National Federation of the Blind

Nebraska Affiliate

NEWS

FROM

BLIND

NEBRASKANS

1998 -- Issue 3

"NEWS FROM BLIND NEBRASKANS" is published on tape and in print by the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska. The NFB of Nebraska is an affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind. Since 1940, the NFB has been leading the way toward security, equality, and opportunity for all blind people. We are the organized blind changing what it means to be blind in Nebraska.

Cheryl Livingston (402) 488-2509
e-mail to ckitty@inebraska.com

To be added to our mailing list, contact Hubert for the print version, or Cheryl for the tape version.

A donation of $5.00 annually is requested to defray the cost of the NFBN Newsletter. Make checks payable to NFBN, and send to Cheryl Livingston, NFBN Treasurer, 1026 South 35th, Lincoln, Nebr 68510.

The board of the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska consists of:

President - Mike Floyd
1st Vice President - Della Johnston
2nd Vice President - Dorothy Westin-Yockey
Secretary - Robert Newman
Treasurer - Cheryl Livingston
Board Member - Ardyce Earl
Board Member - Nancy Oltman
Board Member - Ryan Osentowski
Board Member - Evelyn Haines

Chapters and divisions within the Nebraska Affiliate are:

Adams County Chapter-
Contact Nancy Oltman at (402) 463-2018

Grand Island Chapter-
Contact Ardyce Earl at (308) 382-1673

Kearney Chapter-
Contact Jerry Schram at (308) 236-8268

Lincoln Chapter-
Contact Nancy Coffman at (402) 488-8610

Northeast Chapter-
Contact Clarence Widhelm at (402) 379-0185

Omaha Chapter-
Contact Larry Lee at (402) 556-6959

Panhandle Chapter-
Contact Howard Backus at (308) 632-2506

Parents of Blind Children Division-
Contact Carol Strunk

Student Division-
Contact Ryan Osentowski at (402) 476-1755

From the Editors
Greetings Nebraska Federationists, by President Michael Floyd
Convention Technology with a Real Touch: the National Convention of the National
Federation of the Blind, By Nancy Coffman
Reflections on State Convention 1997, by Cheryl Livingston
Blindness and "Beauty and the Beast", By Lauren Eckery Merryfield
Meet a Fellow Federationist
Braille Pen pals, by Bob Deaton
Chapter Reports
News Favoring Brief Notes

Return to: State Page | Blind Nebraskan

From the Editors

We got the figures for the banquets at State Convention wrong. The cost of the evening banquet will actually be $15.00, and the luncheons will be $8.50 each. Lodging is $51.00 / night,

Note that our editor, Evelyn Haines now has a new e-mail address. It is hainesem@aol.com. Hubert Paulson has changed the address to which you can send him material for the newsletter. It is hubertp@binary.net.

Due to some of the time constraints involved in putting this newsletter together, it is possible that the newsletter may become a three-times a year publication, rather than a four-times a year. This is something that is to be presented at an upcoming board meeting.

And, lastly, as a favor to your editors, please put a blank line between each paragraph of your submissions, and after the last paragraph. Sometimes, as articles get converted back-and-forth, your formatting for paragraphs gets lost.

Chapter presidents: If you have any special events coming up that you think might be of interest to others in the affiliate, please let us know so that we can include them in the newsletter. Thanks.

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From our President

by State President Michael Floyd

Greetings Nebraska Federationists:

In case you haven't heard yet, get ready for some real news! Our 1998 State Convention this year will be held jointly with our sister affiliate from Iowa. That's right, joint activities and festivities will take place on Friday October 9 and Saturday October 10. Our business session on Sunday October 11, will be held separately, as usual.

Our National Representative this year will be Ms. Joanne Wilson of Louisiana. If you have never had the opportunity of meeting her before, you are in for a special treat. Not only is she on our National Board and State President from our Louisiana Affiliate, but she is also the Director of the Louisiana Center for the Blind, an NFB run orientation facility.

The usual high spirits, door prizes, fellowship, exchange, information, education, entertainment and general good times of an NFBN Convention will of course be present. Will you? Hospitality, dining, guest speakers, consumer panels, auctions and perhaps a side of gambling on a river boat will all make for an especially fine experience. Will you experience it?

This year, to accommodate the special joint nature of our Convention, a few minor adjustments to the schedule have been made. In order to streamline certain necessary activities that are only of interest to our Affiliate, some changes have been made.

First of all, the State Board Meeting that normally occurs on Friday evening, will take place on Saturday morning at 7:00, right before the first regular session of the Convention. It will be a breakfast meeting, held in the hotel restaurant.

Next, Resolutions Committee will still happen on Friday evening, at 8:30 p.m., however, time for Resolutions Committee will be shortened. In order to do so, all resolutions must be received by the Chairperson of the Resolutions Committee, in final draft form (in Braille and print), no later than Friday September 25, 1998. Fatos Floyd will serve as the Resolutions Chairperson. Forward all resolutions to her at: Fatos Floyd, 868 South 44th Street, Lincoln NE 68510-4705.

Nominating Committee will also be held Friday evening. Nancy Oltman is the Chairperson of that committee, this year, and she will contact representatives to the committee from the various chapters and divisions to notify them of time and location. Each chapter and division should contact Nancy to let her know who its rep is. Her phone number is 402-463-2018. Please give her as much notice as possible.

Registration will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening, as will hospitality. A NABS sponsored Karaoke special will take place on Friday evening as well, so bring your voices all you hams.

Remember that election of officers takes place this year, so it is important that you plan to attend. Elections will be held as usual at the Sunday morning session. Your vote counts, so use it.

