual situation early on.  The
perceptual data impinging on them is typically described as
confusing, if not overwhelming, and early efforts at approaching
the world in this way tend to come with difficulty.  Consistent
use of the sleep shades immerses the client in this perceptual
situation while skills relevant to working with the world as it
thus occurs are learned and honed.  Clients build a model of the
world through a process of channeling, ordering, and interpreting
the perceptual data available.  This model of the world is built
into a composite from auditory, tactile, olfactory and
kinesthetic data which all converge in the awareness.  But this
stream of data comes with no inherent meaning.  Structured
discovery learning is an actively cognitive process as clients
attach meaning to this data and develop relevant skills through
exploration and reflection.
  A good deal of perceptual data which comes to us is often
irrelevant to the performance of a given task.  Experience and
understanding are required to filter out the irrelevant as one
learns to identify and focus on the relevant.  Clients are then
able to discriminate and attend to just one sensory datum or on
combinations of data as with the joint consideration of tactile,
auditory, and kinesthetic information which is useful in, for
example, cane traveling across a street.  The feel of the ground
surface beneath the feet, the shocks transmitted by the cane, the
sense of the contour of the street surface, and the sounds of
nearby vehicles combine to form a composite of relevant
information while all other data is effectively ignored.  The
ability to identify and focus only on relevant data is as much a
skill which is learned over time as is the exercise of technique.
  This self-directed behavior is not strictly reducible to any
set of objective rules; there's no simple formula which captures
what's happening as the activity is carried out.  The mere
formulation of rules through objective analysis might describe in
more or less detail the observed behavior without explaining how
the behavior is learned or what the individual contributes as the
behavior occurs.  As example, there are non- cognitive
formulations of what happens as one keeps balance while riding a
bicycle.[7]  But the physics and mathematics involved in these
formulations are known as such to few cyclists indeed and in any
case have nothing whatever to do with what the cyclist does to
keep balanced on the bicycle.  The cyclist directs his awareness
toward other criteria.  I suspect that few of us could advance a
coherent objective formulation of the vast majority of activities
in which we engage with skill even though we can discuss them,
criticize them, practice so as to improve upon them, and teach
them to others.  This is true whether it be throwing a ball,
measuring length of a board, cane traveling, or any other skill
that you'd care to mention.  This suggests that the things human
beings do and the awareness that guides us as we practice a skill
are a subject matter of a different kind than that which admits
to objective analysis.
  Seeing is yet another form of learned behavior; an acquired
skill which admits to many levels of accomplishment.  Consider
the difference between a child's being aware of patches of
different color and shape in its visual field (which occurs
naturally) and learning how to manipulate objects (which comes
after exploration and experimentation).  Depth perception,
scanning, distance approximation, and color discrimination are
some of the discrete skills involved in what we, generally
speaking, call "seeing" and also admit to levels of
accomplishment.  This continues into adulthood.  The trained eye
of a painter, craftsman, naturalist, or scientist can appreciate
at a glance minute visual detail that comes with difficulty, if
at all, for the rest of us.  Although such visual astuteness is
sometimes explained quasi-mystically as "a gift," it's more
sensibly understood as an acquired skill which can be passed on
from teacher to student.
  It's important for people who are fully sighted to learn the
limitations which attend their degree of skill.  Few of us would
presume to correct a Picasso on a point of proportion any more
than we would correct a Mozart on a question of tone.  Finally,
we must appreciate the fact that the usefulness of vision has
strict bounds regardless of skill levels.  Vision is most useful
in detecting objects which are middle-sized and middle-distanced.

Scientists must devise and employ alternative techniques to
determine the presence of things such as a distant galaxy or a
positively charged sub-atomic particle.  In spite of its
limitations vision finds its useful role as it's integrated with
other sensory data and those "other human capacities."  When we
say that a task was performed visually, we aren't being strictly
precise.  Vision is a tool which is never used in isolation apart
from all other faculties.  An individual with less than complete
vision is to that extent without the full use of one of the
faculties that most human beings employ in managing the world;
nothing less and nothing more.
  There is no reason in principle or in practice to place the
development of the skillful use of residual vision in any special
category of understanding separate and distinct from the
acquisition of other skills.  As in the performance of other
skillful activity, the use of remaining vision can be objectively
formulated in various ways.  But again, as in other skillful
activity, these formulations fail by leaving out that which is
contributed by the individual and which in reality distinguishes
a mere series of movements in a process from what can
meaningfully be treated as skillful human action.  Because of
this, efforts at understanding low vision must focus not on this
or that detached scientific investigation but on the application
of human faculties to solve a problem.
  There is a marked tendency for people with limited vision to
conflate "being able to see something" and in fact having usable,
efficient remaining vision for the pursuit of a given task.  As
with other sensory data, visual data comes with no inherent
meaning.  Structured discovery learning vis-a-vis low vision
training is a process through which clients come to cognize the
environment using all the faculties which they employed during
sleep shade training plus their remaining vision as they order
and attach meaning to their vision.  The way low vision clients
come to cognize the environment will in part be a function of
their degree of remaining vision, changing conditions in the
environment and changing conditions within their physical state. 
As the environment is explored, clients can begin to determine
for themselves the parameters of their efficient vision by
pursuing a variety of tasks in which they have acquired a degree
of expertise non-visually.  We can expect cases where the
non-visual approach prevails by comparison, cases where the
visual approach prevails and, most importantly, cases where a
clear preference is difficult to decide.
  An example of this kind of case might be encountered during
cane travel.  On a cloudy day or when the internal state of a
client renders remaining vision less useful, the most efficient
street crossing may call for predominantly non- visual
techniques.  By the same token, a particularly noisy and
confusing intersection on a windy day may detract enough from the
quality of auditory data to render available visual information
more reliable and so more useful for the occasion.  This is one
way in which the two types of technique can be integrated. 
Throughout this process of determining comparative efficiency
clients can come to learn when and how to effectively ignore
visual data if other data is more reliable for a given task or,
conversely, when and how to effectively ignore certain non-visual
data in favor of visual information.
  But there is a deeper sense of 'integration.'  In this sense
visual data is assimilated into the store of other available
sensory information and used interdependently just as modes of
non-visual information are used interdependently during sleep
shade training.  The relationship of all modes of sensory data
then is that of mutual supplementation.  So in addition to
tactile, auditory, and kinesthetic data, a composite of all data
relevant to crossing a street might include various visually
recognized landmarks such as the walk light, the walk lane, the
curb and sidewalk on the other side, grass lines, vehicles, and
so on, depending upon the client and other prevailing conditions.
  Both of the above senses of 'integration' can be subsumed under
a practical definition of blindness which was advanced by Kenneth
Jernigan:
  "One is blind to the extent that he must devise alternative
techniques to do efficiently those things which he would do with
sight if he had normal vision.  An individual may properly be
said to be 'blind' or a 'blind person' when he has to devise so
many alternative techniques--that is, if he is to function
efficiently--that his pattern of daily living is substantially
altered."[8]
  This definition leaves open the possibility that an individual
can be blind and still have a degree of functional vision.  Where
vision fails, non-visual techniques are used in order to promote
optimum functioning.  An individual with a great deal of
remaining vision may find that non-visual techniques are couched
in the context of a predominantly visual approach to the world. 
But the situation is just reversed for the vast majority of
people who seek rehabilitation training.  In this case optimum
functioning calls for visual techniques to be couched in the
context of a predominantly non-visual approach to the world.
  Consider how this cashes out functionally.  An individual
traveling to a shopping mall would use non-visual techniques such
as cognitive mapping, cane technique, auditory orientation, and
so on primarily but would periodically detect useful pieces of
visual information as well.  In the context of this predominantly
non-visual approach, the visually recognized red 'S' in front of
a building which is also perceived visually is indeed useful
information.  Along with relevant non-visual data and an
understanding of that particular shopping mall, this visual
information might confirm that Sears is just ahead.  However,
this visual information would be virtually useless if considered
in isolation.  As the individual approaches the store,
automobiles in the parking lot might be seen clearly enough, but
non-visual techniques might be required to negotiate between and
around them.  The sun or lights reflecting off the glass door
might indicate the entrance while cane technique is required in
order to locate the door handle.  Once inside, this individual
might visually detect people ascending on an escalator but use
the cane to determine precisely where to stand.  The sound of
televisions on the second floor coupled with the glare detected
from the screens and chrome components might suffice to identify
the home entertainment section of the store.  Given an existing
knowledge of the layout of the store, the smell of baked goods
indicating the bakery might be enough for the traveler to deduce
that the home appliance center is further north.  In the context
of all this, the sight of what appears to be a refrigerator might
alert the traveler that he or she is approaching the store's
north exit which, in this case, might be more easily identified
by attending to the common sounds of people entering and leaving
a public place.  Examples such as these, which can be generated
indefinitely, capture what we understand as 'optimum use of
remaining vision' as it's directed toward optimum functioning in
the world.
  The greatest variations in usable vision which are found among
people with limited vision dictate that we not attempt to
prescribe a detailed regimen for each client according to some
profile generated out of that person's measured acuity, field, et
cetera.  Such a regimen would either be too general for use in
functional comparisons or, if specific, would be cumbersome and
in the end would simply outline what the client can discover on
his or her own.  In any event, there is a compelling reason for
not simply prescribing to a client when and how to use remaining
vision.  While this prescriptive approach might be more efficient
in teaching specific uses of vision (if it even makes sense to
speak of "teaching" someone to use vision), it ultimately
by-passes the entire point behind structured discovery learning.
  Just as we don't presume to teach every non-visual technique
that a person may have occasion to use, we cannot presume to
structure for clients opportunities to learn every efficient
application of their remaining vision.  We teach enough
non-visual techniques for clients to acquire a suitable
foundation from which they can generalize to new cases on their
own.  So our intent is not so much to teach discrete techniques
alone but to teach a method for developing techniques and related
skills.  Indeed, we realize that there is use for discrete
non-visual techniques which are yet to be devised.  It is our
belief that this method, once firmly understood, will sustain our
clients' independent management of the world as they encounter
new situations.  It's the teaching of a method for developing and
practicing skills as opposed to the mere teaching of skills which
at root distinguishes what we understand as 'structured discovery
learning.'
  Similarly, we aren't interested only in providing clients with
limited vision with structured opportunities to learn specific
uses of their remaining vision but in assisting them in learning
a method for incorporating that remaining vision with all their
other resources as they put their resources to optimum use.  It's
in the context of a well-confirmed method that the intelligence
and experience are most productively directed as problems are
encountered and overcome.  Again, it is our belief that this
method will suffice for clients to continue the process of
integrating their remaining vision independently as they pursue
the life plans that they've set for themselves.

