Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind the source for blindness news and information since 1907

The holiday season is upon us and so is the gift giving season. Finding that perfect gift for the blind and visually impaired person in your life might seem to be harder to get. But with a few ideas the task will become easier.

Independent Living Aids and the LS&S Group have a wide variety of items to choose from. Some examples are clocks with voice output or large numbers and watches that have Braille on them as well. In addition, they have household products and every day products for old and young alike. Both organizations offer toll-free ordering, as well as online ordering.

The cook on your list might enjoy receiving a talking meat thermometer, a variety of timers, or a talking food scale.

For the hobbyist with low vision who is interested in gaming or crafts, you might want to buy them a lamp or a stand magnifier for building models or sewing. If the hobbyist likes games and has low vision, you might want to buy them games with large print and high contrast colored pieces.

For the bookworm on your list, you have a variety of devices to choose from as well as lots of sources of books. These devices, called portable book readers, range in price from $299 to $350 and are the size of two decks of playing cards and can play a variety of book formats. You can get leisure reading titles from The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. You can get purchased books from audible.com which are fully narrated. Books from Recording for the Blind would be more geared to students on your list. Books from bookshare.org would appeal to a broad spectrum of people and are read by a text to speech voice.

The Victor Reader Stream from Humanware has excellent speech and its controls are fairly easy to learn. However, it is soft spoken and fragile. The Booksense from GW Micro is smaller than the Stream, but can handle MP3 files. The speaker is small and is best used for personal listening. The Bookport Plus is the newest player in the digital arena. With the newest software update, you will be able to listen to internet radio and DAISY books online. The new software update is supposed to happen this month.

The source article also covers speakers, SD memory cards and iPods, as well as other computer accessories and is a great read for gift ideas any time of the year. In addition, the article also covers earphones.

To read the full article, go to http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw110702

I am certain that a good number of the loyal readers of this newsletter plan to travel over the holiday season.  The unseen powers that govern travel have a twisted sense of humor, devising dastardly ways for passengers to be whisked to incorrect locations; separated from their luggage; (and sometimes each other); and, adding insult to injury, be charged outrageous holiday fares, diminishing the precious funds for gifts for family, friends and the office grab bag.

During the season, you simply cannot get to the airport, the bus terminal, the train station, or anywhere first.  Often, annoying people will whisk pass you to ensure that they are either ahead of you or the first person in line.  And must we talk about the line that snakes from the door to the lobby?  Let us not forget that once we’ve stood there for what seems a year, some casual worker informs us that the bus is either delayed or only stopping at a particular destination.

One holiday season I made the unpardonable mistake of trying to reserve a ride on Amtrak to Ohio.  What was I thinking?  Ah!  I wasn’t.  We were out of luck and had to settle for a Greyhound coach. Express?  Please.  It seemed we got off and on that bus–excuse me, coach– at least fifteen times.  It was most disconcerting to wait in unfamiliar territory, hoping that we would not be left behind.  Much too much, it was the first and last time we ever took that Round-Robin’s-Barn-route.  Additionally, who knew that customs agents boarded a bus in the United States?  Were we going by way of Canada?

Once there was a cab line directly outside the port authority building , staffed by an attentive gentleman who would hail a taxi, make sure all your luggage was loaded in the trunk and that you were fully seated and belted before you took off.  One horrendously busy Thanksgiving season (I know you’re thinking there is no calm Thanksgiving holiday) found us fending for ourselves.  Imagine my horror when I thought Maria was right behind me and I heard no replies to my queries?   Voice steadily rising in pitch, I became so flustered, I didn’t think of using my cell phone.  Thank heavens Maria did but she could not identify her whereabouts.  Ultimately, she handed her phone to a compassionate stranger who was able to guide me right to her.  Happily, she was standing on the corner of that same street.  Crowds abound here in New York City during the holiday season, and we were unwittingly buffeted along in different directions.

Here’s wishing your traveling is stress free, but we’re here to sympathize should the unexpected mishap occur.

Hello Everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend and that you’re getting ready for a enjoyable Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays because it’s a license to eat too much and then fall asleep while watching football.  It could only be more relaxing if I was able to do all of that while sitting in a jacuzzi. 

I just want to remind everyone that next week there will not be a magazine released, and that the next edition will be sent out on December 6.  I hope you all have a great holiday and are able to surround yourselves with friends and loved ones.  And, of course, fill yourselves with all sorts of delicious food.

