                       THE BRAILLE MONITOR

                          October, 1997

                     Barbara Pierce, Editor


      Published in inkprint, in Braille, and on cassette by

              THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

                     MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT


                         National Office
                       1800 Johnson Street
                   Baltimore, Maryland  21230
                   NFB Net BBS: (612) 696-1975
              Web Page address: http://www.nfb.org



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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

THE BRAILLE MONITOR
PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

                            Contents
                                                    October, 1997

Let the Old Creep Die
     by Barbara Pierce

FDA meeting report: Insulin vials will have tactile markings . . 
     by Ed Bryant

Politics in Mississippi as Usual:
Rehabilitation Again Featured

What Contests Can Do

Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest Form

Signs of Regress
     by Scott LaBarre

A Perspective on Braille Unification
     by Joseph E. Sullivan

Floral Designer in Training
     by Ladonna Jean Whitt

American Library Association Honors Senator John Chafee

More Than a Question of Membership
     by Barbara Pierce

In Memoriam: Wallace Schroeder and Fred Moore
     by Kenneth Jernigan

Recipes

Monitor Miniatures

       Copyright (c) 1997 National Federation of the Blind

[LEAD PHOTO: Pictured standing outside on the front steps of the National
Center for the Blind are the members of the new Technology Department of the
National Federation of the Blind. They are (left to right) back row, John
Chrisman, Richard Lord, Marie Marucci, and Richard Ring; front row, Julie
Bieselin, Curtis Chong, and Michael Gosse. The new department began work as a
unit in the middle of August. The group's offices are all on the second floor
of the Johnson Street wing of the National Center for the Blind. Curtis Chong,
a longtime leader of the organization, has moved to Baltimore to head the
department. Richard Ring will continue to direct the International Braille and
Technology Center for the Blind, John Chrisman and Richard Lord conduct
operations for NEWSLINE for the Blind.  Michael Gosse, an experienced
electrical engineer and First Vice President of the Science and Engineering
Division, has joined the staff to help devise, design, and perhaps build new
technology to benefit blind people. Julie Bieselin and Marie Marucci are
experienced members of the NFB staff who have recently moved to the Technology
Department.]

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Barbara Pierce]
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Quincy Magoo]
                      Let the Old Creep Die
                        by Barbara Pierce

     Across the summer an unlikely topic surfaced again and again
on radio news, talk programs, and Internet listservs throughout
the country. The subject was Mr. Magoo--the curmudgeonly cartoon
character created shortly before World War II, transformed in the
fifties into the self-satisfied prig seen in theater shorts, and
modified again for television in the sixties into everybody's
bumbling, incompetent, but kindly uncle. By the late seventies
the near-sighted nitwit voiced by Jim Backus was a has-been, so
why, in 1997, was he suddenly appearing on the front page of the
Wall Street Journal, on the editorial pages of dozens of major
newspapers, and on the ABC television program "Access Hollywood"?
     The reason was simple: a couple of years ago The Walt Disney
Company bought the rights to Mr. Magoo and decided to make a
feature-length, live-action Magoo film, starring Leslie Nielsen,
to be released at Christmastime this year. News of this project
filtered out last spring, and as soon as they heard of the
project, blind people began to worry--at least those who had
weathered the effect of Mr. Magoo on blind children the first
time around began to worry. 
     Society is constantly evolving, but whether the changes are
on balance positive or negative is more than those who live
through them can objectively assess. But the fact of change is
pretty universally accepted. Take humor, for example. What people
laugh at in polite company is, perhaps, the first thing to change
from generation to generation. The moron jokes of my childhood
are long gone, and ethnic and racial jokes soon followed them
into well-deserved obscurity. Any significant cultural trend will
impose a discrepancy for a while between jokes told in polite
circles and the ones people laugh at in their own, homogeneous
groups. As a brunette I find some of the blonde jokes amusing,
but my blonde daughter distinctly does not, even though her
intelligence, common sense, and practicality remove her as far
from the objects of those jokes as it is well possible to be. So,
out of respect to her, I no longer tell blonde jokes, but I still
find them funny.
     Over the centuries the evolution of humor becomes more
pronounced. In the Middle Ages blind men were dressed up with
donkeys' ears and set to fighting each other to amuse the crowds
at country fairs. In the eighteenth century people toured insane
asylums to enjoy the antics of the chained inmates. But anyone
who found either of these spectacles amusing today would be
unhesitatingly branded as perverted.
     If you had asked me five years ago whether Mr. Magoo could
make a revival in the United States in the 1990's, I would have
said with conviction that as a culture we were past taking
delight in the mistakes of a man who saw so little that he did
not know where he was or what he was actually doing most of the
time. I could not have been more wrong. People laugh at what
frightens them; that is one way of coping with fear. But whatever
the reason, Disney gambled on the proposition that Magoo would
draw a nostalgic adult audience, along with children who would
find Nielsen's brand of klutzy, disorganized silliness funny. To
hear Disney officials talk about the decision in their public
statements, you would conclude that the idea that Magoo might
make life harder for a new generation of blind children, as it
did for blind adults now in their thirties and older, never even
entered their minds.
     Mr. Magoo, they protested, wasn't really blind; he was just
very nearsighted. They hadn't intended any harm, so none could be
done by the film. And, besides, Magoo as they planned to portray
him was an American hero because he managed to solve the problems
and resolve the conflicts--only after he put his glasses back on,
of course. They said Magoo was a Forrest Gump figure and that the
film could appropriately be compared to Children of a Lesser God
and My Left Foot. True, Disney has not offered to let officials
of the National Federation of the Blind read the script of the
film, but it stretches credulity to conceive of Leslie Nielsen's
style of acting as bearing any similarity to the powerful
portrayals of Marlee Matlin or Daniel Day-Lewis in the films just
mentioned.
     The absurdity of such arguments would be funny if the film's
potential for harming blind people were not so great. What does
it matter that Magoo's corrected vision places him above the
legal definition of blindness when the joke is that he does not
wear his glasses? He behaves bizarrely and wanders around unaware
of his surroundings because his creators consider that such
actions are both plausible behavior for the blind and funny to
watch. 
     It may comfort the Disney folks to announce that they had no
intention of causing problems for blind people, and it may well
be so. But it was undoubtedly more a case of its never having
occurred to anybody to take the warnings seriously. An op-ed
piece in the Los Angeles Times at the time Disney acquired the
rights to Magoo warned that reviving "the old creep," as Jim
Backus took to calling Magoo in later years, was a bad idea and
would harm blind people. 
     In fact as early as the late fifties an incident occurred
that demonstrated how painful the Magoo joke could be. The
British author Aldous Huxley was hired to develop a Magoo script
based on the Don Quixote story, according to Dun Roman, a former
writer for United Pictures of America (UPA), the organization
owning the rights to Mr. Magoo at the time. Huxley had poor
vision, and it soon became apparent that he did not know that
Magoo was all but blind. Rather than tell him about the blindness
joke, UPA paid for his script, which it never used. So much for
astonishment that the Magoo joke might be in poor taste.
     The notion that Mr. Magoo in any transformation could be an
American hero or that Leslie Nielsen's comic acting places his
performance in the same class as two of the most moving and
powerful portrayals of disability ever created is nothing more
than optimistic public relations puffery. But one part of that
argument must be deeply disturbing to anyone dedicated to the
conviction that blind people are capable of living productive,
well-adjusted lives. Disney officials point out with pride that
Magoo puts everything to rights as soon as he puts on his glasses
and can see what is happening. What message does that plot device
give to blind children and to everyone who at some future time
will deal with blindness?
     At the opening general session of the 1997 convention of the
National Federation of the Blind, delegates overwhelmingly passed
Resolution 97-03, which called upon The Disney Company to stop
production of the Magoo movie and urged the actors to have
nothing more to do with the project. (See the August/September,
1997, issue for the complete text of the resolution.) The press
swept down with open mikes and rolling cameras to demand
explanations for our opposition to Mr. Magoo. Members stepped
forward to talk about their own experiences as children and their
fears for what today's blind youngsters may be in for as a result
of Magoo's revival. 
     Following the convention, President Maurer asked me to
gather several statements together for one journalist who
requested personal stories of troubles brought on by Magoo. In
addition to a number of comments from various listservs, we
passed on the following statements:

                            Statement
                        by Sabrina Yamini

     Four years ago my stepson Musa committed suicide at the age
of fourteen. At the time we did not know that Musa was facing
taunts, teasing, and beatings on a daily basis at school. He was,
apparently, convinced that at fourteen he should be able to
handle his own problems independently. For reasons beyond my
understanding, the teachers and staff at the school didn't bother
to tell us what was going on. The first we knew the full extent
of Musa's agony was when we discovered his body. 
     I have a number of younger children and stepchildren,
several of whom are blind or visually impaired to one degree or
another. They too endure teasing and laughter at the hands of
their classmates. Teachers present during these episodes do
nothing to stop them; in fact, they often seem to encourage the
activity. They have no grasp of what all this is doing to my
children's spirits.
     These children are very fragile. I have no words to convey
my anxiety when I think about what will happen when the children
in our area see the movie about Mr. Magoo next winter. Perhaps
the name-calling and laughter and tricks will be only a little
worse because of the movie, but how much worse do they have to be
before one of our younger children decides to follow Musa's
example? 
                                
                            Statement
                      by Mary Lou Grunwald
                                
     I've heard people say that there is no tie between Magoo and
his adventures and the experiences of blind people. There are
ties. I lived through them.
     When I entered school for the first time, I had to wear very
strong glasses. I was, and still am, legally blind. I attended
classes where the books had very large print. I have very clear
memories of hearing other kids make fun of me because I couldn't
see very well. They called me Magoo. At least twice kids cornered
me in the school yard, took my glasses away from me, and broke
them. They said, "Now you're really Magoo, and you can't catch
us." They laughed and taunted.
     All of this happened many years ago, and I guess you could
say that it was just a matter of children's cruelty and
insensitivity. But I can only end up thinking that the Magoo
cartoons taught them that it was okay to laugh and make fun of
somebody with very poor or no sight. As I remember these painful
experiences, I am disturbed by the idea that this kind of stuff
would be considered okay today. I remember how frightened and
angry I was as a third or fourth grader.
     I hope we can convince The Disney Company to do something
more positive and helpful with the money it would take to make a
new Magoo movie.
                                
                            Statement
                          by Bill Reif
                                
     Unlike George of the thankfully short-lived television
program "Good and Evil," Mr. Magoo is supposed to be a somewhat
likable guy and was designed to appeal to children. Still I
couldn't agree more that Mr. Magoo belongs to another time, as do
Dick Tracy and the Frito Bandito, and should not be inflicted on
yet another generation.
     Let me describe a couple of small incidents, far separated
in time, which illustrate the place in the public mind Mr. Magoo
occupies and will occupy if not challenged by the NFB and by
people having the courage demonstrated by those who stand with
us.
     When I was in high school in 1972, I had a friend in phys ed
who used to look up to me, ask for help in homework, etc. While
definitely not known for his tact, he was generally a nice guy.
While he normally referred to me by my name, he often, when
offering help he was sure a blind person would need, (help such
as learning what room I had just entered), would precede his
unwanted offer by stating: "OK, Magoo, you're in the locker room
now," or "I'll walk you out to the car, Magoo." Let me make it
clear that this was not a kid who wanted to make fun of me by
calling me "Magoo." He always used it in a context that implied
that, because of my blindness and but for his help, I would be as
oblivious of my surroundings as Mr. Magoo. Whenever I would
decline his unwanted offer of help, he would point out that Magoo
never thought he was lost or needed help either. I think this was
a kid who didn't have the sense not to say what others were
content merely to think.
     The other incident happened just a year ago as I was walking
past a church day-care center. One of the preschool-age children
asked his mother what I was doing tapping that stick. Upon being
told I was blind, he asked, in amazement, "Oh, like Mr. Magoo?"
That cartoon is still shown regularly on Nickelodeon. To her
credit, his mother replied, "No, not like Mr. Magoo; he uses a
cane because he knows where he's going." As I continued past, I
heard her explaining that blind people aren't like Mr. Magoo. I
hope her assurances came early enough in his life to change his
beliefs and keep them from becoming the emotional reaction to
blindness some adults just can't get past. How much better it
would be if parents didn't have to undo the damage done by the
lies and stereotypes which frightened or ill-informed people find
entertaining.
     It's interesting that my son hates Mr. Magoo, finding it
beyond belief that he could get through a whole cartoon without
realizing he was on a ship, in a bullfight, or wherever the
situation put him.
                                
                            Statement
                        by Barbara Pierce
                                
     I was the only blind child in my elementary school in the
1950's. I had a little vision and wore thick glasses in an
attempt to improve my sight. When I look back on those years, I
realize that I spent much of the time worrying: If I was lucky
enough to be chosen to take a message to the school office (an
honor that every kid yearned for), I fretted that the secretary
would not be typing to guide me to her door and on the way back
that some teacher would open or close her room door, thereby
throwing off my count of open doors to find my class again. At
church I worried that I would not see the glint of the offering
plate to reach for it at the right time. I agonized for fear that
my walking-to-school friends would get tired of walking with me.
When I walked to school alone, I could not count on finding the
shortcut, so I was in danger of being tardy.
     And so it went--day in and day out. These were not
shattering concerns, but they occupied much of my waking time.
The problem was that the magnitude of my vision loss was supposed
to be a big secret. I got the message from teachers, classmates,
and my family that I should try to act like everybody else. I was
pretty good at recognizing people by their voices, but I learned
early not to give away the fact when I did not know to whom I was
speaking. Actually the fact of my blindness was no secret. I
sometimes heard other students whispering the information; then
the older boys started their very own playground chant:
          Blind-as-a-bat,
          Where am I at?
          Mr. Magoo,
          What'ya tryin' to do?
     It would be twenty-five years before I learned that what I
should have done once I had been outed was to admit the
situation, get the Braille training I badly needed, and learn to
use a white cane. But protective coloration was all I could think
to use as a defense. If I never risked reaching out to do
anything new or different, if I stayed back in the crowd until
the comments of others told me what to expect, I was less likely
to be humiliated by bumping into something or misidentifying
someone. The price I paid was loss of experience. I didn't touch
things; I didn't go places alone; I didn't risk doing things that
would have taught me more about my world. For the sighted child
with access to picture books, television, and films such
deprivations are regrettable, but for a blind child they cause
deficits that remain for life.
     But despite my efforts I was not spared the jibes. Mr. Magoo
haunted me. I knew his mistakes had nothing to do with blindness
because I never confused dogs with children, bananas with
telephone receivers, or dishes with records; but my classmates
assumed that was the way I must perceive the world. They were
forever handing me objects and swearing that they were something
else. They were indignant when I was not confused and not
prepared to laugh at any error I made.
     Thank Heaven I was one of the brightest students in my
class. I could often anticipate a Magoo set-up and figure out how
to thwart it. I was blessed with a circle of friends, but all of
them at one time or another tried sneaking away from me silently
or standing perfectly still so I couldn't find them. They were
indignant when these stratagems did not work and gleeful when
they did. The theme in both cases was Mr. Magoo--I was either
like him or not like him. When they fooled me, they squealed with
laughter, and when I caught on to what was happening, they were
angry because I wasn't playing by the rules. 
     There was no way to win. Did all this mar me for life? Not
profoundly. I have not resorted to the therapist's office to work
out my neuroses. But the only way to make a healthy adjustment to
blindness is to admit what is happening and set about openly and
intelligently to master the skills necessary to live effectively
as a blind person. I took many years to recognize this truth and
many more to learn to act on it. Mr. Magoo compounded my problems
and confused the people who could have helped me evolve a natural
and healthy approach to my situation.
     I survived more or less intact, but I see no reason why
another generation of blind children should be asked to bear the
brunt of Mr. Magoo and his antics.
                                