NOTES

1. Olson, C.W.; "On the Use of the Blindfold"; Journal of Visual
Impairment and Blindness; September 1982; Vol.  76 No. 7; pp.
281-285.

2. Genensky, S.M., S.H. Berry, T.H.  Bikson, and T.K. Bikson;
Visual Environmental Adaptation Problems of the Partially
Sighted: Final Report; Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center,
Center for the Partially Sighted; CPS- 100-HEW; January 1979.

3. Genensky, p. 162.

4. Genensky, p. vii.

5. Olson, p. 285.

6. The term 'structured discovery learning' as it occurs in this
regard is carefully chosen and denotes an entire educational
strategy.  Professor Allan
G. Dodds, research psychologist at the Blind Mobility Research
Unit at the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, England,
develops the meaning of this in a report to the Royal National
Institute for the Blind entitled "A Visit to Nebraska Services
for the Visually Impaired"; B.M.R.U. Report No. 138; December
1984.  Dodds develops what amounts to the same thing in a
two-part article entitled "Mobility: Blind Instructors?" in the
May and July, 1985, publications of The New Beacon.

7. This example is borrowed from Michael Polanyi; Personal
Knowledge; Harper and Row; New York; 1964; pp. 49-50.

8. Jernigan, Kenneth; "A Definition of Blindness"; The Braille
Monitor; July, 1983; p. 234.


BLOOD, SIGNATURES, AND SAFETY

by Marc Maurer


  Recently I received a letter from Judy Sanders, President of
our Minneapolis- St. Paul, Minnesota, Metro Chapter. Judy
described efforts of members of the National Federation of the
Blind in Minnesota to participate in a blood plasma project. The
blind were denied this opportunity for the usual tired old reason
that has come to bedevil the lives of blind people throughout the
nation--safety. As usual, the safety argument makes no sense.
Again, as usual, this fact doesn't seem to matter.
  The administrators of this blood plasma program, Plasma
Alliance, simply mouth the word "safety" and expect the blind to
obey, as if their excuse should magically end the matter. But the
members of our Federation chapter aren't having any. This phony
argument is all too familiar. As this article is being written,
we are in the negotiating stage. Let us hope that the
confrontation stage does not become necessary.  But make no
mistake, the blind will participate. Here is what Judy Sanders
wrote:

-------------------

        National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, Metro
Chapter
                  Minneapolis, Minnesota March 17, 1987

Mr. Tyrone Foster, Manager Plasma Alliance
Knoxville, Tennessee

Dear Mr. Foster:

  In November, 1986, Deborah Cornils and her brother Guy went to
the St. Paul branch of Plasma Alliance to donate blood plasma.
They were two adults who happened to be blind.
  Yet, these two perfectly healthy, perfectly normal adults were
turned away. They were informed that in the interest of "safety"
it would be necessary for them to identify their signatures on
the blood bags that would be returned to them. Obviously, because
of their blindness, they would not be able to "read" their
signatures. When they suggested that they could use Braille
labels to identify their bags, they were told that Braille could
not be used; it was not permitted by a Federal Food and Drug
Administration regulation.
  Determined to do something about this blatant discrimination
against the blind, Deborah and Guy reported the problem to me and
other members of the National Federation of the Blind.
  I was able to secure a copy of the regulations pertaining to
blood plasma facilities from the Federal Food and Drug
Administration. Mr. Foster, I read those regulations thoroughly;
and try as I might, I could not find a single provision which
would substantiate the claim made to Deborah and Guy Cornils by
the people at your St. Paul facility.  There is no language that
requires identification of the blood bag to be "visual." More to
the point, nothing in the regulation prohibits the use of Braille
as the means of identifying a blood bag. The only requirement is
that blood plasma centers develop procedures to ensure the safety
of plasma donors.
  On February 14, 1987, Deborah Cornils, Curtis Chong and Tim
Aune went to your St. Paul facility, thoroughly prepared with
Braille writing and labeling equipment and armed with the
knowledge that the denial of their rights was not supported,
either implicitly or explicitly, by federal regulation.  Again,
your people practiced what can only be termed flagrant
discrimination against the blind. Mr. Chong, Mr. Aune, and Ms.
Cornils explained that they were as interested as Plasma Alliance
in maintaining their safety--even more, perhaps, inasmuch as
their lives were personally involved. They also explained that
they were perfectly willing to provide their own Brailling and
labeling equipment. Your people brought out your written
procedures and repeatedly emphasized that in addition to one's
own signature, a series of other identifying numbers had to be
"read." In fact, the word "read" was used with emphasis; and it
was clearly implied that the blind could not "read."
  Your people were assured that the blind did indeed read, albeit
with Braille. It was pointed out that nowhere in your procedures
was it required that any identification be "visual." Your people
conceded the point but stoically maintained that they did not
have the power to change current practice. It was suggested that
the matter be taken up with higher officials within the company,
particularly with the manager of St. Paul Plasma Alliance and
even with personnel in your home office.
  Clearly, the blind were not going to be permitted to donate
their plasma that day. Therefore, Mr. Chong, Mr. Aune and Ms.
Cornils left your St. Paul facility.
  Curtis Chong contacted the manager of St. Paul Plasma Alliance,
Mr. Galen Merrill, by telephone. Mr. Merrill said that he had to
communicate with someone from your home office in Knoxville. He
indicated that he did not have the authority to alter the current
practice which excluded blind people as plasma donors. Mr. Chong
explained to Mr.  Merrill that blind people were perfectly
capable of using Braille as the means for identifying blood bags
and suggested that Mr. Merrill pass this information along to his
superiors in Knoxville.
  On March 2, Dr. Fred Jenkins, your medical director, contacted
Mr. Chong by telephone. Mr. Chong learned that Mr.  Merrill had
hardly passed along any information to Dr. Jenkins. In fact, Dr. 
Jenkins had never been informed about the ability of the blind to
use Braille even though this information had been communicated
repeatedly to numerous people at Plasma Alliance--including Mr. 
Merrill.
  By this time, it was quite clear that the proverbial "buck" was
being passed:  from intake personnel at the St. Paul Plasma
Alliance facility, to Mr.  Merrill, and now on to Dr. Jenkins.
True to form, Dr. Jenkins decided that he was not capable of
dealing with the matter either and said that he had to confer
with his superior--namely, you. However, Dr. Jenkins told Mr.
Chong that you would not be able to consider the matter for two
weeks.
  It seems to me, Mr. Foster, that the solution to this problem
is rather straightforward--assuming, of course, that you are
willing to view the matter with an open mind. If a blind person
wishes to donate blood plasma at one of your facilities, it
should be taken for granted that Braille will be used as the
means for identifying the blood bags-- particularly if the blind
person does not read print. A slate and stylus (a blind person's
pencil) can be used by the blind person to write any required
names and numbers onto a piece of adhesive tape which can then be
placed on the blood bags. The blind person can then read the
Braille information back to the technician when the blood bags
are returned.
  This matter is important enough to warrant your personal
attention, and I hope that you will see fit to handle it yourself
instead of passing it on to a so-called higher authority. As far
as I am concerned, the proverbial "buck" stops with you.
Hopefully, you will have the good sense and the common courtesy
to handle this matter directly and expeditiously.
  Although we as blind people feel that Plasma Alliance is
engaging in the most blatant form of discrimination by not
permitting us to donate our plasma, and although we believe that
your company is violating the Minnesota Human Rights Act by
excluding the blind as plasma donors, we have tried over these
many months to settle the matter peacefully. Plasma Alliance, on
the other hand, has not done much to help us. Although Mr. 
Merrill and Dr. Jenkins made polite noises in support of our
efforts for equal treatment of the blind by your company, their
actions to date (characterized by an unwillingness to accept any
responsibility for the problem) leave one with the distinct
impression that they would be much happier if the blind would
simply give up and go away.
  I am sure that you will want to settle this matter to
everyone's satisfaction.  If you wish to communicate with us by
telephone, it would be best for you to contact Mr. Curtis Chong.
His number during the day is (612) 372-2185.

                        Yours sincerely, Judy Sanders, President
      Metro Chapter, National Federation of the Blind of
Minnesota

cc: Mr. Galen A. Merrill, Manger St. Paul Plasma Alliance

Dr. Fred Jenkins, Medical Director Plasma Alliance

The Honorable Gerry Sikorski U.S. House of Representatives

Jayne Khalifa, Acting Commissioner Minnesota Department of Human
Rights

Hugh C. Cannon
Associate Commissioner of Legislative Affairs
U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Marc Maurer, President
National Federation of the Blind


ON THE NATURE OF BUDGETS,

CONTROVERSY, AND CENSORSHIP


                          Houston, Texas March 17, 1987

Dear Mr. Maurer:

  I have just read your article in the March issue of the Monitor
entitled "The Truth About Rehab's Money: The Budget Hoax."  I am
truly disappointed and disgusted with you.  This whole article
implies how "wonderful" the Reagan Administration is.  I have got
news for you: Ronald Reagan is no friend of the blind.  The only
people Reagan wants to help are the rich criminals and the big
military hot-shots.  He, or anyone in his administration, doesn't
give a damn about the welfare of the blind.  I resent your
printing such an article in the Monitor.  You are certainly
misleading your blind readers.  I suppose that you will be happy
to wake up some morning to discover that we blind people no
longer have any freedom or equal rights.  That is precisely what
is going to happen if Ronald Reagan gets his way.

