THE Braille Forum Vol. XXXIV December 1995 No. 5 Published By The American Council of the Blind THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND STRIVES TO INCREASE THE INDEPENDENCE, SECURITY, EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE. Paul Edwards, President Oral O. Miller, J.D., National Representative Nolan Crabb, Editor Sharon Lovering, Editorial Assistant National Office: 1155 15th St. N.W. Suite 720 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 467-5081 Fax: (202) 467-5085 Electronic bulletin board: (202) 331-1058 THE BRAILLE FORUM is available in braille, large print, half- speed four-track cassette tape and MS-DOS computer disk. Subscription requests, address changes, and items intended for publication should be sent to: Nolan Crabb, THE BRAILLE FORUM, 1155 15th St. N.W., Suite 720, Washington, DC 20005. Submission deadlines are the first of the month. Those much-needed contributions, which are tax-deductible, can be sent to Patricia Beattie at the same address. If you wish to remember a relative or friend by sharing in the council's continuing work, the national office has printed cards available to acknowledge contributions made by loved ones in memory of deceased people. Anyone wishing to remember the American Council of the Blind in his/her Last Will and Testament may do so by including a special paragraph for that purpose. If your wishes are complex, you may contact the ACB National Office. For the latest in legislative and governmental news, call the "Washington Connection" toll-free at (800) 424-8666, 6 p.m. to midnight Eastern time Monday through Friday. Washington, D.C., residents only call 331-2876. Copyright 1995 American Council of the Blind TABLE OF CONTENTS President's Message: Holiday Wishes, by Paul Edwards News Briefs From The ACB National Office, by Oral O. Miller The Search Has Begun For Black Gold At The 1996 Convention, by John A. Horst The Great Ohio Bike Adventure, by Mary Hiland Remembering Avon, by Walt Stromer The Search For Security, by Steve Dresser She's Found Her Niche In Acupuncture, by Sharon Lovering When Does The Deception End?, by Mary Jane Owen Affiliate News Here And There, by Elizabeth M. Lennon High Tech Swap Shop PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: HOLIDAY WISHES by Paul Edwards As our December issue goes to press I find myself thinking about what kinds of wishes blind people might make during the holiday season. Sometimes I think that Christmas and Hanukkah have become so commercial that we lose sight of the fact that these holidays ought to give us an opportunity to think not about the tangible, cool gadgets we might wish to receive but about the changes we would like to see occur in the way people interact with other people. I suppose it is selfish of me but here are my wishes for the season. May those who look at those of us who are blind see us as we are, not as they would have us be. May we, when looking at ourselves, focus on the good and not the bad. May we see what we have done and not look at all the things we have not accomplished. And I wish that we could be comfortable asking for the things we deserve: braille or tape or disk information, changes to the built environment that would make traveling easier, and the opportunity to prove to others just how capable we are. At a different level, I wish I had a dime for every time I had been asked what it's like to be blind. And I wish I had gotten a good answer when I responded: "What's it like to be able to see!" I wish Santa would bring me the patience to bear with dumb questions and the wisdom to answer them so understanding and sensitivity would be communicated. And then there is the future. What do I wish for when I look past today toward tomorrow? I wish for an understanding of our needs as blind people as equally important (or unimportant) as the needs of every other person in our society. I wish that schools would begin to expect enough of blind children so they would learn to their full potential. I wish rehabilitation agencies would recognize that it is not enough to train a person to do a job; that person must be enabled to fully participate in his or her community. I wish that senior centers would throw their doors open to all the older blind people who are now isolated at home. And what sort of wishes do I have for ACB and its affiliates? I hope that I may have the wisdom to make good decisions and the courage to ask for the help I need from all of you. I wish that each of us who has chosen to be a part of the work of the ACB will find a job to do and get it done. I wish that all of us could see our chapters as engines of change and not simply as a group of members. I wish we could celebrate our accomplishments not just during the holiday season but throughout the year. We should not just value the big things that our chapters do but the little ones as well. Being there for each other is just as important as being there for the meetings. What are your holiday wishes? My list is small. If you are minded to give me a gift and, as your president, I expect no less, make a list of your own and send it to me. I will try to prevail on Nolan Crabb to publish the best of your wishes in future Forums. In the meantime, may the wishes you make and the good dreams you dream be the future we build together! NEWS BRIEFS FROM THE ACB NATIONAL OFFICE by Oral O. Miller, Executive Director Legislative Update The legislative process sometimes slows down during the late fall in non-election years, but that has not happened this year. In addition to the topics that have been publicized daily by the media (topics such as the budget reconciliation, changes in the welfare system, Medicare, the conflict in Bosnia, etc.) there has been much attention given to subjects of direct interest to blind citizens þ topics such as reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the continued linkage of Social Security Disability Insurance for blind recipients, inclusion of accessibility provisions in telecommunications legislation and further attacks on the Randolph-Sheppard Act, among others. ACB Director of Governmental Affairs Julie Carroll and legislative assistant Christopher Kupczyk, among others, have been working feverishly in recent weeks in cooperation with ACB board members and others in communicating our positions to legislators and other decision-makers on the fast-moving issues that have literally changed from day to day. Advocates on disability issues have had to be flexible and able to switch from one issue to another without missing a step during this session of Congress because, whether some people want to hear it or not, some issues have been managed by their congressional sponsors in such a way as to minimize opportunities for input or unwanted opposition. For example, within recent weeks bills have been introduced that would remove the applicability of the Randolph-Sheppard Act from vending facilities located on properties managed by specific agencies in the Interior Department and other departments. These efforts have failed so far, but some of the sponsors have promised to bring them back up later. Because of the rapid changes that take place from day to day and week to week it is essential for consumer advocates to stay abreast of the changing picture by, for example, regularly calling "The Washington Connection" (800-424-8666) or by contacting our bulletin board service, ACB On-Line (202-331-1058). If you have access to the Internet, "The Washington Connection" is available via e-mail or on the World Wide Web at http://www.acb.org. The value of "The Washington Connection" is underscored by the fact that it received almost 4,000 inquiries during the month of October and was distributed electronically to more than 100 readers alone. Chicago Conference It was my pleasure recently to attend Discovery '95, a national conference in Chicago that featured several dozen concurrent sessions focusing mainly on concerns of low vision people. I had not attended that conference before, but was generally impressed favorably by the scope of subjects covered and the quality of the sessions. I am looking forward to the continued growth of this increasingly important conference, which is sponsored by a consortium of Illinois public and private agencies and national organizations such as the Council of Citizens with Low Vision International and the National Association of Parents of the Visually Impaired. Conventions During recent weeks ACB staff members had the pleasure of taking part in three affiliate state conventions; Director of Governmental Affairs Julie Carroll participated in the exciting convention of the Missouri Council of the Blind, "Braille Forum" Editor Nolan Crabb participated in the excellent program of the North Carolina Council of the Blind in Charlotte, and I took part in the convention of the Aloha Council of the Blind. Since I had had very little direct contact with the Aloha Council for a number of years, I was interested in the fact that its principal membership base over the years has moved from the island of Oahu, on which the city of Honolulu is located, to the "Garden Island" of Kauai. In fact, the newly elected president is from the island of Kauai and I believe she is the first Aloha Council president who has not lived on the island of Oahu. During coming weeks, staff members will take part in two more state affiliate conventions. ACB officers, board members and national committee members often take part in state conventions also and, in view of the request of ACB President Paul Edwards that brief reports be given to him about such conventions, we are looking forward to learning more about the various conventions. Executive Director Announced Pursuant to authority granted to it by constitutional and bylaws amendments approved by the ACB membership at the 1995 national convention the ACB board of directors has offered and I have accepted the newly created position as Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind. While this position is similar in many ways to the long-established position of National Representative, it is different in several important respects