     The themes raised in these statements have been discussed in
Internet conversations and interviews around the country in the
weeks since passage of the July 2 resolution. The responses to
the Federation position seem to be of two sorts. The first has
been on the whole from sighted people who found Magoo's antics
funny and who now resent the implication that there might be any
inappropriateness in their sense of humor. The comments from such
people tend to come down to "Lighten up. It's just a cartoon.
Political correctness has gone too far when poor old Mr. Magoo is
blamed for causing serious problems and reinforcing
misconceptions about blindness." Unfortunately there is ample
evidence that Mr. Magoo has indeed caused children problems for
generations, and even in such conversations one can see the
impact of the Magoo world view on the very people protesting
their freedom from the taint of prejudice.
     Recently I found myself engaged in a debate on this very
topic with two interviewers in Texas. I commented that blind
people face an unemployment rate so high that it clearly reflects
employers' presumption that we are more or less helpless. In a
little diatribe they announced that blind people really are
pretty helpless and that Mr. Magoo cartoons weren't actually so
far off the mark. A blind person wouldn't be able to distinguish
between plates and long-playing records without somebody there to
identify the item to be washed. Another interviewer, this time in
Los Angeles, expressed incredulity when I said that a blind
person could distinguish between various pieces of clothing and
therefore would know what he or she was wearing. He demanded to
know what I was wearing and then insisted on speaking on the air
with my secretary to confirm the accuracy of my words. When the
two of us agreed about the outfit, he yielded, grudgingly, that I
might be able to identify clothing, but I pointed out to him that
his tone of voice told me he was still not convinced of the
competence of blind people. My statement that Mr. Magoo had
helped to confirm the public's assumption that blind people had
little grasp of the world around them did not persuade him, but I
remain convinced that such statements as these interviewers made
reflexively to me illustrate precisely the damage done through
the years by Magoo and the running gag about his mistakes in
identification.
     The other typical response arises from blind people who have
chiseled out a precarious place for themselves in their social
circle through demonstrating what good fellows they are by always
being the first to laugh at their blindness. Rather than
mastering the alternative skills they need to live efficiently
and productively, they pretend that they can see as often as they
can and then laugh heartily at their errors or injuries when the
fakery falls apart. They, of course, don't want to be pitied, and
laughter at their own expense is the only weapon they have found
to defend themselves when they have no confidence in their actual
abilities. 
     Perhaps the most startling aspect of the entire Magoo
controversy has been dealing with the accusations that members of
the NFB have no sense of humor and that we are engaged in
political correctness run amuck. Until now one of the most common
criticisms aimed at us has been that we seem to be absolutely
insensible of the nuances of political correctness. This older,
more familiar complaint happens to be, in fact, accurate.
Political correctness has everything to do with language and
labels for things and people. We have always been more concerned
with substance than form, figuring that, in dealing with
blindness at least, if we could straighten out the substance, the
latter would come right or cease to be a problem at all. Since we
perceive the issues raised by Mr. Magoo as going to the very
heart of the problems of discrimination and alienation facing
blind people, we believe that protesting what Disney is doing is
genuinely important.
     The reflexive opponents of political correctness who have
decided that our objections to Mr. Magoo are nonsense make the
error of labeling anything that has to do with a minority group
and that such people find inconvenient or uncomfortable as
"political correctness." They assume that, if they announce that
a thing is superficial, it is. But laughing at people because
they can't see, underscoring the public's conviction that things
straighten themselves out only when you can see them, and
encouraging people's misconceptions about what a person can
accomplish without seeing are all serious matters. Whether one
agrees with us about Magoo's involvement in such issues, it seems
amazing that people would define such questions as superficial
political correctness.
     The accusation that we lack a sense of humor seems equally
peculiar to anyone who has spent any time around members of the
Federation. Few groups have more fun together or enjoy humor more
completely. We do not make a point of laughing about blindness;
our lives and interests are too wide-ranging to focus our humor
on any one area of existence, but a sense of humor certainly
helps one to deal healthily with the absurdities that occur
because of blindness. Ridiculous situations, silly reactions,
peculiar comments: all these are shared among Federation friends
and passed along with zest. By and large, however, I cannot
remember hearing Federationists laugh at cruelty or anecdotes
that make fun of blind people just because they are blind. All of
us have been the objects of such laughter too often to find such
anecdotes or jokes funny. 
     Shortly after the Wall Street Journal published its front-
page story on the history of Mr. Magoo, President Maurer received
a letter from a man in New York. The intemperate tone and obvious
anger of the letter demonstrate just how uncomfortable and even
threatened some people have been made by the prospect of blind
people standing up and saying clearly yet temperately that we are
no longer willing to endure taunts and disparagement without
registering our displeasure. President Maurer's response is a
model of balance, rationality, and clarity. Here is the exchange
of letters:
                                
                                         West Henrietta, New York
                                                   August 4, 1997
                                
Dear Mr. Maurer:
     I was outraged to read in Thursday's Wall Street Journal
that your organization is disturbed by Mr. Magoo's resuscitation
by the Disney Company. It is obvious that you people are
ridiculously overly sensitive and apparently don't have enough to
do for the blind, subsequently your complaining about a animated
individual.
     I've asked my people in New York to determine where your
funding comes from. If any of it comes from public funds, perhaps
such funding should be reviewed.
     With best wishes, I am,
                                
                                                 Sincerely yours,
                           ___________
                                              Baltimore, Maryland
                                                   August 8, 1997
                                
Dear ________:
     I have received your letter, and I appreciate the directness
you employ in stating your opinion. Mine is different from yours,
but I believe that it is based upon experience. Perhaps I read
more into my experience than I should, but I don't think so. This
is the experience to which I refer. 
     The Walt Disney Company has proposed to issue a live-action,
full-length film reviving Mr. Magoo this upcoming Christmas. At
its 1997 convention held in New Orleans, Louisiana, the National
Federation of the Blind, the largest organization of blind people
in the United States, protested this proposed action by The Walt
Disney Company. In response to the protest, Disney said that we
who are blind did not understand. Magoo is not blind, they said;
he's just nearsighted. Besides, they said, he is a role model, a
heroic figure.
     From the perspective of the blind of this country, we
believe it is Disney that does not understand. I, Marc Maurer,
serve as President of the National Federation of the Blind. I am
totally blind, forty-six years old, and the father of two
children. My wife Patricia is also blind. 
     I am a lawyer and the administrator of the largest
organization of the blind in this country, the National
Federation of the Blind. We operate a number of training programs
for the blind. We help people find jobs. We have created 700
chapters that bring blind people together in every state in our
nation. We print and distribute millions of documents that bring
hope to the blind every year.
     My wife, who is blind, has a teaching certificate and has
taught in several schools. She presently serves as a full-time
volunteer in our headquarters office.
     Our two children, David, thirteen, and Dianna, ten, are both
sighted. They do what children usually do--go to school, play in
the yard, ride their bicycles, and complain about doing the
dishes. They cannot avoid the subject of blindness because we,
their blind parents, live with it every day. 
     When David was beginning in school (he was in the second
grade), he came home crying. The other kids had told him that his
parents were incompetent and ineffective because of blindness
(the children had said stupid and dumb). David knew better, and
he told the kids that they were wrong. The argument became heated
and developed into a fight. David knew what to do. He took the
matter to the teacher, expecting vindication and support. But he
didn't get it. The teacher sided with those who had belittled his
parents. My son was isolated and alone. He didn't have the words
to express it, but the feeling was there. He knows his parents
have ability, but nobody would believe him. They called us by the
name of Magoo. 
     The year started badly, and it got worse. David knows that I
sometimes make television appearances on behalf of the blind of
the nation. After one of these he told his friends that I had
been on television. But they wouldn't believe him. The teacher
didn't believe it either. When David insisted that his father had
been on television, the teacher punished him for lying. 
     Later the same year I was invited to visit the First Lady,
Mrs. Barbara Bush, in the White House. When David told this
story, he was once again accused of lying. The students and the
teachers just couldn't believe that a blind person would be doing
such things. And it all started with Mr. Magoo. 
     Humor about blindness is not wrong unless it hurts. We in
the National Federation of the Blind have as good a sense of
humor as anybody. But we believe that there is a difference
between a good joke and a put-down. For example, the story of the
blind person who goes to the store with a guide dog comes to
mind. After entering, the blind person picks up the dog by the
tail and swings it in a circle. When the manager asks, "What are
you doing?" and "May I help you?" the blind person responds, "No
thanks, I'm just looking around." This is not offensive because
it can't injure anybody. But Magoo is offensive because he
represents a false image of blindness. When he can see, he gets
things done. When he cannot see, he makes errors and is
incompetent. Blind people are not like that. Of course all of us
make funny mistakes sometimes, but blind people with proper
training are not less competent than the sighted. And we object
to the power of the film industry being used to say we are. We do
not mistake a bear for a person dressed up in a fur coat, as
Magoo does. We do not mistake a fire plug for a small child, as
Magoo does. And we do not mistake long-play records for dinner
plates, as Magoo does. 
     I have described one of my own Magoo experiences here, but
it is not unique. Tens of thousands of blind people in America
have been faced with the same taunts and stereotypes based on the
Magoo theme. If it hadn't been painful for us, we wouldn't
object. We ask Disney to leave Magoo in the past, which is where
he belongs. 
     A number of my friends have found themselves bedeviled by
the Magoo character. Maybe we should let people continue to do
this, but I'd rather they wouldn't. If they do, it seems
reasonable to me that we should have the opportunity to respond. 
     This may not answer the questions you have raised in your
letter. If you want to ask others, I'll do my best to respond.
                                
                                                 Sincerely yours,
                                           Marc Maurer, President
                                 National Federation of the Blind
                                
     How is the controversy over Magoo likely to end? At this
writing, early in September, it is too soon to tell. The Disney
people came to meet with President Maurer in August and
apparently have plans to return in a few weeks to discuss our
differences more completely. To date no resolution has been
hammered out. Surely all blind people would agree that a series
of solid portrayals of blind people on television and in the
movies would be a constructive step toward educating the public
about the capacity of blind people. Until recently we have
endured little but wild or absurd characterizations of blind
people in entertainment: Audrey Hepburn fighting an intruder in
Wait Until Dark or the crazy driving and olfactory prowess of the
depressed veteran in Scent of a Woman. Magoo cartoons and the
psychologist George in the ABC program "Good and Evil" fall into
the same category.
     Two recent exceptions to this pattern point the way toward
the genuinely constructive portrayals of blind people that could
undo the damage Disney is about to perpetrate. These are the
blind woman on the CBS program, "Early Edition," and the blind
scientist in the new Jody Foster film, Contact. Both these
characters have roles in the unfolding plots, and they carry out
their duties efficiently and appropriately. They use canes and
dogs and get on with their lives. Occasionally the fact of
blindness surfaces, but it is not dwelt upon. A sighted character
could have been substituted for either but was not. The message
is clear: blindness is a characteristic in each of these lives,
but it does not define the person or control the life.
     If Disney would commit to see that a series of ordinary,
competent blind characters find their way into films and ABC
television programs over the next several years and that the NFB
will be consulted to make sure that the portrayals are neither
condescending nor spectacular, the negative impact of Magoo this
coming winter would be markedly reduced. Magoo's danger has
always been that his antics fall into a vacuum of ignorance about
the reality of blindness.
     The National Federation of the Blind will continue to fight
to educate the public about the abilities of blind people.
Nothing Disney or uninformed sighted members of the general
public or stunted blind members of that same public can do will
discourage us from working to protect blind children from
unnecessary attacks or resisting the effects of discrimination
wherever they surface. Mr. Magoo is merely the latest
battleground. It will not be the last.
     Jim Backus was quoted as saying of Mr. Magoo that he wished
that they would "Let the old creep die." Blind people can only
echo that sentiment, but whatever Disney does, we have no
intention of allowing Magoo to undo the good we have accomplished
during the peaceful years in which he was absent from the scene.
The cartoons used to end with Magoo chortling to himself: "By
George, Magoo, you've done it again." Whatever it takes, the
National Federation of the Blind is determined to see that his
words will not stand as the final epitaph of Mr. Magoo.
                                
                                
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Ed Bryant]
  FDA meeting report: Insulin vials will have tactile markings
                          by Ed Bryant
                                
     From the Editor: For several years now we have been
following the frustratingly slow process by which the Diabetes
Action Network, a division of the National Federation of the
Blind, has been persuading all parties of the necessity and
feasibility of providing tactile label markers on insulin vials.
Just maybe the victory is in view. Here is Ed Bryant's most
recent report on the battle as it appeared in the Summer, 1997,
issue of the Voice of the Diabetic, the division's quarterly
publication. Ed is the editor of the Voice and President of the
Diabetes Action Network. Here is his latest report:
                                
     Early in 1992 I was contacted by a blind diabetic who
informed me that he and his fellows, perfectly capable of
accurately drawing up their insulins, had no reliable way to
distinguish between insulin types. All insulins, fast-,
intermediate-, or long-acting, could be told apart only by
reading print on the label. This, I was reminded, placed many in
grave danger, since the consequences of vial misidentification
could be severe.
     I conducted a national survey: Was change needed? Should
insulin vials have tactile markings to help blind diabetics,
those losing vision, the hurried, the elderly, the young, busy
medical professionals, overworked pharmacists, and the rest of
us? Survey results were clear and unequivocal--change was needed.
For the best of reasons, safety and independence, insulin types
should be identifiable by touch.
     Representing the Diabetes Action Network of the National
Federation of the Blind, I campaigned for this goal: to make
tactile-marked insulin vials available. I wrote letters to the
U.S. insulin manufacturers (Eli Lilly and Company and Novo
Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Inc.) and to the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). Hundreds of you, Voice readers, joined me
in the letter-writing campaign. Many nurses and other medical
professionals wrote in support, acknowledging that the print was
so small they had trouble reading it and that misdosage mistakes
were made in hospitals. Pharmacist error was covered too--this
actually happened to me.
     We finally persuaded the FDA to call a meeting of interested
participants: insulin manufacturers, diabetes educators, drug
packaging/labeling firms, diabetes associations, and
organizations of the blind. The first meeting took place on
October 19, 1995, at FDA headquarters in Rockville, Maryland.
     At that meeting participants agreed that non-sighted insulin
vial identification was a necessity and that such coding should
be factory-applied, durable, and sufficiently prominent that
blind diabetics with neuropathy could use it. The insulin
manufacturers were to come to the next meeting (to be held in
three months' time) with both short-term prototypes and long-term
proposals.
     Bad weather and scheduling conflicts forced postponement of
the second meeting, which was not held until April 10, 1996. By
the close of that meeting, Lilly and the FDA were ready to agree
on a set of one to four tactile bars on the label as a means of
distinguishing insulin classes. But Novo Nordisk asked for more
time "in which to test alternative prototypes." We agreed to meet
again, some time in July, 1996.
     For reasons still unclear, Novo Nordisk was not ready by the
July deadline and did not transmit its findings to the FDA until
the end of December. FDA officials attempted to schedule the
rematch in March or April of 1997, but scheduling conflicts
delayed the final meeting until June 3, almost one year late.
     At the June meeting the insulin manufacturers presented
their test findings. Lilly related that their researchers had
sought out blind diabetics with differing degrees of neuropathy
(mild, moderate, and severe), then tested their success in
distinguishing dot codes, vertical lines, and horizontal lines on
the vial label. Lilly found that, although a few individuals had
neuropathy too severe to recognize any system, a series of wide
horizontal bars provided greatest accuracy: over 98 percent
successful tactile recognition. (Note: This finding mirrors the
consensus of all consumer groups present at the meeting.)
     When the question of tactile-label durability was raised,
Lilly said that they had tested the bars under a wide variety of
conditions, including long-term immersion in alcohol, and
experienced no failures. A representative from CCL Label, a
national company that makes vial labels for pharmaceuticals,
confirmed that his company could guarantee durable tactile bars
on vial labels. I pointed out that, even if the rare label
failed, the system would be more reliable than at present, when
blind insulin users are stuck with rubber bands or tape.
     Novo Nordisk, who had tested tactile prototypes with blind
diabetics but not considered the impact of neuropathy on label
conformation, raised a number of objections. In spite of Lilly's
tests and CCL Label's guarantees and in spite of the FDA's
satisfaction with the system, Novo Nordisk continued doubting its
appropriateness and reliability. A very early tactile-label
prototype that had failed torture tests more than a year ago was
put forward as evidence that the four-bar system was not
sufficiently durable. Perhaps Novo's label-supplier in Denmark is
having difficulties--I find it interesting that Lilly's supplier
has mastered the problem.
     All organizations present except Novo Nordisk accepted the
four-bar system as presented. A Lilly representative told me his
company was "readying their production line." The FDA stated
that, once they had completed the approval process, one company
could proceed without waiting for consensus from its competitor.
Because the FDA "didn't want Novo Nordisk to feel they were being
treated unfairly," they suggested Novo could raise the issue at
the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) meeting, to be held
this July in Helsinki, Finland. If they raised sufficient
objection and if there was strong support at that meeting, FDA
might reopen the discussion.
     The FDA promised that on August 1 they would fax meeting
participants their final determination. They said we would go
with the system as agreed unless there is substantial
international objection.
     This loophole disturbs me greatly. Although it is unlikely
that the IDF would support Novo Nordisk in the face of the
evidence, outside the USA Novo Nordisk is a major provider of
funding to diabetes agencies and foundations. Also such a
decision allows the IDF to sit in review of FDA policy-making, a
serious surrender of the FDA's statutory responsibilities to an
international body. I hope it doesn't come to that.    
     To review: at the meeting, we agreed on the following system
of four horizontal tactile bars on the insulin vial label: One
bar = fast-acting insulins such as Humalog; two bars = Regular
insulins; three bars = any mixed insulin (70/30 or 50/50); and
four bars = longer-acting insulins (NPH, Lente, Ultralente).
     Once final approval is granted, Lilly estimates it will take
between six and eighteen months for the tactile-marked insulin
vials to reach pharmacists' shelves. Insulins have a shelf-life
of two years from date of manufacture, so it may be as long as
two years from the start of tactile-labeled insulin production
before all the older, unmarked vials are off pharmacists'
shelves, though the bulk will be replaced far sooner.
     It has taken a long time, but hopefully the next report the
Voice carries about tactile-marked insulin vials will be a review
of the first ones to reach production and the impact they have on
our safety, independence, and diabetes self-management.
                                