                        Yours sincerely,
                                   -----

--------------------

                     Baltimore, Maryland April 10, 1987

Dear -----:

  I have read your letter of March 17, 1987, which comments about
the article which appeared in the March, 1987, Braille Monitor
entitled "The Truth About Rehab's Money: The Budget Hoax," and I
think that you misunderstand what was said. The article was not
written to further a political point of view or to praise
President Reagan. It was written to expose for all to see the
basic truth that despite the loud protestations of a number of
officials in rehabilitation agencies, the budget for
rehabilitation has not been cut, but substantially increased.
Year after year there have been reports of rehabilitation
personnel saying that they can't provide services because the
budget is cut. While it may be true that these rehabilitation
professionals are unable to provide services, this is not because
they have less money. The truth is they have more.  There may be
bankruptcy in rehabilitation, but the bankruptcy is more moral
than financial.
  If a person lies to you about a matter of significance in your
life, it is important that you know about the lie and the liar.
Whether you like what the Reagan administration has done or not,
and whether I like what the Reagan administration has done, does
not speak to the lie. Indeed, federal rehabilitation officials
have the same information that was published in the March
Monitor.  If these federal officials failed to make it clear that
the budget has not been cut, it may be reasonable to say that
they bear some responsibility for the dissemination of this
misinformation.
  You have your political view, and I have mine. You have as much
right to yours as I have to mine. When it comes to matters
dealing with the blind my viewpoint is simple. I will work with
those who will help us gain greater independence for the blind. I
will do it whether the person is conservative or liberal and
regardless of my feelings about that person's political viewpoint
on other matters. This seems to me to be the best way for us to
further the interests of all blind people.
  To begin with, we must determine what has really happened. Only
then can we meaningfully discuss whether it is good or bad.
Whether the current rehabilitation system is good or not is a
fair question that deserves serious discussion. But there is no
serious debate regarding its funding. The figures tell the tale
even when rehab officials don't. Funding is definitely up.
  In your letter your comments were frank and to the point. I
have tried to respond in the same way. Think about what I have
said, review the article in the March Monitor, and see if you
still want to call me to task.

                              Cordially,
                  Marc Maurer, President National Federation of
the Blind

--------------------

                          Houston, Texas March 29, 1987

Dear Dr. Jernigan:

  I just want you to know that I am in complete disagreement with
you regarding the Playboy lawsuit issue.  Please do not get the
wrong impression.  I am no fan of the American Council of the
Blind.  But when they do something right, we should acknowledge
it.  You state that this lawsuit will cause controversy.  Since
when did the National Federation of the Blind shun controversy? 
We have certainly faced a lot of controversy.  I hope that there
isn't going to be a change in the philosophy of the NFB in this
regard.  But in this case, the one who brought about all this
controversy is Congressman Chalmers P.  Wylie.  He is the guilty
party in this matter for adding such a stupid amendment to the
budget bill.
  I do not believe in censorship of any kind.  I am afraid that
we could lose our freedom by giving in to the censors bit by bit.

No nation has ever lost its freedom in one sweep.  It is done
little by little.  This goes for everybody, blind and sighted. 
If Congressman Wylie had had his way, he, or someone else, would
have sponsored more and more censorship amendments.  There is no
stopping the process once the censors get their way.
  Best wishes to you.

                        Yours sincerely,
                                   -----

--------------------

                     Baltimore, Maryland April 9, 1987

Dear -----:

  I have your letter of March 29, 1987, concerning my article on
Playboy; and before I deal with your point about censorship, I
think something else needs clearing up.  You tell me that I say
that the Playboy lawsuit will cause controversy, and you then
ask: "Since when did the National Federation of the Blind shun
controversy?"  The answer is that we always try to avoid
controversy, always have, and I hope always will.  We have
repeatedly and publicly said that any time you engage in war, you
take casualties (even if you win) and that if you can achieve
your objectives without war, you should do it.  Our philosophy
has always been that we consistently try to avoid combat, that we
only engage in war if we must, and that when we are compelled to
fight we never quit until we are successful or have made it so
painful for our opponent that his or her future willingness to
fight with us is greatly diminished.
  Having said this, let me now deal with your point about
censorship.  I do not like censorship, and I agree that the
liberties of a nation are threatened by it.  But the Playboy
lawsuit did not curtail or eliminate censorship, nor did it ever
have the opportunity to do so.  Because a thing is called by a
given name, that does not mean that it is necessarily what it is
called.  I may, for instance, be a liberal, but that does not
mean that I must support every kook who claims he is a liberal or
every project that goes by the name of liberal.  In fact, a great
many anti- liberal actions, causes, and beliefs cloak themselves
in the name "liberal" to attempt to hide their nakedness. 
Unfortunately they sometimes get away with it.  I would go even
further and say that one of the identifying trademarks of
dictatorial repression is its twisting of words to an opposite
meaning.  Consider as a prime example George Orwell's 1984:  The
minister of war was called the minister of peace.  The
authorities used the word love when they really meant hate.  And
so it goes.
  With this in mind I suggest that you read again my Playboy
article.  It does not support the Reagan Administration or oppose
it.  It only says that the issues raised in the lawsuit were
phony and that as a result of the lawsuit our library programs
are likely to be more subject to censorship than they would have
been if the lawsuit had not been filed.  Moreover, the article
contends that the real beneficiaries of the lawsuit were the
people at Playboy, not the blind--that the blind were had.  Read
it again, and see if that is not what I said.
  While I am writing to you, let me comment about your recent
letter to Mr.  Maurer concerning his article about the
rehabilitation budget.  It seems to me that you permit your
dislike of the Reagan Administration to get in the way of
objectivity.  As I see it, there are serious problems with the
rehabilitation system, and what administration is in power has
relatively little to do with it.  The liberals seem to argue (and
it appears to me that you are agreeing with them) that
rehabilitation is fine and that all you need is more money, not
just for rehab but for every other program that claims to be a
project for human service.  According to this logic, all you need
do is take any program that calls itself a human service and pump
more money into it.  Nothing more is needed.  Regardless of how
poor the philosophy, how lazy or inept the administrators or
employees, or how lacking in substance the program, it makes no
difference.  Just give it more money, and everything will be
fine.  Presumably if we turned on the printing press and gave
every individual and program in the nation a billion dollars, we
would be in utopia.  But as you well know, it doesn't work that
way.  Specifically, in the case in point rehabilitation is doing
a bad job, and I think more money has probably caused it to do a
worse job by rewarding it for its misconduct.
  When President Carter was in office, rehab was bad--and it got
more money.  With President Reagan in office rehab has been
equally bad (maybe worse)--and it continues to get even greater
amounts of money.  So it is not a matter of money, and it is not
a matter of liberal or conservative.  The purpose of the Maurer
article was to point out (with facts and not just emotion) that
we are not likely to improve the rehabilitation system until we
stop falling into the trap of believing there is a quick fix,
like hating the current president or electing a new one.
  In your letter to Mr. Maurer you do not deny the budgetary
facts but only seem to be saying that we should conceal them,
which is truly censorship, indeed--the very thing you say you are
against.  The articles in the Monitor are intended to stimulate
thought and disseminate facts.  Your letters would seem to
indicate that the Monitor is doing a fair job in accomplishing
these purposes.
  I appreciate your writing to me, and I urge that (keeping all I
have said in mind) you read once again the Monitor articles in
question.

                              Sincerely, Kenneth Jernigan
                      Executive Director
        National Federation of the Blind


ANOTHER BARRIER FALLS:

VICTORY IN IRS EMPLOYMENT


  The Internal Revenue Service of the United States has been
hiring blind people in taxpayer service work for at least a
decade and a half.  It all started when IRS (the nation's tax
collector) worked out an arrangement with Arkansas Enterprises
for the Blind (AEB).  Perhaps the arrangement--that is, who
approached whom--worked the other way around.  In other words,
for reasons of its own self-interest, AEB may have been the
instigator of the plan.  However it happened, AEB was designated
as the training agency for blind people seeking IRS taxpayer
service employment.
  Some regarded the IRS-AEB arrangement as a positive step
forward for the federal government--and for the blind.  No doubt
AEB felt particularly blessed and happy with its role. 
Rehabilitation counselors from many states were anxious to send
their clients to Arkansas for taxpayer service training, hoping
that an easy rehabilitation closure would result.  Under the
arrangement, training for each blind person seeking IRS
employment is paid for at state rehabilitation agency expense. 
But in some states (depending on the severity of the
rehabilitation agency's "means test") the client might also pay
some or all of the cost for training at AEB.  The costs are not
cheap.
  Over the years the IRS-AEB arrangement has resulted in several
hundred jobs for blind people.  But the price has often been
heavy in terms of custodial and discriminatory treatment.  Like
so many other efforts that seem to be unquestionably positive on
the surface, this one has had mixed blessings.  There is first of
all the custodial nature of AEB's treatment of blind people.  On
that point there is almost universal agreement.  Few would deny
that AEB's policies are simply not in tune with the capacities
and needs of responsible blind adults.
  But more than being simply custodial, the IRS-AEB arrangement
has promoted outright discrimination against the blind.  The
discrimination occurs like this: Sighted people apply to IRS by
taking a competitive examination for taxpayer service employment.