and I am looking forward to serving ACB and working with its members in my new capacity. Allow me to take this opportunity in behalf of all the members of the ACB staff to wish all the readers of "The Braille Forum" a happy and joyous holiday season and healthy and prosperous new year. THE SEARCH HAS BEGUN FOR BLACK GOLD AT THE 1996 CONVENTION by John A. Horst, Convention Coordinator "There ought to be a law against anybody going to Europe until they have seen the things that we have in this country." þ Will Rogers The 1996 ACB convention will take place in Tulsa, Okla. This will be a special opportunity for all attendees to see and become acquainted with another part of America. This is the land of oil and gas wells (black gold), the home of Will Rogers, and Sooners and Boomers. The wells are still pumping their precious liquids. There are monuments and museums memorializing Will Rogers, the great American humorist from Oklahoma, and the Sooners are now a football team. In the 1880s before Oklahoma was opened up to homesteaders, some overly ambitious would-be farmers arrived early in order to get the best land. These homesteaders were called Sooners and Boomers because they arrived early. On the day of the land rush these Sooners ran their horses so the horses would appear tired to other homesteaders who had just arrived. The tours that are being planned to take place during the 1996 convention will include visits to sites that will reflect this history and culture. Stay tuned. The ACB's 35th annual convention takes place June 29 through July 6, 1996. The Doubletree hotel, the lead hotel, and the Adams-Mark will offer 800 rooms. The Doubletree, (918) 587-8000, and the Adams-Mark, (918) 582-9000, are first-class hotels. Room rates are $47 per night plus tax for up to four persons per room. The second overflow hotel, the Howard Johnson, (918) 585-5898, will provide the additional rooms needed. Their room rate is $40 per night plus tax for single and double plus $6 for each additional person in the same room. Each hotel must be called separately for reservations. Shuttles will operate between these hotels and the convention center. The mid-year meetings of the ACB affiliate presidents, the board of directors, and some special-interest groups will take place at the Doubletree hotel February 2-5, 1996, Friday through Monday. Convention rates will apply, but reservations must be made by January 12, 1996. The information desk, under the supervision of Barbara Hayes, will be open during the mid-year meetings. Remember to use ACB's designated travel agency, International Tours of Muskogee, Okla., (800) 259-9299, for all your ACB- related travel arrangements. Don't miss out on a fabulous convention in 1996! THE GREAT OHIO BIKE ADVENTURE by Mary Hiland On June 17, about 300 crazy bicyclists began a week-long trek around the northeastern part of Ohio. I was one of those crazy cyclists perched on the back of my 21-speed tandem, complete with water bottles, rain gear, sunscreen and a train whistle which I was prepared to blow at strategic moments, like when we finally reached the top of a very long, steep hill and began our joyous descent down the other side. We began our journey in Medina and spent our first night in Hudson after a very hot, humid and hilly 66-mile route. On the second day, we pedaled to Alliance. Then on to New Philadelphia, Coshocton, and Wooster, and then back to Medina on June 24. Altogether, we rode about 400 hot, humid and hilly miles. It was great! Now I am not a summer lover, but if I have to endure summer, then tandem cycling is the way to go. A cycling vacation has been a long-time dream, finally come true. GOBA, the Great Ohio Bike Adventure, was something I had wanted to try, but never considered because part of the experience was camping. This kid doesn't camp. But when I learned that many of the folks stay in hotels, I got busy and found a partner who also wanted to stay in hotels and who would be willing to captain my bike for a whole week. Because we were warned that GOBA would be hilly this year, my captain Tricia and I trained for weeks beforehand. We climbed the most hellacious hills we could find in the Columbus area and cycled all day to build up our endurance, and the training really paid off. We rode up hills that others on their single bikes had to walk. I wouldn't say we sailed up those hills. It was more like grinding our way to the top, but oh, what sweet joy it was to sail down the other side for miles and miles. Tricia didn't do too much describing as we climbed, as she was busy trying to breathe and keep the bike from falling over, but I savored those quiet times when I could really hear the silence of the countryside. Country sounds are so peaceful and relaxing. Roosters called to us as we sped by. Dogs greeted us noisily from their yards (it was probably the most excitement they'd had in weeks), billy goats grumbled, cows mooed, and the killdeers shouted their warnings. The fragrances of honeysuckle, new-mown hay and ripened wheat permeated the valleys. I could hear rushing water as we crossed little babbling brooks (yes, brooks really do babble) and the crunching of underbrush as a critter dashed out of our way. The bumpy back roads jiggled a flood of memories of my grandmother's house in rural southern Indiana into conscious reverie. The tolling of a church bell from high on a distant hill brought back thoughts of a time when stress was not in my vocabulary. It wasn't in my vocabulary this week either. We started out in the early morning, and we got there when we got there, stopping to visit interesting sites, eating lunch at "mom and pop" restaurants in quaint little towns, buying strawberries from a roadside stand and eating them right there out of the crate. We strolled along the streets of Zoar Village and lounged in the shade at Hale Farm. We sampled cheese in Amish country and even tasted wines at a wine cellar. We feasted on Amish pastries and warm apple dumplings in Port Washington. Did I mention that we really ride to eat? We met people of all ages from all over the country, from babies in trailers pulled by their parents to folks in their 80s. But I didn't meet any other blind stokers, which is a shame. It's a terrific way to experience the treasures of Ohio. I hope you'll consider joining me next year. I'd love to see you there. To hear more about it, contact me through the ACB of Ohio office at (614) 221-6688. REMEMBERING AVON by Walt Stromer (Reprinted with permission from "The BVA Bulletin," September- October 1995.) (Editor's note: We feel this story is a great way to follow up on November's editorial regarding America's blinded veterans. As the year closes, we believe the best way to pay a final tribute to the vets of World War II is to hear from one of them whose memories of his experiences bear repeating. A long-time ACB member and frequent contributor to "The Braille Forum," Walt Stromer was blinded in battle during World War II.) The year was 1945, most of the men are still alive, and they have memories of that summer at Avon Old Farms School. They remember the winding sidewalks with many steps, Big Bertha standing sturdy and tall, the dormitory doors with sliding wood latches and the stone stairway spiraling up to the right. But most of the men won't recall that the buildings at Old Farms are made of red sandstone and have red slate roofs. They never observed such details because they were blind, injured in World War II. They ranged in age from 18 to 45, in education from fourth grade to Ph.D. and in rank from private to colonel. For four summers, beginning in 1944, a total of more than 800 veterans went through the Army Convalescent Hospital set up at Old Farms. I was one of the 800. An Army convalescent hospital sounds like a quiet place where grizzled and graying men sit propped up on pillows or struggle to slowly walk out to a sun porch in the afternoon. That's not how it was. We were young and for the most part, physically fit þ except that we couldn't see. Some men had also lost fingers or a hand or had plastic surgery on their faces. We were just a year or two removed from obstacle courses and long hikes with full packs or from the challenge of combat. Even this gun-shy, non-jock, stringbean Nebraskan had been surprised at the durability of his body. We hadn't been sitting on our duffs during the war and didn't expect to at Old Farms. We had all spent some time in a hospital in California or Pennsylvania, having surgery, getting caught up on dental work or getting fitted with plastic eyes. When the war cut off the supply of blown-glass eyes from Germany, our Army dentists used the same plastic used for dentures to make light, attractive, comfortable and indestructible plastic eyes. They looked great. Old Farms was a 16-week program in which we were to learn skills for adapting to blindness and then head home. Rehabilitation centers for blind adults were rare in this country until about 1950. Old Farms was especially unusual: Here was a large group of newly blinded men, eager to get on with life, not encumbered by the stereotypes and limits that society often places on disabled people. There were enough of us to make a grand fraternity, to spend time in the dorms swapping lies about battles, bars and bedrooms. It was a lot more fun than being the only blind person in a school or workplace. When the program began at Old Farms, the staff was hooked on the idea of facial vision þ an old approach dressed up in a new name. If you walk with your eyes closed toward a wall or a building or a car or a large tree, you will usually sense the obstruction or object before you bump into it. This is mostly a matter of hearing and using echoes as bats do. It works better for some people than others. Facial vision is best for large, solid objects, particularly above waist level. Big Bertha, named for a famous German cannon in World War I, as an elm tree of considerable girth next to the main walk at Old Farms. If we were fully alert, we gave the tree a wide berth. After a night of partying, we might leave samples of skin, blood or hair on Bertha's rough bark. We were allowed to use