                                
                Politics in Mississippi as Usual:
                  Rehabilitation Again Featured
                                
     From the Editor Emeritus: As Monitor readers know, Nell
Carney, Federal Rehabilitation Commissioner under President Bush,
was appointed director of Mississippi's rehabilitation program in
1993. Mississippi's governor is a Republican, and the majority in
its legislature are Democrats. From the beginning of her stay in
Mississippi, Carney had rough sailing. Democrats in the
legislature said she didn't do a good job and that she was
overpaid. Others said that her problem was that she was appointed
by a Republican governor.
     Be that as it may, she resigned from her position late in
1996 and moved to North Carolina. This did not bring peace to the
Mississippi rehabilitation department. Apparently legislative
shenanigans in the state are still alive and well.
     Under date of August 17, 1997, an article by Bill Minor
detailing the situation appeared in The Clarion Ledger, one of
Mississippi's leading newspapers. Here is what it says:
                                
       McMillan's Rise in Power Defied all Ethical Logic--
               At best, appointment to head agency
                  suggests conflict of interest
                          by Bill Minor
                                
     With powerful help from his old legislative roommate, former
state Rep. Hubert S. (Butch) McMillan was apparently put at the
head of the state's highly sensitive agency dealing with
disability services, a job for which he had no background.
     Earlier this year McMillan was named executive director of
Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, an agency that
handles nearly $90 million a year in state and federal disability
funds.
     He got the $70,000-a-year job in February after Rep. Bobby
Moody, D-Louisville, pushed the state Board of Rehabilitation
Services. Moody chairs the House Health and Welfare Committee,
which controls key legislation that affects several agency heads
who hired McMillan.
     Moody, at the time, was holding two bills hostage--one
considered vital to the state Department of Human Services and
the other to revamp the state Mental Health Board. The heads of
both agencies, it seems, felt pressure from Moody to junk two
other nominees for the Rehabilitation Services job and give it to
McMillan, who was not even a nominee.
     Ironically, Moody's power play made an end run around
Governor Kirk Fordice's choice for the rehabilitation job,
leaving the would-be appointee stunned that a Fordice
administration agency head had abandoned him in the selection
process.
     McMillan's qualifications for the job are a far cry from
those held by his predecessor, Dr. Nell Carney, a longtime
rehabilitation professional who was commissioner of the
disability services administration under President Bush.
     Originally from North Carolina, Carney took over the
Mississippi agency in 1993 when Bush left office. After a rocky
three years in Mississippi, largely because of her tight
administrative style, Carney resigned in December after losing
most of her already impaired vision.
     After she stepped down, the requirements for the job, which
included a master's degree and ten years experience in the field,
were lowered by the state Personnel Board.
     Retired Air Force Colonel Florian Yoste, now a top assistant
in the Department of Economic and Community Development, was
Fordice's choice to replace Carney. Yoste, who has several
master's degrees and has years of experience in administrative
posts in the military, was believed the odds-on choice when the
board met in January.
     The only other nominee was Jerry Sawyer, longtime vocational
rehabilitation director and a former Carney assistant.
     However, there was a tie between the two, and, strangely,
Don Taylor, director of the Mississippi Department of Human
Services, who had requested Yoste to submit his application, did
not vote for Yoste.
     It's more than coincidence that at the time Taylor's number
one legislative program, state enactment of the new Welfare
Reform Act passed by Congress, was pending before Moody's
committee.
     Then McMillan's name gets tossed into the pot for the
Rehabilitation Services job.
     In a February 10 special meeting Dr. Randy Hendrix, who is
director of mental health, made the motion to hire McMillan.
     This time Taylor voted for McMillan, who was approved
unanimously.
     Coincidentally, the reorganization of Hendrix's mental
health board, which had previously died on deadline in Moody's
House committee, was revived.
     Evidently Moody has been pushing for a couple of years to
give his old legislative crony McMillan a nice salary at
Rehabilitation Services. Moody could not be reached for comment.
     I interviewed Carney by telephone in North Carolina, where
she is now living. She said in 1993, shortly after she took over
the agency, McMillan was forced on her department by the
administration and given the job of director of the agency's
physical plant and maintenance. She concluded that this was the
administration's way of placating Moody, who held the key
legislative post.
     While in his job, McMillan built a home in Madison County,
using some of the department's maintenance forces, supposedly
working after hours and on weekends. One former employee of the
department, Wyatt Price, an experienced plumber, told me he had
worked on McMillan's home in 1994 with at least three others from
the department, including two workers still in their first-year
probation. All of them were dependent upon McMillan's evaluation
in their job reviews.
     Price said he didn't feel he would lose his job if he didn't
help on the building. All were paid for the work, he said, but he
did not say how much.
     Carney said she filed a complaint to the Legislative PEER
Committee about McMillan's use of maintenance employees, but PEER
did not investigate.
                                
                                
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Amber Chesser]
                      What Contests Can Do
                                
     From the Editor: Each year the National Organization of
Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) and the National Association to
Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB) conduct a reading contest for
youngsters who read Braille. Schools and libraries across this
nation sponsor such contests for print readers, but almost no one
besides the National Federation of the Blind urges blind children
to read as much and as widely as they can.
     Do our efforts accomplish anything constructive? You bet
they do! Here is part of a letter Barbara Cheadle, President of
NOPBC, received last spring. It was written by Jo Lynn Chesser,
the mother of Amber Chesser, a young woman who has placed three
times in the Braille Readers Are Leaders contest. This is what
Mrs. Chesser says:
                                
     I would like to thank you for the work you do with the NFB
and the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children. I
would also like to express my gratitude for the Braille Readers
Are Leaders contest. I know a lot of work must go into this.
Amber has placed three times and obviously loves to read. When
she first started competing in this, those months were about the
only time she read. Now it's year round, and the books get better
and better. In fact, she has recently expressed an interest in
majoring in English and becoming a writer. Thanks for all you do.
                                                       Sincerely,
                                                  Jo Lynn Chesser
                                
     Do you know a Braille-reading student who would benefit from
participating in this contest? The contest form appears at the
center of the print edition of this issue. You can detach it and
pass it along to someone who can make good use of it. If you need
additional copies, you can get them from the Materials Center,
National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore,
Maryland 21230, or call (410) 659-9314.
                                
                                
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Scott LaBarre]
                        Signs of Regress
                        by Scott LaBarre
                                
     From the Editor: Scott LaBarre is President of the Denver
Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado. He
is also an attorney with a good deal of experience in protecting
the rights of blind people. One can never tell from which quarter
the next incursion on our rights is likely to come. That's why it
is necessary to be watchful all the time. Here is Scott's story
of the problems caused by a well-meaning, determined citizen and
the city officials who wanted to be responsive. It never occurred
to any of them to inquire of the blind people involved whether
their efforts were a good idea. This is what Scott says:
                                
     Although the blind have made many strides towards full
participation and complete integration into our society, very
real and significant barriers still exist which prevent us from
achieving true equality. As it has always been, these barriers
stem mostly from misinformation and ignorance of the real
capabilities of blind people. One of the most devastating
misconceptions with which we struggle is the notion that blind
people, as a natural result of vision loss, face greater danger
and risk while participating in routine daily activities. From
this misguided stereotype comes the belief that the blind pose a
greater safety risk.
     As many Federationists will remember, there was a time when
blind people could not buy insurance because the insurance
industry thought insuring blind people was far too risky a
proposition. It was common knowledge--though there was no
supporting evidence--that blind people were at great risk and
hazard far more often than the sighted. Throughout this century
the issue of safety has surfaced again and again in many guises.
Safety has been the excuse for barring us from everything from
amusement parks to competitive employment. Several years ago a
group of blind people, including me, were prevented from enjoying
rides together at a Valleyfair amusement park because park policy
required that every blind person ride the attractions with a
sighted person. (See the March 1991 and May 1994 issues of the
Braille Monitor for the full story.) In whatever form the safety
issue appears, we must do our best to demonstrate that as a class
the blind are no more or less competent or safe than the sighted
public. We must step forward to educate those who have had no
real experience with blindness or the actual abilities of blind
people.
     Last year, right here in the city of Denver, we did battle
over the safety issue. The cities of Denver and Glendale began
installing signs communicating the message "blind crossing"
wherever officials believed a number of blind pedestrians crossed
streets frequently. As many know, the NFB of Colorado operates
the Colorado Center for the Blind, a comprehensive adjustment-to-
blindness training center based on Federation philosophy. The
outbreak of these signs expanded outward from intersections near
our center's two buildings. Later the city of Glendale, the
jurisdiction in which our center leases apartments in which
center students reside during their training, joined the signage
craze. Both cities announced that increased safety for the blind
was the main reason why these signs had sprung up among us.
Initially we made several contacts with the City of Denver since
the Denver signs were the first to be hatched. Doug Trimble, a
cane travel instructor at the center and a member of the NFB of
Denver Board, contacted city officials, and a supervisor of
someone or something assured Doug that the signs would be
removed. It seemed like a victory easily won, right? When the
signs did not disappear, Doug Trimble called the city again and
again was assured that the signs would vanish. Time passed, as it
inevitably does, and the signs still stood tall and announced to
Denver drivers that blind people were in the area and, therefore,
greater caution should be used.
     I then began calling the city and eventually left several
detailed voice-mail messages for Brian Mitchell, a traffic
engineer who apparently headed the appropriate section of the
Transportation Department. When I failed to hear from Mr.
Mitchell, I wrote the following letter:
                                
May 3, 1996
Mr. Bryan Mitchell
Department of Public Works
Transportation Division
Denver, Colorado
                                
Dear Mr. Mitchell:
     I am writing you regarding certain signs that have been
placed near our various properties here in Denver. These signs
identify the intersections of Broadway and Colorado Avenue and
Broadway and Iliff as "blind crossings." It is also my
understanding that another sign is now located at Broadway and
Mississippi.
     When you and the City decided to place these signs, I am
certain that your intent was to help blind and visually impaired
residents of Denver. You probably believed that they would make
these intersections safer and easier to cross for the blind. We
appreciate your intentions, but we want to explain to you why in
the long run these signs and other such devices are, in fact,
harmful to the blind.
     As you know, the National Federation of the Blind of
Colorado established the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB), an
adjustment-to-blindness training program primarily for blind
adults. We teach necessary skills and techniques, like
independent cane travel, that will allow blind people to
integrate fully and competently into society.
     Generally speaking, society associates blindness with
helplessness. Many people who do not know about blindness assume
that, if you are blind, you must rely on the help of others. At
the CCB we invest a great deal of time and effort dispelling
these myths. As you can imagine, such stereotypes and beliefs
about blindness lead directly to lack of opportunity for blind
people in our country. For example, working-age blind people in
the U.S. face an unemployment rate of about 75 percent. This is
not due to inability or unwillingness to work on our part but
rather to a fundamental lack of understanding about blindness and
visual impairment on the part of would-be employers.
     In many ways the signs you have placed at these
intersections underscore the notion that the blind are helpless.
They leave the public with the idea that the blind cannot cross
an intersection safely without such signs. They send the message
that drivers must look out for the blind because we cannot take
responsibility for our own safety. This kind of message runs
directly contrary to the perception of blindness we are
vigorously attempting to establish in blind travelers and society
at large.
     At CCB we teach our students effective and safe techniques
to use when crossing intersections and traveling throughout the
city. The techniques we use as blind people to cross streets are
no less safe than those used by the sighted. We do not need
special signs calling attention to the fact that we are less
safe. If we did require the warnings in order to cross safely,
such signs would be necessary at every intersection in the city
because blind people travel throughout the city just as other
citizens do.
     For these reasons we are asking that you remove these signs
and return the intersections to their original configuration. We
would be more than happy to meet with you and explain our
reasoning further.
     I have enclosed an article which appeared in the January,
1996, Braille Monitor, the magazine published by the National
Federation of the Blind. The article discusses a similar
situation which occurred in Minnesota. The arguments which our
members made regarding the Minnesota situation apply just as
strongly in Denver.
     Thank you very much for your attention to this matter. I
look forward to a rapid response.
                                
                                                       Cordially,
                                           Scott C. LaBarre, Esq.
                                     Director of Advocacy Affairs
                     National Federation of the Blind of Colorado
                                
     We sent essentially the same letter to the mayor of
Glendale, Colorado. In fact the matter was much more easily
resolved in Glendale. In response to the letter the mayor invited
us to a May 7, 1996, City Council meeting. Members of the Denver
Chapter including Dr. Verna Brasher, Debra Johnson, Jennifer and
Dan Wenzel, and I attended the meeting and gave a presentation to
the Council. After hearing our arguments, the Council voted
unanimously to remove the signs. The very next day City workers
removed the signs from Glendale. Glendale is a tiny suburb of
Denver, having only 3,000 inhabitants. Because there are fewer
layers of red tape and entangled bureaucracy in Glendale, it is
often much easier and quicker to accomplish a civic goal there
than in Denver.
Before completing the chronology of events in Denver I should
explain the reasons why the city all of a sudden busied itself
installing safety signs. In late 1995 a citizen, not even a
resident of Denver, began writing letters and apparently calling
city officials. Here are her letters:
                                
                                              Littleton, Colorado
                                                September 8, 1995
                                
Denver Department of Transportation
Traffic Sign Division
Attention Brian Mitchell
Denver, Colorado
                                
Re: Traffic Signs Designating Blind Pedestrian Populations
                                
Dear Brian:
     Thanks for a moment of your time to address a recent concern
I have regarding our blind citizens. I recently spoke with
Terry Surls, in which we discussed this topic, and came to
agreement that it might best be addressed by your area of CDOT.
     I reside in Littleton and work in the downtown area, and
often use the Broadway route to commute north and south to work.
In the heaviest rush hours, both morning and evening, I often see
a large number of our blind community trying to cross major
intersections and catch RTD buses at Broadway, Evans, and
Mississippi with only their canes and senses as their guide. The
National Federation for the Blind is also on 2232 South Broadway,
so this could have some influence on the blind population in this
area as well.
     It has caused me great concern and anguish recently, as I
watch blind citizens straining to listen for the traffic to stop
at these intersections and then working their way across them. In
addition, I have also watched vehicles coming out of the many
businesses in this area, and upon their exit, they are blocking
the sidewalk, awaiting to merge onto Broadway themselves. So many
times I have really felt the anxiety for these pedestrians, as
they have literally felt their way around a running vehicle, to
find their way back onto a sidewalk that was intended for their
very safety.
     Terry and I discussed in detail the options of adding some
audible crossing signals at various intersections in this area.
However, after lengthy review and sharing our own experiences
with the blind population, we concluded that this option is not
always in everyone's best interest.
     However, an alternative that would help, we think, would be
the posting of several signs in this area that at least would
alert drivers to blind pedestrians in the area so that they might
take additional precautions to watch for them.
     I use a similar analogy, Brian, with the "Deaf Child" signs
posted for our deaf population. Simply put, they are placed there
to keep our handicapped neighbors safe and our driving population
more alert.
     But they serve a social purpose far beyond the safety of the
pedestrian--action from liability suits, and just the sheer
anguish of living day to day with the knowledge of knowing you
have injured another person. Or even, perhaps, a criminal charge
for vehicular misuse.
     I sincerely appreciate your time and attention to this
issue, Brian, and I look forward to your response. I am hopeful
that I will be able to count on your staff's commitment to this
public, community, and humanitarian concern.
                                
                                                       Sincerely,
                                                Sonja J. Guenther
                                
                           __________
                                              Littleton, Colorado
                                                December 29, 1995
                                
Denver Department of Transportation
Traffic Sign Division
Denver, Colorado
Attention: Brian Mitchell
Re: Traffic Signs for Blind Pedestrians
                                
Brian:
     Thanks once more for your efforts this fall in getting the
signs posted on Broadway that designate blind pedestrians are in
the area. As I mentioned in our last conversation, I had
attempted to take some photos from my car during a recent episode
and would send you a copy once those were developed.
     The intersection we last spoke of was at Broadway and
Mississippi. The photograph enclosed was (through my windshield
on a snowy day) taken while I was travelling east on Mississippi,
at Broadway. As you can see from the photo, the blind pedestrians
are standing on the northeast corner of this intersection and are
headed south across Mississippi. There were a total of four blind
pedestrians crossing this intersection at rush hour. You can see,
too, of course, just how congested the intersection was at the
time.
     Just after I took the photo, these four pedestrians ran
across Mississippi, and then ran west across Broadway--against
the light. As you had mentioned to me earlier, you would pursue a
third blind pedestrian sign at this intersection in consideration
of the recent concerns for our blind pedestrians there. Although
it is certainly not the clearest photo, I wanted to send it on to
you, anyway, in case you needed additional support for your file.
     Thanks again, Brian, for your continued support in this
matter. I look forward to seeing our sign soon, and please call
me if I might answer any questions for you.
                                