Applicants who score high enough are interviewed for initial
employment in career conditional positions.  There is no
requirement for advance training at the applicant's (or some
agency's) expense.  Employment begins before training begins. 
That is the policy and practice of IRS.  It also means that
sighted people (even during training) are federal employees. 
Therefore, they are paid throughout their training.  If the
training is unsuccessful, their positions may be terminated.
  In the case of the IRS-AEB arrangement, however, the blind are
not offered employment before their training.  In fact, there is
no guarantee of employment by IRS even after training, and even
if the training is successful.  That itself is discrimination. 
But more to the point, blind trainees at AEB are not paid during
their training.  Unlike the sighted trainees at IRS, the blind
are expected to work for free.
  These issues have been raised now and again with IRS.  Because
of its decentralized nature some regions of IRS have actually
moved away from an exclusive use of the IRS-AEB arrangement for
hiring the blind.  The Chicago region, for example, has hired and
trained several blind employees under non-discriminatory
conditions.  Advancements beyond taxpayer service work are also
offered more regularly to the blind in that region.  At some IRS
district offices training is offered to blind persons who can see
enough to read print.  Most offices still resist training Braille
users, however.
  It should be emphasized that exclusive use of the IRS-AEB
arrangement is not an ironclad IRS policy.  Different decisions
may be expected from different district offices.  Still there is
the preference for the AEB training arrangement, and this is
often stated as an IRS requirement.
  A recent incident in the Baltimore district office of IRS
brings all of this to focus.  Mary Freeman is a totally blind
woman who possesses all of the blindness-related requisite skills
that anyone could hope to find.  She also has a pleasing
personality, good interviewing skills, and the ability to do
research--all of which are essential for a good taxpayer service
representative to have in dealing routinely with the public.
  Last fall Mary took the IRS taxpayer service competitive
examination (just as any sighted applicant would) and, unlike
many sighted applicants, passed it with flying colors.  Had Mary
been sighted she would have been given a job offer immediately,
but that did not happen.  Mary was told that IRS could not train
her in the Baltimore district office.  She would need to work
with vocational rehabilitation and go to Arkansas Enterprises for
the Blind for training.  After she was done at AEB (including
four months of training in Little Rock, Arkansas), the IRS would
consider offering her a job--but no guarantees.
  Mary Freeman wasn't buying it.  There was no reason why she
could not be trained in Baltimore.  Besides, she (not vocational
rehabilitation) would have to pay for the AEB training.  Mary's
husband is employed, so their income is too high for Mary to
receive help from the Maryland state agency.  That is the effect
of the means test.
  On February 3, 1987, Mary Freeman filed an informal complaint
of discrimination with the Baltimore district office of IRS.  She
did so after consulting with the National Federation of the Blind
to learn about her rights.  Negotiations with IRS then ensued
involving the Federation as Mary's representative.  The outcome
was announced in a letter of February 27, 1987, and a subsequent
informal adjustment between Mary Freeman and IRS dated and signed
in the IRS director's conference room in Baltimore on March 5,
1987.
  On March 9, 1987, Mary Freeman
reported for work at the Baltimore district office.  She is now a
full- fledged taxpayer service representative.  She went on board
with help from the Federation and certainly no help from AEB.  In
fact, AEB was actually a deterrent.  Largely because of the IRS-
AEB arrangement, IRS personnel in the Baltimore district office
simply felt that they would not be qualified to train Mary
Freeman or any other totally blind person.  But when the issue
was presented to them in terms of a complaint of discrimination,
they quickly changed their minds.  The training personnel in
Baltimore are excited about working with other blind employees in
the future.  As the district director for the Baltimore office
remarked about the settlement: In all of his experience of
fourteen years as a manager with IRS, no one had ever challenged
the IRS-AEB arrangement in terms of its discrimination against
the blind.  Now that the issue has been raised, the problem will
be corrected, at least for the Baltimore office.
  Beyond the circumstances and details of the Mary Freeman case,
a more fundamental issue is raised.  If there ever was value in
the IRS-AEB arrangement, is that value now at an end?  In fact,
is the IRS-AEB arrangement now a hindrance, retarding the
opportunities of the blind for full employment with IRS and other
departments of the federal government?
  Relevant correspondence and the informal adjustment agreement
in the Mary Freeman case are reprinted here to give Monitor
readers the fullest possible background concerning the resolution
of this issue.  The Baltimore case will not necessarily solve the
problem nationwide, although the national office of IRS in
Washington, D.C., did become involved.
  Hardi Jones, Director of Equal Employment Opportunity for IRS
(in the national office), spoke at our 1985 convention in
Louisville.  He attended the convention banquet.  Those
experiences and his other contacts with the Federation have made
Hardi Jones a believer.  His assistance in settling the Mary
Freeman case was invaluable.  This is a good example of why we
have responsible government officials attending our conventions. 
In this instance Mr. Jones came and listened.  He learned, and he
acted.  Mary Freeman and all of the blind are the beneficiaries. 
This is why we have the National Federation of the Blind.  One
case and one victory at a time, we are changing what it means
to be blind.

--------------------

                     Baltimore, Maryland November 17, 1986

Mr. Thomas Keyes, Chief Taxpayer Service Division Internal
Revenue Service Baltimore District Office

Dear Mr. Keyes:

  I am writing concerning the agency's policy on hiring blind
persons as taxpayer service representatives.  I wish
clarification of this policy because my experience demonstrates
that there are different procedures for applicants using Braille
and those having enough vision to use print with visual aids.  I
would like to outline for you the steps I have taken in applying
for a position with IRS.
  In August I applied with the Office of Personnel Management to
take the required competitive examination for taxpayer service
representative, but due to a delay in obtaining the Braille test
I was not tested until October 16.  Therefore, my name does not
appear on the OPM certificate you are now using.
  In September I sent to Kim Sasajima an SF-171 and the necessary
verification from the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. 
This application was referred to your Division, and on November 7
I was interviewed by Cathy Rice.  Ms. Rice informed me that I
would be required to complete the training program at Arkansas
Enterprises for the Blind.  Since I have concerns about this
requirement, I contacted Ms. Sasajima later that day to discuss
them with her.
  On November 13 Ms. Sasajima told me
that she had conferred with individuals in your Division
regarding this matter.  I was informed that accommodations are
available for persons who can read large print to attend the
regular training class given by the IRS, but that as a blind
person, i.e., one who uses Braille, I would be required to
complete the program in Arkansas.  Upon completion of this
program I would then be considered for a temporary position.  Why
must I, a Braille user, attend a four-month training program
without pay in Arkansas while my partially sighted peers attend a
four- or five-week class with pay at home?
  If Ms. Sasajima's explanation to me correctly states IRS
policy, such policy discriminates against Braille users.  I have
the same capabilities as a sighted or partially sighted person,
and there is no reason why I should not be able to participate in
a training class with them.  If IRS is capable of providing
accommodation for partially sighted persons during the training
period, blind persons using Braille should have the same rights.
  Please respond to this request for a written copy of IRS policy
on hiring blind persons as taxpayer service representatives
within the ten-day stipulation under the Freedom of Information
Act.  Thank you for your cooperation, and I await your reply.

                              Sincerely, Mary Freeman

cc: Kim Sasajima
Mary Ellen Reihing
Job Opportunities for the Blind

Sharon Maneki, President National Federation of the Blind
 of Maryland

Debbie Koester
Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

--------------------

                     Baltimore, Maryland January 19, 1987

Mr. Hardi L. Lones
Assistant to the Commissioner Equal Employment Opportunity
Internal Revenue Service Washington, D.C.

Dear Hardi:

  This letter confirms our telephone conversation of Tuesday,
January 13, 1987.  I am enclosing a copy of a letter that Mary
Freeman wrote to Mr. Thomas Keyes, Chief, Taxpayer Service
Division, Internal Revenue Service, Baltimore District Office. 
Her letter describes in great detail what she was told about an
application for employment.  Training at Arkansas Enterprises for
the Blind would be required.
  I very much appreciate your looking into this matter.  It is
not clear to me that training at Arkansas Enterprises (in advance
of an offer of employment) would be a legal requirement. 
Nonblind individuals are hired by the Service prior to receiving
specific training for their positions.  Once employed, they are
trained by IRS.  As a matter of equal treatment, the same
procedure should certainly extend to Mary Freeman.  Once she was
employed, IRS would presumably have the prerogative of choosing
the training program which would best meet the needs of a new
employee.
  In any event, I deeply appreciate your looking into this and
helping in some way to resolve it.  It goes without saying that
we can pursue the full extent of the EEO procedures if you think
that course of action is most advisable.  Otherwise, we would
like to achieve a quicker and more satisfactory resolution
through informal means.  Thanks for your help.

                        Cordially yours, James Gashel
        Director of Governmental Affairs National Federation of
the Blind

--------------------

                Internal Revenue Service Baltimore, Maryland
                       February 27, 1987

Ms. Mary L. Freeman Baltimore, Maryland

Dear Ms. Freeman:

  This is to confirm your selection to the position of Seasonal
Taxpayer Service Representative, GS-962-4.  The base salary for
this position is $6.36 per hour.  Your appointment will be Career
Conditional.
  Please report to the Fallon Federal Building, Room 814, 31
Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, Maryland, on Monday, March 9, 1987, at
8:30 a.m.
  Enclosed you will find various forms which must be completed in
full and returned to our Personnel Branch when you report for
duty.  It is of particular importance that you get the Form 85,
Data for Nonsensitive or Noncritical Sensitive Position, typed
and returned by the above date.
  Congratulations on your selection and welcome to the Baltimore
District Office of the Internal Revenue Service.

                       Yours very truly, Steven R. Savold
                 Chief, Personnel Branch

--------------------

Settlement Agreement Between
The Internal Revenue Service Baltimore District
And
Mary Freeman

Settlement Agreement, Discrimination Complaint of Mary Freeman
Case No.: (Informal)

  It is hereby agreed by the undersigned representatives for the
Internal Revenue Service, Baltimore District, and Mary Freeman
that the following constitutes a full and complete settlement of
the administrative informal complaint of discrimination filed by
complainant on February 3, 1987.
  1. The Agency will:
  Effective Monday, March 9, 1987, employ Mary Freeman in the
position of a WAE (when actually employed) Taxpayer Service
Representative, Series 962, Grade GS-4/Step 1.
  Place Ms. Freeman into a training status beginning March 9,
1987, for purposes of successfully completing TSR Phase 1
training.
  Provide Ms. Freeman with all necessary training materials,
which are identical to the materials provided to the sighted
student, such as course book, workshop exercises, tests, and
research materials.  These materials will be provided in all
forms available, including Braille, voice cassette, and/or Versa-
Braille.
  Give Ms. Freeman up to six weeks' training time to complete the
four-week TSR Phase 12 training course.
  Provide Ms. Freeman classroom instructors, on-the-job trainers,
and any other resource person deemed necessary by the Agency.
  Provide Ms. Freeman sufficient time to complete each of the
four mandatory tests.  Normally, a two-hour time restriction is
placed on each test.  The Agency recognizes that Ms. Freeman may
require more than the allowed time of two hours to complete each
test.
  2. In consideration for the Agency's proposed remedial
action(s) in Paragraph 1, complainant agrees:
  A. To withdraw the above-referenced complaint with prejudice;
  B. Not to institute any further legal and/or administrative
appeals on the specific issues resolved by this agreement;
  C. Recognizes that a mandatory retention criteria for
employment rests on the complainant's ability to successfully
complete two of the four tests given in Phase 1 TSR training.
  D. That this agreement does not constitute an admission by the
Agency of any violation of applicable civil rights laws or of any
other federal or state statute or regulations.
  Both parties understand that if the agency fails to carry out
the terms, complainant will not be bound by this agreement and
may reinstate her complaint, in writing, at the next stage of
processing.

Teddy R. Kern, District Director Mary Freeman, Complainant
Michele C. Lewis, District EEO Officer


MONITORADIO


  (We have been asked to carry the following press release.)