canes off campus and even got a little travel training in downtown Hartford. The men who came from Valley Forge, Pa. had become experienced with the new long white cane developed by Dr. Richard Hoover. The canes became a standard traveling tool for veterans and eventually was adopted nationwide. At Old Farms, we began each day with a 30-minute gripe session. It was the first chance most of us enlisted men had to talk back to officers and we did it with gusto. We complained about the food, the toilets and the bus service. One soldier said: "I haven't been able to find the English class in three weeks." The unflappable officer in charge responded: "Keep trying. It's still in the same place." The president of Champion Spark Plug came out to talk to us about career possibilities and some men visited with CEOs of insurance companies in Hartford. Later we learned that some of the happy talk abut jobs did not come true, but it was a good start with an excess of hope and ambition. I doubt that any civilian blind kids or adults ever got the VIP treatment we did and neither did the abused veterans of the Vietnam War. Some men worked part time in offices, shops and factories in Hartford. One worked for years at Royal Typewriter. Maybe he made the old Royal manual clunker I'm using now. Another spent 25 years with Fuller Brush. Julius Morris married a local girl, got a law degree and served in the Connecticut Legislature. One day I sampled the drill press in a shop on campus. Twenty times I pulled down the shirring head and drilled threaded holes in the ends of augers, just like the one in the meat grinder my mother used at home. That was enough; I wasn't that desperate yet. Later, I held the headphone of a dictating machine to my ear for a few seconds. No thanks, I wasn't ready to spend eight hours a day transcribing dictated letters. How about college? Sure, I'd wanted to do that in 1937, just out of high school, but the Depression and my dad's heart attack made it impossible. I took courses in advanced braille, literature and creative writing. This was for me þ better than being a clerk- stenographer for the Soil Conservation Service. In my confident war hero mood, it never occurred to me that some colleges might refuse to admit me. Lucky for me, I went to a college but I learned later that a few of the men did get turned down. I stayed in college four years, got married to a young lady I'd met before the war, went to the University of Denver, acquired more degrees and then taught speech and communications at Cornell College for 32 years. Others did equally well or better but a few fell by the way. My roommate of Old Farms, a man of 19, totally blind, went back to his home in southern Indiana and took up poultry farming. He got engaged to a local girl. When he heard that people were gossiping, "Is that the best she can do, marry him?," he broke off the engagement. Finally he gave up poultry and mostly sat, saying, "I guess it's less frustratin' doin' nothin' than doin' somethin'." The thing that was right about Old Farms was that it turned us from the comfort of the hospital to the challenges of the outside world. Some of the men remember the bars they visited in nearby towns. They couldn't recall the name of the bar the next morning and they certainly can't now. We remember the girls who came to be partners at the weekly dance, where some found partners for life. I remember the Red Cross Gray Ladies who came to read and write letters for us, sew on buttons, or just to talk and listen and to remind us of mother and home. One of them paid attention when I complained that my wimpy hairbrush would not penetrate my blond Nebraska thatch. Two weeks later she brought two new brushes with genuine Chinese pig bristles. I'll always remember the stone spiral staircase going up to the second floor dormitories. Negotiating those without a cane meant considerable scuffing of shoes and abrasions on palms pressed against the curving stone wall. Five years ago when my wife and I were touring Ireland, a tour guide told us that stairways in castles always spiral to the right, for the benefit of the lord of the manor who slept on the second floor. If he heard an intruder in the night, he would jump out of bed, grab his sword with his strong right hand, the newel post with his left hand and come down the spiral easily vanquishing the intruder, also presumably right-handed and clasping the bare stone wall with his left hand. Wonderful explanation, until we came to a castle where the stairs spiraled to the left þ for a left-handed nobleman no doubt. Whatever the story, I'll remember those stairs as an important turning point in my life. THE SEARCH FOR SECURITY by Steve Dresser (Reprinted with permission from "CCB Outlook," Winter 1994.) Until last year, I had never considered installing a home security system. Although I had heard some ads, and talked to people who were quite happy with theirs, I was still doubtful that I needed to take such draconian measures. But when my teenage daughter began running with a rather undesirable crowd, I had to reconsider my position. And so I began my investigation. It proved most informative. Before we get down to the specifics of the system I chose, let's discuss home alarm systems in general. The heart of every system is a computer housed in a metal box about the size and shape of the fuse or circuit breaker boxes found in most basements. The computer is connected to several sensors which are attached to the doors and windows of your house. The computer is also connected to a keypad for controlling the system, and an alarm which it activates when trouble occurs. Typically, the sensors are magnetic switches which are installed at every entrance you wish to monitor. In a house, this usually means every door to the outside, as well as basement and first floor windows. Sometimes sensors are installed on the second story windows, especially if these are easily accessible from a shed or garage roof. Other types of sensors may be installed, such as glass breakage detectors, infrared motion detectors, and smoke detectors. The keypad is a small rectangular box with several buttons and a liquid crystal display. It is usually mounted on the wall within a few feet of the most frequently used exit door. The buttons on the keypad control various functions, such as arming and disarming the system, while several types of status information appear on the keypad's liquid crystal display. In less elaborate systems, the alarm is nothing more than an electronic device inside the house that emits a loud warbling sound like a police siren. There may also be a similar device mounted on the outside of the house. The idea here is to alert the neighbors, and hopefully scare off the intruder. More sophisticated systems also have a modem connected to the telephone to call a monitoring station and report the time and nature of the trouble. The monitoring station then notifies the proper authorities. The reason for this seemingly unnecessary step is to guard against false alarms, such as the home owner accidentally opening a door or window while the system is armed. With some systems it's a necessary precaution because the system will occasionally set itself off. To turn the system on, or "arm" it, you enter a series of numbers from the keypad, and press a button similar to the "enter" key on most home computers. Once armed, the system's computer continuously checks all the sensors and sounds the alarm if a door or window is opened. To turn the system off or "disarm" it, you simply re-enter the same code you used before to arm it. You can then open doors and windows without setting off the alarm. It may already have occurred to some of you that there has to be some way for the home owner to leave or re-enter the house after the system has been armed. These two situations are handled by treating one entrance (usually the one nearest the keypad) as a special case. For a short time immediately after the system has been armed, you can open this door without setting off the alarm. This is called the "exit time." When you return home, you can enter through this door, and the system will wait for a short period (the "entry time") during which you can punch in your code and disarm the system. Usually the exit and entry times are no longer than thirty seconds, which may seem brief, but is really plenty of time. As you no doubt figured out, there are four components of a home alarm system: the computer, the keypad, the sensors, and the alarm. When choosing a system, two issues concerned me: how elaborate a system did I need, and how accessible would it be to a blind person. I learned that Northeast Security Systems Inc. of West Hartford, Conn., had installed systems for deaf people, and I hoped they would be able to help me find one that would meet my specific needs. Robert Bass, the company representative, said he knew of a system that came with built-in speech readout, but he wouldn't recommend it because of its poor performance. However, he assured me that the lack of voice output would not be a problem because he could design accessibility into whatever system I finally selected. I was somewhat skeptical at first, but as he explained what he had in mind, I realized that this was not just an empty sales pitch. Now that I've seen the final result, I'm happy to report that my trust in his design skills was well-founded. Although my primary concern was burglary, I wanted a system that could be expanded later to handle smoke detection as well. The Napco 3000 fit the bill exactly. The basic system comes with eight zones, but can be expanded to 96. For our house, the magic number of zones turned out to be 15: front door, back door, dining room windows, porch windows, kitchen window, downstairs bathroom, master bedroom, living room, upstairs bathroom, each of the two upstairs bedrooms, the basement windows, glass breakage detectors in the living room and porch, and a "tamper" zone that sets off the alarm if someone tries to cut the wires to the siren on the outside of the house. We could have picked a lower number, say eight or 10, but then we couldn't have taken full advantage