                                                       Sincerely,
                                                Sonja J. Guenther
                                
     There you have the two letters, and it is interesting to
note that just one concerned citizen prevailed upon the city to
install the "blind crossing" signs. Neither Denver nor Glendale
ever contacted us to discuss the matter and determine whether
these signs were truly necessary. Ms. Guenther herself never
contacted the Federation to discuss the matter.
     Clearly Ms. Guenther was motivated by good intentions to
protect what she perceived as our safety interests. She actually
followed us and snapped photographs. Again, she did so without
our knowledge. I begin to understand a little of how celebrities
feel when they are chased by the paparazzi.
     Through a combination of phone calls and correspondence we
convinced the city to remove the signs from affected
intersections. In particular, Councilman Edward Thomas played a
major role in advancing our cause. Here is his letter notifying
us of our victory.
                                
                                                   City, Colorado
                                                     May 17, 1996
                                
Diane McGeorge and Scott C. LaBarre, Esq.
National Federation of the Blind of Colorado
Denver, Colorado
Re: Blind Crossing Signs
                                
Ms. McGeorge and Mr. LaBarre:
     By now you have received a written communique from Mr. Brian
Mitchell, Traffic Operations Engineer, City and County of Denver,
indicating a municipal liability concern about removing the
"Blind Pedestrian Crossing" signs at (1)Colorado Avenue and
Broadway, (2)Iliff and Broadway, and (3) Mississippi and
Broadway. The City has not placed such signs at Evans and
Broadway.
     The signs went up after it was brought to the city's
attention that visually impaired pedestrians frequently crossed
at these intersections. The signs, of course, are meant to serve
a safety function.
     Your May 3, 1996, letter to Mr. Mitchell and Federation
member Mr. Gary Van Doren's call to my office expressed a
viewpoint that, although well-intended, the signs actually are
harmful to the blind because they perpetuate an erroneous notion
that blindness is associated with helplessness.
     I have made Councilman William Himmelmann, District Seven,
aware of this concern. South Broadway runs through his district.
     However, since you last had contact with my office, Mr.
Mitchell agreed that the signs at (1) Colorado Avenue and
Broadway, and (2) Iliff and Broadway could be removed. These
intersections do not have as high a volume of turning traffic as
(3)Mississippi and Broadway. At Mississippi and Broadway he would
consider removing the blind crossing legend signs and replacing
them with "Yield to Pedestrian" signs.
     Prior to making any changes, the City asks that the
Federation provide a polling or petition list of representatives
from the blind community who agree the signs are offensive and
should not be placed at these intersections. Your correspondence
clearly states the concern; however, in community-initiated and
government-response matters it is customary and prudent to
require some sort of verifiable show-of-support, such as petition
signatures. You may already have this information on record and
need only send it to Mr. Mitchell.
     If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to
contact me. However, my constituent's concern has been addressed,
and I would now refer you to Councilman Himmelmann's Office.
                                
                                                       Sincerely,
                                                 Edward P. Thomas
                                          Councilman, District 10
                                
     I then wrote a letter to the traffic engineer. Here it is:
                                
                                                 Denver, Colorado
                                                     May 20, 1996
                                
City Traffic Engineer
Department of Public Works, Transportation Division
City and County of Denver
Denver, Colorado
                                
Dear Mr. Mitchell:
     On May 17, 1996, I received a fax from Councilman Ed Thomas.
His letter indicated that you would be willing to take down all
of the "blind crossing" signs at the intersections earlier
identified. He further stated that you would, however, need a
showing of support for such action from the blind community.
     We are happy to provide you with such a showing of support.
On Saturday, May 18, the National Federation of the Blind of
Denver held its regular monthly meeting, and at that meeting over
sixty people signed the enclosed petition. Only approximately
five of those signing were not blind or visually impaired. We
hope that this strong showing at such short notice will provide
ample evidence that blind members of our community greatly desire
that the signs be removed.
     We greatly appreciate your willingness to review this issue
and your effort to understand our point of view. We certainly
have no problem with the city's placing a "yield to pedestrian"
sign at Mississippi and Broadway. We share your belief that that
intersection is more dangerous than the others because of the
high volume of turning traffic, but we are pleased to know that
you understand our position that the intersection is no more
dangerous for the blind than for other pedestrians.
     We assure you that the city does not incur greater liability
by not placing "blind crossing" signs at various intersections.
The fact is that no one can make the world completely safe for
everyone. Blindness in and of itself does not make a person any
less or more safe. A careless blind person just like a careless
sighted person faces great risk when crossing a street.
Similarly, blind and sighted pedestrians are equally vulnerable
to a careless driver who pays no heed to pedestrians.
     Thank you very much for your prompt attention to this
matter. We are very glad that you have carefully considered this
issue and can now understand our point of view. Working with
understanding and perceptive public officials helps us to change
what it means to be blind for the better. Please let us know if
you need any additional information. We would be curious to know
when we can anticipate the various signs being taken down.
                                
                                                 Cordially yours,
                                           Scott C. LaBarre, Esq.
                                     Director of Advocacy Affairs
                     National Federation of the Blind of Colorado
                                
     One would expect the story to end here, except for one
thing. Even though it took only the pleas of Ms. Guenther to have
the signs installed, it took a petition with nearly seventy
signatures to eradicate the signs. In addition, Ms. Guenther was
not yet done with her commentary. When she discovered that the
city intended to remove the signs, she wrote one last letter
expressing her great concern for the blind and threatening Denver
officials and "blind associations" with every serious consequence
she could dream up. This is what she said:
                                
                                              Littleton, Colorado
                                                     May 15, 1996
Colorado Department of Transportation
Denver, Colorado
Attention: Brian L. Mitchell, Traffic Operations Engineer
Re: Blind Pedestrian Signs at Broadway Intersections
                                
Dear Brian:
     As you may recall, I am one of the citizens, along with
others and business owners, who had contacted the Department of
Transportation over the past months regarding the placement of
blind pedestrian signs at the various intersections along
Broadway. It has come to my attention that the National
Federation of the Blind has recently requested that these signs
be removed.
     I know that often such requests by the general public are
viewed with distaste by various blind groups. They consider the
posting of such signs as an affront to their independence,
ability, and their need to assimilate into everyday society. Let
me assure you my request to post the signs on Broadway was well
thought out and comes not out of pity for the "helpless blind
pedestrian," or an attempt to stigmatize the blind--but rather
out of the respect that I have gained for them and a desire to
further facilitate their efforts to merge into society, balanced
with a duty to consider the overall interests of the rest of the
public at large.
     Bear with me while I elaborate on three such individuals I
have had the wonderful privilege to have met in my lifetime.
     First, as a freshman in college many years ago, I had a
blind professor who taught social psychology. She was a talented
and inspirational mentor and provided terrific insight to young
people as to the needs of the blind. She was also warm and
encouraging to those who offered to assist her in facilitating
the class.
     Next, while performing volunteer work for the Denver Victims
Center, I had an opportunity to train for my volunteer position
with a blind counterpart. I found her very anxious to allow
others to facilitate her needs, while teaching us how not to
assume her needs, nor be condescending in our approach. Again,
she taught us what a vital and valued member of the community any
handicapped person can be.
     Lastly, while working with a state administrator, I met a
man who had invented a device that would scan book pages, and
magnify the print onto a television device--so the sight-impaired
could continue to read. As he told us about his invention, it was
clear that he did not create it for its revenue potential, but
for his mother--who was nearly blind and loved to read. He did it
to help facilitate her needs--and to improve the quality of her
life. In essence, he did it out of love and respect for the
sight-impaired.
     In short, by no means were the concerned citizens nor the
DOT, ignorant of the wishes of the blind population when
discussions on the blind pedestrian signs erupted last fall. Many
of us have had both personal interaction with the blind
population as well as exposure to organizations for the blind.
     The numerous experiences that I had last summer watching the
blind cross Broadway were far less than inspirational. They were
frightening. In my correspondence with you I'm sure I described
the blind pedestrians as they crossed against the light, in front
of six lanes of traffic, while drivers and sighted pedestrians
watched in apprehension and dread. This situation occurred over
and over again last summer, as I drove that route each day from
Littleton to work to downtown. Perhaps some of these students had
not mastered the skills required to maneuver through the
intersection, but whatever the reason, these situations,
consistently, exposed both the blind pedestrian and the motor
vehicle operator to the ultimate price of a fatality.
     It is my sincere intent to at least diminish this hazard to
our blind population via the placement of the blind pedestrian
signs. The act, in my opinion, is certainly not foundation for a
battle of the wills but, rather, a time when all parties need to
look open-mindedly at the safety and liabilities of everyone.
     I can assure you, Brian, everyone that I talked to last fall
at the Department of Transportation were well aware of the
concerns of various associations for the blind. Each staff member
reiterated to me the importance of the blind pedestrian relying
on their own senses to cross through intersections. We agreed
that audible signals were out of the question--as it would create
just that false sense of security that could be hazardous.
(However, in the neighboring jurisdiction of Ft. Collins they do
have audible signals for the safety of blind pedestrians at
intersections just north of the C.S.U. campus.)
     Unlike what some cities in the nation use, the signs that we
agreed to are caution-yellow, with only a single silhouette of a
pedestrian with a white cane. There is no written verbiage that
might be construed as a stigma to our blind population. Again,
DOT was very aware and sensitive to the wishes of the blind
federation from prior experience with that organization.
     There is no evidence whatsoever that these simple signs
disrupt the environment that the blind pedestrian still faces
when they enter the Broadway intersections. The traffic lights
are still engaged in directing the main flow of traffic. I drive
through those very intersections every single morning and have
not witnessed one driver stop, slow down, or look both ways
before driving through a green light. It was never our intent to
disrupt the flow of traffic--or the subtle sounds that flowing
traffic makes--as we are aware that they are the exact tools that
the blind pedestrian must follow in order to cross the
intersection safely.
     These innocuous signs were adopted specifically so as not to
interfere with the learned skills of the blind pedestrian but
would merely alert the motorist to add caution when crossing the
intersection. It is simplistically no different than caution
signs we would place to alert drivers to a railroad track, a
pedestrian crossing, a school zone (where we even require drivers
to reduce speeds), or a deaf child. Unfortunately, in the hurried
rush of our lifestyles today, we drivers must be reminded of our
duties to use extra caution while driving.
     I am currently celebrating my eighteenth year in the
insurance industry, and I would be remiss if I didn't remind all
parties involved in this issue of the liability that faces the
driver of a vehicle that may strike one of these pedestrians. On
a microscopic scale the driver could be found liable and either
pay astronomical medical bills through their insurance carrier
or, if uninsured, could face personal financial disaster.
     In addition, the trauma that the driver faces when striking
a pedestrian is enormous. I have personally been involved in
cases of pedestrian fatalities and seen the psychological impact
of depression and guilt on the driver and their family in the
aftermath. All one has to do is watch the faces of the Gates
employees standing on the corners of Broadway and Mississippi
while blind pedestrians run, against the light, across six lanes
traffic, to imagine all of the tens of other witnesses that stand
to be affected by just one incident of this nature.
     On a more macro scale is the cost of these types of
insurance claims, the court costs, legal fees, and the large
insurance settlements that are associated with them. All of these
costs are reflected in inflated insurance premiums for
Coloradans.
     But the greatest cost of all is the loss or additional
handicap of a viable member of our blind community and the lost
contributions they might have made. I am very concerned for my
blind friends that in our rush to integrate our blind populations
that we are willing to compromise their safety, as well as the
financial and emotional security of the rest of the community.
     On an even broader scale are the liability ramifications for
the city and the blind associations if the signs are removed.
They were posted to assist in the safety of the blind pedestrian
and the motorist. Once removed, it is very reasonable that legal
counsel could argue the liability of the city and/or the blind
associations for removing one of the safety mechanisms that may
have prevented the incident from occurring--thus leaving the city
and/or association appearing culpable in a fatality.
     As we look around us, in just a few short years we have made
tremendous strides for our handicapped population in this
country. We have placed numbers in Braille on our elevators,
restructured sidewalks to accommodate those in wheelchairs,
upgraded parking spaces, provided handrails--and other
accommodations too numerous to mention--all acts of helping to
facilitate the integration of the handicapped into day-to-day
society. As I travel to foreign countries who lack many of these
advancements, I am reminded of our progress and am extremely
proud of this country's, and Colorado's contribution to improve
the quality of life and the right of all of our handicapped. What
may have been forgotten is that it is not only the blind
population that have fought for these changes, but the sighted
community members and concerned legislative bodies as well.
     I am very saddened by those blind associations who may still
believe that all of us out here are ignorant and afraid of all
blind people or that we are insensitive to their needs. I invite
members of associations such as the National Federation of the
Blind of Colorado to my children's elementary school to help our
children to learn of the abilities and achievements of our blind,
rather than to promote what they still perceive to be ignorance
and fear of this impairment.
     I sincerely appreciate your time and consideration to this
issue, Brian. I'm confident that the Transportation Division will
give fair consideration to the overall impact on the community of
this sign-removal issue. I hope you will contact me if I might
answer any further questions for you on this topic.
                                
                                                       Sincerely,
                                                Sonja J. Guenther
                                
     Ms. Guenther's letter speaks for itself. However, some of
her factual statements do not ring true. I have crossed with our
students at the very intersection she mentions on countless
occasions. I have never observed our students wildly and
recklessly crossing against the light. If anything, we often have
to encourage our students to move more quickly across the six
lanes of traffic so that they reach the opposite side before the
end of the green light. When students first come to our Center,
they are often fearful of travel and move a mite more slowly and
cautiously than is advisable. Usually, after growing comfortable
with cane travel, our students assume normal walking speeds.
     It is also interesting to note that the Federation,
according to Ms. Guenther, could be legally liable if an accident
occurs after removal of the signs. She implies that we take the
safety of the blind too lightly and thereby needlessly risk the
lives of our students. Again, I must state that Ms. Guenther has
never contacted us directly to discuss the true safety needs of
the blind. Of course we are concerned with safety. We review
basic safety rules with our students over and over again
precisely because we want them to be safe. Our students do not
travel independently until their instructors believe that they
are capable of doing so.
     The events surrounding this story go to prove that the blind
have not yet come all the way to first-class citizenship in this
country. Many people still prefer to believe that the blind face
higher levels of danger when simply crossing the street. Ms.
Guenther's prejudices are clear as early as her first letter. She
characterizes the blind students as "trying to cross the street."
She goes on to describe them as having "only their canes and
their other senses" with which to do the job, and she then
depicts the blind as feeling their way around an idling vehicle
parked across the sidewalk and "straining to listen for the
traffic before working their way across the intersection." These
descriptions make clear that this woman filters her observations
through her strong prejudice that alternative techniques are
stressful and inferior. The irrefutable fact is that not a single
one of our students ever had an accident before, during, or after
the installation of the "blind crossing" signs. Whether Ms.
Guenther agrees or not, calling special attention to the safety
of blind pedestrians only confirms society's general belief that
the blind are less safe than other pedestrians. The part of
society most concerned about the safety of the blind is, of
course, the blind themselves. We were not the ones who petitioned
for these safety signs. Fortunately, city officials ultimately
listened to the blind community and responded positively to our
views about our safety.
     On many occasions people ask why I give so much time to the
National Federation of the Blind. The answer is simple: together
we are far stronger than any one of us is alone. Without the
collective work of the Denver Chapter, the "blind crossing" signs
would still be standing along South Broadway. This incident gave
us the opportunity to educate many people and spread a positive
message about blind people. The objections of one individual
blind person would more than likely have fallen upon deaf ears,
but our collective and strong voice allowed us to set the tone
concerning blindness in this City. Although the safety issue
still looms as a major barrier blocking our path to true equality
in our land, actions like those we took here in Denver will help
us climb the remaining stairs to full, first-class citizenship.
                                