MonitoRadio

The Sound Way to Stay Informed

  MonitoRadio, the weekly broadcast service of The Christian
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  It is a reliable way to keep up to date on major world news
events and how they impact on the individual.
  MonitoRadio's 60-minute weekend broadcasts, "Looking at the
World-Week in Review," began operation in January, 1984.  A daily
half-hour news report has since been added.  These broadcasts are
now picked up by more than 200 of the 300 public radio stations
nationwide every week.  MonitoRadio draws upon the editorial
expertise of The Christian Science Monitor's network of national
and overseas-based editors.  The 60- minute weekend broadcasts
are a kaleidoscope-in-sound of events, insights, forecasts, and
special features that help people understand the "big picture." 
A broad, constructive view of the week's most important
happenings-- how they affect you, and how you could affect them. 
MonitoRadio has a strong content of international coverage, but
the programs carry the full gamut of national reporting as well:
business, politics, sports, the arts, and major human concerns.
  Periodically, MonitoRadio broadcasts are developed to in-depth
reporting on topics of national concern.  Recent editions have
focused on peacemaking, Japanese business in America, drug abuse,
and growing old in America.
  These outstanding weekly reports are now available on
three-month, six-month, or one-year subscription cassettes. 
Cassettes of the weekend broadcast are mailed out first-class
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cassettes) $50.


RIGHT TO SUE UNDER SECTION 503 CONCILIATION AGREEMENT VIOLATED

by Marc Maurer


  In 1973 Congress adopted Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.
This Section says that any company, group, or individual that
contracts with the federal government for more than $2,500.00
must promise the government not to discriminate on the basis of
handicap.  The concept is good, but the promise far exceeds the
reality. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
(OFCCP) within the Department of Labor was charged with the
responsibility of enforcing the non-discrimination provisions of
federal contracts.
  If a blind person felt that there was discrimination occurring
in a plant operated by a federal contractor, that person could
file a complaint with the OFCCP. However, as the complaints were
filed and the cases heard, it became clear that the OFCCP was (at
least in many instances) simply accepting as fact whatever lame
excuses were made by employers for their discriminatory actions.
  The case of Lola Pace and Roger Smart is a dramatic
illustration. These two blind people worked for Halmet Turbine
Corporation in Texas. Because of reorganization their jobs in the
darkroom were eliminated. Everyone else who worked in the
darkroom was retrained and reassigned and was continued on the
payroll. Lola Pace and Roger Smart were terminated. The reason
given for this action was that Pace and Smart are blind and that
there was no job in the whole factory that a blind person could
do.
  When a complaint was filed with the OFCCP, the answer came back
quickly and definitely. Pace and Smart were told that there was
no discrimination because many of the jobs at Halmet involve (if
one can believe it) machines with moving parts. An investigator
had come to the home of Lola Pace to inquire about her treatment
at Halmet. The main thing this investigator wanted to know was
how much she could see. In fact, the investigator did a test.
Lola Pace was asked to go and read the thermostat on her wall.
  In a number of other cases similar misunderstandings and
unwillingness to consider the capabilities of blind people were
exhibited by the OFCCP.  Blind people attempted to raise the
matter in the federal court. Soon the cases developed into a
standard pattern of decisions, which said that the only complaint
process was with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance. If
the OFCCP would not help the blind complainant, there was no help
to be had from any other quarter.
  With this most unpromising picture as a background, Dick McBee
contacted the National Federation of the Blind in 1984. He said
that he had once worked for the Mack Truck Corporation, that Mack
Trucks had dismissed him because of blindness, that he had
complained to the OFCCP, that the OFCCP had negotiated a
settlement with Mack Trucks, and that Mack Trucks was now
violating that negotiated settlement. Mack Trucks had promised to
pay certain amounts of back pay and a certain monthly amount for
a number of years as a settlement instead of going through with
the complaint process. Mr. McBee was to receive several hundred
dollars a month for several years. Instead of paying what they
had agreed, Mack Trucks had reduced the sum of the monthly
payment by an amount equal to any Social Security benefits that
McBee could receive. This reduction was not authorized by the
settlement agreement. With help from the Federation, suit was
brought in the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland. Mack Trucks defended on the grounds that there is no
private right of action in the federal court for a violation of
Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. In response the court said
that although the defendant is right in saying that there is no
private right of action for a violation of Section 503,
nevertheless the case will not be dismissed. Dick McBee is not
seeking to enforce Section 503. Instead, he is asking the court
to enforce a contract. The enforcement of a contract is entirely
within the power of the federal court, and the case will be
permitted to go forward to trial.

-------------------- IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

RICHARD V. McBEE
v.
MACK TRUCKS, INC.

CIVIL NO. S 85-1379

  Marc Maurer and Steve Keller, Maurer
Law Firm, P.A., Baltimore, Maryland and Paul J. Schwab and
Jonathan A. Azrael, Azrael, Gann and Granz, Towson, Maryland, for
plaintiff.
  Richard T. Sampson and Stephen M.
Silvestri, Semmes, Bowen and Semmes, Baltimore, Maryland, for
defendant.

Smalkin, District Judge.

Memorandum and Order Filed March 26, 1987

  This is a case filed under the diversity jurisdiction of this
Court, in which the plaintiff alleges that a conciliation
agreement executed pursuant to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. Section 793 (1987 Supp.), between his
employer, Mack Trucks, Inc., and the Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs has been breached. The plaintiff claims,
apparently, as a third-party beneficiary of that conciliation
agreement, in which he is, inter alia, referred to as a
beneficiary (Part I.6), and  under which Mack Trucks agreed to
reimburse or pay him specific amounts in back pay and front pay,
and to provide educational and fringe benefits. Plaintiff alleges
that Mack has not performed its undertakings as agreed.
  The defendant has moved to dismiss for failure to state a
claim, Fed. R. Civ.
P. 12(b) (6), arguing that, because there is no private right of
action under Section 503, there can be no diversity-based action
in a federal court to enforce a Section 503 conciliation
agreement on a third-party beneficiary basis. As best the Court
can understand defendant's theory, it is that, despite the
apparently undoubted diverse citizenship of the parties, the
claim is essentially a federal-rights based claim, under 28
U.S.C. Section 1331. If so, then, the fact that Section 503
pre-empts state-created third party beneficiary rights, see
Howard v.  Uniroyal, Inc., 719 F.2nd 1552 (11th Cir. 1983),
pre-empts federal common-law third party beneficiary rights, see
D'Amato v. Wisconsin Gas Co., 760 F.2nd 1474 7th Cir. 1985), and
precludes an implied right of direct action, see Painter v. Horne
Bros., Inc., 710 F.2nd 143 (4th Cir. 1983), means that there can
be no claim for relief stated under federal law, and the
complaint must therefore be dismissed.
  The Court agrees almost completely with the defendant's
arguments. The Court's disagreement, though small, is fatal to
defendant's position on dismissal.
  A close reading of the cases cited above, and those cited
within them, holding that Section 503 pre-empts both federal and
state common law claims based on a third party beneficiary theory
discloses that, in all of them, the plaintiff was seeking to rely
on such theory to create a contractual duty, running to him, on
the part of his employer, not to discriminate. If recognized,
such a duty could then be the subject of a cause of action,
whether state-law or federally-based, for breach of contract.
Howard and D'Amato both rejected, and quite correctly so, this
approach to private enforcement of Section 503-mandated
anti-discrimination provisions in federal contracts.
  In this case, however, plaintiff seeks not to enforce the
anti-discrimination clauses of the original federal contract with
Mack, but to enforce the conciliation agreement. Thus, neither
Howard nor D'Amato is apt. The concern of these cases with the
strong policy reasons against interjecting common-law claims into
the careful administrative compliance mechanism spun out under
Section 503 is obviously of no further consequence after that
mechanism has resulted in an undertaking by the employer,
specific in terms, to the private benefit of a named, individual
employee. See the discussion of Smith
v. Evening News Ass'n., 371 U.S. 195 (1963), in D'Amato, 760 F.2d
at 1480
n.5. This Court is of the opinion that no federal policies like
those barring a third party's common law enforcement of Section
503 anti-discrimination clauses bars the present, remedial suit;
its maintenance disturbs no delicate administrative process and
is not in the least inconsistent with Section 503's overall
scheme. In short, this is no more than a third-party beneficiary
claim arising under state law, and, so long as there is diversity
of citizenship, there is a claim stated within this Court's
subject matter jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. Section 1332.
  For the reasons stated, defendant's motion to dismiss is hereby
denied.

Frederic N. Smalkin
United States District Judge


SOME ADVICE TO BLIND INTERVIEWEES

by Patti Gregory


  (This article appeared in the April, 1987, Insight, the
newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of South
Dakota.  An article about Patti Gregory entitled "Patti Will
Ride" appeared in the May-June, 1986, Braille Monitor.)

  Interviewing presents some unique twists, turns, and pitfalls
for blind interviewees.  I spent last summer working as a summer
associate in a large law firm.  This job was obtained as a result
of one of approximately twenty-five on- campus interviews. 
Hopefully, my experiences and observations as a blind interviewee
can help other blind students achieve similar success.
  The interview system I experienced is typical.  Students "sign
up" with potential employers and leave their resumes.  Thus, my
resume proffered the sole introduction of me and my blindness. 
The process precluded interviewers from investigating candidates
beyond reading their resumes.  Since this process allowed me to
control that knowledge an interviewer possessed regarding my
blindness, I was forced to think long and hard about whether to
indicate my blindness on my resume or not.  Once I determined
that my resume was the proper forum for introduction, I had to
decide just how to address the topic.
  Openness about blindness is essential in the entire
interviewing process.  The resume presents a good opportunity to
introduce blindness in a positive way.  I listed the National
Federation of the Blind as an extracurricular activity on my
resume and indicated that I hold offices in the NFB as well. 
This approach proved wise for several reasons:  First, it
provided a starting point for discussion about my blindness. 
Second, this technique avoided alienating potential employers who
may feel "fooled" or "tricked" when a blind applicant waits until
the face-to-face interview to divulge her or his blindness. 
Third, this approach set a healthy and positive tone for
discussion early on, since it illustrated my attitudes toward
blindness.  Fourth and finally, by listing the NFB on my resume
to indicate my blindness, I avoided overdramatization and put the
issue in a proper perspective.
  Determining how to address blindness during interviews was
easy, since my resume acted as a stepping stone to the topic.  My
paramount goal, like that of my classmates, was to sell myself. 
The only difference was that my blindness interposed an extra
step on the way to convincing employers to hire me.  I needed to
make my blindness and its effects on my work understood.  I felt,
and still feel, that if blindness was not addressed, employers
would have hired a sighted candidate since they, like everyone
else, seek familiarity.  As the saying goes, I had to make myself
a known quantity.
  During interviews, I employed several different approaches for
the introduction of the subject of blindness.  None of them
worked all the time, so I am outlining them here, along with
their advantages and disadvantages:
  1. Talking about the NFB usually worked well, but some people
simply weren't interested.  A few employers seemed to feel
threatened by my activism.  Maybe they feared a lawsuit.
  2. Discussing adaptive techniques is a must for all interviews,
but it can be limiting if utilized as an introduction to
blindness generally.  Some interviewers seemed confined to
specific questions concerning the mechanics of how I perform
specific tasks.
  3. Waiting for interviewers to inquire about blindness is a
dubious approach at best.  Many interviewers failed to broach the
issue entirely.
  I suggest that you employ combinations of the approaches I have
outlined to develop your own interviewing style.  I feel
compelled in summary, however, to reiterate my main point, i.e.,
that directness and openness are the order of the day.