Please remember how important and fun door prizes are at convention. One or two from each of us would make a big difference and it isn't hard. Door prizes should be forwarded to Chairperson Shelley Johns at 3805 South 54th Street, Lincoln NE 68506 or her co-chair, Evelyn Haines at 417 South 46th Street, Lincoln NE 68510.

If you haven't made your reservations yet, contact the Marina Inn right away. Rates are $51 per night. Call the Marina Inn directly at 402-494-4000. In case hotel staff is unclear, the NFBN Convention is being held on October 9, 10 and 11, 1998.

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TECHNOLOGY WITH A REAL TOUCH: THE NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

By Nancy Coffman

There is much time dedicated to the advancement of technology throughout the year in the National Federation of the Blind. We try new programs and hardware products that are produced to help us be more productive, lead more fulfilling lives and have more opportunities to engage in the activities of our comrades. Some of this technology never really makes it into the hands of blind people. The hope always will be that the good things will become accessible for us all. Much of this technology is demonstrated and evaluated at the NFB's national convention.

In evaluating technology during the convention, I always consider several things to decide whether it is worth having. Some of it, in my opinion, is not worth pursuing. Some of it, although it is not ready for prime time, has potential. I have been known to express willingness to experiment with trial versions of some products so that I can make a more educated decision about whether it is worth referring my friends and clients to the vendor of this equipment. As always, this year was no exception. There was a mixture of technology with a great range of variety and quality.

One of the things that was not back from last year was a small hand-held scanning device that connected to a box that could be carried over the shoulder or kept on a desk. The scanner looked for bar coding on products. In your own or a reader's voice, you put in a message about what the item was. Although I thought this device might have some potential for non-braille readers, it was rather bulky in my opinion and needed to come down more than 50% in price. Those kinds of appliances sometimes need to become smaller and less costly. Some of them fade away never to be seen again.

This year, some of the novel products were quite different than anything we have seen before. One that I think has promise is a mouse-like object with spaces on it for 3 fingers. In each space, there were pins. Where there was color, there would be pins of varying intensity depending on the intensity of the color. Where there was no color, there were no pins. Print letters could be felt as either print or Braille. This all sounds quite complicated. Maybe it is, but within a few minutes, I was able to distinguish a curved line, a circle, the corner of a square and the letters in a print message. Of course, I was also able to read the Braille when it was turned on. I had spent a little time watching a boy play a video game with the device. The game may have been an add-on, specially made to work with the device, but it was fun to watch a blind child get a crack at playing a video game. The device reminded me some of an opticon. It costs too much and the device is quite large for small hands but it does seem to me that there is potential. Many good things come in smaller packages after the first ones are created for demonstration purposes.

The Virtual Mouse was another product demonstrated at the convention. Blazie Engineering was showing a prototype to decide if they should pursue it. I hope they don't. In the time I was able to spend there, I became nothing but frustrated as moving the mouse was causing things to happen that I didn't expect or want. This device was supposed to make it possible for a blind person to "move the mouse" and know what was happening. The mouse was connected to a box which was quite large. This would not fit in a laptop case.

One of the big highlights for me was the touchable, speaking voting machine. It actually seemed like after a few minutes, I would be able to figure this device out and vote without reader assistance. As you worked your way around the screen with a fingertip, the machine spoke the contents of the box you were on. A menu guided you through the things to vote on. At each menu choice, you would go into a "submenu" and choose the people or options you wanted. Some of these have already been sold. I look forward to having some in Nebraska. One of the reasons I think this is a possibility is that voting systems are becoming out-dated and are too slow to count all of the ballots in a timely fashion. This computerized system would do the counting and save much staff time. It is a system that could be used by all. Speech would be a minor addition for the blind.

Our usual friends were there this year. Blazie Engineering brought an update that gives the user of their products real power. The Braille 'n Speak, Type 'n Speak, and Braille Lite now allow you to use wild cards to find a file, make file names without having to specify print or Braille, know that your files will be started as small as possible and automatically expanded as needed and place dates in your calendar from anywhere. Those of us who have updated machines are enjoying this update.

Several speech vendors demonstrated enhanced features for using the Internet. The latest version of JAWS for Windows will format web pages to reduce confusion caused by columns. It will also give you a list box of the links on a page. Arctic also works very well for web browsing. Slimware Window Bridge and Window-Eyes stayed in the running with their products. Many of these programs allow for the use of Braille displays and software speech synthesizers that speak using your sound card rather than an additional piece of hardware. All of the vendors got feedback from blind people, both good and bad.

Another area of technology worth exploring was the audio book technology. Within the next 10 years, we can look for that to convert to CD-ROM technology. It will be searchable much like a web page. We will be able to find pieces of text, paragraphs, pages, sentences, sections and chapters. Even spelling a word will be possible. Although special machines will be available for playing these disks, a standard computer will do.

A medium tech thing that was displayed was called the Parrot. This was like a memo-minder but it had features for permanent storage of phone numbers, appointments and other messages. I thought they were priced fairly affordably at $200. Another device was also available for a voice diary. It was in the same price range. Although they don't hold what a Braille 'n Speak does, they also don't cost like one.

National Braille Press continues to come out with books to suit all. They have large print, Braille, tape and floppy disk. If you have needs in any subject, they are worth a call because they have so much variety, and you won't need technology to read the print or Braille. There is nothing quite like "just reading".

Large print was also a part of the picture. Magic Magnification Program and Zoom text Extra had very busy booths. The Magnicam and other closed circuit television systems for enlarging print also had business enough to deal with.