                                
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Joseph Sullivan]
              A Perspective on Braille Unification
                      by Joseph E. Sullivan
                                
     From the Editor: Joseph Sullivan is President of Duxbury
Systems, Inc. and Chairman of Committee II of the Unified Braille
Code Research Project of the International Council on English
Braille. The following paper was delivered at the tenth World
Conference of the International Council for Education of People
with Visual Impairment, August, 1997 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
                                
     Since 1992, or over five years ago as I write this, there
has been a project underway to research and develop a Unified
Braille Code (UBC) for English speakers. Initiated by the Braille
Authority of North America (BANA), the UBC Research Project
originally centered on the concept of a single Braille code for
literary, mathematical, and computer-related notation, replacing
the three distinct codes now defined by BANA for those purposes.
The project was later adopted by the International Council on
English Braille (ICEB), at which point unification took on the
added meaning of bringing together not only BANA's codes but also
the very different technical codes that are used in the United
Kingdom and many other English-speaking areas. In all, if UBC's
goals are realized, some five major Braille codes stand to be
unified--actually more than that, if various local variations and
extensions of those five are counted separately.
     I have been an enthusiastic participant in the UBC project
since its beginning and remain so. From that experience I have
drawn certain conclusions that I think may apply to Braille
unification studies generally and which I will present here. The
reader should of course regard these conclusions as my own
opinions, not necessarily shared by all my fellow laborers for
the UBC cause.
     Having given that customary disclaimer, I will venture an
observation that I very much doubt will raise any disagreement--
namely that any proposal for substantial Braille unification, no
matter how carefully drafted and no matter how deeply appealing
it may be to some people, will at the same time be thoroughly
abhorrent to other people. Of course, this is partly due to the
natural resistance we humans all have to any kind of change, but
that is not my main point. I believe that it is also a direct
consequence of the fact that no Braille code--or any kind of
code, for that matter--can be equally good for all the various
purposes that may be envisioned for it; and different people
typically have different kinds and levels of interest in those
various purposes.
     For example, a computer programmer will naturally be
concerned about the efficiency and clarity with which typical
program source text is transcribed, whereas a history teacher may
care little about computer programs but will want to be sure that
ordinary prose is simple as well as clear. While it is possible
to satisfy both needs up to a point, it is not possible to
optimize either one without detriment to the other. In that
simple fact lie the seeds of dissatisfaction -- especially for
those people already accustomed to the efficiencies offered by
the current technical codes, which were consciously designed for
their respective special purposes.
     Given this reality, we might first ask: Why pursue Braille
unification at all? The main reasons are given in the paper
presented to BANA by Drs. Cranmer and Nemeth [Cranmer & Nemeth
1991], which was the catalyst for BANA's original launching of
the UBC project. In it the authors first note that the conditions
under which the current Braille codes were designed have changed.
Blind people no longer study and work in relatively isolated
spheres but rather in the mainstream, constantly sharing
interests and communications with their sighted colleagues. And
at the same time, in literature various types of technical
notation are increasingly likely to be found mixed in with other
types and in general prose.
     From these observations the authors go on to argue
convincingly that using separate codes for literary and technical
purposes causes undue difficulty: first, in learning Braille;
second, in reading or writing with precision; and third, in the
economics of conversion between print and Braille. To illustrate
all those points, they use the example of the dollar sign ($),
which has a different representation in each of the three BANA
codes. I particularly like that example because it is a reminder
that the production of Braille under a multiple-code system
requires the making of fine distinctions--such as between dollar
signs that are literary and those that are in computer notation.
Such distinctions can be difficult for human transcribers and
even more difficult for computer programs used for automatic
transcription. That makes transcription cost more $$$--no matter
how you write the dollar signs! In the context of limited budgets
for Braille production, that is to say in the real world, that
means there is simply less Braille produced.
     So the motivation for UBC was easily established and broadly
accepted. From there the overall project goals could be
enumerated: (1) UBC is to be based on the traditional 6-dot cell.
(2) UBC is to encompass literary notation and to retain grade-1
and grade-2 English Braille as it is already defined, with no
major changes. (3) UBC is also to encompass the notation for
mathematics, computer programming, and related scientific and
engineering disciplines in a single coherent and extensible
system. Symbols learned at earlier stages remain the same even in
advanced technical text, so that one need learn only specifically
new symbols and meanings in the same way as the print reader, not
a whole new code. (4) While UBC is envisioned as supplanting only
English codes (except for Music Braille, which is not affected),
the design process is to consider all currently used Braille
codes, so as to avoid any proliferation of unnecessary
differences. (5) While remaining "readable," UBC is to convey
symbols unambiguously, without reliance on meaning, thereby
enabling precise understanding and communication and also
simplifying automated conversion in either direction. (6) UBC is
to be usable by both beginners and advanced users.
     These goals, which I have slightly re-stated and re-ordered,
have generally been seen as derived from the overall concept of
unification along with a common-sense desire not to discard what
is good from the current system--including literary works already
in Braille and the hard-won skills of current Braille readers. As
such, these goals are broad enough to be generally regarded as
desirable and so have not been particularly controversial. But as
a committee has worked towards those goals, following standard
debating and voting procedures, the resulting concrete
preliminary proposal [ICEB 95] has indeed sparked controversy. It
seems that with UBC, as with many other things in life, the old
saying applies: "The devil is in the details."
     For in one way or another the source of the controversy
comes down to one issue: the varying interpretations and degrees
of importance that different people attribute to each of the
project goals. For example, some people regard retention of the
current grade-2 system as an absolute requirement so that not
even a few of the 189 contractions should be modified or dropped
in order to remove ambiguities. Quite early the UBC design
committee recognized that each of the project goals, even the
rather central one calling for nonambiguity, had to be regarded
constructively rather than absolutely, if the work was even to be
possible. But not everyone sees it that way.
     Some of the more interesting and important examples of this
effect are implicit in the last of the stated goals: "UBC is to
be usable by both beginners and advanced users." As in other
respects, the design committee believes that it has met both
parts of this goal, having provided for technical symbology that
is typical of very advanced levels of study, but in a way that
remains consistent from the earliest stages of reading. However,
the committee has also felt it necessary to consider the other
stated goals and also where the greatest needs lie--that is,
where the most people will be using the code most of the time. It
may be said that such considerations have caused the committee to
lean, where it was necessary to lean one way or the other, more
towards the beginners or, more precisely, towards general readers
and learners, rather than towards the experienced professionals
in advanced subjects.
     An example may help clarify the kind of leaning that I am
talking about. In many kinds of mathematical and scientific
notation, including chemistry as one obvious example, numbers
that immediately follow letters are quite likely to be in the
subscript position. For that reason, existing Braille codes that
are designed for technical notation tend to optimize for that
case. In BANA's mathematics code (Nemeth code), for instance,
numbers written immediately after letters, without any
intervening indicator, are implicitly in the subscript position.
That of course means that a special indicator is needed to
represent digits that are directly in line with preceding
letters--such as in catalog part numbers and similar designations
that are common in literary context. In order to keep things
simple and to keep faith with both kinds of notation and the
other project goals, UBC in its current (and not necessarily
final) proposal requires an explicit subscript indicator in all
cases where a subscript is used, even in cases where practically
every number is a subscript, as in a chemical equation.
     The simplicity and consistency of that approach appeals to
many people, because it means that the occasional chemical
formula, which we all encounter in all kinds of contexts, is
easily and accurately readable without any new learning. It also
fosters learning, especially at the early stages, even about
chemistry, because the student using Braille need not cope with
some new way of understanding the notation itself. Rather, just
like the student using print, his essential task will be to learn
the subject matter that is the meaning behind the notation. But
predictably--and understandably--those people who regard
chemistry as their life's work are less enthusiastic about the
prospect of writing and reading what they perceive to be great
numbers of subscript indicators in chemical formulae, all just to
avoid what they perceive to be relatively few indicators in
catalog part numbers. Such perceptions, incidentally, may or may
not be accurate in a given case--we humans are notoriously prone
to a lot of subjective skew when it comes to estimating
statistics--but in any event it is perceptions that matter when
it comes to making judgments.
     So does this mean that UBC has reached an inherent
contradiction, a dead end from which there is no escape? Not at
all, in my opinion, but it does mean that we may have to be
clearer about some of the limitations that any practical UBC is
likely to have, as well as its benefits--not to oversell the
concept, in other words, lest we unconsciously encourage
expectations that are unlikely to be met. In particular we may
need to contemplate the possibility that UBC may not totally
eliminate all private and otherwise specialized Braille codes.
Rather I believe that UBC will become the broad-spectrum
publishing code that everyone will be able to read and write for
just about every purpose, even if it is not necessarily what a
professional always uses for private notes and direct notational
work in his own specialty. By thus occupying more of the ground,
so to speak, UBC will mean that other Braille codes are likely to
be even more specialized than they are now, but not eliminated
altogether.
     We should not be surprised, for instance, to see a chemistry
specialist's code evolve that takes full advantage of the bias
towards subscripts and other predictable attributes of chemical
formulae, in other words is optimized so that the balancing of a
chemical equation can be carried out without working around
indicators that are really there for the benefit of other
disciplines and the wider world. No doubt some such specialist's
codes will start out simply as private codes, and no doubt they
will borrow much from current specialty codes. But also, as I
hope and expect will happen as UBC becomes established, specialty
codes are likely to borrow a great deal from UBC itself, that is,
to remain as compatible with regular UBC as is consistent with
the specialty discipline's needs. In a sense they may thus be
regarded as variant extensions to UBC rather than as
contradictory codes.
     In fact the current UBC proposal can be said to anticipate
and enable such a trend. It is not hard to imagine that most
users will simply omit most grade-1 indicators from their private
notes, for instance, thereby working in an instantly available
shorthand. Furthermore, one aspect of the current proposal,
called the Alignment Mode, may even be regarded as the first of
the compatible specialty codes--designed as it is to permit
efficiency when manually carrying out aligned arithmetic
operations on hexadecimal numbers (something that computer
programmers may occasionally do, though not very commonly in my
experience). When you think of it, even grade-2 can be considered
a kind of specialty code--optimized only for nontechnical prose -
-but where the specialty notation is so often of interest to so
many people that UBC already provides for it.
     It may seem shocking to be expecting, even planning for, the
continued existence of specialty codes while at the same time
working towards a unified code. But it need not surprise us at
all, if we consider what happens in practically all walks of life
for users of print as well as users of Braille. When writing
notes that are only for one's own later reference, how much do
any of us pay any attention to the rules of capitalization,
punctuation, spelling, and grammar that normally apply to
published writing? Very little, if my own notes in preparation
for this paper are as typical as I believe them to be. Ad-hoc
shortcuts of all kinds abound, flowing naturally from the
writer's own familiarity with the subject matter. While such
private codes usually remain informal and peculiar to the
individual, there are similar though more formalized codes that
tend to evolve for the use of larger groups.
     Examples would be the shorthand notations for chess moves
and knitting instructions that are used by and for people who are
already knowledgeable in those subjects. The tendency to create
such shorthands is a natural one and need not be feared or
forbidden or controlled. It arises from the desire to be very
efficient, one may even say focused, when working exclusively in
a relatively narrow and well-known subject. In such cases the
strongly constrained context allows efficiencies that are simply
impossible to match in a broader notation system, so a specialty
code is born. This tendency is the same for Braille, although the
break-points where specialty codes arise are not necessarily the
same, for the simple reason that the mechanics--the size of the
basic characters, and their more limited number--are different.
In any case, any additional learning or other complexities
associated with a specialty code will be experienced mainly by
persons already skilled and actively working in that specialty,
and common sense suggests that those are the very people who are
the most able as well as the most motivated to deal with those
complexities.
     This is by no means a forecast that specialty codes will
become so numerous or extensively used that the situation will be
worse than at present. On the contrary, the broad expressiveness
of UBC is bound to reduce their use to cases where the need for
special efficiency is strongly felt, and those are not likely to
be common. And the initial estimates on the efficiency of UBC
itself are surprisingly encouraging--for sufficiently large
samples, it should not be very different from that of today's
Braille codes.
     In summary, UBC itself is not an absolute, any more than any
of its individual goals. It will not solve all problems or cause
all specialty codes to disappear. But it will still bring about
enormous improvements in the production and use of Braille, and
that is well worth doing.
                                
References:
                                
[Cranmer & Nemeth 1991] Drs. T. V. Cranmer and Abraham Nemeth, "A
Uniform Braille Code," memo to the members of the BANA Board
dated January 15, 1991; archived on the World Wide Web at either
of the URLs:
http://www.nfb.org
http://world.std.com/~duxbury/cranem.html
                                
[ICEB 95] International Council on English Braille, Unified
Braille Code Research Project, Objective II: Extension of the
Base Code Report by the Objective II Committee; March 1995;
archived on the World Wide Web at URL:
http://world.std.com/~duxbury/ubc.html
                                

                         Life Insurance
                                
     Life insurance constitutes a very special gift to the
National Federation of the Blind. A relatively easy and direct
form of planned giving is a new life insurance policy. You can
make the NFB the beneficiary and owner of a life insurance policy
and receive a tax deduction on the premium you pay.
     For example, at age fifty you purchase a $10,000 whole life
insurance policy on yourself and designate the NFB as beneficiary
and owner of the policy. The premium cost to you is fully tax-
deductible each year. You may even decide to pay for the entire
policy over a specific period of time, perhaps ten years. This
increases your tax deduction each year over the ten-year period
and fully pays up your policy.
     You may, however, already have a life insurance policy in
existence and wish to contribute it to the NFB. By changing the
beneficiary and owner to the National Federation of the Blind,
you can receive tax savings, depending on the cash value of the
policy. Your attorney, insurance agent, or the National
Federation of the Blind will be able to assist you if you decide
to include the NFB in your planned-giving program through life
insurance. For more information contact the National Federation
of the Blind, Special Gifts, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore,
Maryland 21230-4998, phone (410) 659-9314, fax (410) 685-5653.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Diane Johnson displays one of her floral arrangements.]
                   Floral Designer in Training
                      by Ladonna Jean Whitt

     From the Editor: One of the most exciting truths about
membership in the National Federation of the Blind is that one's
notions about what is possible for blind people to accomplish are
always expanding. I have always felt insecure and vaguely
apologetic about flower arranging. When I give a dinner party, I
mentally pull up my socks and tackle the cut flowers with the
desperate hope that I will not disgrace myself with the
centerpiece. Without considering the matter very deeply, I have
always assumed that a blind person could not be expected to do
very well with creating a group of flowers in a visually pleasing
way. I humbly stand corrected. Moreover, I have just expanded my
garden for next season and have made a solemn vow to master the
art of flower arranging. The following article will explain my
enthusiasm. Here is Ladonna Jean Whitt, a floricultural
technician in the Division of Horticultural Technologies, which
is part of the Agricultural Technical Institute, at Ohio State
University. She will introduce you to Diane Johnson. This is what
she says:
                                
     Let me introduce you to Mrs. Diane Johnson, a non-
traditional student at Ohio State Agricultural Technical
Institute (ATI). Diane is not only a student but also a wife and
mother of four who is a part-time employee. In addition to this,
somehow she finds time to serve as the President of Phi Theta
Kappa (an honorary organization)and the FTD Club (a student
floral club).
     Diane is following a lifelong dream to be a floral designer.
She told me she has had a passion for flowers since she was a
child. Like other non-traditional students, Diane was concerned
about how well she would do returning to school as an adult.
Would she be able to find her way around this large college?
Diane's determination to succeed in floral art was backed with
encouragement from friends and family. The only unique thing in
this situation is that Diane is legally blind with only a small
amount of vision. Applying her ingenuity, she is learning to
design floral displays with non-visual techniques.
     Basically Diane designs fresh and silk arrangements by
seeing with her hands. If you watch her design, you can see her
hands float in and around the flowers, her fingers feeling the
textures, shapes, and forms. It is wonderful to watch her in the
creative design process.
     As summer begins, Diane is ending her first year at Ohio
State ATI. She recently completed the required ten-week
internship at a local flower shop, where she worked 400 hours
(forty hours per week). To find a shop that would accept her as
an intern, Diane went to every flower shop in town--not once, but
twice, and sometimes more. She ran into so many "no's" that she
decided she would offer to work without pay for two days before
asking the flower shop to pass judgment on her ability. Her
perseverance paid off. One employer agreed to give her a chance.
Diane was hired as an intern.
     I am Ladonna Whitt, a floricultural technician in the
Horticultural Technologies Division at Ohio State ATI in Wooster,
Ohio. Working with Diane during her first and second quarter was
a real pleasure. Diane convinced me that she could do floral
design within the first week. I had no problem understanding
Diane; what I had a problem with was the number of people who
told Diane and me that she had an unrealistic goal. I had seen
what she could do.
     When we were thinking through the alternative techniques
Diane would use in place of the usual sighted techniques, I
called Job Opportunities for the Blind (JOB) at the National
Federation of the Blind in Baltimore, 800-638-7518. Several good
ideas came out of that long-distance brainstorming session with
JOB director Lorraine Rovig.
     What Diane and I did was to start off with a Brailled color
wheel that we made together. She continually went over the color
wheel to memorize the primary and secondary colors. Next she
listened to the lecture on color which explained about
complementary, split complementary, and analogous colors. With
this as the background, she added a mathematical system to put it
all together. Then she labeled her flower bins for the flowers
sorted for her by her sighted co-workers. With this method she
knows exactly what effect she is creating in her pieces. Some of
these pieces were so large that the tallest flowers or accent
foliage were above her head when displayed on an appropriate
table or sideboard.
     Diane said she continually goes over the color wheel to
ensure that she is error-free in her choices. Mixing colors
together for the arrangements is a real challenge since she has
never seen color. A co-worker takes a few minutes at the
beginning of Diane's shift to tell her the colors of the flowers;
then she chooses the ones she wants to use.
     Diane has discovered that she can move easily around the
flower shop and classroom. Dealing with her co-workers and the
public is not a problem either. Her caring personality,
willingness to learn, and sense of humor make everyone feel
comfortable around her. Diane has found that her employer and
fellow employees can work together with her to develop a system
in the shop to deal with her disability. Her boss and co-workers
have discovered that the things they do to help her cost them
very little in time or effort. I'm delighted to report that
Diane's employer was so impressed by her floral designing that
she offered her a job after Diane completed her internship. After
three quarters Diane is already a success in her field of study.
     Diane's career choice proved to be appropriate for her. She
and I give you this story because Diane hopes it will encourage
other visually impaired or blind persons to follow their dreams
in any field. Currently Diane works part-time for Green Thumb
Floral in Wooster, Ohio, and she continues to take classes toward
her degree. As much as her time allows, she has offered to
correspond with others who would like to know about her
alternative techniques for floral design. Please ask Miss Rovig,
director of Job Opportunities for the Blind, for contact
information--(800) 638-7518.
                                