BRAILLE SPEAK


  (Editor's Comment: Recently I talked
with Deane Blazie, former President and founder of Maryland
Computer Services.  Mr. Blazie has been involved in developing
and producing technology for the blind for more than twenty
years.  In 1986 he formed Blazie Engineering, which is now
bringing its first product (Braille Speak) to market.  He says
that he will be attending the NFB convention in Phoenix this
summer and that he will be demonstrating Braille Speak at that
time.  Here, as Mr. Blazie provided it to me, is his description
of Braille Talk.)

What is Braille Speak?

  Braille Speak is a very small computer with a Braille keyboard.

It has enough memory inside to remember about 200 pages of
Braille.  It has a built-in speech synthesizer and is able to
speak the Braille text stored in its memory.  It also has a
built-in clock/calendar and is able to speak the time and date. 
Braille Speak has two communications ports so you can hook it up
to your personal computer or modem and use it as a computer
terminal.  It is battery- operated and never forgets what is in
its memory, even if the battery dies or you turn it off.  Braille
Speak operates comfortably on a desk or in your lap.  It goes
where you go.

What Does Braille Speak Do?

  Braille Speak is a computer and as such can be used in a
variety of ways.  It is excellent for taking notes, just like a
Braille slate, only you read the notes by commanding Braille
Speak to speak them.  You can command it to search for notes, so
you don't have to read everything you have already typed.  You
can make corrections to notes you have already typed.  You can
delete any part of the notes you have entered and can even
command Braille Speak to print them onto a printer.  Braille
Speak will convert the Grade 2 Braille you enter into printable
text.  Write a letter in Grade 2 Braille and print it.
  Braille Speak is more than just a slate and notes, though.  It
is much more organized.  It has up to twenty file folders within
its memory, and it lets you store whatever you want in these
folders.  One may be biology class notes.  Another may contain a
"things to do" list.  A telephone directory in still another can
be searched in seconds.  Write a letter in another on your way
home from work.  The possibilities are limitless, and you haven't
really begun to do all that Braille Speak can do.
  Braille Speak is a perfect partner to your personal or business
computer.  It has two serial ports (two computer or printer
connections).
  Braille Speak is very small but very powerful.  It is only
about one-third the size of a sheet of stationery and less than
one inch thick.  But inside is a computer more versatile than
most personal computers.
  Specifications: 6Mhz 64180 Processor; two Serial Ports (one
RS-232, one TTL); 196,000-character non volatile memory;
12/24-hour clock with calendar; ear phone jack tiny jack; battery
charger; encased in durable Royalite; size: 8 by 4 by 3/4 inches;
7-key Braille keyboard; rechargable batteries; micro miniature
surface-mount technology.
  A battery charger and headset are included with every Braille
Speak.  Braille Speak comes with a one-year warranty.  Fixed-cost
repair available after the warranty period.
  Braille Speak is: a talking Braille note taker, a speech
synthesizer, a note organizer, a talking telephone directory, a
talking computer terminal, a Braille-to-print transcriber, a
talking calendar and clock, a word processor.
  Braille Speak can be ordered from:  Blazie Engineering, 2818
College View Drive, Churchville, Maryland 21028.  Current U.S.
list price is $895.00.


****************************************

RECIPES

****************************************

by Mary Beaven

(Mary Beaven is one of the leaders
of the National Federation of the Blind of Kentucky.)


AMBROSIA SALAD

1 small can chunk pineapple
1 small jar red maraschino cherries 1 small can sliced peaches 1
small can mandarin oranges
1 small package flaked or shredded coconut
1 small package slivered almonds
1/2 pint whipping cream, sweetened with 2 tablespoons sugar
1 small package Minute Rice

  Drain all fruits, reserving syrup.  Cook rice in syrup mixture
until rice is tender.  Drain rice and add to fruits which have
been mixed.  Stir in coconut, whipped cream, and sweetened sugar.

Fold whipped cream into fruit mixture.  Top with slivered
almonds.

********************


PRETZEL SALAD

2 cups crushed pretzels 1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 sticks margarine
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 2 cups Cool Whip, thawed
1 cup sugar
2 10-ounce packages frozen strawberries, thawed
2 cups pineapple juice
2 3-ounce packages strawberry Jello

  Mix pretzels, sugar, and margarine together and press into
nine- by thirteen-inch pan which has been sprayed with Pam. 
Mixture should only be on the bottom of pan.  Bake at 350 degrees
for ten minutes and cool.  Mix cream cheese, Cool Whip, and sugar
and spread over pretzel layer.  Dissolve Jello in pineapple juice
which has been heated.  Add strawberries and chill until slightly
jelled.  Spread over cream cheese mixture.  Chill salad until
serving.

********************


RUM CAKE

4 eggs
1 box Duncan Hines Yellow Cake mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup rum
small box instant vanilla pudding

SAUCE:
1/4 cup water
1 stick butter
1/4 cup rum
1 cup granulated sugar

  Mix cake ingredients and beat according to directions on box. 
Pour into greased and floured bundt pan which has been lined on
bottom with 1/2 cup chopped pecans.  Bake at 350 degrees for
thirty to thirty-five minutes.  Combine sauce ingredients in
small pan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until
mixture bubbles.  Pour sauce onto hot cake while cake is still in
the pan.  Cover pan and let set several hours.  Invert onto
plate.

********************


OATMEAL PIE

1/4 cup butter or margarine 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup corn syrup
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup Quick Oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked

  Cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla.  Stir in syrup and
beaten eggs.  Add oats and salt.  Beat thoroughly and pour into
pie shell.  Bake for one hour at 350 degrees or until center is
set.

********************


FRESH BLUEBERRY CREAM PIE

1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2-1/2 cups fresh blueberries (1 pint) 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

TOPPING:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons chopped pecans
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened, not melted

  Combine sour cream, flour, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and salt. 
Beat five minutes on medium or until smooth.  Fold in
blueberries, which have been washed and drained.  Pour into pie
shell and bake twenty-five minutes at 400 degrees.  Combine
ingredients for topping with a fork until crumbly.  Sprinkle on
top of pie and bake ten minutes longer.  Chill pie completely
before serving.

********************


TAILGATE CAKE

1 package German chocolate cake mix 1/3 cup milk
1 14-ounce bag caramels 3/4 cup chocolate chips 1 cup chopped
nuts

  Prepare cake mix according to directions.  Pour half of the
batter into a nine- by thirteen- by two-inch greased and floured
pan.  Bake for ten minutes at 350 degrees.  Melt caramels in milk
and spread evenly over cake.  Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts
onto cake.  Spread remaining batter and bake for twenty to thirty
minutes longer in a 375 degree oven.

********************


MONITOR MINIATURES * * * * * * *

**Wins Recognition:
  Virginia Reagan, a member of the National Federation of the
Blind of Missouri, won second place in an essay contest sponsored
by the Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind.  It appeared in
the April, 1987, issue.  Congratulations and best wishes!

**The Elbee Audio Players:
  We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
  "Interested in drama?  Enjoy performing?  Here's your chance! 
Calling men and women living in the New York City area.  The
Elbee Audio Players, an amateur troupe of blind and sighted
repertory players, invites you to join.  There is an active and
exciting season of audio drama ahead.  Now in its 25th season,
Elbee performs live for the entire community.  Like radio, their
shows are meant to be heard instead of seen.  Requirements: 1) No
memorizing of lines.  2) No previous experience necessary.  3)
Should be a competent Braille reader.  4) Should be able to
travel independently to rehearsals.  Performances: About 20 a
season.  Rehearsals:  One evening a week.  Interested: Call David
Swerdlow (212) 874-5704.

**Quoted:
  In an article entitled "Braille Publisher Shows Way to a Wider
World" (which appeared in the February 22, 1987, New York Times)
Betty Niceley, President of the National Association to Promote
the Use of Braille, is quoted as saying:
  "There is a reluctance of school systems to teach visually
impaired students Braille.  It's so much easier to give blind
people material in recorded form."
  The Times article features the National Braille Press and
presents Braille in a positive light.

**Featured:
  Charles Allen is one of the leaders of the National Federation
of the Blind of Kentucky.  He was featured in the January 28,
1987, Buyers Guide, which is billed as "Central Kentucky's
Newsweekly").  The front page article describes Mr. Allen's work
as a vendor and talks about his philosophy of blindness.

**TSI Writes About Finances:
  We have been asked to carry the following letter:

               Mountain View, California
                          March 13, 1987

Dear Dr. Jernigan:
  I would like to verify that the rumors you reported in the
Braille Monitor regarding TSI's financial situation are totally
false.  The fact is that TSI is in a very strong financial
position.  TSI has no bank debt, a current ratio greater than 2,
and an equity well over $2 million.  Our growth has been high and
we have recently expanded our building space by 30 percent.  I
believe TSI to be the financially strongest company in the field.
  In the interest of communicating facts rather than rumor,
please publish this letter in the next issue of the Braille
Monitor.

                              Sincerely,
                   James C. Bliss, Ph.D.
                               President
               Telesensory Systems, Inc.

**Catherine Randall Announces Candidacy:  The following article
appeared in the
March 10, 1987, Jacksonville, Illinois, Journal Courier:
  Cathy Randall promised a "straightforward and issues-oriented
campaign" as she announced her Republican candidacy for Sixth
Ward alderwoman Monday.
  Mrs. Randall, 40, said she will view "the issues in a factual,
straightforward manner" and "serve city government accordingly."
  Mrs. Randall, a former school teacher and MacMurray College
graduate, said, "I am honored at the encouragement of my friends
and neighbors in seeking this office.  And I pledge my fullest
efforts to be an effective candidate and alderwoman."
  Mrs. Randall, whose husband Bob is co- owner of Jacksonville
Landscape Nursery, is President of the Jacksonville Theatre
Guild, a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Chorale, and a past
member of the League of Women Voters and the American Association
of University Women.  She is President of the Ferris Wheel
Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind and First Vice
President of the NFB's state organization.