of one of the Napco 3000's nicest features. If a break-in occurs, not only does the alarm go off, but the system reports which zone was "violated." Having a larger number of zones allows each one to target a more specific area. An important advantage for a blind person is the ability to determine which windows and doors are open without having to check by walking around the house, since zone status information is available from the display on the keypad. Another kind of flexibility found in the Napco 3000, but not always available in other systems, is that it can be programmed over the telephone. Thus, if you want to change your security code, or even add codes, you simply call the monitoring station with your instructions. In turn, the station calls up your system, and sends the changes to it in a matter of minutes. Without this feature, you'd have to pay a technician to come to your house and reprogram the system, which is both expensive and time-consuming. In addition, the system "checks in" to the monitoring station once a day to report any problems such as power failures or trouble with the zones. Today's more powerful microprocessors have made this kind of sophistication much more common than it was even a few years ago. Having selected the system's microprocessor, we turned our attention to the sensors. We ruled out using motion detectors because they are often "falsed" by harmless events such as slight movements of curtains due to drafts. I was worried that we might have a similar problem with the glass breakage detectors being faked out by sounds like the jingling of a dog's collar, but in this case, the sophistication of the microprocessor came to the rescue. To set off the alarm, the glass breakage detector needs to "hear" a low-frequency pulse (the sound of an object hitting the window) followed by high-frequency sounds (like the tinkling of shattering glass). If these sounds occur in the wrong order, or outside the proper time period, they are ignored. Thus far, my fears about the unreliability of the glass breakage detectors seem to be groundless. We've had the system for almost a year, and it "falsed" only once when my son dropped a 25-pound bag of trash on the porch floor. I just hope they will work if a window breaks. We chose two different types of sensors for the windows: magnetic switches and custom-built screens. The magnetic switch is a small rectangular box that screws onto the side of the trim or window casing. The magnet that operates the switch is housed in a similar box attached to the window itself. When the window is closed, the magnet and the switch are aligned with each other. When the window is opened, the magnet moves, setting off the alarm. Actually, there are two magnets set six inches apart so that the window can be raised to let in fresh air. The advantage of the magnetic switch is its low cost. Its disadvantage is that once the system is armed, the window cannot be raised or lowered. If you want to change the window's position, you have to disarm the system, open or close the window, and re-arm the system. The custom-built screens are more expensive than magnetic switches, but they allow the windows to be opened and closed regardless of the state of the system. Each screen, though it looks and feels like a normal screen, has been impregnated with a wire mesh. Any attempt to break the screen triggers the alarm. If a would-be burglar tries to remove the screen, which is screwed on to the outside of the window casing, a "tamper" switch in the frame of the screen sets off the alarm. We had a problem this winter when one of the window casings warped, pushing the screen outward and setting off the alarm. The problem was solved by installing a stronger magnet. The chief disadvantage of the screens is their permanent attachment to the window casing. This is no problem with "replacement" windows where the screens can remain in place all year round. However, in situations where storm windows are used, the magnetic switch approach is probably more practical. Having selected a system that met our security needs, we addressed the question of accessibility. Although the Napco 3000 has no synthesized voice, it still provides some audible feedback for the user. The keypad emits a short beep each time a key is pressed, and four short raspy beeps to indicate an erroneous entry. If a zone is open, a long beep will sound when you attempt to arm the system. If you enter the house when the system is armed, you'll hear a steady beep which becomes a series of very short beeps 10 seconds before the end of the entry time. Despite these cues, two major problems remain: how to tell which zones are open, and how to see if the system is armed without setting off the alarm. This information is, of course, shown on the keypad's liquid crystal display. Bass designed an interface with the system that provided this information audibly. On the wall next to the keypad, a plate with 16 push buttons was installed. The button in the upper left corner shows the system's status, while the remaining 15 buttons are status indicators for each of the zones. Pushing the system status button shows one of three conditions. A steady tone means the system is armed. Silence means all zones are closed, and the system is ready to be armed. An intermittent tone indicates one or more open zones. To find out which zones are open, simply push each of the zone indicator buttons. An intermittent beep indicates open zones, while closed zones will remain silent. Although this audible interface doesn't show everything that appears on the liquid crystal display, it provides enough information to make the system accessible to a blind person. After the system was installed, I found that, with help, and a little trial and error, I could access some of its more sophisticated functions, like testing the alarm, or turning on the audible "zone fault" indicator. While some of you may enjoy the personal challenge of experimentation as I do, you won't be at a disadvantage if you prefer to stick with the basics. No discussion of home security systems would be complete without some mention of price. If you're looking to spend just a few hundred dollars, the system I've described isn't for you. The total cost of my system was close to $3,000, which sounds expensive until you think of what's involved. Keep in mind, however, that the cost can change substantially, depending on your specific requirements. Approximately two-thirds of the cost is labor. Running wires from the system's computer to every window and door in your house is a difficult and time-consuming task, especially if you want the installation to look good. While there are ways to eliminate the labor-intensive job of wiring, such as using radio to transmit information between the microprocessor and the sensors, wires are still the most reliable way to go. In addition to labor costs, there is the cost of designing and building the audible interface, which is not a mass-produced item. Although you can substantially reduce the cost of the system by eliminating this circuitry, you'll find that the system is far more difficult to use. If you're interested in buying a home security system like the one I've described, I recommend that you contact Robert Bass of Northeast Security Systems Inc., 80 Bentwood Road, West Hartford, Ct. 06107; telephone (203) 561-2020. Although his company doesn't install systems outside of Connecticut, he has assured me that he will work in an advisory capacity with a company in your area. (Author's note: A recent move meant, among other things, the installation of a new security system. Although it resembles the old system in most respects, the audible interface had to be redesigned to accommodate nine more zones. With 24 zones, and the possibility of adding more, it became apparent that we couldn't use the one-button-per-zone approach without resorting to a larger-sized plate on the wall. Besides, the wiring from the interface back to the control box was turning into a nightmare. The wiring problem was solved by using relay boards newly available from Napco. The plate is still the same size as it was, but the push buttons have been replaced by two rotary switches and a three-position toggle switch. The new interface can be expanded to 64 zones if necessary, and it will be easier to service because it uses standard factory parts.) (Editor's note: In a telephone conversation recently with Robert Bass, we learned that the company mentioned in this story now offers an option that allows control of the system via the phone and synthetic voice prompts.) SHE'S FOUND HER NICHE IN ACUPUNCTURE by Sharon Lovering When Donna Grimminger moved from Pennsylvania to Florida in 1972, she was unemployed. She went to the Division of Blind Services for suggestions, but only found out-of-town vending stands, and she had no desire to leave her teenage son unattended. When he turned 18, she found work as a medical transcriber, but she had no medical background. So she did on-the-job training. In 1980, Grimminger lost the rest of her sight through an operation. Ultimately, she entered massage training classes. She got her massage therapy license in January 1984. She worked at the YMCA for a few years before striking out on her own. She heard that her school, Suncoast Center for Natural Health, was going to start an acupuncture class. "I was interested in acupuncture ever since I had gotten into massage school and was introduced to it," Grimminger said. She was inspired by Michael Byington's article in this magazine about blind students in Japan who learned acupuncture. (See "Looking Eastward: Students at Japanese Schools for the Blind Receive Training in Medical Fields, Certification After Graduation," April 1994.) So she applied and was accepted. In January 1993 she started learning acupuncture. She has an electric acupuncture machine, "which I've been using for practice on my clients; you know, do the points, and trigger points with it if the massage doesn't get all of the problems out." But she doesn't charge for that since she's not licensed yet. When she told her massage clients that she was going into