Reading machines such as the Open Book and the Reading Advantage were popular stops for many of us. Reading technology has come a long way in the last few years. Kurzweil Educational Systems has a product currently that is quite efficient for blind people.

Watch next year to see what pre-convention seminars are offered. They can very from year to year and can even get you discounts on the equipment you want to be able to afford. This year Humanware demonstrated the Keynote Companion and gave each participant a $300 discount coupon for attending. You just never know what you might miss or what you might have learned at one of these seminars. Our own National Center for the Blind did 2 seminars during the day before convention.

Technology is a part of all of our lives. It is always worth a trip through the exhibit hall to see who is making what and what is new this year. Getting to know the people behind the technology helps us to shape what it will be in the future.

If you have technology questions or want to see what is currently being used in Nebraska, call Nancy Coffman at (402) 471-8117 or Dale Hayes at (402) 471-8109. If you are in the Omaha district of SVI, Jonathon Ross is available at (402) 595-2042.

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Reflections on State Convention 1997

by Cheryl Livingston

For the past few years, I have been writing the post-convention summary articles for News From Blind Nebraskans. This year will be a little different. Yes, this will still be the usual article in a sense, but this time I would like to report my own personal experiences in connection with the convention. The 1997 convention turned out to be a very special one for me as those of you who did not attend will see.

The convention began on Friday evening, October 10, at the Best Western Airport Inn in Lincoln. As I entered the hotel on that Friday night, convention attendees were already swarming in the lobby, registering for rooms and greeting old friends. As I greeted long-time friends John Klingman and Lonnie Merritt, I reflected on the many years I had spent a Friday night, sometimes in October, sometimes in May or December, standing in a hotel lobby feeling the excitement and anticipation of an NFBN annual convention. I also thought about how many people I have come to know and love in this affiliate over the years.

After my roommates and I registered for our room, my first order of business was to help with convention registration, which I have done as NFBN Treasurer for the past nine years. I was hoping that Nancy Oltman would have lots of good things to eat at hospitality, since I figured I would probably get no supper. As usual, she didn't let me down. After registration ended around 7:30, it was off to the NFBN Board meeting.

Four fine Scholarship finalists were introduced at the meeting. The Board also discussed resolutions that were to be brought before the convention. The Resolutions Committee met following the board meeting. Three resolutions were eventually brought before the convention, one of which passed.

While resolutions were being discussed and debated, hospitality was in full swing. I never miss out on hospitality or at least a part of it. Nancy had created her usual mouth-watering goodies. There were tiny tuna sandwiches, fresh vegetables, delicious cakes, ham sandwiches, popcorn and chips. I thought, "Supper at last!" Dave Hunt and Hardy Holm provided musical entertainment throughout the evening. During hospitality, Mike Hansen, Mr. Woodchuck himself, invited me to a woodchuck party the students were having. If you have never drunk a woodchuck--yes, these you can really drink!--you should try one. Denise and Marlin Roesler and I left hospitality for awhile to partake of these delicious refreshments. I usually never get to bed before 2 a.m. on convention nights and this night was no exception as I made the rounds between hospitality, the woodchuck party, and the hotel bar. (No, this is not really what you might think. I spent more time greeting friends and visiting than anything else).

On Saturday morning at 8 a.m. I was working at the registration table again, helping to get those last-minute registrations completed. A total of 80 people registered for this year's convention, the largest registration figure in a number of years. Western Nebraska made a good showing with several members from the Scottsbluff and North Platt area. At 8:30 NFBN President Mike Floyd called the convention to order. Nye Bond delivered the invocation followed by a welcome from City Councilman Jeff Fortenberry.

Next, Mike Floyd gave a report on affiliate activity for the past year. In his report, he stated that we are in a strong position to get our Commission bill passed. We have a solid program of awarding scholarships to worthy blind college students. However, discrimination is still very much with us. In Fremont, Ryan Strunk, a blind student in the Fremont Public Schools, was denied an opportunity to participate in the school Swing Choir, even though he was well-qualified to do so. Also in Fremont a woman was denied an apartment because she uses a guide dog.

The National report followed the NFBN State report. NFB Treasurer and Board member Allen Harris of Michigan reported on events during the past year at the national level. In our legislative efforts, we succeeded in stopping a measure that would have added a section to HR2206 that would have been detrimental to blind vendors. HR 2206 is a bill that provides funding for veteran's health care. Section 8 of that bill stated that vending sites in VA facilities would be exempt under the Randolph-Sheppard Act. It took the Federation one day to have that section removed. The amendment to the IDEA (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act) which states that any child who is blind will get Braille instruction unless all members of the IEP team vote against it is now law. This amendment will help to ensure that blind children learn the Braille skills they need to compete in school and society.

A site has been chosen for the 1999 NFB annual convention. The convention will be held in Atlanta, Georgia. Our International Braille and Technology Center is growing. Curtis Chong, President of the NFB in Computer Science, and Dr. Michael Gosse now work as part of the staff. Their combined experience and expertise will be a great asset to the IBTC. We are continuing negotiations with Disney on the Magoo issue. Federationists will remember the resolution passed at the 1997 National convention condemning and deploring the actions of Disney in resurrecting this cartoon character.

Next, Dr. James Nyman gave a report on Services for the Visually Impaired. The Commission bill has advanced to the floor of the Legislature. Catherine Alpaugh is the new assistant director at SVI. Among her duties will be developing employment opportunities for the blind. There will be improvements in the vending program as new vending sites are added at highway rest stops. It is not certain how many new sites will become available, possibly six. There is also a new vending facility in the works at the County-City building in Omaha.