**Elected:
  We recently received the following announcement from the
members of the Memphis Chapter:
  "The Memphis Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
Tennessee held its 1987 election on Saturday, January 17. 
Results: President, Mike Human; First Vice President, Willie Mae
Northington; Second Vice President, Geraldine Jackson; Secretary,
Mattie G.  Seay; and Treasurer, Rosa Young.  We the members
congratulate this group of fine leaders and vow to support and
work for and with them in educating the community."

**Focused Power:
  Writing in the Voice of the Diabetic, the newsletter of the
Diabetic Division of the National Federation of the Blind,
President Maurer said:
  "I receive letters almost daily complimenting us on the work we
do in our Diabetic Division.
  "The National Federation of the Blind is unique.  It cares what
happens to the blind, it believes that blind people can make a
difference, and it plans specific action to make the difference
come true.  The work of the Diabetic Division and the newsletter
we publish through this division demonstrate exactly how this
works.  Who knows more about the problems faced by blind
diabetics than blind people with diabetes?  Of course, the answer
is that no one does.
  "Recently I met a woman in New York who told me that her life
had been changed because of our work in the Diabetic Division. 
She was ready to give up, but with our advice and assistance she
changed her mind, rediscovered her own self-worth, and is now
happily back at work.  And this is only one example.
  "There is power in collective action and focused activity.  The
Diabetic Division newsletter is but one year old.  Already it has
reached out and touched the lives of many blind people."

**Pizza Project:
  Under date of March 6, 1987, Carol Wedrick writes:

Dear President Maurer:
  This is a follow-up letter to let you know that our fundraising
project with Round Table Pizza was a total success.  We raised
$2,207 during the period of 12-4-86 to 2-28-87.  We are using
part of this money to help everyone in the Clark County Chapter
of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington attend our
national convention in Phoenix.  We encourage other NFB chapters
to use this means of fundraising, for it helps spread the word
about the Federation.

                               Sincerely, Carol Wedrick
                    Clark County Chapter NFB of Washington

**Dualenz Glasses:
  Max Parker, long-time Federationist from Georgia, asks us to
announce the availability of a newly designed set of Dualenz
eyeglasses.  Dualenz Low Vision Eyewear is designed to restore
sight to people suffering from central retina damage caused by
macular degeneration, optic nerve damage, histoplasmosis,
degenerative cataracts, or other visual impairments.  For more
information contact Max Parker at Global Eye Care, Inc., 2125
Buffalo Road, Rochester, New York 14624; (800) 832-7700.

**Dies:
  Bill McCaslin, husband of Cheryl
Finley-McCaslin, died of congestive heart failure Friday, March
6, 1987.  The McCaslins were active members of the NFB of Texas
and the Dallas Chapter.  Cheryl McCaslin is known to
Federationists for her work with the Cultural Exchange and
International Program Committee.  She is a librarian and is
currently employed as a teacher for the Dallas Independent School
District.  Cheryl Finley-McCaslin has served as a strong and
dedicated Federationist for many years.  Our hearts go out to
her.

**Fishburne Braille:
  Under date of March 25, 1987, Karen Mayry, President of the
Diabetic Division of the National Federation of the Blind, writes
to Fishburne Enterprises of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as
follows:
  "Recently I became acquainted with the Fishburne Braille
System.  It seems to be an option for diabetics, especially, who
have lost sensitivity in their fingers.  Thus, I ask that you
consider writing an article for our publication Voice of the
Diabetic, which currently has a circulation of 8,000....
  "Many, many diabetics who are members of the National
Federation of the Blind Diabetic Division do not read Braille and
may find your method useful...."

**Elected:
  Scott Thomas, Secretary-Treasurer of the Cheyenne Chapter,
National Federation of the Blind of Wyoming, writes:
  On February 4, 1987, the following people were elected to
office in the Chapter: Nancy Coffman, President; Allan Nichols,
Vice President; Scott A.  Thomas, Secretary-Treasurer; Ida
Hernandez, Board Member; and Russell R.  Wooten, Board Member.

**How About You:
  Byron Sykes, one of the leaders of the National Federation of
the Blind of North Carolina, sends the following:

The Difference

A winner says, "Let's find out." A loser says, "Nobody knows."
When a winner makes a mistake, he says, "I was wrong."
When a loser makes a mistake, he says, "It wasn't my fault."
A winner works harder than a loser and has more time.
A loser is always "too busy" to do what is necessary.
A winner goes through a problem.
A loser goes around it, and never gets past it.
A winner makes commitments.  A loser makes promises
A winner says, "I'm good, but not as good as I ought to be."
A loser says, "I'm not as bad as a lot of other people."
A winner listens.
A loser just waits until it's his turn to talk.
A winner respects those who are superior to him and tries to
learn something from them.
A loser resents those who are superior to him and tries to find
chinks in their armor.
A winner explains.
A loser explains away.
A winner feels responsible for more than his job.
A loser says, "I only work here." A winner says, "There ought to
be a
  better way to do it."
A loser says, "That's the way it's always been done here."
A winner paces himself.
A loser has only two speeds--hysterical and lethargic.

**Grandpa Gordon:
  We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
  Many people around the Northwest have asked about (Grandpa)
Gordon Bennett, the blind mechanic that used to live in Thorpe,
Washington.  Gordon would like to have this information conveyed
to his many friends.  Now at age 84, after open heart surgery in
1978, two broken hips, and losing his wife, Gordon now resides in
the Royal Vista Care Center at Ellensburg, Washington, but is
still very active.  He is looking forward to his total hip
replacement surgery in Yakima on March 31 and walking well again.
  Gordon still plays a fiddle with the Kittitas Valley Fiddlers
group every week at one of the county's three nursing homes and
is again active in the recently organized blind group in
Ellensburg.
  Although the only completely blind person in the nursing home,
Gordon jokes a lot and really gets a kick out of things that
happen there: his room partner coming down the hall with his
pants at his ankles, two senior citizens fighting in hand-to-hand
combat for the right to use the bathroom, one lady going around
at night with her jar gathering up everyone's false teeth and
then trying to find who they belong to the next day, and then the
fact that the nurses failed to write "Dr." in front of the
doctor's name for Gordon's last heart check-up appointment, and
everyone thought Gordon was seeing a "Preacher," actually the
doctor's name.  Besides enjoying his family and many visitors,
Gordon has a phone and enjoys talking to all his many friends.
  Gordon doesn't read Braille, so I really like the Braille
Monitor--being able to read it to him.  Anyone wishing to contact
Gordon may do so by writing to me (Jeanne Gordon), Box 1163,
Thorpe, Washington 98946.

                              Sincerely,
               Gordon Bennett's Daughter
                           Jeanne Gordon

**New Chapter:
  Hazel Staley, President of the
National Federation of the Blind of North Carolina, writes:
  "On March 21, 1987, the Triangle Chapter of the National
Federation of the blind was organized in Raleigh.  Chapter
officers are: President, Wayne Shevlin; Vice President, James
Benton; Secretary, Sharon Benton; Treasurer, Linda Dean; and
Board Member, Walter Allen.  The President and Vice President of
this chapter are members of the state board of directors, and
several other members are knowledgeable about Federationism. 
There was a lot of enthusiasm and a general spirit of good will
among the group at the organizational meeting.  We believe that
this chapter is going to be a great asset to our movement."

**Parents Meet:
  On Saturday, February 28, 1987, the Northwest Parents of Blind
Children, National Federation of the Blind, held its third annual
seminar in Portland, Oregon.  The Northwest Parents of Blind
Children Chapter worked closely with the Oregon and Washington
affiliates to put on what proved to be a very successful seminar.

Parents from throughout the Northwest attended.
  Steve Rainey, the outgoing President, did an outstanding job of
coordinating the event.  There were activities planned for the
children, including the riding of a horse.
  Ruby Riles, a Federationist who teaches blind children in the
Anchorage public schools, spoke eloquently about being a parent
of a blind child, as well as being a teacher of blind children in
a public school setting.  Cathy Schneider, an orientation and
mobility instructor for the Albuquerque public schools, made an
excellent presentation concerning the outstanding Albuquerque
program.  The agenda also included items concerning the IEP
process, the importance of Braille, and a comparison of the
educational programs for the blind in the states of Oregon and
Washington.  There was also a panel of blind Federationists to
discuss their experiences as blind children and adults.
  The following persons were elected for one-year terms:
President, Debbie Hamm of Roseburg, Oregon; First Vice President,
Steve Rainey of Portland, Oregon; Second Vice President, Desiree
Voegele of Battle Ground, Washington; Secretary, Denise
Mackenstadt of Bothell, Washington; and Treasurer, Lissa Nash of
Spokane, Washington.
  Parents left recognizing that the Federation is the best hope
for their children's future, and that through collective action,
they are insuring that future.

**When You're Perfect in Every Way:  The Editor says: It seems to
me there
is a song which talks about humility.  Sometimes we make
mistakes, and when we do (assuming we know about them), we try to
correct them.  When we make two in the same issue, we try to
correct two.  In the April, 1987, issue we said in the "Monitor
Miniatures" column that Ruth Goodwin is from Missouri.  As most
Federationists know, she isn't.  She's from Massachusetts.  Then,
there was the caption on the picture dealing with Mrs. 
tenBroek's 75th birthday celebration.  It read: "To celebrate the
75th birthday of Mrs. Hazel tenBroek the National Federation of
the Blind of Washington planned and organized a gala dinner. 
Mrs. tenBroek is shown here holding an owl, which was presented
to her during the ceremonies.  From left to right she is standing
with Sharon Gold, President of the National Federation of the
Blind of California; Richard Edlund, President of the National
Federation of the Blind of Kansas and Treasurer of the National
Federation of the Blind of Oregon; Marc Maurer, President of the
National Federation of the Blind; and Gary Mackenstadt, President
of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington." It should
have read:  "To celebrate the 75th birthday of Mrs. Hazel
tenBroek the National Federation of the Blind of Washington
planned and organized a gala dinner.  Mrs. tenBroek is shown here
holding an owl, which was presented to her during the ceremonies.

From left to right she is standing with Sharon Gold, President of
the National Federation of the Blind of California; Richard
Edlund, President of the National Federation of the Blind of
Kansas and Treasurer of the National Federation of the Blind;
David Hyde, President of the National Federation of the Blind of
Oregon; Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the
Blind; and Gary Mackenstadt, President of the National Federation
of the Blind of Washington."