Take care, and as always, thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Ross Hammond, Editor

Submitted by Dave Hutchins

Apple cake with walnuts and buttery brown sugar crumb topping

Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon seasalt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs

2 cups splenda sugar

1-1/2 cups vegetable oil

3 cups chopped apples, such as Rome Beauty

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside. Beat eggs; add sugar and oil and beat for 3 minutes. Gradually stir in sifted dry ingredients. Fold in apples, walnuts, and vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan and bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Pour topping over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let cool, loosen sides, invert on a plate, then invert on another plate, topping-side up.

TOPPING

1 cup splenda brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

DIRECTIONS

Combine topping ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a full boil and boil for 3 minutes. Pour over cake right out of the oven.

Submitted by Angie Stewart

A little boy was waiting for his mother to come out of the grocery Store. As he waited, he was approached by a man who asked, “Son, can you tell me where the Post Office is?”

The little boy replied, “Sure! Just go straight down this street a couple of blocks and turn to your right.”

The man thanked the boy kindly and said, “I’m the new pastor in town. I’d like for you to come to church on Sunday. I’ll show you how to get to heaven.”

The little boy replied with a chuckle. “Awww, come on…You don’t even know the way to the Post Office.”

To navigate between reader’s forum posts, please search for the ## symbol by using your browser or word processor’s search or find function.

In response to Feature Writer Alena Roberts – The Financial Cost of Owning a Guide Dog, Damon says:

Gosh. I’m a guide dog owner in the UK and we don’t have any of this. The Guide Dogs organization pays for all food and all vets bills. If we had the same situation as you, I may have thought twice about taking on a dog. Harnesses, beds, runs, brushes, combs, jingly bells for their collar, these are all free as well. The UK has nearly 5000 guide dogs out there in service. I wonder how this compares to the US.

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In response to Feature Writer Alena Roberts – The Financial Cost of Owning a Guide Dog, Marie says:

I am so lucky that I live in the UK and guide dogs for the blind association cover all costs from the puppies’ birth until they leave this world. There is so much help if people cannot afford to pay for vet and food bills. There is absolutely no reason why UK residents should not consider guide dogs for financial reasons and it saddens me that the US and Canadian visually impaired population are finding that having such an invaluable mobility aid like a guide dog is costing them. I definitely appreciate Guide Dogs here in the UK, its support, aftercare and excellent services.

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In response to Feature Writer Lynn Tatum – Employment: The Interview, Ron Graham says:

Interviewing for a college disability service coordinator’s job, I was told that the job might require travel and asked if that posed any problem for me. It was obvious that I was blind, as I had my Seeing Eye dog lying at my feet, but I replied, “No, that wouldn’t be a problem for me. Might I use one of the college’s vehicles when I travel?” That really went over very well. We all enjoyed a chuckle, as I explained driving by Braille using those raised dots in the middle of the highway was being fully ADA compliant. I then told them that I would seriously use a driver at no cost to the college, who would drive me. The supervisor told me that he didn’t see a problem with this.

Yes, I got that job! Later on, my boss told me that it was my ability to take a potentially awkward question for him and make it a lighter one, then completely address it, that made him lean towards me in the interview. He said that ability to put others at ease was a great asset for this job.

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In response to Feature Writer John Christie – Exploring CareerConnect, Don Horn says:

I am a rehabilitation counselor and hardly a day goes by that I don’t use CareerConnect with my clients. And it just keeps getting better and better.

With that said, the primary role of CareerConnect is not to match blind people with employment, but rather to provide the tools and connections which will allow for career exploration, good job search strategies, effective interviewing, and success on the job.

I use the program in a variety of ways with my clients. For readers who are currently involved with vocational rehabilitation, you might want to consider using a CareerConnect mentor while writing your IPE (Individualized Plan for Employment) with your counselor. Because the mentor is actually performing the job for which you are training, he or she may make suggestions about things that should be in the plan which may not have occurred to either of you.

Don Horn

North Bellmore, NY

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In response to Op Ed with Bob Branco – Emailing Tips, Beth said,

Thanks, Bob, for your observations, I’ve been doing this for years and it’s great! If you do get an E-mail with names and addresses, instead of arrowing through them, you can hit “Control F” for “Find,” put in “Subj,” or “Subject,” if you prefer, hit “Enter” and you will land on the word “subject.” You may have to do this a few times before getting to the last instance of the word “subject.” This can be faster than arrowing through tons of names.

