A Blessing In Disguise, By Teri

Where the Lord has taken away in one area he has over compensated in another. One of the greatest blessings Tom and I have been given (besides each other) is 5 exceptional children. They have had the opportunity to spend more time with their Father than most children do in two life times because of lack of gainful employment (30% of blind adults are employed, as it is often very difficult to compete). As a result of our family’s life experiences, they have gained character, compassion, independence, knowledge, strength, faith, and so on. Another great blessing is Tom has his college education paid for, and the technology he needs to be successful through his degree program. The kids say one advantage is that “Dad can part the Red Sea ” in a crowd of people with his cane. Let me not forget the handicapped parking sticker during the holidays (although it will not be abused). Tom has never opted to have one, but I am asking him to apply in the near future. He will occasionally go into the store alone and get something and if I am parked up front, it’s easier for both of us. The good certainly out weighs the bad, and maybe it’s not bad but just a blessing in disguise.

Why Braille?

Technology can overcome many of the challenges that blind people face. You have already seen how my cell phone can read documents to me by combining speech and OCR software with the built-in camera. (Blindness & Technology: KNFB Reader ) I use a screen-reading program called JAWS, Job Access With Speech, that enables me to read much faster that a sighted person. So if technology can do all this for me, why should I bother learning Braille? The answer is literacy. If a blind person uses audio only, they will become functionally illiterate. Without Braille a person is less likely to learn how to spell or master usage and syntax. Only 30% of all working –aged blind persons are employed. Of those who are working, 85% are literate in Braille.

The Cheeseburger

I love cheeseburgers! I especially enjoy them when they are grilled outside and I don’t have to pay for them. So when I was invited to bring my family to a cookout sponsored by my school’s disability support group, I happily accepted the invitation. After all, who would turn down an opportunity to enjoy feeding your family for free? Soon after arriving at the park, the person who was assigned the task of cooking the burgers began his work. My anticipation grew when I discovered the cook had formerly owned a catering company. These were going to be good burgers! The aroma tantalized my olfactory senses as Teri and I mingled and visited with others. Finally, they were done. Teri graciously prepared a plate for me and brought it to where I was sitting. I carefully placed the burger together and took a bite and suddenly stopped. The burger tasted odd, it tasted sweet. I thought that perhaps the cook put some brown sugar on the meat and took another bite. It was nasty. In addition to being sweet and had a funny texture. I removed the top bun off and asked Teri if she could see anything wrong. There was something wrong, it had a chocolate chip cookie inside it! Apparently , in my haste to devour my delicacy, I assembled the burger with the cookie Teri put on my plate.