acupuncture, they became excited and volunteered to read books on tape for her. She ended up with three readers. She later got a Kurzweil Reading Edge machine, which helped her get through the second year. It relieved the one girl who was doing the reading, and, she said, "It does pretty good with the Chinese terminology too; it does better than people do, because the computer doesn't know that it's Chinese and it just doesn't get kind of afraid when it sees the different words, and it doesn't do bad with it." In 1993 she received a scholarship at ACB's convention in San Francisco, which was a great help, she said. Grimminger graduated in June 1995 and took the national certification examinations October 19-22; she won't know the results for a while, but she believed she did all right. If she passes the "boards," as the exams are called, she will be able to prescribe herbs and vitamins for her patients. She believes she is the first blind person to be a licensed acupuncturist in the United States; the commissioner told her she was the first blind person they'd ever tested. One of her clients is working on publicity for her. "I hate to play that up, but that's what she thinks will get me the most publicity," she said. "This should help other blind people. If I can pass these boards nationally, then there shouldn't be any problem with anybody else." There were lots of things to learn on the road to the boards, though. She learned the 12 meridians þ pathways where the electrical system runs from the organs to the brain þ as well as the way blood vessels are laid out in the body. "Along these meridians are different points that will do different things for the body," Grimminger said. She said she'd seen PMS fixed, tumors shrunk, and much more, with acupuncture and Chinese herbology. "It's not a thing where they have to do it for the rest of their life; once it's fixed, it's fixed for them, they're cured, and they don't have to keep coming back, which amazes me." She also learned how to diagnose various problems through classes on western pathology and differentiation of syndromes. But the Chinese way is different: it focuses on the body as a whole. Grimminger learned about internal organs; meridians; external pathogens (wind, cold, heat, dampness); clean needle technique; tongues and what they look like þ "Now that I'm not going to be able to do because you look at a person's tongue, and depending on what color it is, where the cracks are, whether it has a coating and what color the coating is, and whether it's swollen" þ but the patients themselves can look, or she could ask the chiropractor, from whom she rents space, to look. "People are really interested," she said. They'll ask, "'Oh, what does this mean? What's my tongue telling you?'" She also had to learn where the pulses were, the three different levels of each, and the 27 qualities of pulses. "It's a whole different ... way of healing people," she said. "It's a very extensive class, and it's a very difficult class." Her class started with 20 people, then shrunk to 12, until a girl who'd failed the class before hers joined them. The hardest part about acupuncture is learning to think like the Chinese do. "To our way of thinking, it would be very primitive. And what we learned to do was to give an in-depth interview." She has clients fill out patient forms, then sits down and goes over the forms with them, asking, among other things, how long they've had the problem they're coming in for. "We don't just look for the symptoms and look in a book and say, 'Oh yeah, this is what we're going to do for your symptoms,' you look for an underlying cause." The Chinese think body fluids control the body; chi þ vital energy þ is either stagnant (causing people to move slow and not think clearly), or deficient þ "How many times have people gone to the doctor and said, 'I don't have any energy' and they say, 'Well, you've got low energy,' and what do they do? They give them B vitamins and it's not doing any good." She can use acupuncture to treat that. There is also a condition the Chinese call internal heat, which causes a lack of body fluids. The heat burns up the fluids you put in your body; acupuncture leads the heat out of the body so it can reclaim its normal fluid balance. And, conversely, there is internal cold. "We had a girl in school that wore gloves sitting in the classroom down here in the wintertime. Now we know that down here we don't have that kind of cold. But she had an extraordinarily internal cold that medical doctors didn't know what it was. They just said she must be anemic or something." Through burning a certain herb and acupuncture, "she got where she doesn't get that cold anymore." Acupuncture, Grimminger said, "It's a primitive medicine that's been around for thousands of years and they've never updated it because it works. They don't have to update it." She said one girl's boyfriend asked her, "You don't believe that primitive stuff, do you? You know better than that." And she told him, "If you can't believe this or you can't see it, then you won't be able to do it." "And that was one reason I think a lot of them drop out," Grimminger said, "because it doesn't make sense in the beginning, but the more you study it and the more you go over it, the more sense it really does make. A lot of people don't stay with it long enough for it to make sense to them." Grimminger has had success with acupuncture and massage together. "I've had men that I've been seeing for years with muscular dystrophy," she said. One man got where he couldn't move his arm and it hurt him all the time. She massaged it and then tried acupuncture on it the next time. That man can now move his arm, and it doesn't hurt all the time; she has cut him back to an appointment every two weeks. Acupuncture took the pain away, she said. "I've had real good luck with lower back and whiplash and things like that with a combination of massage and acupuncture," she said. "The two together just seems to help real good." Once she gets her license, she said, "I'll be doing mostly acupuncture, I hope; my hands are wearing out from doing 11 years of deep muscle massage. But I feel fortunate that I have my own business, I have my own practice ... I've introduced my massage clients to acupuncture; they'd asked me about it as I was in school, and I'd explain it to them, I'd show them what a needle looked like, I would start them on electric and if I had something that was really chronic, that time after time after time that massage would leave þ was relieving the pain but was not getting rid of the problem þ I would just go ahead and get their permission to just introduce them to a few needles and that really helped them and it would fix them up. ... My clientele is very much into acupuncture, and it won't be hard for me to switch them over once I get the license, and it won't be hard to build my practice from there." Grimminger has mostly used word of mouth to build her clientele; she still charges the going rate from when she graduated from massage school because, she said, "I know what it's like to not have a whole lot of money and need something and not be able to afford it, and so I don't want anybody to say that they need it and can't afford it." One of the things she can use acupuncture for is to treat addictions; she is the first certified addiction therapist who is blind. "There's addictions out there that I never even thought of," Grimminger said. "Well, everybody thinks about coke þ cocaine þ and your illegal drugs, but there are also, they say, a lot of dentists are getting hooked on laughing gas ... and alcoholism, ... glue sniffing." They had to study the age groups that do these things, what the people's backgrounds are like, the different professional people that go into the different types of addictions þ "not everybody's doing coke, not everybody's an alcoholic." And acupuncturists use ear acupuncture to treat them; the book for that class cost $125. "All my books were like $125, and I don't think there was anything under about $80 for the whole 30-month class that we took." The addiction class was taught by Jay Holder; his course is the only one that's been approved by the different medical insurance companies to pay for treating the addictions, Grimminger said. "We were the first class. What he did with us, because we were in school and he hadn't taught this before, and he wanted to do it in 10 pods of two-day pods a month apart, so it would've taken 10 months." The school invited him; the school also invited two other schools to join in at a cost of $250 a pod per person. The acupuncture board also came. "He wanted to see if his teaching was effective, and if his tests were effective, and stuff like that," Grimminger said. "We were kind of the guinea pigs for that, but we got through it, and it's great." She added, proudly, "I'm the only blind certified addiction professional, which can deal with people on any type of addiction that there is out there." Attitudinal barriers made her be extremely careful, she said. "My instructors were really afraid to let me needle in clinic; they were afraid I'd hurt somebody. And yet when the sighted students hurt somebody þ and I never had hurt a client of mine; I never had a client yell; I'm a very light needler, I tap it in easy þ the only time it hurts is when it goes through the skin if you do it rough þ and then I just gently push it down, where a lot of them will just flick it with their finger real rough, and I've been bruised by other students, but I've never really bruised anybody or anything. And I had a client of mine in clinic þ we were responsible for doing our own patients þ toward the end of our senior year they split up the patients and gave each one of us so many patients, and we had to sit down and do the intake and we had to do the progression notes and we had to acupuncture them and all that every time they came in. And this one guy took over one of my patients one day, and she screamed. And the instructor ran in the room, and he had put a needle in her, and she was literally laying in there crying. She said to me, 'Donna, you have never hurt me. You