Hey! Careful With Those Arrows!

Love is many things, but its quite famous for being blind. That’s right, love is blind! It’s February, and you can be sure that this phrase will be repeated at least once before February 14th, but what does it mean exactly?

It certainly doesn’t mean that love has super-human hearing, or the ability to detect an individual’s heartbeat, as some blind super hero’s exhibit in the comics, or the ability to cut down an opponent by judging where they might stand based on their smell like the legend of the blind swordsman.

If you Google a definition of the phrase, you come up with two basic meanings. The first interpretation is that when a person is in love, they are unaware of their surroundings. As an example: Romeo and Juliet followed some crazy schemes in order to be together. Anyone cold of foresaw their tragic end. Well, you know what they say, love is blind...

The Second meaning refers to a person’s inability to see the flaws in the person they are in love with, for example: I don’t understand what Juliet sees in that love sick hoodlum Romeo, he certainly isn’t very attractive. Well, I guess love is blind.

Whichever interpretation you use, one common theme is quite clear: love is like blindness, and the comparison isn’t very flattering to love or lovers.

As unflattering as the phrase is to lovers, we don’t often stop and think how unfair it is to use such a phrase when we refer to the blind. After all, blindness is just another way to express metaphors; darkness and light, knowledge and ignorance, these are simple figures of speech not to be taken seriously. And, blind people know this as well, don’t we?

These types of phrases are not uncommon. In the same way that love is blind, justice is blind as well. We turn blind eyes toward the truth, and we have been assured that in the land of the blind, the man with one eye is king.

After so many years of blindness being used as a metaphor for unawareness, is it fair to ask if this should still be a comparison we should be making? blind people can lead everyday lives, raise families, grow crops, fish, work, play, own their own business, contribute to their community, sports and academia, and on the other hand, deceive, steal, get in trouble with the law, in short, blind people and their abilities fall all over the human spectrum.

Ask yourself, when a person goes blind, when they start to lose their useful vision, do they start comparing themselves to the blind swordsman, do they start to think that they are now on their way to achieving super-human hearing, or do they begin to despair and start to see themselves like those poor lovers, helpless, unaware, and naive?

For every positive stereotype about blindness out there, there are about 10 negative ones going around. These are the stereotypes which the clients at the Nebraska center for the blind eventually have to face for themselves. Through the time they spend in training, and out of it, they have to question these perceptions of blindness which society holds. They must decide if blindness leads to superpowers, despair, or simply, managing one’s life in different ways.

While our clients are in training, they must learn to navigate their physical environment with non-visual skills, and at the same time navigate through society’s misperceptions and stereotypes about blindness. Sayings such as love is blind, might seem innocent in a conversation, but on St Valentine’s Day, or any other time in which we might say the expression, again, what are we really saying? What do we really mean by love, being blind?