Beth

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In response to Contributor Blaine Deutscher – To Braille or not to Braille and Op Ed with Bob Branco – Has This Ever Happened To You?, Elaine Johnson says,

I learned to read and write Braille when I was six years old and in the first grade. I’m glad I learned Braille as a child because it helped me learn sentence structure, spelling and punctuation. Along with Braille, I learned how to use a tape recorder. This came in handy because none of my textbooks in college were in Braille.

I think blind children should be taught Braille as well as computer skills. If I had never read Braille with my fingers, I don’t think I’d be a very good speller.

It’s been a long time since I’ve run into anyone who was hesitant to use words like “look” or “see.” If this happens, I tell people that I use the same vocabulary they do and they don’t need to talk differently to me than anyone else.

Elaine Johnson, Columbus, Ohio

As part of a massive effort by the Department of Transportation to revamp the downtown walkways in Manhattan to favor pedestrians, they have altered the way that many are constructed.  While this has reduced fatalities and slowed traffic, it has unfortunately made the environment downright frightening for some visually impaired residents, effectively turning previously-recognizable walkways into obstacle courses.

With nearly 30,000 blind or visually impaired individuals residing in Manhattan, this is a problem.  For someone with sight, the new concrete barriers and signal patterns aren’t an issue.  But for the blind, they represent a fundamentally different way that pedestrian traffic flows.  Traditionally, intersections would meet at right angles and you could cross safely all the way to the other side of the road once you were signaled to do so.  Now, there are pedestrian refugee areas in the middle of the road and signals that only get people halfway across while they wait for the second signal for the rest of the way.  According to some, this has been done without any previous announcement.  Some even found themselves in situations where they thought they had crossed the street, but hadn’t yet.  In some cases, they’ve also neglected to include demarcations on the pavement (sometimes in the form of hard plastic or rubber bumps) to let someone know where the sidewalk ends and traffic flow begins.  For the blind living in Manhattan, these alterations have made some areas impassable without the help of a sighted guide.

One quick fix is to install APS units, or Accessible Pedestrian Signal units, which give an audible or vibration alert when it’s safe to cross the street.  So far, only 15 of these necessary units have been installed, but further legislation will almost assuredly add more.

Unfortunately, more problems persist.  While the APS units greatly improve the ability to safely cross the road, they’re only useful if placed in key areas where they are needed most.  As you can imagine, this hasn’t happened all the time.  Without consulting blindness advocacy organizations, these units have ended up in places that were already easy to cross, even after the changes, while other areas that desperately need them have been left out.  In some cases, there is only one APS unit to guide someone to the pedestrian refugee area in the middle of the road, but not a second one to get them all the way across.

The DOT has recognized that this is an issue that demands their attention, though, and they are now consulting with multiple organizations to help make the streets of New York safe for everyone once again.

Source:  http://www.dnainfo.com/20101108/manhattan/new-pedestrian-plazas-nightmare-for-blind

“If you don’t watch, we’ll kick you in the butt.”  Those are the words of warning from 30 year old Ryan Van Praet, who will be competing in an Ironman triathlon this Saturday in Clearwater, Florida, where he’ll be trying for a world title as a visually impaired triathlete.

One of only a few paratriathletes during the event, Ryan doesn’t want anyone to think of him any differently than the other competitors.  In fact, he’s challenging anyone who dares to think otherwise.  “We all have the same physical battle, he said.  “And as far as training, we can do it just like anyone else.  And we’re out to beat you.”

Praet wasn’t always a paratriathlete, but the degenerative disease retinitis pigmentosa has left him with only eight percent usable vision.  He competed solo in six Ironman competitions, starting back in 2000, but he had to make the switch to a paratriathlete last year.  Now, he uses various guides to get him through the course.  While swimming and running, he is tethered to a partner, and while biking he uses a tandem bike.  Last year, in an Ironman competition in Lake Placid, he and his partner placed second.

Praet stresses that their goal is to always perform at or above the level of the able-bodied athletes they compete against.