The next speaker on the agenda was Senator Deb Suttle, who is a member of the Education Committee and the Human Services Committee in the Unicameral. Senator Suttle said that the Department of Education reimburses 86% of the excess amount used to educate blind children. The Department of Education seeks money from the Appropriations Committee in the Legislature for this purpose. She stated that she believed that children with low vision should be taught Braille, which brought a round of applause from the convention. Allen Harris, our National Representative, commented that the real issue of Braille literacy is not really money. The cost to educate blind children is the same whether Braille is taught or not. It makes sense, however, to make sure that all blind children learn Braille. After Senator Suttle's comments, David Oertli gave the library report. Among other things, Mr. Oertli said that the Magazine of the Month will continue, the Goosebumps series of books would be available, and the Library of Congress and NLS catalogs are available over the Internet. Following Mr. Oertli's presentation, the convention adjourned for lunch. The Parents Division and the Nebraska Association of Blind Students each held luncheons and business meetings, both of which were well attended.

The afternoon session opened with a panel discussion called "Cameos of Captivating Careers." The participants were Chad Bell, who owns and operates Chad Bell Trucking in Alliance; Jolene Boshart, the owner of J. B. Translations of Lincoln; Duane Krepel, who owns the stores Avant Card and the Mill in Lincoln; Todd Hartshorn of Hartshorn Movers, a family-owned business in Lincoln; and Dan Knuter, a carpenter in North Platte . Each panelist discussed the alternative techniques used in running their respective businesses. All of the participants stressed that a positive attitude, a belief in yourself, and good blindness skills are necessary in order to succeed as an entrepreneur. After a short break another panel gave presentations on Newsline for the Blind. Presenters were Allen Harris, National Representative, Dr. James Nyman, Director of Services of the Visually Impaired, and John Fullerton, Director of Radio Talking Book Service. Mr. Harris stated that Newsline is essential to make us knowledgeable and competitive. There are 35 local service centers around the country and 15 more ready to go online. Mr. Harris stressed that we must find ways to bring Newsline everywhere. Dr. Nyman stated that SVI has money available that could be used to help fund the Newsline project. Mr. Fullerton stated that RTB wants to improve service and has a need for more of the special radio receivers that are used. He is in favor of a dial-up service and has looked at several. The concern of the RTB board is being able to fund ongoing costs Allen Harris commented that a consolidated effort between NFBN, SVI, and RTB is what is needed to make Newsline happen. A dial-up service would be compatible with the type of service that RTB provides.

The third and last panel discussion titled, "Alternative Techniques and Technology", featured panelists Nancy Oltman, Barbara Walker, and Stacy Hayworth. Each member of the panel discussed some of the technology they use. Among the items mentioned were Braille books, light probes, a device that tells when a cup is full by playing music, and much more technologically advanced items such as the Braille N Speak and the Arkenstone print scanner. The point was made that we all have choices. We need to find the choice that works best for us.

Tom Stevens and Michael Floyd made the final presentations on Saturday afternoon. Tom Stevens discussed the Associates Program. He said that a good way to get an Associate was to invite someone to join the Federation. If we make a one on one public relations project out of it, we can be successful. Mike Floyd introduced Bill Acorn, a network marketer, to discuss a way that we could raise funds. Mr. Acorn is with STS Travel, a company that provides cards with several travel services listed on it. When someone books travel service with one of these suppliers, the organization would receive the referring agent's fee. The Saturday afternoon session adjourned at 5 p.m.

I was called upon to chair the Nominating Committee because Nancy Coffman, the chairperson initially chosen, was called away on a family emergency. After the business of the Nominating Committee was finished, I prepared to attend the NFBN convention banquet. Little did I realize that this banquet would most likely be the most memorable I would ever attend.

The banquet room began filling up fast around 6:30 and by 7 p.m. almost every seat at every table had been taken. I was sitting at my table between Lonnie Merritt and Barbara Walker. For some reason, I didn't feel very hungry, which is unusual for me. I looked around me and was pleased at the large number of people in attendance. I believe around 90 people attended the banquet, the largest number we have had in a very long time. The banquet got under way with an inspirational speech from Allen Harris. Convention spirits were high when it came time for awards. Della Johnston was the capable chairperson of the Awards Committee this year. Walk-a-thon awards were presented to the three people who had collected the most money in pledges. This year's winners were Michael Floyd, first place; JoLynn Hurley, second place; and Fatos Floyd, third place. The next award that was presented is the James D. Walker Memorial Award, named after a well-loved and highly respected former state president. This award is one that is not presented very often and then only to a person or group outside the organization that deserves special recognition. This year the James D. Walker Memorial Award was presented to the Lucent Pioneers in honor of the many volunteer hours they have spent assisting with the work of our organization. Unfortunately, a prior commitment prevented the Pioneers from attending the convention, so it was decided to present it to them at a later date.