By: Alex Castillo

When Santa Lost His Eyesight

By: Alex Castillo Most people know about Santa Claus. He’s the Jolly old fellow who along with a team of flying reindeer and tireless elves, work year round so that on one night out of every year, they can bring presents to children and adults all over the world. What many people are not aware of, is that one year, Santa began noticing that his vision was not what it used to be. Of course, he did not want to admit it to himself, but Driving that sleigh at night, and being up there in the sky with all of those airplanes zooming by, made him feel quite unsafe. It was no surprise when news started being gossiped about in the North Pole that Santa had gone blind, and that he was quitting the holidays. He became depressed, and without his work, he lost his sense of purpose in life. The man was a real sad mess. On one of those special Holiday nights, everything started going downhill and Just got worse and worse. The naughty and good lists were becoming a blur, and he handed out the wrong toys to more than 1 billion people. I know what you might be thinking at this moment, If Santa had gone blind, you would have surely heard about it. I’m not saying this is all true, but was there one year in which you received absolutely the most unlikely gift ever? Well, if the answer is yes, then this story might make a little sense. After getting home that night, Santa could do little more than lock himself up in his office at the toy factory, and no matter how hard anyone tried to cheer him up, he could do absolutely nothing for a very long time. This is the story I heard last year when I was visiting friends in Ruston, Louisiana. They say that one year after he had lost his vision; Santa came down there to receive training at their blindness center. “He could barely even see Rudolph’s nose,” they said, “He had lost about 75 pounds when he had first arrived, and wouldn’t even touch a cookie.” “he’d get real close to ya when he was talking,” they would all whisper, “Couldn’t tell north from south even if he was holding a compass: bless his heart.” And apparently the entire town knew about this phenomenon. So well-known was the story down there that a writer by the name of Jerry Whittle wrote a play about the whole ordeal, and everyone in town came to see the production. When I asked how come Santa didn’t choose Nebraska to come and train, after all, we have an awesome center right here, and it would seem the familiar choice with all the snow we get, howling winds, and freezing weather, the answer I received was: “well, Nebraska? With all that snow up there? He’d be recognized in a heartbeat if he stepped outside dressed in all red in his Husker gear. “They said: “Down here, he’s just another blind guy with a beard.” The more I thought about the story, about this blind and depressed Santa Claus, the more sense it made. Often when people start to lose their eyesight, they feel ashamed, and even worthless. People find themselves almost transforming from a productive and contributing member of their family, or community, to just sitting passively, watching life and everyone else pass them by. We often confuse the inability to do, with the inability to see. And all that it would take for us to get back into our routine, or even find a more exciting and challenging one is to simply understand that with some blindness training, many doors can open up with the promise of opportunity. Training centers do not create Santa Claus’s. But they can help Santa figure out how he can do his job as a respectable blind person non-visually. As I recall, the play ended with Santa making the decision to keep the toy factories open and to stay in the Job as Santa Claus, and arriving at the North Pole to continue his yearly duties, with some new blindness skills and alternatives. It was a true happy ending. But the people in Ruston tell a different story. They say that he didn’t go back to the North Pole right away. “Oh, he had some trouble with the training,” they said. At first, he was always lifting those sleep shades. They said he would use the excuse of being overheated to lift them and peek during every class. He didn’t like travel very much, they said: “Oh, Santa, Santa, you would see him just hiding when it was time for travel class,” But what surprised me the most was when they told me: “the first time Santa stepped into the wood shop and heard those live blades running, he almost fainted.” One would think that someone who has been working with factory machinery their whole lives would be able to handle an arm saw. As time went by, he settled into the center and became an excellent student. But, after training, he didn’t go back to the North Pole right away. He wanted to try out a new career. He went to work at this Cajun restaurant as a cook in the next town. During training, Santa had discovered that he had let Mrs. Claus do all the cooking their entire marriage, but he actually enjoyed working in the kitchen. “Could you imagine that?” they said, “Santa as a cook in a Cajun restaurant?” I suppose he just felt like he wanted some independence. Like many people after they finish blindness training, he must have felt a bit rebellious and must have wanted to prove to anyone that he could go far beyond the common expectations for a blind person. It wasn’t until the Mrs. Threatened to come and get him that he decided to go back up north. Sometimes the path to independence isn’t obvious and clear. Sometimes, like Santa, we need to figure ourselves out for a little while. Sometimes, blindness gives us an opportunity to learn and make decisions which vary greatly from our past, and that we would have never thought possible if we had not lost our eyesight. And sometimes, we just get a stronger sense of who we are. But, The first step toward independence, and starting your life, or getting it back is recognizing when it’s time to receive training, and then going through that training in a program that will allow you to fully realize yourself as a respectable blind person. After all, this is our life, and we live through our choices. As for Santa, You can decide to believe this story or not, but the children and grownups are still receiving presents on time and without any strange mix-ups. Polls show that he’s been doing a better job year after year. And just the other day, I read a review about some new restaurant opening up on the North Pole which specializes in southern cuisine. Note: This Story was based on the play written by Jerry Whittle.