have always got good results with me. He doesn't get very good results with me when he does it, and he hurts me.' And he tells her, 'Well, that point always hurts people.' And we were both needling a patient one time and this gal said þ he was doing one side and I was doing the other, and we were doing points bilaterally, which is on each side, the same points þ and he put a needle in her and this patient hollered 'Ouch!' And he said, 'Oh, that point's always sore,' and she looked at him and she said, 'Obviously you've done something wrong, because Donna's never hurt me.' And so I'm real careful, because ... they were so afraid to let me do this in the beginning, and I've had classmates that say, 'You know, I don't really think you ought to be in class. I don't think you should have been allowed to come to class. I think the general public's going to be afraid of you,' and stuff like that. ... I have had to be careful, because the first time that a patient would have hollered 'Ouch!' then they'd have said, 'Donna, you can't do this.' I just had to be a lot more careful, and I knew it from the very beginning." But patient interactions have seldom posed problems, Grimminger stated. "When I had my clinical patients I would just talk to them and listen to their symptoms and ask them all kinds of questions and get them talking about themselves, and then when we would go into the room, of course I always had an instructor with me because that's the law ... so they knew that he wasn't going to let anything go wrong, and I would talk to them and put their mind at ease and I didn't seem to have any problems. Now my first year I did, but then after that I had one French woman that I remember that the instructor had acupunctured and he left a needle in her and told her that she could get up, and she said 'Oh, there's still a needle in my stomach.' And I went to take it out and she goes, 'Oh, no, no, no, please, I'm scared, I'm scared.' So I said, 'OK, just leave it in there then.' And I walked away and I went to get him, and she goes, 'Well, I'm sorry,' but I went and got him and got it out. But the more that they came back and saw me in school and stuff like that, and then I would tell them I'm a licensed massage therapist, and the instructors would tell them ... and the ones that I got in my second year were just 'Oh, this is wonderful, I'm glad you can do this.' "I know the one girl that the other guy had hurt that I had never hurt when she was a patient of mine, she said, 'Donna, I really, really admire you for this. I don't tell people that. I'm not just saying that, because I don't go around telling people I admire them. But I really do, because of the way you are with people. You make them feel like you really care.' And I said, 'Well, I do care about people.' And she said, 'Well, that is one big difference. When we come in, we know that you care, we know that you want to help us, and we know that you'll be careful.' "In the beginning, it was a little rough, but you build up a trust. Everybody's got to build up a trust. I always show them what a needle looks like, and they'll say, 'Does it hurt?' and I'll say, 'no,' and if I have to I'll put it in myself. ... I take the extra time with them. People say, 'Time is money.' To me, if I didn't have that patient, I wouldn't have the money anyway. So if I have to take an hour with a patient instead of 45 minutes, what's the difference? That patient's going to come back. Somebody else takes 45 minutes, that patient may not come back because they may have had a bad experience. And when people tell me, 'I charge more,' 'Time is money,' I tell them, 'Well, you just go right ahead. And when your table's sitting there empty and you're sitting in the office with no patients, you tell me how valuable your time is.'" WHEN DOES THE DECEPTION END? By Mary Jane Owen (Reprinted with permission from "Horizons," November 1995.) I first heard of Hugh Gregory Gallagher's research on President Franklin D. Roosevelt during a visit with some friends back in the early 1980s. They had heard his early reflections on how polio had altered the course of his life and how his struggles in attaining the level of rehabilitation he acquired had influenced his subsequent political and administrative style. That "keep trying until you find the way to do it" orientation had obviously served him well as he addressed the disabling conditions of a nation in crisis. I'd come to Washington as a blind disability advocate but had never before considered that physical limitations and the process of going through the discipline of rehabilitation might prepare one to be better for the experiencing of such challenges. However, that insight continues to influence my views. I've come to know Hugh as a friend and mentor. We have talked of the strain of "keeping up appearances" within a movement which continues to expect its leadership to disguise dependency and of the incredible lessons which are learned as one goes through the training associated with mastering new strategies and methods to accomplish those tasks which are personally important. And through it all I have come to marvel at Hugh's wisdom and tenacity in his insistence upon telling the truth about Roosevelt in his newly revised book, "FDR's Splendid Deception." Out of print for the past five years, it is now fortunately again available. When people have asked where to get a copy of this book when I've referred to it in my writings and speeches, I've suggested their local library. Now every person interested in expanding their insights into the power of the human spirit and the sacrifices which follow when those of us with disabilities struggle to deny the fragility of the human condition can add this marvelously insightful book to their personal collection. When Hugh shared early drafts before its original publication in 1985, I impatiently waited for historians to read it and modify their views on Roosevelt's presidency. Hopeful, I anticipated the general public would incorporate the new images Hugh presented into their remembrances of this great leader. When the book was released, surely the stereotypes about the impact of disabilities upon all Americans would fade and a more realistic view would prevail. In this frame of mind, I attended one of the many salutes to a retiring Jennings Randolph. He had been a Congressional advocate for the employment rights of those who were blind, first in the House of Representatives and later as a senator. And during this particular talk he spoke at length of the excitement he'd felt as a freshman legislator, privy to the negotiations during the first 100 days of the Roosevelt administration. Surely he'd be pleased to learn of Hugh Gallagher's book. I started out, "A friend of mine, Hugh Gallagher, has written a book exploring the impact of Roosevelt's disabilities upon his . . ." I got no further as spittle began to spray from the enraged elder statesman's mouth as he sputtered: "Roosevelt was no cripple." He continued to scream in my direction as I retreated. "Young woman, you are wrong and your friend is wrong. He was no cripple! Anyone who says anything else is lying." That response resounds as I read of the controversy surrounding the long delayed Roosevelt memorial. We've waited 50 years and finally it is expected to be completed in 1996. It is to include a large bas-relief by Leonard Baskin. This sculptor will portray Roosevelt, not as he really appeared at his First Inaugural, but with even the minimal confirmations of his significant impairments blanked out from view. While the designers, including Lawrence Halperin, affirm the image is taken from a contemporary photograph, there are highly significant omissions. Roosevelt will be shown standing upright in his top hat. But the original photograph includes evidence that this powerful man, this international hero, could not stand alone! Eleanor is at his right hand but it is when one studies Roosevelt's close connection to their son, James, that one begins to understand the effort it took to appear upright. It was James who later acknowledged his father's grip was sometimes so powerful that his arm was bruised. Further, his father expected James to smile and exchange banter as he held his father erect. In the picture Roosevelt appears to be leaning against James while holding tightly to his arm. The braced legs are widely spread and his cane is firmly planted to the rear, forming a tripod of support. Thus it was that Roosevelt presented himself to the world. Jack Dempsey, the fighter, once remarked that Roosevelt had the most powerful shoulder muscles he'd ever seen. The self-control and discipline which such "compensation" took seems a quality which the world might wish to acknowledge. But no! And so, although the gardens surrounding this disabled hero's memorial will be accessible to those in wheelchairs, the depiction will continue the deception. The designers seem determined to delay national acknowledgement of the power of the man's determination and the ability of those with significant disabilities to take leadership roles within the world. Sections of Hugh's book first appeared in "Public Welfare." I was asked to write an introduction for the initial instalment in the spring 1984 issue of that publication. I wrote words which still ring true: Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The name evokes images of great power, of vitality. FDR was a tower of strength for a people in need of a leader. This giant among men led his people out of the Great Depression. But he could not walk. He was a cripple, as polio victims then were called, who was unceremoniously carried up and down the back stairs of the White House like 'a sack of potatoes.' But 'we' did not know that. Even as we celebrated the 100th anniversary of Roosevelt's birth in 1982, I waited and waited for some reference to his disability. Many of us in the disability movement hoped this great man who happened to be severely disabled would be let out of the closet so we could claim him as our own. I heard only one reference to his disability, however, and that was oblique. Congressman Claude Pepper concluded his