                                
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Senator John H. Chafee]
     American Library Association Honors Senator John Chafee
                                
     From the Editor: On Monday, June 30, 1997, the American
Library Association presented its Francis Joseph Campbell Award
for distinguished service to blind and physically handicapped
library patrons to Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island. This
award was instituted in 1966, and Dr. Kenneth Jernigan was its
second recipient. Senator Chafee was unable to be present for the
award ceremony in San Francisco, but he addressed the ALA
convention audience by videotape. This is what he said:
                                
     I am delighted to receive the American Library Association's
Francis Joseph Campbell Award, and I want to thank you very much
for it. This is a tremendous honor, and I regret that I can't be
there with you personally this evening. Standing for me to
receive this wonderful award is Barbara Weaver. She's the
director of the Department of Library Services in my home state
of Rhode Island. Barbara's department has special meaning for me
because I established that department during the time that I was
governor. I know you're in good hands with Barbara.
     Last year I was delighted to lead the effort to amend the
Copyright Act so that copies of published works could be made
into Braille or special recorded format for exclusive use by
blind individuals without delay--that's a key thing, without
delay. Neal Kelly from the Illinois State Libraries asked me to
spend a few moments this evening describing to you how I became
interested in this matter.
     It is really quite a simple story, and it does illustrate
the important role that you as constituents can play in the
legislative process. Every February, year after year, Ed Beck, a
blind senior citizen and longtime friend of mine from Rhode
Island, comes to Washington for the legislative meeting of the
National Federation of the Blind. As part of his trip he visits
my office as he does the offices of other members of the Rhode
Island Congressional delegation. He always has a list of the
Federation's legislative priorities, and he spends the time with
me or with my staff discussing these priorities. In 1996 Ed had
on his list the need to amend the Copyright Act in order to
reflect an agreement that had been worked out by individuals
representing the blind on one hand and the publishers on the
other.
     I learned from Ed and from others who rely on recorded books
that it often took the Library of Congress, National Library
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, more than a
year just to get permission to begin producing recorded or
Braille copies of books and other published works. I also learned
that the Library didn't pursue permission to reproduce
publications that needed the approval of a whole group of
copyright holders such as anthologies of poetry or collections of
essays or short stories. This means that, at best, blind
individuals across the country didn't have access to current
publications (at least they were delayed) and, at worst, the law
was effectively censoring reading material for blind people.
     Now how did this happen? As many of you know, the National
Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped was
created by an act of Congress many years ago, in 1931. At that
time government agencies and private entities were required to
obtain permission from the holder of the copyright before they
could produce copies in Braille or recorded format. Now why did
this provision come about? It came about in order to protect the
rights of the copyright holder by preventing pirating and other
forms of copying. Since the enactment of the original law sixty-
five years ago, there certainly hasn't been a rash of piracy
caused by Braille and specially recorded books. So there's no
need for this requirement to obtain permission from the holder of
the copyright.
     No one knows better than you that we are in the midst of an
information revolution. Just in the past few years the ways in
which we find information and the amount of time in which we
expect to obtain it have changed dramatically. Yet for
individuals who happen to be blind, access to immediate
information was restricted by law. That seemed to me to be
fundamentally unfair and counterproductive. Fortunately,
Ambassador Nicholas Veliotes, representing the Association of
American Publishers, and Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, a past recipient
of the Francis Joseph Campbell Award, representing the blind,
were able to come to an agreement. Now this agreement worked out
a system of amending the Copyright Act and still protecting the
rights of copyright holders. They brought their proposal to
Congress, and they did this by testifying before a House
committee and through able messengers like Ed Beck as I
previously mentioned.
     In the end the House included the Veliotes-Jernigan
agreement in a bill that was otherwise controversial for reasons
unassociated with the Veliotes-Jernigan agreement. The Copyright
Amendment pertaining to books for the blind had not yet been
introduced in the Senate. I was surprised at that. I soon learned
most of my Senate colleagues simply weren't aware of the problem.
I found an ally in a new Senator from Kansas, Sheila Frahm.
Sheila Frahm has a daughter who is blind, and she agreed to join
with me in sponsoring the proposal. We sought out other Senators
who eagerly joined us as cosponsors. For example, Senator Ted
Stevens of Alaska, whose brother is blind, Mitch McConnell and
Wendell Ford (both from Kentucky, home of the American Printing
House for the Blind), and Larry Presler of South Dakota (a state
with a surprisingly large number of blind individuals). We
decided to attach our amendment to a legislative appropriations
bill. Our amendment won unanimous approval in the Senate, was
agreed to by the conference--that is the meeting between the
House and the Senate--and was signed into law by the President on
September 16, 1996, not quite a year ago. This took just two
months from the time of introduction when I introduced it, to
signing by the President. I doubt whether I will ever be able to
match that speed record again.
     I'm happy to say that this was the kind of proposal that
everyone was in favor of, once they understood it. Now it's my
hope that, as a result of its enactment, information is becoming
more readily available to blind adults and children. Most of us
take for granted our ability to browse through the neighborhood
library or corner book store, searching for titles from the best
seller list. For an estimated two million Americans who are blind
or visually impaired, this sort of activity is impossible. For
our nation's more than 54,000 blind elementary and secondary
school students, there has been an even greater problem, which is
this: maps and charts and graphs and illustrations that take up
one page in a standard textbook require multiple pages in Braille
or tactile graphics to convey the same information. All in all,
it can take a full year to produce a Braille textbook. The added
time consumed by printers' attempting to obtain permission from
the publishers or authors made it certain that the blind student
would not start school with the same textbooks as his or her
sighted classmates. It is my sincere hope that my amendment has
made a big improvement in the availability of up-to-date
textbooks for students and information and just plain good books
for blind people.
     Thank you again for honoring me with this award. Francis
Joseph Campbell devoted himself to improving the lives of other
blind people by giving them the skills to become self-reliant.
Hopefully my amendment is one more tool to be used in achieving
this self-reliance. In closing I want to be sure to give special
thanks to Dr. Jernigan and to Kurt Cylke, the Director of
National Library Service, for nominating me for this important
award. I'm deeply grateful, and I want to thank each and every
one of you for this honor.
                                
                                
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Jamal Mazrui]
               More Than a Question of Membership
                        by Barbara Pierce
                                
     Federationists will remember that in the fall of 1990 the
Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind
expelled Jamal Mazrui, who was living in Massachusetts at the
time. The charges dealt with disruptive tactics, attempting to
incur organizational expenses without approval, and attacks on
the organization and its leaders outside the organization. After
a futile attempt to get the 1991 National Convention to reverse
the Board's decision, Mazrui joined the American Council of the
Blind--and there, apparently, the matter ended.
     However, in the spring of 1997 Al Sten-Clanton (one of
Mazrui's long-time friends) told President Maurer that Mazrui
would like to apply for readmission. Sten-Clanton said that
Mazrui had had a change of heart and wanted to come back.
     Mazrui, along with Sten-Clanton and his wife, came to the
National Center for the Blind on Saturday, May 24, 1997, to talk
with President Maurer. This meeting resulted in the exchange of a
series of letters and the ultimate agreement that Mazrui could
apply for reinstatement to membership and that he would be
accepted and welcomed.
     The August, 1997, issue of The Braille Forum (a publication
of the American Council of the Blind) carried an article by
Mazrui, stating that he was a member of the American Council of
the Blind. In view of the assertion in Mazrui's letter of May 28,
1997, to President Maurer that: "If accepted as a Federationist,
I would resign as a member of the American Council of the Blind.
. .," one must suppose that the Mazrui article was submitted to
the ACB prior to his meeting with President Maurer and that the
article was subsequently printed without his prior knowledge and
consent. To presume anything else would be to impute to Mazrui
not only a misrepresentation of the truth but also a pattern of
behavior that could not be anything other than transparently
counterproductive.
     It is certainly true that members of the Federation can
submit articles to any publication they like. It is also true
that I don't know whether Mazrui's formal reinstatement has been
accomplished. But the moral question is the same regardless of
the technicality. He indicated in a letter of July 21, 1997, to
Lloyd Rasmussen, who is one of the NFB of Maryland leaders, that
he had been permitted to join and wanted to know the time and
place of the next chapter meeting. Here are the pertinent letters
between President Maurer and Mazrui. They do not so much deal
with an individual as with patterns, with different behavior on
the part of different people and organizations, with philosophy,
and with morals:
                                
                                          Silver Spring, Maryland
                                                     May 28, 1997
                                
Dear Mr. Maurer:
     I appreciated the time and hospitality you shared with me
and the Sten-Clantons last Saturday. Our discussion and the
company of Federationists there confirmed my interest in being
considered for membership in the National Federation of the
Blind.
     The Federation has inspired my thinking and action more than
any other personal or political philosophy. I've participated in
various consumer organizations over the years and found no other
to be as much a force for good. Since I believe in concerted
political action, I would like to participate in the
organizational vehicle with the most promise for achieving social
change. If accepted as a Federationist, I would resign as a
member of the American Council of the Blind in order to better
focus my energy.
     In addition to the volunteer labor, financial support, and
project leadership generally expected of members, contributions
of mine to the Federation would hopefully include such things as
government information, technology skills, and contacts with
other consumers and professionals.
     If you or other NFB officers wish to discuss any relevant
issues about this application for membership, please feel free to
call me. Thank you for your consideration.
                                
                                                 Sincerely yours,
                                                     Jamal Mazrui
                                
                           __________
                                              Baltimore, Maryland
                                                    June 20, 1997
                                
Dear Mr. Mazrui:
     Quite some time ago Al Sten-Clanton told me that you would
like to be reinstated as a member of the National Federation of
the Blind. I told him that your actions at the time you left the
Federation and subsequently were such that I doubted you would
want to meet the conditions of membership, but he said he thought
you had had a change of heart. Therefore, I told him that I would
be glad to meet with you.
     On Saturday, May 24, 1997, you and Mr. and Mrs. Sten-Clanton
came to see me here at the National Center for the Blind. You
said that you had participated in the activities of the American
Council of the Blind and that you felt that it was not in the
mainstream of progress in the blindness field. You said that you
would like to rejoin the National Federation of the Blind, and I
told you that I would bring the matter to the Board of Directors
for their consideration.
     Under date of May 28, 1997, you wrote to me formally asking
that you be reinstated. You said that the Federation had inspired
your thinking and action more than any other personal or
political philosophy and that you had found no other organization
to be as much a force for good.
     I have now read and discussed your letter with the members
of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the
Blind. They were sympathetic to your wish to be reinstated as a
member of the Federation but wanted to be certain that such an
action would likely bring a positive result, both for you and the
organization. Specifically, they wanted me to ask whether you
were willing to indicate in writing your intention to abide by
the policies and Constitution of the National Federation of the
Blind if reinstated. In that connection I call your attention to
that portion of Article VI of the NFB Constitution which provides
that no member may "indulge in attacks upon the officers, board
members, leaders, or members of the Federation, or upon the
organization itself outside of the organization." Article VI
further provides that "The organization will not sanction or
permit deliberate, sustained campaigns of internal organizational
destruction by state affiliates, local chapters, or members."
     Beyond that, the long-standing policy of the National
Federation of the Blind is that policy decisions of the
Federation are binding upon all members and that affiliates and
members must participate affirmatively in carrying out such
policy decisions.
     My purpose in bringing these matters to your attention is
not to be abrasive but the exact opposite. Before taking action,
the Board and I want to be certain that you and we have the same
understanding of basic issues. As you know, the Federation is the
largest, the most inclusive, and the most open organization in
the blindness field, but we believe that democracy cannot exist
unless members are willing to abide by votes taken and policies
made. We trust that you share these views.
     As soon as I have your response, I will bring it to the
National Board, and we will move with dispatch to take action.
Meanwhile, I thank you for coming to see me, and I thank you for
your letter.
                                
                                                       Sincerely,
                                           Marc Maurer, President
                                 National Federation of the Blind
                                
                           __________
                                          Silver Spring, Maryland
                                                    June 23, 1997
                                
Dear Mr. Maurer:
     Thank you for the content and tone of your June 20 letter,
conveying that the NFB board is generally sympathetic to my
application for membership, though it seeks clarification on my
views of some organizational principles. This letter responds to
that inquiry and in the same spirit highlights principles I trust
the board also supports, in order that our understanding be
common and productive. Though I would be but one of thousands of
members, I believe my acceptance as one, having the same rights
and responsibilities as any, would mean a positive result for me,
for the Federation, and most important for the integration of the
blind into society on a basis of equality.
     Let me reassure the board that it is not my nature to engage
in public attacks upon individuals or organizations even if I
disagree strongly on an issue. I have learned that passion serves
best as an engine of justice, and reason as a pilot of tactics. I
have also sharpened my understanding of the distinction between
advocacy inside and outside an organization I hold dear.
     I trust that disagreement with an NFB leader or an exercise
of internal appeal is not considered an attack by itself.
Similarly, I trust that an internal-issue campaign--even one
involving a persistent minority viewpoint--is not by itself
considered a campaign of destruction or an unauthorized sub-
organization.
     In the unlikely event that a disagreement arises as to my
adherence to NFB policy, I assume that disciplinary action would
not be taken without prior good cause and good faith negotiations
on the matters of contention. If such discussions occur and I
understand that the board interprets a policy in a way I could
not accept, I would probably resign as a member, concluding that
sincere irreconcilable differences exist which make it better for
me and the organization to simply go our separate ways without
ill will.
     Let me close by committing myself, if accepted as a
Federationist, to the NFB Membership Pledge (as found in the 1996
convention program of the NFB of Massachusetts):
                                
          I pledge to participate actively in the
          efforts of the National Federation of the
          Blind to achieve Equality, Opportunity, and
          Security for the blind; to support the
          policies and programs of the Federation; and
          to abide by its Constitution.
                                
                                                 Sincerely yours,
                                                     Jamal Mazrui
                                
P.S. I will try to attend the upcoming convention in New Orleans.
If I do so as an NFB member, I would appreciate it if you could
at some point make a public statement to that effect, thereby
clarifying this status to Federationists there.
                                
                           __________
                                              Baltimore, Maryland
                                                    July 10, 1997
                                
Dear Mr. Mazrui:
     The Board of Directors of the National Federation of the
Blind has met and considered your letter of June 23, 1997, in
which you reiterate your request that you be reinstated as a
member of the National Federation of the Blind and pledge that
you will abide by the policies and Constitution of the Federation
if accepted. As you know, an individual becomes a member of the
Federation by applying to a local chapter or state affiliate.
     The National Board has decided as follows: Since you now
live in Maryland, you are free to apply to any local Maryland
chapter or to the state organization for admission to membership.
You will be welcomed and will have all of the privileges and
responsibilities of any other member, with the following
stipulations and understandings:
                                
     You may not apply to the NFB of Massachusetts for membership
or be accepted as a member by the NFB of Massachusetts without
prior agreement by the National Board of Directors. There is too
much residue from the past to make such an application anything
other than a focal point of ill will and controversy.
     If you wish to apply for membership to any Federation
affiliate besides Maryland, there must be prior agreement by the
National President. The Board feels that this will avoid possible
misunderstanding and disharmony.
     You will need to abide by the commitments you made in your
letters of May 28, 1997, and June 23, 1997, and by the spirit and
substance of the letter I sent you dated June 20, 1997. With
particular respect to your June 23 letter, you need to understand
that, if a disagreement arises between you and the Federation as
to whether you have violated a policy of the Federation or the
organization's Constitution, the Federation must have the final
decision in the matter. This is true of any organization if it is
to have meaning and integrity. For that matter, it is true for
society as a whole.
     I would hope that what I have said makes sense to you, and I
tell you again that you will be welcome to come back to the
Federation if you like. There is much to be done, and the
Federation is the organization to do it.
                                
                                                       Sincerely,
                                           Marc Maurer, President
                                 National Federation of the Blind
                                
     Here are Jamal Mazrui's and Lloyd Rasmussen's e-mail
exchanges dated July 21 and July 23, 1997, respectively:
                                
     Mazrui: As you may know, the National board of the NFB has
permitted me to rejoin the organization. Can you let me know of
meeting times, locations, and dues of local chapters in Maryland?
                                