The last award to be presented is also one that is not given very often. The award is named after the first president of the Nebraska affiliate, Richard Parker, and is awarded to a member of the affiliate that has made significant contributions and has worked above and beyond the call to promote the ideals of the Federation. Only six people have been presented with this award since its inception. They are Richard Parker, James Walker, Barbara Walker, Aloma Buoma, Mary Handley (Doty), and Hubert Paulson. The room became quiet as Della announced that this award was to be given again this year. Della began to talk about the way this person had served the affiliate, that this person had chaired committees, had served as chapter president, and had served as Treasurer for about 12 years. When she got to the part about the treasurer, I knew instantly who it was that was to join the ranks of this honored few. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was totally dumbfounded. In the many years I have been a member of this fine organization, I had thought how neat it would be to win something like this. I had always thought that the winner would have to do something really great, like get a law passed or be a state president. Tears filled my eyes as I came forward to accept the award. It was as if I was walking in a dream. I couldn't find words to express my deep gratitude to this organization for giving me the highest award that any member could receive. I was given a beautiful gold-plated walnut plaque in the shape of the state of Nebraska with the NFB logo and this inscription: Richard Parker Memorial Award presented to Cheryl Livingston by the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska In recognition of your outstanding service, your cheerful commitment to making life better for the blind and your tireless work to accomplish the goals of the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska October 11, 1997

While the audience applauded and cheered, I walked back to my seat, holding my prize like delicate china and still somewhat in a daze. But I knew that I still had work to do. The auction was coming up and I had to be prepared. Following the awards presentations was the annual presentation of an entertaining skit by our Student Division. Titled, "The Blind People's Court" , the skit took a hilarious look at irresponsible guide dog owners and students lacking good judgment in choosing readers.

The last event before the auction was the much-anticipated awarding of the $1000 NFBN Scholarship. This year our winner is Kim Josoff of Fremont. Kim attends Midland Lutheran College and is a single parent. Congratulations, Kim, for a job well done! The final event of the evening was the auction to raise money for the Washington Seminar. Robert Newman and Ryan Osentowski were our entertaining auctioneers for the evening. The most coveted auction item was a pistachio cake donated by Nancy Oltman. Dorothy Westin-Yockey and I bid heavily on this item, but, alas!, Dorothy took the cake for $80. Later, however, after the auction was over, Dorothy and Fritz shared some of this delicious cake with me. When the auction was over and everyone had left the banquet room for parts unknown, I went to my room, packed my treasure carefully in my suitcase, and headed for the hotel bar to relax. Mike Floyd, Bob Simonson and I were discussing issues until the bar closed at 1 a.m.

Sunday morning was taken up with the secretary's report, the treasurer's report, and various committee and chapter reports. Elections were held for the four board positions. Elected were Evelyn Haines, Ardyce Earl, Nancy Oltman, and Ryan Osentowski. Congratulations to all those elected and re-elected! One resolution was passed by the convention this year. It concerns our working with the Department of Education and the Nebraska School for the Visually Handicapped to ensure a quality education for all blind children in Nebraska. The resolution will be printed in its entirety at the end of this report.

Our state convention will be held in South Sioux City next year in conjunction with the Iowa convention. This may be the first time that two state affiliates have ever held a joint convention. We are looking forward to this exciting, history-making event. The 1997 NFBN convention adjourned shortly after 12 noon. We packed up our door prizes, our memories, our energy, and our resolve to take back to our respective homes the message of what it truly means to be blind in Nebraska. For me, this 1997 convention will always be special as I continue to carry out the work of this great and wonderful organization, the National Federation of the Blind.

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BLINDNESS AND "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST"

By Lauren Eckery Merryfield

(Note: Several of us have partaken in a project steered by Federationist, Robert Newman, in which he has sent out blindness- related thought-provokers through email. The responses have been extremely interesting. The most recent thought-provoker on blindness and "Beauty and the Beast" really struck home and I saw my response as potentially helpful for others and decided to make an article from it.)

I have found human relationships in general to be of great interest to me and I am particularly concerned about relationships between blind and sighted persons, since our integration into society depends on improving such relationships. How we perceive ourselves and believe we are perceived by others has a great deal to do with the quality of relationships we find ourselves experiencing. Our self-concepts are formed at a very young age and whereas we can always improve on whatever we perceived as children, some early childhood experiences can be real bugaboos which take an entire lifetime to work toward working out.

I am telling my own experiences with the "Beauty and the Beast" scenario, not to place shame and blame, but to encourage others to confront their own issues which are yet unresolved. In whatever we have experienced that may have contributed to low self-esteem, there is always room for forgiveness, getting out of denial, apologies and other forms of healing. I am aware that the following level of self-disclosure could be greatly challenged due to a lack of understanding of my perspective, by some persons, but I have chosen to share anyway since the potential for healing on many levels for many persons could be encouraged by my comments. One of my main goals in life is to help toward consciousness-raising in relationship concerns and it is to that end that I share the following.

I was the first of two blind girls born to our family. My mother took the blindness quite well in the long run, but the world may have seen me as a Beast from the beginning. I was beauty in my mother's eyes until my own personality began to emerge separate from hers. Actually this happened before I was ever born, but was not all that evident as a problem to me until about fourth grade. By then I had been branded (both inside and outside my family) as the "family mistake" which put me in the Beast role. The second blind daughter received all the benefits of being a second blind child and became the family's good example or Beauty. Knowing that you've gone from Beauty to Beast in your mother's eyes is something I wouldn't wish on any child. I'll probably always be working on it.

I was seen as the Beast by most adults in my childhood and teenhood, however, I was very popular with my peers. I was congenial, attractive, (except for my eyes) and guys liked me. I was both Homecoming and May queen at school and usually won any elections to be had. I edited the school newspaper, was in a musical group, and the envy that was there especially among female friends did not show that much at the time. I was Beauty to most of my peers at the school for the blind and such achievements seemed to be a major blessing at the time. However, I had no idea at that time how far and hard I would fall out in the sighted world.

My parents figured I would marry and raise a family and they said it didn't matter to them if my spouse of choice was blind or sighted. Love was the answer. I met guys in college and they were always polite to me but nothing serious ever happened. All of a sudden I was seen as one to be respected academically but not a candidate for marriage since I was perceived as "defective." My sudden unpopularity was frightening and depressing.

