ACB Quilt Comes to Visit Kansas
by Sanford Alexander
For Kansans, one of the most surprising and exciting events at the ACB convention in Louisville was the result of the drawing for the ACB quilt. The winning ticket bore the name of Michael Byington — and so it also designated the Kansas Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired as the ACB affiliate to be privileged to host the quilt until the next national convention in Des Moines.
During this year the quilt has traveled from one local affiliate to the next, being displayed at various events, and serving as the anchor for a fund-raising effort which will benefit KABVI, the ACB and the Tennessee Council of the Blind (TCB). Raffle tickets are being sold for the right to gain possession of the quilt next year and the proceeds of this raffle will be equally divided between the TCB (the affiliate who created the quilt in the first place), the ACB and KABVI. The quilt evokes the unique nature of each ACB affiliate, with a square representing nearly all of the state affiliates and special interest groups. Because all of these separate squares have been stitched together to form a whole work of art, the quilt represents the unity and strength of the American Council of the Blind itself.
You may win the honor of hosting this masterpiece for your own state or special interest affiliate by purchasing a raffle ticket. Each ticket costs only a dollar. If you win the honor of hosting the quilt for your affiliate, you will also receive a man’s or woman’s analog/talking watch.
Tickets are available from KABVI Treasurer Robert Chaffin, 1105 Centennial Blvd., Hays, KS 67601. Or, you can plan on purchasing tickets during the ACB national convention. When you send your dollars to Bob, please include your name, phone number and the affiliate for which you are purchasing ticket(s). Here’s your chance to help KABVI help ACB.
DC Council Braille Literacy Display & Demonstration Attracts Attention of Young and Old
by Oral O. Miller
When the District of Columbia Council of the Blind decided to participate in Braille Literacy Month by conducting a display and demonstration at the Martin Luther King Library in downtown Washington on January 27, 2001, few people expected many visitors because the nation’s capital would still be wrapped up in the publicity surrounding the transition from the Clinton administration to the Bush administration. Wrong!
On the day of the display and demonstration the primary competition came from the thousands of people thronging to the nearby MCI Center to see the college basketball game between highly ranked Georgetown and Notre Dame, but not even the Fighting Irish and the Hoyas could score more points that day than Louis Braille and the eight D.C. Council members who staffed the display, located prominently in the middle of the main lobby of the library. The display tables showed almost every possible application of braille — e.g., both religious and risque magazines, textbooks, cookbooks, calendars, print/braille stories for children, maps, novels, football schedules, watches and timers, and even the program from the Rose Bowl Parade. Of course, the physical arrangement and development of braille were shown, including writing demonstrations with slate and stylus, Perkins brailler and paperless braille devices. The children were especially pleased to have their own names written in braille for them by Janiece Petersen or Marilyn Lutter. Charles Sutton and James Peaco, non-users of braille, greeted guests, answered preliminary questions and referred guests to Freddie Peaco and Roberta Douglas for further information concerning the value and uses of braille. I explained to many the usefulness of the large, colorful print-and-braille map of the Washington Metropolitan Area subway system.
What would we have done without the assistance of Grace Lyons, the special services librarian? Not only did she make the logistical arrangements and provide many of the display items, but after the display closed, she invited the tired exhibitors up to her section for a rest and welcome refreshments of punch and cookies.
No, the display and demonstration did not attract the type of crowd that was going to the basketball game, but it attracted many very interested and curious students, teachers, parents and ordinary citizens. In fact, several teachers made arrangements to have D.C. Council members speak to their classes about braille and its many uses and forms. The visitors readily understood the importance and usefulness of braille, the need to have it taught and used during the educational process and the fact that it definitely should be in the arsenal of skills possessed by blind people hoping to participate fully in society.
Major Political Candidates Truly Hit the Mark at Alaska Convention
by Oral O. Miller
How pleased my wife and I were last fall when we were finally able to accept a long-standing invitation to attend and speak at the state convention of the Alaska Independent Blind (AIB)! The trip had been postponed twice during the previous year due to scheduling conflicts. Soon after arriving in Anchorage, the mood for the next several days was set by the scenic, awe-inspiring drive of approximately 100 miles by van down the Kenai peninsula alongside the Cook Inlet, with beautiful mountains, steep valleys and a distant volcano always in view.
The convention took place in the picturesque community of Kenai and was attended by members and friends who came from throughout the vast state of Alaska via automobile, train, bus and plane. The outstanding program featured presentations on subjects ranging from traffic planning, rehabilitation services, museum access, library services, descriptive video and transportation for people with disabilities to recreation and sports activities. One session was lightened up considerably by one member who, in response to a question from me, explained carefully that one calls a moose by saying “Here, moosie, moosie, moosie!” (Said in the tone one would use in calling his family cat.) A very spirited panel discussion featuring professional highway planners and Dr. Beezy Bentzen of Boston College reached an unexpected moment of truth when one traffic planner frankly admitted that “pedestrians could be damned and handicapped pedestrians could doubly be damned” when modern, high-speed traffic circles or “roundabouts” are being planned.
Another unexpected and hilarious high point was reached during the annual legislative banquet, which featured presentations by mainstream candidates for state and regional offices representing the Democratic, Republican and Moderate Republican parties. Each candidate had made a lengthy statement and answered questions from the audience when AIB President Lynne Koral quietly asked me if the audible dart board which had been used during a recreational presentation was still installed in the hall.
I explained that it was and at that point she invited each candidate to take his turn at the throwing line. Each candidate, as if the truth of his message depended upon his throwing ability, set to the task enthusiastically and with great effort, especially when challenged to close his eyes before throwing. The audience did not really keep score, but you may be sure the politicians did! In fact, we learned later that the incumbent legislator who threw for the best score was re-elected to office.
Many thanks to AIB President Lynne Koral, Allen “Sandy” Sanderson, and everyone else connected with the AIB for the outstanding hospitality we received. And, no, we did not see a single moose in spite of our best calling efforts!
Indiana state convention in September
ACB of Indiana will be holding its state convention Sept. 7- 8, 2001 at Turkey Run State Park in Marshall, Ind. For more information call Dolly and Mike Sowder at (812) 279-1669 or e-mail sowder@kiva.net.