reminiscences of FDR by assuring his audience that Roosevelt was not crippled in mind or spirit. In characterizing the mind set of the time, I wrote: We saw him as strong and powerful. We needed his strength. But we could not tolerate his physical weakness þ and so it was hidden from us. We saw him in the flesh only through a filter that obscured his weak and flawed body. Those who are old enough remember the impotency of no jobs, no money and no hope. But they remember, too, the vibrancy of Roosevelt's voice as he admonished a forlorn people, 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.' Is it not sad indeed that in the intervening decade the nation's leadership has apparently not moved beyond a need to hide from the reality that the human body does, indeed, develop physical glitches? But even more disconcerting is that the "magnificent deception" which Gallagher so clearly documents still obscures the power of the human spirit to prevail. While it is true that Roosevelt would not have gained political power if he had allowed the public to see his weakness at that point in our history, it is sad to realize we haven't yet matured enough in our view of the value of disabled people to look realistically at the vulnerability of the human condition and see beyond the unimportant aspects of our physiological weakness. For as Gallagher clearly shows us, part of what made this man the great man he was, able to appeal to a range of needs and sympathize with the strengths and aspirations of a nation, was a result of the challenges he faced and overcame in the rehabilitation he fashioned for himself. That seems a lesson each one of us concerned about disability needs to learn and confirm if equity is to become a reality. AFFILIATE NEWS NEWS FROM OREGON The Oregon Council of the Blind held its 40th annual convention October 21-22 at Oral Hull Park for the Blind. Its theme was "New Beginning." Guests included Bernice Kandarian and Roger Petersen of Mountain View, Calif. Several officers were elected; Bev Rushing is the president elect. MCCORMICK HONORED IN FLORIDA The Charlotte County Chapter of the Florida Council of the Blind paid a special tribute to Ruth Alma McCormick earlier this year. McCormick is a life-long champion of the needs and abilities of blind people; her friends in the chapter wanted to find a way to thank her for what she's done for them. She was the youngest person (16 years old) to train with a Seeing Eye dog, and a personal friend of Frank Morris, who introduced the idea of training dogs to assist the blind. She helped organize the first chapter of the Florida Council of the Blind in 1982, laying the groundwork, coordinating community support by joining the Port Charlotte Lionesses. When she moved to Port Charlotte full-time in 1987, she gathered a group of older people losing their sight at the Port Charlotte Cultural Center to learn more about their vision losses and how to manage daily chores while they still had some sight. She has arranged guest speakers on numerous topics, introduced hospital staff to talking book programs, organized a white cane and guide dog walk, promoted Braille Literacy Week, organized a blind bowling team þ the "No- Seeums," initiated the first rehabilitation counseling and independent living skills classes in Port Charlotte under the Department of Blind Services, and much more. And what did Alma say to all her accomplishments? That the best part has been making and helping friends. "In fact, we have grown to be more than friends, we're family." IOWA CONVENTION The Iowa Council for the United Blind convention will be held May 3-5, 1996 at the Days Inn in Des Moines. There will be an employment panel, exhibits, and reports from the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School and the Department for the Blind. This year, all the officers and four of the director positions will need to be elected. NEWS FROM THE SOUTHEAST The Georgia Council of the Blind held its 1995 convention at Villas by the Sea on Jekyll Island August 10 through 13. The convention program, under the direction of Nancy Wooten of the Cobb County Chapter, featured representatives from various state agencies an address by Secretary of State Max Cleland, and a message delivered at the banquet by Yvonne Johnson, director of the Division of Rehabilitation Services. Of particular interest to conventioners this year were two seminars conducted by orientation and mobility instructors and by those who sell independent living products. An auction held during the convention increased GCB's treasury by more than $400. Three scholarships were presented this year, including the Theresa Elmore Hinton Memorial Scholarship for $1,000. Esther Galloway of the South Metro Council (Atlanta) was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors. The 1996 convention will be held at the same location the second weekend in August. HERE & THERE by Elizabeth M. Lennon The announcement of new products and services in this column should not be considered an endorsement of those products and services by the American Council of the Blind, its staff or elected officials. Products and services are listed free of charge for the benefit of our readers. "The Braille Forum" cannot be responsible for the reliability of products or services mentioned. VISION ENHANCEMENT "Vision Enhancement" is a new quarterly magazine for consumers and professionals in the blindness community. It includes information from the medical, scientific and technological fields; assistive device news; human-interest stories; news briefs from around the world; information on new books and magazines, and a resource directory. Its editor, Pat Price, is well-known worldwide for her writing style. There is advertising space available. Subscriptions cost $20 a year in the U.S. and Canada (money in U.S. funds), and $35 overseas. Send your name, address, phone number, fax number and e-mail address (if applicable) to Vision World Wide, Inc., 5707 Brockton Dr. #302, Indianapolis, IN 46220-5481, or phone (317) 254-1332 or (800) 431-1739. CHRISTMAS TAPES Jeanine Linster now has Christmas music tapes available. One tape, titled "Twenty-four Traditional Carols," has dictated melody and chords. It costs $15.65. The same carols with words and melody, no chords, costs $10.65. A booklet with large print words for the carols costs $2. The combination of the first two tapes costs $20.65. "Christmas Pops" is a set of three 90-minute tapes. One tape costs $15; two sell for $25; and the set sells for $33. For more information, or to order, contact Jeanine Linster, 409 30- 1/4 Rd., Grand Junction, CO 81504; phone (970) 434-8639. BRAILLE TEST The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is planning a validation study of its National Literary Braille Competency Test. Through September, 224 tests have been taken; 46 candidates (20.5 percent) passed. Of these tests, 171 were taken in print, with 24 candidates (15 percent) passing; 53 were taken using the braille edition, with 22 candidates (41.5 percent) passing. RECENT DEATH James Doyle Case died of a heart attack on July 18, 1995 at his home in Jackson, Miss. He had been an ACB member for about 20 years; he was a past president and board member of the Mississippi Council of the Blind, and a member of the National Association of Blind Teachers, as well as a member of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Jackson Metropolitan Lions Club and Woodland Hills Baptist Church. He taught social studies for 22 years at the Mississippi School for the Blind. Doyle centered his life around working for and helping all visually impaired people. He fought for the rights of blind people and wanted to make life a little easier for them by giving his time. His widow, Rita, would like to hear from his ACB friends. Send your notes to Rita Case at 1860 Meadowbrook Rd., Jackson, MS 39211. SEEING EYE NEWS The Seeing Eye recently named Leslie Bennison to the position of admissions representative. She will travel throughout the United States and Canada, visiting and talking with applicants in their homes, discussing their needs for a guide, work environments, recreational preferences and types of travel. The Seeing Eye broke ground for a canine health clinic and kennel on October 18. Construction is expected to take 18 months. The facility will be named for Vincent A. Stabile, who donated $4 million to underwrite construction. The clinic will have two examination rooms, two surgical suites, diagnostic areas and equipment, a dental area, x-ray room, and glass-fronted hospital and isolation wards, which will be arranged around a general treatment and administrative area. The attached 44,000-foot kennel will house up to 160 dogs; each dog will have an individual sleeping box and run. There will be covered play areas as well. RFB&D INCREASES FEE Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic will increase its registration fee to $50 beginning January 1, 1996. The increase will help RFB&D continue giving quality services to its members. For more information, call (800) 221-4792. COLUMBIA LIGHTHOUSE The Columbia Lighthouse in Washington, D.C., has a store and a catalog (in braille and print) of products such as accessible games, cards, clocks, watches, canes and aids. It now accepts MasterCard and Visa. The address is: Columbia Lighthouse, 1421 P St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20005; phone (202) 462-2900. Hours are: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the second Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. AIR TRAVEL SURVEY Access to the Skies, one of the Paralysis Society of America's programs, is seeking air travel stories from disabled travelers. It's collecting information on how well the airlines are complying with the Air Carriers Access Act. If you've flown recently or plan to fly soon, call the program at (800) 643-8245 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday. Or, if you travel on the Internet, you can participate any time of day. Go to http://computek.net:80/access95. JOB OPENING ATI Telemarketing Inc. of Merrimack, N.H., is looking to employ several telemarketers. The company is a paid solicitor for several national charitable organizations. Operators follow a script and solicit contributions from people in nine states. Telemarketers operate a menu-driven computer terminal that's attached to a PC- based predictive dialing system; they do not dial, just answer incoming calls to their terminals. Initial and ongoing training are provided to every employee. The company's hours are: Monday through Thursday, 2 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 9 p.m. Send inquiries to ATI Telemarketing, Inc., 730 M Route 101A, Suite 234, Merrimack, N.H. 03054, or phone (603) 673-3599. HOLIDAY DOLLS Living Proof Ministries has created a line of dolls starting at $20 per doll. The company has musical bears, grannies, and brides of the 1800s. For more information, write to Living Proof Ministries, 837 McNeil Rd., Benson, AZ 85602, or phone (520) 586- 7151. RADIO SHOWS Would you like to enjoy radio's thrilling past in your car, on vacation, and sitting at home enjoying popcorn in front of a cozy fireplace with your family and friends? Those golden memories are right at your fingertips. All you need is a cassette player, and you're ready to go! Each 60-minute tape costs $5. All 10 cassettes listed are 60 minutes long; each cassette has its own plastic box, and is labeled. 