However, a blind guy from school and I renewed our friendship after college and we were married. It seemed okay to the public for two blind people to be married. After all, on social occasions, if we were left out, we had company. He was much more outgoing than I and nearly forced people to include us. This worked quite successfully for some time. It appeared that I was perceived by many to be Beauty and he was Beast-as long as we were married. This, of course, was an inaccurate but a pervasive perception by many of our contacts.

We had a daughter who is sighted, very attractive and intelligent. She, at seventeen, is still working on having a heart. Now she was seen more as Beauty and he as Beast and me as Mother-Of-Beauty. The parent and child roles kept being switched by sighted persons around us and to this day my daughter seems a little confused though I have very articulately explained all along that she is the child and I am one of her parents.

The aspects of me as Beauty which were seen as Beauty before marriage were eventually seen by my husband as a threat. He was more comfortable being the noticed one-the independent and approvable one. I backed way off and experienced all kinds of illnesses and frustrations. My body turned, in the public's eyes, from Beauty-Except-For-The-Eyes to beast as I joined another group which is constantly discriminated against in our society, especially for a female, that of being above average in weight. When the incompatibility and health problems hit the fan a divorce ensued. I felt like an abandoned Beast, felt so much pain from social non-acceptance that I turned to my Creator in a new way.

Though I began to see the possibility of Beauty in me in the spiritual sense, still I vowed I would never marry again. I believed my mother when she said that no guy would look at me now since I was "used" and had no traits that a guy would be looking for. I couldn't hide behind my husband anymore so I became more noticed as Me. The world saw a totally different Me, a Beast for sure--blind, older, divorced, single parent, lower income, above average in weight, and assumed to be "welfare white trash" in the sense of not being trusted by those outside my own neighborhood. I feared that my daughter would be taken from me by some well-intended social worker with the belief that she was in an unfit home. Thankfully, this never happened but I knew it could at any time.

I had to remind store clerks that my credit was impeccable. If they could give a cash advance of fifty dollars to the sighted lady ahead of me, there was no reason to allow me only thirty dollars above my purchase--my money's as good as anyone else's. I was the same person with all the talents and skills as before except perhaps not quite as congenial as before. I still had my education (Masters level), had held several jobs, had written songs and articles, and I was raising my daughter alone with very little nurturing from the outside. I wondered how all this happened to the Homecoming or May queen. I realize now that this "fall from Beauty to Beast" happens often.

After the divorce, I was perceived more as Beast to guys than I had been previously since they tended not to get close enough to me to find out that I was an okay person. I was not totally devastated by this change since my relationship with my Creator took on such beauty that imperfect men paled in comparison. What I was finally beginning to learn was that our Creator made both Beauty and Beast and everything in between and we all have Beauty and Beast aspects in our nature. This is as it is meant to be. I was reminded by someone who never dumped his positive regard for me, that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and if I beheld it in myself that this would come shining through for those who were willing to see it. Indeed this has happened on several wonderful occasions, when someone will see that tangible beauty and overlook physical appearances.

One such person is now my husband. His physical appearance and health are not perfect either, so we didn't have the perfection game to play. His sightedness and my blindness are not particularly important in our relationship. Though we certainly continue to experience nearly insurmountable worldly challenges, we can be bolstered by our love. Most of the time, we are able to see the essence of who we really are in and through each other. Our love has grown quietly and sincerely. This is a blessing from our Creator which neither of us had expected.

I think that we had both decided that though we knew we contained aspects of both Beauty and Beast, the world saw us more as Beast than Beauty, but who cares? We know how our Creator regards us and that is really all that matters. I still feel sad sometimes about the social rejection and/or downright indifference with which the world sometimes regards me, but then I am reminded that humans tend to accept less the tornado than the calm summer breeze; less the flood than the waterfall; less the sun which could incinerate our entire planet if it were just a little closer, than the warmth and light of the sun which promotes and encourages life. Our Creator made them all--Beauty and the Beast in all of us and in all things. This is what matters.

As an aside, I have noticed that in our society, there are the blind marrying the blind, and one of each marrying the other. It appears more often than not that sighted women often marry blind men believing that they will have someone to "take care of." Codependent sighted women flock to some blind men. I have also observed that more often than not, domineering sighted males tend to marry blind females, presuming they have an easy conquest. I have often seen it happen that when the blind person begins to assert his or her independence, that quite often such marriages end. I have also observed that often, when a sighted couple finds one to be going blind, that the marriage will end before adjustment to blindness can occur. Sometimes I think, "If they would just wait!" I have seen, more lately, that more couples are getting help with their relationships and in these cases, I see a healthy blend of both persons into a team in which it really doesn't matter if one is blind and one is sighted. The National Federation of the Blind, of course, is the forefront of this positive direction. It will sure be a fine thing when the day comes when it won't matter to anyone whether we can see or not, since we can perceive each other as okay as who we are. I do not know if this will ever actually happen but I know it could happen if our desire for it, in a universal sense, is strong enough.