     Rasmussen: The chapter most convenient to you is the Sligo
Creek Chapter, which covers Montgomery and northern Prince
George's Counties. Dues are $4 per year, and we usually meet
early in the afternoon of the second Saturday of each month.
Normal meeting time is 1:00, but the location (one of the
Montgomery County public libraries) is not quite pinned down for
September through June. In August, on the 9th, we will be having
a chapter picnic at the home of Frank Stark in Wheaton, starting
I think at 2 or 3 p.m. I think you will find Sligo to be a good,
mid-sized, active, and diverse chapter. The chapter president is
Debbie Brown. You can also call Judy or me for more information.
     We need a wide variety of members with different skills who
are willing to work together in changing what it means to be
blind and to bring fresh ideas to the cause. We look forward to
seeing you participating in the NFB and its Sligo Creek Chapter.
                                
                                
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. Wallace Schroeder
PHOTO/CAPTION: Fred Moore]
                           In Memoriam
                Wallace Schroeder and Fred Moore
                       by Kenneth Jernigan
                                
     Fred Moore, long-time stalwart in the National Federation of
the Blind of Iowa, died October 6, 1996; and less than four
months later, on February 3, 1997, he was followed in death by
Dr. Wallace Schroeder, another long-time member and leader of the
Iowa affiliate. It has now been several months since I heard the
news of these sad events, and each time I have tried to write
about them, I have had difficulty. The reason is probably tied up
with the fact that these two, Dr. Schroeder and Fred Moore,
symbolize for me in a very personal way my early days in Iowa
and, to a great extent, my entire Iowa experience.
     Ruth (Dr. Schroeder's wife--they were married in 1959) was
one of the first people I met in 1958 when I came to Iowa to
become Director of the State Commission for the Blind. She joined
the Commission staff as a home teacher shortly after I got there
and soon became the home economics teacher in the orientation
center we established.
     I remember a day in the summer of 1958 when I went to the
home of Dr. H. F. Schluntz, whose wife was the sister of Ruth's
late husband. Ruth was there, and so of course was Dr. Schroeder.
Since Dr. Schluntz and Dr. Schroeder were both chiropractors,
they had a common professional interest, but their relationship
went far deeper than that. We had an afternoon of relaxation and
really getting to know each other. It was probably my first
intimate acquaintance with the Schroeders, and it led to a
lifetime of mutual support and friendship.
     Of course this article is meant to be about Dr. Schroeder,
not Ruth. But how can I write about one without mentioning the
other? They were and are inseparable in my memory. There is no
way in the time and space allotted that I can paint the picture
or draw the portrait.
     The scenes and incidents flow together and blend:
conversations with Ruth when we had no equipment for home
economics and used an old laundry tub for washing dishes; dinners
at the Schroeders' home; the afternoon Dr. Schroeder cooked a ham
on his grill and we kept loading in charcoal when his back was
turned; the gathering of the students at Christmastime to read
the story that had become traditional; the staff meetings; the
lunches in the home-ec department; and a thousand other things.
     But none of these can capture the real essence of Dr.
Schroeder as I knew him. He was quiet and undemonstrative, but he
was unwavering and steady. When the insanity came in Iowa and
long-time friends began to waffle and make excuses, Dr. Schroeder
merely said: "I'll track with you all the way." And he did.
     There is no reason for me to recount the events of my
relationship with Dr. Schroeder and Ruth. Those who want to know
such things can doubtless learn about them from others. Rather I
want to underscore and emphasize the loyalty, the integrity, and
the character of the Schroeders. And so, too, with Fred Moore. He
was always quiet, always unassuming--but this did not mean that
he was weak or uncommitted; for he was not. He was a man of great
moral strength and deep conviction. And I never knew him to
desert a cause or a friend.
     And when I mention Fred, I must also mention Beulah, his
devoted wife and companion, who survives him. In good times and
bad, Beulah was as steadfast as Fred. She, too, was quiet and
undemonstrative, a worthy partner in all that Fred did.
     My daily association with Fred was less frequent and
personal than my contact with the Schroeders, but it was no less
rewarding. Fred was always there, always supportive--and I knew
without asking that he could be counted on. As to standing firm
when the going was rough, I suppose it never occurred to anybody
(whether friend or foe) that Fred could be intimidated,
flimflammed, or bullied. He knew what he believed, and he lived
it. That was the end of the matter.
     So these two are gone, Fred Moore and Dr. Schroeder--and
with them part of the me that lived and worked and dreamed in
Iowa. Perhaps that is what life is, a series of beginnings and
endings. If so, the Iowa of the late `50's, the `60's, and the
`70's should be characterized as one of the most rewarding of the
episodes. A time to remember; a time to keep; a time to inspire
for the future. And if it be so, Dr. Wallace Schroeder and Fred
Moore are principal elements in the mix.
     As I have already said, it has been difficult to write these
words. Not because they are less deeply felt, but for the
opposite reason. Dr. Schroeder and Fred, you are symbols of a
time that is gone. May you also be symbols of a time at hand--
when a new generation of the blind will enter a new century,
inspired and uplifted by the hope and belief which you helped
create, and which because of you and others like you will
inevitably come true.
                                
                                
                             Recipes
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Linda Mentink
PHOTO/CAPTION: Mary Brunoli]
                                
     This month's recipes come from the National Federation of
the Blind's Music Division.
                                
                 Skillet Beef and Noodle Dinner
                        by Linda Mentink
                                
     Linda Mentink lives in Wisconsin and serves as President of
the NFB Music Division. She is a singer with several albums to
her credit.
                                
Ingredients:
2 cups ( 1/4 pound) wide noodles, cooked and drained
3 tablespoons bacon drippings
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 pound uncooked ground beef
1 cup diced carrots
2  1/4 cups (1 #2 can tomatoes)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
 1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Worcester sauce
                                
     Method: Scrape, dice, and cook carrots until tender-crisp.
Set aside. In bacon drippings saute onion and celery about five
minutes. Add ground beef, breaking up pieces with the back of the
spoon. Cook, stirring until beef is done. Stir in remaining
ingredients and simmer about five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serves six.
                                
                                
                          O'Henry Bars
                        by Linda Mentink
                                
Ingredients:
1 cup melted butter or margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 cups oatmeal
                                
     Method: Mix all ingredients well and press into a lightly-
greased cookie sheet with sides. (Mine measures about 10 by 14
inches.) Bake at 350 degrees for ten to twelve minutes. Cool to
room temperature. Pour over topping made of one cup crunchy
peanut butter and one cup chocolate chips melted and stirred
together well. Spread topping and chill bars. Cut before serving.
                                
                                
                          $250 Cookies
                         by Mary Brunoli
                                
     Mary Brunoli is the First Vice President of the Music
Division. She writes as follows:
     My daughter and I had finished a salad at the Neiman-Marcus
Cafe in Dallas and decided to have a small dessert. Because our
family are such cookie monsters, we decided to try the Neiman-
Marcus cookie. It was so good that I asked if they would give me
the recipe. The server said with a frown, "I'm afraid not."
     "Well," I said, "Would you let me buy the recipe?" With a
cute smile, she agreed.
     I asked how much, and she responded, "Two fifty."
     I said with approval, "Just add it to my tab."
     Thirty days later I received my statement from Neiman-
Marcus, and it was $285. I looked again and remembered I had only
spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20 for a scarf. When I
glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said "Cookie recipe
$250." Boy, was I upset. I called Neiman's accounting office and
told them that I had understood the waitress to say the cost
would be $2.50. I did not realize she meant $250 for the recipe.
I asked them to take back the recipe and reduce my bill, but they
said they were sorry, but all the recipes were that expensive so
that not just anyone could duplicate the bakery recipes. The bill
would stand.
     I thought about how I could get even or try to get my money
back. I just said, "okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm
going to have $250 worth of fun. I told the accountant that I was
going to see to it that every cookie lover would have the $250
recipe from Neiman-Marcus for nothing. She replied, "I wish you
wouldn't do this."
     I said, "I'm sorry, but this is the only way I feel I can
get even, and I will." So here it is. Please enjoy it and pass it
on to someone else. I paid for it; now you can have it for free.
                                
Ingredients:
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups flour
5 cups blended oatmeal or quick oats
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons soda
24 ounces chocolate chips
1 8-ounce Hershey bar, grated
3 cups chopped nuts
                                
     Method: Measure oats and blend in a food processor to
produce a fine powder. Cream butter and both sugars. Add eggs and
vanilla. Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder,
and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar, and nuts.
     Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie
sheet. Bake for ten minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies
(recipe may be halved).
                                
                                
                        Lemon-Dilly Sole
                         by Mary Brunoli
                                
Ingredients:
 1/3 cup butter
 1/3 cup chopped celery
1 cup herb seasoned stuffing mix
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound fillet of sole or other fish fillets (4 medium slices)
 1/3 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
                                
     Method: Melt  1/3 cup of butter over medium heat. Add celery
and onion; saute until tender. Stir in stuffing mix, parsley,
lemon juice, lemon peel, salt and pepper; set aside. Cut each
fillet to make eight 3-by-4-inch fillet halves. Place four halves
in ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Top each with  1/4 cup
stuffing mixture, then remaining filet halves. Melt another  1/3
cup butter; stir in dill weed. Pour dill-butter over fillets.
Bake near center of 350-degree oven for twenty to thirty minutes
or until fish flakes with a fork. Spoon sauce over fillets.
Return to oven for five minutes. Yields four servings.
                                
                     Summer Squash Casserole
                         by Mary Brunoli
                                
Ingredients:
6 cups summer or zucchini squash (or both)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 carrot, grated
1 small package herb stuffing
1/2 cup butter or margarine
                                
     Method: Boil squash and onions ten minutes, then drain. Mix
soup and sour cream, and add grated carrot. Add squash and onion
mixture. Mix stuffing with melted butter. Place half of mixture
of crumbs in 13-by-9-inch pan. Add squash mixture and then add
rest of bread crumbs on top. Bake at 350 degrees for thirty
minutes.
                                
                                
                         Crabmeat Quiche
                         by Mary Brunoli
                                
Ingredients:
1 9-inch unbaked pie crust
1 tablespoon butter
8 ounces king crabmeat
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons sherry
1 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
2 eggs
 1/4 pound gruyre cheese, grated
                                
     Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in pan; add
crabmeat; sprinkle with paprika. Saute. Add sherry. Beat eggs in
medium-to-large bowl. Add cream to eggs along with salt, pepper,
and cheeses. Fold in crabmeat. Pour into pie shell. Bake till
quiche is set.
                                
                                
                       Choco-Nut Dainties
                         by Mary Brunoli
 
     Serve this log-shaped cookie with coffee as the perfect
ending to a company dinner.
                                
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) margarine, softened
 3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 6-ounce package semisweet chocolate pieces
1 recipe chocolate coating, recipe below
2 cups chopped walnuts
                                
     Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour and salt
onto wax paper. Beat together margarine, sugar, egg and vanilla
in large bowl until well mixed. Blend in flour mixture. Stir in
chocolate pieces. Shape dough on lightly floured surface into 2-
inch logs 1/2-inch in diameter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for twelve to fifteen minutes, or until
cookies are set. Cool on wire racks. Dip ends of cookies into
chocolate coating; roll ends in chopped nuts. Place on wax paper
until set.
                                
                        Chocolate Coating
                                
     Melt together one 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate
pieces and  1/4 cup margarine in top of double boiler over hot
water. Stir until blended and smooth. If mixture is too thick,
add more margarine, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture is a
good coating consistency.
                                
                       Monitor Miniatures
                                
New Audio-Described Tour:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Opened in late July, 1997, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of
Natural History, an audio-described tour of the permanent marine exhibit--
Exploring Marine Ecosystems. This exhibit explores two marine ecosystems, a
tropical coral reef and a temperate rocky shore--how you affect them and how
they affect you. This is the first time a Smithsonian museum has offered this
type of audio tour. The audio described tour has been developed to offer
greater visual description, enhanced directions, and access to the exhibit
text for a low vision and blind audience. The tour will be available daily to
low vision and blind visitors. The tour will also be available to the general
public.
     Ten units with the audio-described tour and an accessible interface will
be available at the iGo Interactive Audio Tour booth in the Museum's main
rotunda on the first floor. For information and group tour reservations call
1-888-iGo-Tour.
     The Museum welcomes visitors' comments on this new program. They can be
forwarded to Jill Johnson, NMNH, MRC 101, 10th & Constitution Ave., NW,
Washington, DC 20560. E-mail address: Johnson.Jill@NMNH.SI.edu
     The Museum is open daily (except Christmas Day) from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30
p.m. The closest Metro access stops are at Federal Triangle and Smithsonian,
on the orange and blue lines. The Museum is located at 10th and Constitution
Ave., NW.
                                
** New Jett Enterprises Catalog Now Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Available from September is the 1997, no-frills, free cassette or 3.5
inch diskette catalog. We offer over 300 products for everyday living and a
collection of special gifts for all occasions. We have expanded our selection
of products to include specific items that many of our customers have
requested.
     To request your free cassette or 3-inch diskette catalog, please call
(960) 778-8280, fax (960) 320-4837, or write Jett Enterprises, 3140 Cambridge
Court, Palm Springs, California 92264. If you are already on our mailing list,
you automatically received our catalog in September. We do not ship outside
the U.S. Please let us know if you have a change of address. We look forward
to your call.
                                
In Memoriam:
     Harvey Heagy recently wrote sadly to say:
     I am deeply saddened to report to you the death of longtime
Federationist Linda Iverson on June 25, 1997. Some of you may know her as
Linda Allumbough. Mrs. Iverson was in New Orleans for surgery and suffered a
sudden massive heart attack during her recovery. She was living in Stuart,
Florida, and is survived by her mother and her son Jonathan, sixteen. She was
forty-nine at the time of her death. I was with her just a few hours before
she died, and I can tell you that, even in her post-surgical pain, she carried
herself with dignity, unselfishness, and grace. Linda was a very dear friend
from elementary school days, and while I feel her loss very deeply, I am proud
to have known her and feel myself to be a better person for it. She touched
the lives of all who knew her, and she will be greatly missed.
                                
For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Print/Braille books and cassette tapes for children between the ages of
preschool and third grade are now available. I am selling the print and
Braille books for $5 each and the cassette tapes for $2 each. Send cash or
money orders only, please. To receive a list of available titles of cassettes
and print/Braille books or to place orders, contact Mrs. Catherine Harris,
1528 Crawford Ave., Altoona, Pennsylvania 16602.
                                
Happy Ending of an Interesting Beginning:
     Both the March and June, 1997, issues of the Braille Monitor included
exchanges of correspondence between Curtis Chong, President of the National
Federation of the Blind in Computer Science, and Robert Gotwals, whose
organization has developed a Web Site designed to teach Braille to would-be
Braille teachers and transcribers. Initial indications were that the material
would be inaccessible to those unable to look at a computer screen. On June 18
Curtis Chong wrote an e-mail message to Mr. Gotwals communicating his pleasure
at what he found when he went to the Web Site. This is what he wrote:
                                
     Time has finally permitted me to take a good look at
http://www.shodor.org. Now that I have looked at the Braille Remote Learning
section, I must compliment you and your colleagues for doing an excellent job
making the material readable by and accessible to people with text-only
browsers. Also your initial program announcement deserves commendation. I, for
one, really appreciate the introductory paragraph, which reads:
     . . .the Braille through Remote Learning program is designed to prepare
     sighted educators and current/future sighted Braille transcribers. All
     materials are accessible to both sighted and visually-impaired students.
     Text versions of graphics-based pages are available.
     This makes it abundantly clear that the program, while intended for
sighted Braille transcribers, is fully accessible to blind or visually
impaired persons interested in perusing the material.
     Congratulations on a job well done!
                                
Chocolate Braille Greeting Cards:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Just in time for Christmas, Braille greeting cards in chocolate "Happy
Birthday," "Thank You," "Season's Greetings," and more. $2.50 each, $3.25 with
nuts. To place your order, call (718) 359-4466 or fax (718) 886-2618.
                                
New Speak to Me Catalog Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Give the gift that says something--Speak to Me will once again premier
its Fall/Winter catalog featuring a large selection of Christmas gifts and
holiday decorations. In addition to its selection of Christmas items, we will
feature a section consisting of collectible products such as historical
talking picture frames, Coke memorabilia, Looney Tunes collectibles, fine
porcelain figurines, uniquely styled wall clocks, etc. Also, we offer many
gift-giving items with a religious theme such as musical angels, talking
serenity prayer key chain, musical plush animals, and porcelain figurines.
There are plenty of children's items including talking dolls, singing and
talking plush bears, singing toothbrushes, comb and brush sets, electronic
talking teaching toys for kids of all ages, and kid-sized keyboards. We will
always continue to offer those favorite unusual and wacky products such as
talking key chains, talking spatulas, musical watches, talking magnets,
talking theme mugs, unique music boxes, etc. Call Denise Russell at (800) 248-
9965 for your free Fall/Winter 1997 Speak to Me Catalog. Request print,
cassette, or disk.
                                