**Items Available Without Cost to Nonprofit Organizations:
  We have been asked to carry the following announcement, which
may be of special interest to a number of state affiliates and
local chapters:
  "With nonprofit organizations suffering budget cutbacks and
belt-tightening measures, membership in NAEIR is now more
valuable than ever.  NAEIR is the National Association for the
Exchange of Industrial Resources, a ten-year-old gifts-in-kind
association that provides useful supplies and equipment free to
its 7,000 members across the United States.
  "NAEIR solicits contributions of inventory from American
industry then distributes it to schools and nonprofit agencies
all over the country.  If members take full advantage of the
program, they can get a ten-to-one return on their investments.
  "Members receive such things as office supplies, computer
items, janitorial and maintenance supplies, plumbing and
electrical fixtures, hand and power tools, furniture, piping and
valves, vehicle parts, sporting goods, arts and crafts items,
clothing, and books.
  "Annual dues are $395, which entitles a member to request items
from quarterly gift catalogs.  The average member receives $4,500
worth of supplies and equipment a year--all of which is brand
new.  NAEIR does not accept used merchandise.  Members pay only
shipping and handling for the items they receive.  The materials
themselves are free.
  "'Our latest NAEIR shipment contained items desperately needed
by our new after-school Child Care Center,' said Robert C. Long,
Executive Director of United Way of Sumter and Clarendon
Counties, Sumter, North Carolina.  'Also included were
construction and maintenance materials for use in our training
facility for the Handicapped.
  "'As government funds are being cut back and communities
endeavor to pick up the slack, NAEIR will assume an ever greater
role in our ability to provide needed human services.'
  "NAEIR's new member guarantee means that there is absolutely no
risk to new members: If, after the first year, the value of the
material received as an NAEIR member was not worth at least twice
the cost of the annual dues, NAEIR will either give a second
year's membership at no cost or refund the dues.
  "Membership is open to any nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3)
organization in the United States.
  "For a complete, free information kit about NAEIR membership,
write: NEAIR, Dept. NG-2, 560 McClure Street, P.O. Box 8076,
Galesburg, Illinois 61402, or phone (309) 343-0704."*

**Writers Sell:
  Nancy Scott, President of the Writers Division of the National
Federation of the Blind, writes:
  The NFB Writers Division has the following items for sale:
  1. Highlights Tapes--a 90-minute cassette containing highlights
from early issues of Slate and Style, which is the magazine of
the Writers Division and is available for $2 per copy.
  2. Writers Workshop--a seven 90-minute cassette series
containing major presentations of the Division's Writers Workshop
held in August, 1986.  The set costs $12.50.
  3. NLS Bibliography--a bibliography compiled by NLS containing
books on various aspects of writing and publishing found in the
Library's collection through the summer of 1986.  The list is
broadly based and contains book order numbers, titles and
authors, and brief descriptions about each book.  The thermoform
Braille costs $5 and print is $1.50.
  To order any of these items, or for further information about
the Division, contact Nancy Scott, 1141 Washington Street,
Easton, Pennsylvania 18042.  Make all checks or money orders
payable to NFB Writers Division.

**Request from Hungary:
  We recently received the following request in the National
Office:
  "I like to ask you a big favour, if you please help me.  I
would be happy to open correspondence with somebody who is blind.

First of all Hungarians live in USA.  In English is fine, too. 
Please publish my name and address in your magazine.  Some words
about my family.  My wife and me, we belong to the Blind Peoples
Club of Hungary.  We have two girls.  My wife working in the
factory and I'm a telephone exchanger in a big firm, in Budapest.

We are interested in tourism, travels, music, and sport.  We be
happy to receive letter from somebody.  If it is possible, please
help me to start relationship.  --Nandor Sirko, Budapest: Nagy
Lajos Krt., 134. II/3.  1149."

**Science Fiction in the Family:
  We have been asked to announce that Ed Meskys (RFD #1, Box 63,
Center Harbor, New Hampshire 03226-9729) has been publishing an
amateur print magazine about science fiction and fantasy for
twenty- five years.  It is available from him for $3 a sample
copy or a four-issue subscription for $10.  Ninety percent of the
content is also available on an IBM formatted floppy disk for the
same price.  NIEKAS Publications also sells DRAGONSONG, a
cassette that tells in music and narration the story of Anne
McCaffrey's novels Dragonsong and Dragonsinger.  Ed Meskys is not
only an authority on science fiction but also an active and
staunch Federationist, being one of the leaders of the NFB of New
Hampshire.

**Surgery:
  As this issue goes to press, we have just learned that Dr.
James Nyman, Director of the Nebraska State Services for the
Visually Impaired, recently had abdominal surgery.  He is now
back at work and is apparently on the road to recovery.

**Birth Announcement:
  John and Carol Smith of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, announce the
birth of their daughter on March 30, 1987.  Melody Joy Smith
weighed six pounds, three ounces, and was nineteen inches long. 
John is President of the Berks County Chapter of the National
Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania.

**Duran Dots:
  We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
  ACP, Inc., 145 Tremont Street, Suite
407, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, (617) 482-8248, has recently
released a letter quality printer capable of Braille output.  The
Duran Dots printer sells for $1,695.  It is a standard daisy
wheel printer which can produce Braille by changing platens and
removing the ribbon.  The printer must be used with PC-Braille, a
Braille translation program sold by the same company.  This
printer will not work with Braille paper.  It uses the same paper
for Braille production which is generally used in print printers.

It is not intended for producing permanent Braille copies.

**Recordings Available:
  We have been asked to announce that Whorf Productions (25800
Northwestern Highway, P.O. Box 2165, Southfield, Michigan 48037;
(313) 357-4800) has available for purchase tape recordings of
educational materials.  These recordings are made with voice and
music and describe among other things "famous and infamous people
and events."

**Paying for Equality:
  Ruth Swenson, President of the
National Federation of the Blind of Arizona, recently wrote a
letter to Bob Hockin, General Manager of the Phoenix Transit
System.  The policy of the bus company had been that the blind
ride for free. Ruth Swenson pointed out that this is no way to
treat blind bus riders and that blind people insist upon the
rights to participate equally with the sighted on the bus or off.

Response to this letter is instructive.  Because of the work of
the National Federation of the Blind of Arizona, a new bus
company policy was adopted.  The blind have the right to ride and
not be treated as charity cases.  Here is the policy:

Bulletin #87-2-23-46

SUBJECT: Blind Passengers Requesting to Pay Their Fare

  Effective immediately any blind patron who boards a Phoenix
Transit bus wishing to pay their fare should be allowed to do so.

Please do not block the farebox prohibiting them to pay or
creating an issue with the blind patron bringing attention to
his/her handicap.  The blind community has requested that we
alert our operators of the uncomfortable situations they have
been put in.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

                       Safety Department

**Wheelchairs:

  Karen Mayry writes:

  "Persons needing wheelchair rentals during the 1987 national
convention in Phoenix can obtain them from:  Fogelson's, 100 W.
Osborn Road, Phoenix, Arizona, Telephone (602) 274-3635. 
Fogelson's is two miles from the hotel.  Rental is $10 a week for
chair with standard foot rest and $15 per week for chair with
elevated foot rest.  Notify Angie at the above address in advance
of arrival for reservations during the week of convention.  The
earlier she has notice, the better.  They will deliver and pick
up."

**National Church Conference:

  We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
  Make plans to attend the National Church Conference of the
Blind, July 26- 30, 1987, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, at the Hilton
Inn.  Special events include Bible studies, seminars, Christian
concert artists, choir and talent time, youth emphasis, and fine
fellowship.  For additional information write: NCCB, P.O. Box
163, Denver, Colorado 80201, or call Frank Finkenbinder, (303)
455-3430.

**Elected:
  Doug Trimble writes:
  The following members were elected to office of the National
Federation of the Blind of Washington, Clark County Chapter, at
the December 20, 1986, meeting:  President, Mike Freeman; Vice
President, Carol Wedrick; Secretary, Doug Trimble; and Treasurer,
Warren Scott.

**Parents at Convention:
  Mary Wurtzel, who chairs the Committee on Parental Concerns,
writes:
  "Parents, it is once again time to make plans for our child
care at convention.  It is exciting to be a part of our new
seminar impacting on family.  We still need to know the number of
children you plan to bring to convention and their ages.  This is
vital if you are bringing an infant needing a porta- crib. 
Please also plan to budget a donation for child care.  We do not
charge a set fee, but our expanding scope and quantity of service
costs us money.  Please contact Mary Wurtzel at 1918 Kingswood
Drive, Lansing, Michigan 48912; (517) 485-0326."

**Mississippi Federation Leader Dies:  Albert Beasley, who was
elected as the
first President of the National Federation of the Blind of
Mississippi when it was organized in 1972, died March 24, 1987. 
Albert and Louise Beasley were very well known in Mississippi,
and their house was a gathering point for blind people from
across the state.  In 1958 Albert received the Employee of the
Year Award, and in 1972 he was active in establishing the
Federation in Mississippi.  Albert Beasley helped bring many
Federationists into the movement.  He will be greatly missed.

**Union Newsletter on Tape:  Terry McManus, President of the
National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, reports that
the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
is now making available its newsletter "The Public Employee" on
tape for blind members.  Marilyn Klein, a long-time member of the
Philadelphia Chapter and a most hardworking Federationist, talked
with the union and persuaded its leaders to make this material
available to the blind.  For information about this publication
write: American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees, 1625 "L" Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036,
Attention:  Jordan Barab; or call (202) 452-4800.

**Idaho Convention:
  Pat Barrett writes:  The National
Federation of the Blind of Idaho held its fifty-second annual
convention April 10, 11, and 12 in Boise.  We were honored to
have our national President Marc Maurer with us.  Dr. Norman
Gardner was elected for a seventh term as our state president. 
Also elected to the NFB of Idaho board were: First Vice
President, Ramona Walhof; Second Vice President, Whitney Johnson;
Secretary, Mary Ellen Halverson; and Treasurer, Harry Gawith.

**Dies:
  Richard Gaffney, President of the National Federation of the
Blind of Rhode Island, writes:
  "On Sunday, March 29, 1987, Richard Perreault, a long-time
member of the Rhode Island affiliate of the National Federation
of the Blind, passed away.  He was a very active member during
our reorganization period in the early seventies.  He served as
our treasurer at that time, as well as helped to bring members to
the meeting.  He will surely be missed."


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