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Meet a Fellow Federationist

(Carlos Servan recently started working for Services for the Visually Impaired as an assistant director. He is also a committed Federationist. Here is what he says about himself:)

I became blind in 1986 as a result of a grenade explosion. I arrived in the United States in 1989 for eye surgery. After knowing that I would not be able to see again, I sought blindness training. I started my blindness training at the New Mexico Orientation Center in July, 1990. Between January and June of 1990 I received extensive English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. In May of 1993 I gained my bachelor's degree in political science, in December of 1995 a Master's degree in Public Administration, and in May of 1997 a Juris Doctor degree. While attending school I was a recipient of the NFB of New Mexico scholarship. I became President of the NFB-New Mexico Student Division. In 1992 I was the recipient of the top NFB scholarship. I was vice-president of the NFB Student Division in 1995-1996 and President in 1996-1997. I served on the NFB Scholarship Committee in 1998. From 1992-1998 I was the chairman of the Fundraising Committee of the New Mexico affiliate. I served on the board of the Albuquerque chapter from 1995-1997 and on the Board of the NFB of NM from 1996-1998. From 1995-1998 I have been one of the top 5 Associates recruiters. From 1992-1998 I was coordinator of the Transitional Program of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind.

(Editor's Note: It sounds like we can expect many great things from Carlos in the months ahead. We are glad to have Carlos as a member of the NFB of Nebraska.)

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Braille Pen Pals

by Bob Deaton, NRSVI

Do you know Braille and want to correspond with someone else in Braille? Services for the Visually Impaired will assist members of the Visually Impaired Peer Support to connect with members of the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska in a Braille pen pal program. If you are interested in participating, you should communicate your interest to;

Bob Deaton
Assistant Director of Independent Living Services
Nebraska Rehabilitation Services for the Visually Impaired
4600 Valley Road, Suite 100
Lincoln, NE 68510
Phone: (402) 471-8105

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Chapter Reports

Grand Island Chapter Report

May Report

The Grand Island Chapter met at the Rainbow Terrace on May 2. Seven members and one guest, Nancy Oltman, were present. We received public service announcements from the National Office. Ardyce Earl will take them to KRGI. The Walk for Independence was discussed. Nancy will be going to the walk. Governor Nelson vetoed the Commission for the Blind bill. National Convention will be in Dallas from July 4-11. A bus has been charted to go. There was discussion on changing the location of our meetings. Our state president feels we might have new members if our meetings were not held in a senior housing place. The board and members are not really wanting to move. We decided to keep our meetings where we are. Doris Butler was absent on May 2 because she attended her daughter, Becky Butler's graduation from Central Community College in Grand Island. She received a Business Administration degree along with an accounting certificate. Our next meeting will be June 6 with a pot luck dinner. Bill Oltman joined us for lunch. Fresh fruit and crackers were served. Ardyce Earl wrote the meeting report.

Thinking may get you to the foot of the mountain, but faith will get you to the top.

My great-grandfather came to the United States seeking freedom, but it did not work. My great-grandma came over on the next boat.

June Meeting

The Grand Island chapter met at the Rainbow Terrace on June 6 for a pot luck dinner. We brought salads, relish dishes, and casseroles. We were stuffed when we were done eating. We had a short meeting. Eight people were there. We talked about more people getting involved in our chapter, but so far no one else has come to the meetings. 40 people walked in the Walk-a-thon, which is for scholarships for blind students. We listened to the Presidential release and the meeting was adjourned. There will be no July meeting. Our next meeting will be August 1.

And now some submissions for your pleasure.

But Didn't
Kathryn Thorne Bowsker

Do you ever think at close of day
Of kindly words you meant to say,
But didn't?-Do you ever think
when day is done, of errands kind
you should have done, but didn't?
Do you ever think at daytime's leave
of flowers gay you meant to give, but
didn't? Do you think when skies are red,
of hungry mouths you could have fed,
but didn't? Do you ever think at dawn
of night, of letters kind you want to write,
but didn't? Friend, do you think at life's set of sun
You'll think of deeds you could have done-
But didn't?

Life is an echo. What you send out---
You get back. What you give---you get.
The darkest hour is only 60 minutes.

Help Me
Vera Reall Parker

Help me to find someone today
Who needs what I have to share-
A kindly word, a thoughtful deed,
A bit of loving care.
Help me to take the time to be
An understanding friend
On which they can depend.
Help me to love as Jesus loves-
That same unselfish way.
Help me to be like Jesus
In all that I do and say.

The most wasted days of your life
are those you did not laugh.
Each failure may serve as a rung in the ladder of success.

Edward A. Gloeggler

LINCOLN CHAPTER

The Lincoln Chapter has not been too busy over the summer, but now that fall is here we hope to accomplish many things. In May many members participated in the annual Walk for Independence. In June there was a box lunch auction held at Nancy and Dan Coffman's along with the June chapter meeting. In July we held the annual BBQ at the home of Evelyn Haines. Thanks are extended to Teresa Miller for her help at this event. The BBQ was a success with many Lincoln Chapter members, members of the state board and members of the Omaha Chapter in attendance. On August 8th Shelley Bruns was married and has moved to South Carolina. Good luck in your new home, Shelley! The August chapter meeting was held on 8-22- 98 with the Goldenrods VIPS (Visually Impaired Support Group) as our special guests. Members and guests enjoyed a lunch of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, baked beans, and dessert. The chapter conducted our business meeting and concluded with an invitation to VIPS members to join the NFB and to assist us in our struggle to pass our bill to make SVI a separate agency.

Omaha Chapter Report

By Laurie Merryfield

Our Omaha chapter is doing well and still on the grow. Those joining us in the past few meetings are: Roy Hobley, Bruce Peterson, Bob Burns, Rhonda Sampley, Mary Matthews, and our youngest member, ten-year-old Ronnie Kellogg. This is exciting!

We were pleased to host the annual Walk for Independence held in May here in Omaha. Welcome back next year!

We have our hearts and minds set on taking part in the parade at River City Roundup again this year in September. Come and join us!

Plans are still in the works.