Praet is an athlete at heart and when his vision deteriorated, he lost the ability to participate in many of the sports that he loved.  Triathlon helped fill that gap and fulfill his need to be an athlete; to challenge himself and push himself to succeed.  As a goal-oriented and driven person, triathlon is his haven, and no matter what designation he must give himself–paratriathlete or otherwise–he’s there to compete, he’s there to win, and he’ll work as hard as anyone else out there to accomplish that.

Good luck, Ryan.

Source:  http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/local/article/686953–don-t-feel-sorry-for-us-warns-visually-impaired-ironman-athlete

I am totally amazed at the faith that some people have in chain emails.  Who originated them, and why?  This morning I received a forwarded letter which asked me to read it in its entirety and pass it along to 5 other people.  If I did this, my true love will come forward at the stroke of midnight, and that something great will happen to me between 1:00 and 4:00 tomorrow afternoon.  For the sake of the person who forwarded this, I was nearly tempted to do what it asked me to do, just so I could find out who my true love is.  You’re probably laughing, but it’s obvious that many people believe in this chain mail philosophy, otherwise we wouldn’t be getting it in our inboxes. 

There is no doubt in my mind that chain mail originates from people who are trying to collect email addresses for their own benefit. I also believe that some of us are tempted by chain mail because we want to believe that there is a power which is ready to grant us our rewards if we do what the letter asks us to.  I’m not saying we all feel that way, but I’ve spoken to some people who appear quite brainwashed by this concept and are scared if they delete the chain letter.

Well, I deleted my chain letter this morning, so I guess it’s gloom and doom for old Mr. Branco today and tomorrow, eh?  I’ll never know who my true love was.  Maybe she should send me a nice forward.

What are your comments?

Ray Charles Robinson–better known as Ray Charles–left a legacy of achievement, despite adversity and success over seemingly insurmountable odds.

During his 73 years, Ray left his mark as a musician by being an arranger, an artist, a vocalist recognized by Rolling Stone Magazine, a clarinetist, composer, a nationally and internationally acclaimed celebrity, Grammy Award winner, inventor of soul music, premiere musician at the Saint Augustine, Florida School for the deaf and blind from 1937 to 1945, pianist, saxophonist and singer with perfect pitch.

Charles was also a philanthropist, as evidenced by his participation in the 1990’s touching tribute, “USA for Africa,” a $2 million gift in 2000 to Wilberforce University in Ohio to fund music scholarships, a $1 million donation to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and a performance in 2002 that benefitted Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Caring Foundation for Children.

Regarding Ray’s recognition by Rolling Stone Magazine, he was ranked number 10 in 2004 of the 100 best artists of all time, and in 2008, Charles was posthumously given the honor of being declared the second best singer of all time.

When it came to Grammy Award winnings, “Brother Ray” was the winner of more than a dozen Grammys, starting in 1961 when Charles received the first of six awards for best male vocalist (1961-1966).

Additional accolades include Ray’s performance at Ronald Reagan’s second presidential inauguration in 1985, another presidential inaugural performance in 1993 for Bill Clinton’s first term, numerous performances of “America the Beautiful” and “Georgia on My Mind,” and being the headliner in 2003 at a Washington, DC banquet in honor of electronic media journalists.

As someone who has used a cane and a guide dog, this writer is in awe of Ray’s extensive travels with neither a guide nor a cane.  Charles traveled independently not only throughout the United States but also toured South Africa, attended a Blues Passion Cognac Festival in Southern France, and performed at a sold-out concert in Caracas, Venezuela.

Charles’ musical achievements and lifetime of accomplishments were noted by Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes and Frank Sinatra, the latter having said that Ray Charles was the only “true genius in the business.”  Bradley described Ray’s unique rendition of “America the Beautiful” as “definitive” and “the only true version.”

A final acknowledgement of Ray’s genius and gusto was the 2004 dedication of his Los Angeles, California music studio as a historic landmark.

Wonderful though such recognition is, perhaps Ray Charles himself put it best in a 1989 interview with Downbeat Magazine when he said to interviewer Jeff Levinson, “Music is my breathing. That’s my apparatus. I’ve been doing it for 40 years. And I’m going to do it until God himself says, ‘Brother Ray, you’ve been a nice horse, but now I’m going to put you out to pasture.’”

Though Ray now rests in a pasture of perpetual peace, his legacy will live forever, from Florida to France, from Washington State to Washington, DC and throughout the world in the hearts of those who will never forget “the only true genius,” and a genius who just happened to be blind.