The Holiday Season is Approaching

The holiday season is approaching, and that means that decorations must be arranged, turkeys and ham must be carved and cut, all sorts of delicious foods prepared, and everyone is in the spirit of giving, helping, and doing for others. Yet many of us during the holidays don’t feel as if we can truly be a part of the celebration. Sure, we can all take, we can all enjoy from what others have to offer us, but sometimes, when we feel as if we are not able to truly give back in a significant way, especially during a time when everyone else seems to be doing so, the feeling of helplessness and being a burden seem to overwhelm us. During these times, it might seem easier to simply keep out of sight, to let those who can truly help, can truly give back, and can really be a contribution, do what must be done. It might seem a good idea to just stay out of the way, especially if we can’t see enough to carve the turkey, cut a slice of pie, cut down a holiday tree and set up the decorations, help move furniture around, and do all of those other things that our sighted family members and friends seem to do effortlessly. There are times when we do try to contribute, and are met with: “oh, that’s ok, I’ll get it.” Or “don’t worry about that, I’ll have one of the kids take care of it.” And we all know that our friends and family members mean well, but what they are really saying, and what we are taking from these comments are that such tasks, no matter how difficult or menial, are not going to be done correctly by us. It’s much more convenient that someone with sight take care of things, even if that someone might be a 7 year old child, or a person with much less mobility then us, someone who if it had not been for our lack of vision, would never have been asked to take on that responsibility. It isn’t easy to go from feeling helpless to suddenly challenge the world and prove that you are just as capable as everyone else. But we can start to change those thoughts of helplessness a little at a time. One of those ways is to be around people who do the things you want to do. Just from being around confident blind people, individuals who are either dealing with their vision loss or blindness in ways that appeal positively to us, we can pick up tricks, techniques, ideas and find great support for handling those situations that alone, have overwhelmed us in the past. The other day someone told me that their whole lives, they had been afraid to carve a turkey because they did not feel comfortable with their vision and using a really sharp knife to carve the holiday bird. But after observing a fellow center client saw through the turkey like an expert, under the use of sleep shades, they were convinced that they had been afraid of nothing for a very long time, that this was a simple task, and that they were ready to go home and carve their own turkey for their family during thanksgiving. Hey, something to consider is that bird is going to be eaten whether the lights are on or completely off, and believe it, if the lights go completely off on thanksgiving, someone will still carve the bird, serve the food, uncork the wine, pick up after the kids and nobody would say: “well, perhaps we better wait until tomorrow morning to eat because we will be able to have enough light to see and serve the food by then." Let’s not be afraid to do something because we think that someone with sight might be able to do a faster, better, or neater job. Perhaps your first Turkey will not be beautifully carved, but your second turkey will certainly be better, and the third, and forth and fifth will increase as you gain experience and confidence carving, or hauling wood, or setting the table, preparing the mashed potatoes, walking the neighbor’s dog, washing a friend’s car as a gift for getting free rides to and from the supermarket, anything we can think of. The more we do it, the better we will be at it. But we need to start somewhere. Perhaps this year we will carve the bird, perhaps next year we will prepare it, perhaps the year after we can pass on what we learn to someone else. Every journey no matter how large or small begins with a first step. Ask questions, meet people who have gone or are going through the things which you are living through, but remember, don’t remain stagnant. Step out of your comfort zone, even if those first few steps are small. Happy Holidays Alex Castillo.

2010 Employment Conference Notes - Dr. Fred Schroeder

These are notes I took from 2010 Employment Conference that Dr. Fred Schroeder spoke at. Dr. Fred Schroeder is a Professor at San Diego State University. He is a very good speaker and provided excellent information. Here are some quick notes I jotted down:

People thought I was only able to compete as much as amount of vision as I had to compete.

Do the things in life that you want to do.

It’s about attitude and not technique.

If the training is not hard then you didn’t put enough into it. Its an opportunity to learn about your blindness and how its going to be the rest of your life.

Challenge your own fears about blindness.

It’s an opportunity to get into the habit that you can do the things you want to do.

Staff cares about you individually.

Gain individual and professional experiences from other blind individuals.

Have to do the work for the next generation, move blindness forward, Collective momentum.

In the face of low expectations that are around all of us, if we are to achieve our goals we need a support system, we need to know other blind individuals.

If we collectively succeed we don’t seem so powerless anymore

It sustains us by being collectively together.

Society has low expectations for blind people.

Expectations are that blind people are “car pool dummies”

If staff is not pushing you then they are not doing their job for you.

You need skills but you need more than skills to succeed.

Networking and being active with a consumer organization is important because they have already dealt with the same issues.

They key element is thinking what your dream is in life and assuming that there is a solution.

Don’t hide the days when you feel discouraged about blindness. Go talk to staff when you feel discouraged about blindness.

Under the law, Employers can not use blindness or disability as a reason to hire or fire someone.

We are going fishing tomorrow, hope to catch a lot of fish. The weather is going to be just fine. Fish fry to follow.

The Summer is Upon us

Hello Everyone,
So the summer is fast approaching and the center is getting ready for the change. As with the change of climate (we are all thankful for that especially those of us not used to the snow), there are many exciting things happening at the center and the apartments. Thus upcoming week we will be welcoming our college students to the Center Life! Stephanie, Rachna, and Maida will be joining us starting this week. We are extremely excited to have them form part of the group, yes we are an awesome group, and inject us with some of their young energy! As soon as they get here we will get things going with a fishing trip. Stephanie's dad will guide us all in the techniques of .... well I don't know much about fishing, but I am sure I will learn it on Tuesday. The rest of the clients will be attending a vocational training program on Tuesday and Wednesday. They are going to learn job skills and look sharp.
Our director and godmother, Fatos will be traveling to Turkey as she teaches blindness skills with the organization Blind Corps (www.blindcorps.org). We wish her the best on her travels and we can't wait to hear the stories.
Most of the clients are attending the National Federation of the Blind National Convention in Dallas, Texas. Some of our staff members will be there as well providing support guidance, and harassing the students in case they want to stay in bed and not attend sessions!
That's all for now! Enjoy the beginning of the summer :)

his my first posting, I want to say "welcome " to all.