Two unique projects in the works are related to technology and song-writing. We are working on a way to make our meetings and other information available to rural blind persons who cannot come in to Omaha to attend our meetings. This is in progress. Patty Svendsen is working toward a song-writing contest as a fund-raiser. Come join us in this effort. The prize will be a one-hour recording session with Rainbow Records. Applications are in progress. We are, of course, already working toward our 1998 annual White Cane banquet. This will be held on November 14Th with the theme: The Various Uses of Braille. Anyone with a unique use of Braille in your daily life contact Robert Newman, program chairperson.

Robert Newman, our chapter first vice-president, has begun a really neat way for those with email to communicate with each other. He has presented several blindness-related thought-provokers for our responses. These have all been very interesting, informative and give us a sense of togetherness. We can't wait to get our newest update! We've had: blindness and sharks, blindness and employment, blindness and hot-rods, blindness and pine needles and the latest, blindness and "Beauty and the beast."

(Editor's note: Mr. Newman can be contacted at newmanrl@worldnet.att.net if you are not already on his distribution list for these discussions.)

Our chapter contributed to both the White Cane Fund and the Jacobus Tenbroek fund for 1998. Hope all the other chapters are doing so since our work depends to some extent on our organization's funding. We also do the PAC plan each month.

We truly enjoyed attending the state board meeting in July and the Lincoln chapter barbecue afterwards. Hope we can do more functions together!

We have some bragging to do: Patty Svendsen made the Dean's list at Metro Community College in her pursuit of a computer-related degree. Both Dan Strube and Ray Foret have recently been promoted to Customer Service Representatives at the Marriott World-Wide Reservation Center. At the time this secretary was working at Marriott, blind persons were not being promoted. I am so excited that more equal opportunity is to be had at this company which has very faithfully been employing blind reservations persons since 1990. Congratulations to the employees and their company!

That's all for this time. See you at state convention, if not sooner!

PARENTS DIVISION

The Nebraska Parents of Blind Children met on August 15th. It was decided that five technology grants would be given at convention this year. The recipients would be eligible for grants up to $500. Elections were held. The new President is Carole Strunk of Fremont. Vice President is Gail Larsen, Secretary/treasurer is Kim Becker, and Board members are Tom Becker, Mike Adams, and Della Johnston. The NPBC is planning to work with the student division on a mentoring program for blind children and youth. Amy Clark will chair the committee to help set up the program.

Student Division

It has been quite a busy time of late for the student division. Our NAB-A-Husker raffle has been doing better than expected. Most Thursdays you can find a group of us out pounding the pavement, going door to door and convincing people that they really do want raffle tickets. According to our treasurer, Mike Hansen, we have over $800 in our treasury now.

This is wonderful news for us as we've never had so much in our account before. The bad news is...I must now shave my head bald because we reached our first goal. If anyone knows where I can get a wig cheap, please let me know.

Recently, we participated in the annual program, Round Tuit, sponsored by SVI. The student division cosponsored the first day and it was a smashing success. The true high-light of the day was Mr. Allen Harris, who came from Michigan to speak. I remembered him from last year's state convention as a very motivational and inspirational speaker and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Our student division had a real chance to shine as well. We once again presented our skit, The Blind People's Court. We also presented an interactive trivia game, titled The Game With No Name and we did some role play scenarios and discussed the outcomes with the audience. Our mission was to keep the audience awake and involved as much as possible. We then adjourned to Neighbor's Park for our picnic, where Nancy Coffman joined me as a target for lots of flying water balloons. We had a great turn-out and the only thing that went wrong was that we had too much food to take home.

I'd like to send a warm thank-you to Amy Rut, Amy Clark, Mike Hansen, Della Johnston and Mike Floyd for all their help with our student division day. I'd also like to send a very special thanks out to my pal, Shane Buresh, who put up with me for two days while we planned out the details for our seminar and hammered out the trivia questions. I couldn't have done it without ya, good buddy.

We have received a number of good comments on our seminar. However, word has reached me that some people were "turned off" by what they thought was too much NFB philosophy. This only demonstrates that we have a lot of work yet to do, educating people and making our voices heard. The most dangerous thing in the world is a closed mind.

Sincerely,
Ryan Osentowski - NABS President

"...And with the power of conviction, there is no sacrifice." Pat Benatar-

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News Favoring Brief Notes

An Update on Dr. Jernigan

As many of you know, Dr. Jernigan has been diagnosed with cancer. We have recently learned via e-mail that Dr. Jernigan now has widespread bone cancer. He has decided not to continue to seek alternative treatments for his cancer. He has said his goodbyes to the National Board of Directors and is at peace with himself and with God. Let us keep Dr. Jernigan and his family in our prayers in the weeks and months ahead.

New Address

Ryan Osentowski has moved. His new address is 663 South 19 Street, Apartment 11, Lincoln, NE 68510. His new phone number is 476-1755. For those people who are sending in NFBN Scholarship applications, please note the new address and send your scholarship materials to this address.

NFB on Jeopardy!

What is the most famous organization of the blind in the world? What organization has the most influence over the lives of blind people today? Why, the NFB, of course! The writers of Jeopardy believe it and we should never doubt it. To prove my point, a question on Jeopardy featured the NFB. The question was (this is not an exact quote): What movie did the National Federation of the Blind protest? We all know it-- Mr. Magoo, of course.

Call for articles

The staff will start putting the next issue together in November.

Therefore, we request that articles and reports be submitted to us by November 15th. All three of your newsletter staff now have full e-mail access, and Hubert has a scanner for printed/typed reports.

Reminder

Don't forget; to register for convention, call The Marina Inn at 402 494-4000

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