Low-Interest Financing for Reading Machines:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Now available, low-interest financing on selected reading machines and
adaptive computer systems with speech or Braille output. For the first time
you can get a complete stand-alone reading machine for only $60 per month.
Other reading machines are available with similarly comfortable terms. You can
finance a complete accessible computer system at only 6 percent APR. Contact
ShrinkWrap Computer Products, 11706 Saddle Crescent Circle, Oakton, Virginia
22124-2342, (800) 377-0774, e-mail: Shrink@Erols.com
                                
For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     For sale, TeleSensory Voyager CCTV that is semi-portable and has a sharp
black and white image of fourteen inches. It has had little use, and I feel
confident about selling it in such good condition.
     Also for sale, MacIntosh Centris 610 with top-of-the-line voice and
image-enlargement software, which make it fully accessible to blind or low-
vision users. It also has a CD-ROM drive, 32-bit addressing, great sound, and
Microsoft Word and Excel (among other things). It also has little use and
works beautifully.
     A twenty-one-inch Radius monitor is also for sale. It delivers a very
sharp monochrome image and is compatible with any Mac or IBM or CCTV.
     I am willing to sell these items for less than half their original
value. Contact C.J. Sampson, 669 E. 800 N., Apt. N106, Provo, Utah 84606,
(801) 342-9740.
                                
[PHOTO/CAPTION: David Walker]
In Memoriam:
     At the July 1 meeting of the Board of Directors during this
year's annual convention, everyone was deeply saddened to learn
of the death the evening before of Federationist David Walker.
David Stayer, one of the leaders of the NFB of New York and a
close personal friend of David and Betty Walker, wrote the
following letter to the Braille Monitor shortly after the
convention:
                                
     On Monday, June 30, 1997, long-time Federationist David
Walker lost his courageous fight against cancer. I first met
David Walker in late 1977. We were delegates to the NFB of New
York Board of Directors. We immediately became friends, and that
friendship flourished. When David met Betty and their love became
evident, I was overjoyed. I was honored to sing at their NFB
wedding in Minneapolis on Wednesday, July 7, 1982. For many NFB
conventions the Walker and Stayer families were seen together at
evening activities, especially the banquets.
     Although the Walkers moved from New York to Michigan and
then to Missouri, our relationship continued to grow. David
Walker continued to demonstrate through his daily activities and
writings his total commitment to our movement. Less than one week
before his death I spoke with him at the hospital. David talked
about the upcoming NFB convention and wished our movement
complete success. He knew his death was imminent. Betty had asked
me if possible to attend his funeral and deliver a eulogy but
stressed that David would have wanted me to stay at our
convention. Lori and I stopped for a few minutes to attend the
dance on Wednesday, July 2, 1997, but we found it impossible to
stay since the Walkers were not with us. Every time I attend an
NFB activity or function in the future, David Walker will be with
me. His spirit and total commitment to our movement will help
guide me in the years to come. I will miss him deeply, and so
will all those who knew and loved him.
                                
New URL for San Antonio Chapter:
     Pete Donahue, Secretary of the Greater San Antonio Chapter
of the NFB of Texas, reports that the group's World Wide Web Site
has changed. Their URL is now http://alamo.digiweb.com/nfb
                                
New Source of Recorded Books:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     The Naval Institute Press announces the launch of its
audiobooks series "Now Hear This" with the production of two of
the press's most popular books on tape: Cross the Line: A
Bluejacket's World War II Odyssey by Professor Alvin Kernan and
The Bridge at Dong Ha by John Grider Miller. Each includes a new
introduction, one by Kernan reflecting on the overwhelming
response he has had to the publication of his book, the other by
the hero of Dong Ha, John Ripley, a now-retired Marine officer
who has become a legend in the Corps. With approximately six
hours of listening time, Kernan's Crossing the Line is an
unabridged version of his book, recorded to fit on four 90-minute
cassettes. The cost is $28.95. The Bridges is unabridged, fits on
two 90-minute tapes, and costs $16.95. For further details about
this new audio program, contact Susan Artigiani, Publicity
Manager, (410) 295-1081, e-mail sartigiani@usni.org or write to
Naval Institute Press, 118 Maryland Ave., Annapolis, Maryland
21402-5035, (410) 268-6110.
                                
For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Blazie Type 'n Speak Notetaker, 3.5-inch disk drive, charger
and headphones, no manuals included. Will accept best offer.
Contact (no Braille please) Bryan Sattler, 131 Clayton Road,
Schenectady, New York 12304, (518) 370-1773.
                                
Attention Blind Vendors:
     If you purchased a Discover Card talking credit card
terminal and are willing to sell, give, or bequeath, please
contact Don Morris at (301) 447-2795.
                                
Used Braillers for Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Used Braille writers available. Need minor repair, asking
$250 to $300. Contact Debby Smith at the Massachusetts
Association for the Blind, 200 Ivy Street, Brookline,
Massachusetts 02146, (617) 732-0242, e-mail: mablind@tiac.net
                                
Three Additional Jewish Magazines Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     The library of the Jewish Braille Institute of America
announces that three additional recorded magazines are available:
Commentary, an intellectual journal of Jewish concern, monthly;
Near East Report, a political journal, bi-weekly; and Sh'ma, a
journal of the American Jewish experience, spanning religious,
social, and political philosophy, bi-weekly. We also record
Tikkun; Moment; Jewish Currents; Bridges; and, of course, our own
publication, the JBI Voice.
     If you would like to receive a free subscription to any of
the above, call toll-free in the United States, (800) 433-1531.
Ask for the library. It is not necessary to request magazines you
are already receiving; they will automatically continue unless
you instruct us otherwise. Magazines on cassettes need not be
returned to us when you are finished reading them. You should
begin to receive your first issues approximately four weeks from
the time we receive your request.
                                
Used Tandem Bicycles for Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     I am an antique bicycle collector and am running out of
storage space. I have ten tandems that I need to sell. I am
selling them for my cost in order to make space. If you are
interested in purchasing one, please call Neal Garrison at (217)
348-0615 or e-mail him at csnagl@eiu.edu
                                
New Diabetes Publication Available:
     We are pleased to make the following announcement:
     The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on
Blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University is
disseminating a new publication entitled Serving Individuals with
Diabetes Who are Blind or Visually Impaired: A Resource Guide for
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors. This publication was
developed in collaboration with the National Federation of the
Blind and contains a wide variety of resources on various
diabetes publications, medications, and appliances, as well as
Internet listservs and Web Sites.
     The Resource Guide is available in large print, Braille,
audiocassette, or computer disk for $25. Orders and inquiries
should be directed to Ms. Kelly Schaefer at (610) 325-8693.
                                
Elected:
     Sally York, Secretary of the Diabetes Action Network, a
division of the National Federation of the Blind, reports the
July election results. The new officers are Ed Bryant, President;
Janet Lee, First Vice President; Sandie Addy, Second Vice
President; Mary Hurt, Treasurer; and Sally York, Secretary. The
Board members are Tom Ley and Eric Woods.
                                
Choice Magazine Listening:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     If you miss the joy of reading magazines, You should know
about Choice Magazine Listening, a bi-monthly free service
providing eight hour audio tapes of magazine articles,
literature, and poetry.
     The unabridged articles come from more than 100 periodicals
such as Smithsonian, The New Yorker, Atlantic, Time, Granta,
House and Garden, New York Times, and National Geographic. You
need the special National Library Service cassette player to
listen to the 4-track tapes.
     To obtain a free subscription and for information on how to
order the free tape player, write to CML, Box TM, 85 Channel
Drive, Port Washington, New York 11050. The e-mail address is
NUCABD@hofstra.edu
     Use the header "subscription" and include name, snail mail
address, phone number, and whether the new subscriber already has
a 4-track cassette player. (Or call [516] 883-8280, fax: [516]
944-6849.)
                                
New Parenting Book Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Enjoy Successful Parenting: Practical Strategies for Parents
of Children 2-12 is now available on cassette for busy parents.
It is professionally narrated with secondary voices which add
sparkle as they perform the brief dialogues illustrating
important points throughout the audiobook. The author is Dr.
Roger McIntire, father of three, who taught child psychology and
principles of family counseling and therapy at the University of
Maryland for thirty-two years. He is the author of seven books on
parenting and child psychology. The audiobook contains four
cassettes with a running time of approximately six hours. It is
available through your bookstore or may be ordered directly from
the publisher, Summit Crossroads Press, (800) 362-0985. The cost
is $24.95. According to the Marketing Director, Federationists
can expect a 55 percent discount.
                                
Correspondence Wanted:
     In mid-August Mr. Akram Bobokalonov, Chairman of the Society
of the Blind and Handicapped in the Republic of Tajikistan,
visited the National Center for the Blind to tour the facility
and to discuss international matters with President Maurer. While
there he expressed deep interest in inviting Americans to
correspond with members of his organization and perhaps
eventually become partners in joint events or projects of some
kind. Those interested may write in either English or Russian.
Letters must be in print so that they can be translated.
Correspondence should be directed to the Society for the Blind
and Handicapped, 71/48 Aini Street, Dushanbe, Republic of
Tajikistan 734025.
                                
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Yasmin Reyazuddin receives an award from University of
Maryland President Dr. William Kirvan.]
Honored:
     Sharon Maneki, President of the National Federation of the
Blind of Maryland, writes to report that on March 12, 1997,
Yasmin Reyazuddin received an award for leadership and academic
excellence from the University of Maryland's Commission on
Women's Issues. Yasmin is the energetic President of the NFB of
Maryland's Student Division. She is a tireless advocate for
improving student opportunities. She is also the Vice President
of the Sligo Creek Chapter. We are proud that another
organization has recognized Yasmin's talents.
                                
For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     You can have a list of more than 100 mailing addresses of
your favorite country artists for $20. Send your check or money
order to Bruce Brooks, 135 Sherri Lane, Boyce, Louisiana 71409.
     Also, air purifiers for sale for use in homes and businesses
to fight allergies and health disabilities. For more information
contact Bruce Brooks at the above address or call (800) 748-3228.
                                
Elected:
     Eric Clegg, former President of Sacramento's River City
Chapter of the NFB of California, reports the chapter's August 2,
1997, election of new officers. They are Chris Foster, President;
Bryan Bashin, Vice President; Raquel Gomez, Second Vice
President; Ellen Paxson, Secretary; and Paul Carver, Treasurer.
Board members are Doug Langley and Eric Clegg.
                                
                                
Special Issue of the Braille Mail Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Queensland Newspapers Ltd. and the Royal Blind Society of
Queensland announce that a special issue of the Braille Mail,
dealing exclusively with the tragic death of Diana, Princess of
Wales, and its aftermath, will be produced in October, 1997.
While the September issue will contain much material about the
matter, the special issue will be a larger volume circulated
differently. The special issue of the Braille Mail will provide
access in alternative formats to a sampling of the material being
published about the life and times of the Princess of Wales. The
Braille version of this special issue will be properly bound with
soft covers as will the large print version. The audiotape
version will be read by a professional announcer. Copies of this
special issue of the Braille Mail may be ordered from the Royal
Blind Society of Queensland Inc., 34 Cleveland Street, Stones
Corner 4120 Australia. (In Australia) 07 3397 1234 or 1 800 622
954; international phone 617 3397 1234; fax (Australia): 07 3847
2929; fax (International) 617 3847 2929; e-mail:
rnelson@gil.com.au
                                
For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Print/Braille books and cassette tapes for children between
the ages of preschool and third grade are now available. I am
selling the print/Braille books for $5 each and the cassette
tapes for $2 each. Send cash or money orders only, please. To
receive a list of available titles of cassettes and print/Braille
books or to place orders, contact Mrs. Catherine Harris, 1528
Crawford Ave., Altoona, Pennsylvania 16602.
                                
Beginner Guitar Course Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     I have developed a beginner guitar course for the visually
impaired that uses cassette tapes and no written literature to
teach students the basic chords and rhythm patterns in first
position and the names of all the notes on the guitar in first
position. Buyers will also receive a free Guitar by Ear cassette
which teaches them the actual recorded guitar part to a
contemporary song without having to read music or tablature. The
cost is $34.95. Contact Bill Brown, Guitar by Ear, 704 Habersham
Road, Valdosta, Georgia 31602, (912) 249-0628.
                                
New Cane Bank Begins:
     Diane Hostetler writes to report the following:
     In observance of White Cane Recognition Week, the
Indianapolis Chapter of the NFB of Indiana sponsored a fund-
raising drive in order to initiate a cane bank. The purpose of
the cane bank will be to ensure that blind individuals are not
forced to go without this valuable tool of independence because
of financial problems.
     From May 17 to 21 our members were on hand at two
Indianapolis locations to accept donations for this project, as
well as to distribute educational information. To express our
appreciation and to symbolize the white cane, all contributors
were presented with a peppermint stick tied with a white ribbon.
     The project was a huge success, yielding over $500. This
amount will give a good start to our cane bank and will help the
blind of Indianapolis achieve and maintain independence.
     We are not, however, limiting our efforts to the procurement
of financial contributions. Our project will also be expanded to
include recycling. If you have any canes which are no longer in
use or parts of old canes which are salvageable, please contact
NFB of Indianapolis, P.O. Box 441868, Indianapolis, Indiana
46244, or call (317) 359-3140.
                                
For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     For sale: tandem bike Norco Cape Cod, 5-speed, excellent
condition, used one year. Contact Keith Iten, 1534 17th Street,
S., Fargo, North Dakota 58103, or call (701) 235-2619.
                                
More Tactile Maps Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Maps of Russia and Its Former Republics, a 16-page booklet
containing six maps (including three fold-outs) plus keys showing
boundaries, rivers, and major cities as of 1997. Cost is $4.
     Tactile Maps of Pennsylvania is a 23-page booklet containing
general information about Pennsylvania and nine full-page maps
with keys. The maps show major cities, rivers and lakes, major
highways, land regions, physical features, county boundaries,
agricultural products, and resources of Pennsylvania. Maps
showing boundaries and major cities of the northeastern states,
including Pennsylvania, are also provided. The cost is $6.
     These booklets are bound with cardboard covers and a multi-
ring binder. Shipping is Free Matter for the Blind, unless
advised otherwise. Allow four to six weeks for delivery. Order
from the Princeton Braillists, 28-B Portsmouth Street, Whiting,
New Jersey 08759, or call (732) 350-3708.
                                
In Memoriam:
     Diane Hostetler recently wrote with sadness to report that
on April 18, 1997, Mrs. Helen Denniman, a life-time member of the
National Federation of the Blind and a pioneer of the
Indianapolis Chapter, passed away at the age of eighty-five.
     For the past several years Mrs. Denniman's poor health
prevented her from participating in NFB activities. However,
during her active years her contributions to the organization
were many. Throughout her life as a Federationist, she served as
President of both the Indianapolis Chapter and the Indiana
affiliate, responsibilities which she took very seriously. Though
her physical condition deteriorated, forcing her to draw back,
she remained a strong proponent and an avid supporter of the NFB.
While Mrs. Denniman will be missed by all who knew and worked
with her, her spirit will remain in our midst as we perpetuate
her legacy, working together to change the lives of countless
blind hoosiers.
                                
Braille Books Available:
     National Braille Press announces the following new
publications:
     General Mills (Bisquick, Betty Crocker, Hamburger Helper,
and other familiar products) has compiled all package directions
into two Braille volumes, $15. Betty Crocker and Gold Medal
Product Preparation Directions and Recipes provides you with
step-by-step directions for hundreds of food products, as well as
some fun recipes.
     The 10-Minute Guide to Windows 95 includes keyboard commands
and screen descriptions for basic Windows 95 operations. This is
not a tutorial; it is a reference guide. You can look up step-by-
step instructions for performing basic operations. Three volumes
in Braille for $13.99.
     Major credit cards accepted. Order from National Braille
Press, 88 St. Stephen Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, (800)
548-7323.
                                
For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     I have a Versa Braille II Plus computer with carrying case,
disk drive, Star printer with all cable and cord connections,
Versa Braille users' manuals, and interface manual in both print
and Braille. Everything is in excellent condition. Make an offer.
Contact Vincent Tagliarino at 29 Mona Court, Depew, New York
14043, (716) 681-1645.
                                
News from Xerox: 
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     Xerox Adaptive Products (XAP) announces a price cut and new
financing program for The Reading Edge, a reading machine for the
blind and visually impaired. It can read books, magazines,
printed photocopies, and documents with multiple columns. XAP has
lowered The Reading Edge price from $5,495 to $4,995. In
addition, Xerox is offering customers a choice of 0% financing on
The Reading Edge or an instant rebate if purchased by check or
charge. The new 0% financing program for The Reading Edge is $219
down and $199 a month for 24 months. If you purchase by check or
charge, you receive an instant rebate of $495, a savings of
almost $1,000 of the regular price. 
     Xerox has also introduced a financing program for the
Outlook video magnifier, a magnification system for those with
low vision. The unit sells for $1,795 but can be financed for $99
a month for 18 months, with $198 down.
     The Reading Edge has a one-year warranty and is available
through a network of distributors. Outlook has a five-year
warranty. For information, a product demo, or the distributor
nearest you call (800) 248-6550, ext 1, Xerox Desktop Document
Systems, Contact: Karen E. Sunderland at (508) 977-2097 or e-mail
ksunder@xis.xerox.com
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