001 THE HARDY FAMILY: PGM17 "The Hotdog Stand," and PGM18 "The Announcement." 002 DRAGNET NBC: 3-23-50 "The Big Gangster, Part I" and 3-30-50 "The Big Gangster, Part II." 003 BOX 13 Starring Alan Ladd: PGM15 "Triple Right Cross," and PGM16 "Look Pleasant Please." 004 THE CISCO KID Starring Jack Mather and Mel Blanc: 1955 "Much Ado About Mavericks" and 1955 "El Caballero Pancho." 005 MGM THEATRE OF THE AIR MGM Productions: PGM 46 "William Tell" from 1951 Starring Raymond Massey. 006 FATHER KNOWS BEST NBC, Starring Robert Young, Jean Vanderpile, Rhoda Williams, Ted Donaldson, and Helen Strohm: 1-28-54 "Betty, The Adult" and 2-18-54 "The Crushed Garbage Can Lid." 007 THE BUELAH SHOW: 11-18-54 "Getting Married;" 11-22-53 "Buelah, The Sabateur;" 1-5-54 "New Year's Resolutions;" and 1-27-54 "The Lunchroom." 008 MEET CORLISS ARCHER, CBS: 6-23-46 and 8-11-46. 009 HILLTOP HOUSE CBS, Starring Jan Miner: 11-2-53, 11-3-53, 11-4-53, and 11-6-53. 010 EDWARD R. MURROW AND THE NEWS, CBS: 10-25-51, 10-26-51, 10-29-51, and 10-31-51. "Vintage Radio Logue," a 90-minute audio cassette published quarterly, features vintage radio moments, interviews with famous VR persons, and a complete episode of a program. It costs $30 per year. We accept checks, money orders, (in U.S. funds), and credit cards þ Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. To place an order, send your request, via e-mail, using the 3-digit order number; example 001; 002, etc. Do not send credit card numbers via e-mail. For faster service, call (818) 989-2137; e-mail: rstaley@netcom.com. SLAYTON HONORED R. Creig Slayton, Director of the Iowa Department for the Blind, was honored recently by Gov. Terry E. Branstad. Slayton received the Iowa Commission of Persons with Disabilities' Governor's Award for his outstanding work in the empowerment and employment of people with disabilities. NEW BOOKS VOICEs for the Blind, Inc., has several new books available. "Eyes Front" by Jack Wilson is a novel illustrating the importance of the ADA for disabled teens and young adults. The cassette edition costs $19. "Sunset over Craigie House," also by Wilkinson, tells about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's life. It costs $20 on tape. "The Mosquito Test" is a book by Richard Kent telling about two teenage boys battling life-threatening diseases; the boys share a love of tennis. It costs $20 on tape. "Play On!", also by Kent, is a soccer novel. It costs $20 on tape. Catalogs of SHOWCASE Audio Books are available for $2 each. To receive a catalog, or order one of these books, write to: SHOWCASE Audio Books, c/o VOICEs for Blind, P.O. Box 837, Bethel, ME 04217. BRAILLE BUSINESS Ronald C. Kolesar recently started a braille transcription business. He will braille or put into large print such items as bank statements, bills, business cards, booklets, folders, greeting cards, magazines, menus, manuals, signs or labels. Contact him at: Ron Kolesar, Ron's Braille Transcribing Service, P.O. Box 102, Girard, PA 16417-0102, or phone (814) 774-5709 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday. AUDIO MANUAL The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped has released a recording manual for volunteer groups providing audio recordings, "The Art and Science of Audio Book Production." It's 16 pages written in large print by NLS Audio Book Production Specialist Billy R. West. For a copy, contact NLS's reference section at (800) 424-8567. RADIO LIBRARY The Duane Griffin Radio Library, 2265 Wahlquist Dr., Idaho Falls, ID 83401, phone (208) 522-9008, sells old-time radio shows on four-track cassettes. Please write or call the library if you are interested in receiving a free cassette catalog. Also contact the library if you are interested in classical music on four-track cassette. MORE NEW BOOKS Twin Peaks Press has several new books and videos available. "Travel for the Disabled" is a 192-page guide with detailed information about travel books, magazines, guides to parks, campgrounds and special camps. It is available in print or on tape for $19.95 plus $3 shipping. "Directory of Travel Agencies for the Disabled" lists travel agencies that help disabled people arrange travel. It is available in print or on tape for $19.95 plus $3 shipping. "The Americans with Disabilities Act" is a video spelling out what businesses need to do to comply with the law, what questions can be asked of an interviewee, and more. It is available for $69.95 plus $5 shipping. "Resources the Disabled Can Use to Acquire and Fund Computers" is a book including sources for grants, programs, services, technology-related assistance, and more. To get this report, send $5 for print or $8 for cassette, along with your name and address and the words "Computer Report" to Twin Peaks Press, P.O. Box 129, Vancouver, WA 98666-0129, or for more information call (360) 694- 2462. "The Internet þ What To Know and How To Get On" is a new video showing how to use the Internet. It's a self-teaching video featuring graphic designs, frequently asked questions and a glossary of Internet terms. It is available for $69.95; add a PC or Macintosh training disk, and the cost becomes $89.95. Add $5 for shipping, and specify which diskette you want. Send your order to Twin Peaks Press, P.O. Box 129, Vancouver, WA 98666-0129. Credit card orders, call (800) 637-2256. "The Disability Bookshop Catalog" includes books about general medical topics; travel; careers; cooking; exercise; education, and more. Many of the books are in large print. Send $4 for postage and handling to The Disability Bookshop, P.O. Box 129, Vancouver, WA 98666-0129, or for more information call (360) 694-2462. The catalog is on tape for $8.50 postage and handling. ANN KLEIN AWARDS Michael Marrazzo of Leonardo, N.J., was recently named a 1995 Ann Klein Advocate Award winner by the Community Health Law Project. Marrazzo is the chairman of the Rehabilitation Advisory Council of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Other award winners include: Peter DeLotto, Steven Fittante, Rita Kern, Lydia Kirschenbaum, Gary Lamson, Fred Patterson, and Phyllis Salowe-Kaye. Special recognition went to the New Jersey Technology Assistive Resource Program. LARGE PRINT BOOKS Wheeler Publishing offers a variety of best-sellers in many categories: fiction, non-fiction, classics, mysteries, biographies and romances. All books are printed in 16-point type and are unabridged. For more information, contact Wheeler Publishing, P.O. Box 531, Accord, MA 02018-0531; phone (617) 871-9170 or (800) 588- 8881. DIGITAL CONSUMER INFO If you have a personal computer and telephone modem, you can receive electronic publications from the Consumer Information Center in Pueblo, Colo., according to a press release made available via the Internet. Famous for its Pueblo, CO address, the CIC publishes the Consumer Information Catalog which lists more than 200 federal publications covering topics such as federal benefits, health, cars, children, housing and money matters. The catalog and the publications listed can be viewed online or downloaded. The following is a list of instructions on how to reach the Consumer Information Center electronically. If you have a question, a comment, or if you just need help, send an e-mail message to catalog.pueblo@gsa.gov. If you do not have Internet access but can call a bulletin board system, set your communication software to 8-bit, no parity, and 1 stop bit (8N1) with ANSI/BBS terminal emulation. Call (202) 208-7679. Follow the on-screen instructions. Bits Per Second rates of up to 14,400 accepted. Gateways are available from Fedworld, SBAOnline, and GEMI. If you have access to the Internet's World Wide Web, point your browser to http://www.gsa.gov/staff/pa/cic/cic.htm. If you have Internet access to a gopher server, point to gopher.gsa.gov. Select the following menu items: STAFF OFFICES, then PUBLIC AFFAIRS, then CONSUMER INFO CTR. A list of catalog categories appears as subdirectories/folders. If you have Internet access to anonymous File Transfer Protocol, point to ftp.gsa.gov. Login as anonymous and use your e- mail address as the password. Change the directory to: /pub/cic. A list of catalog categories appears as subdirectories. If you have Internet access to Telnet, telnet to fedworld.gov. From the main menu, type "/go gateway" (no quotes). Select "D - Connect to Government Sys/Database." Type "6" to access the CIC. Follow the on-screen instructions. Finally, if you have Internet e-mail access only, send an e- mail message to cic.info@pueblo.gsa.gov with no subject and the words SEND INFO in the body of the message. ABOUT HOSPICE The National Hospice Organization is offering two of its best- selling publications in braille: "About Hospice" and "About Hospice Under Medicare." If you would like to receive a review copy of either one, call the Hospice Helpline at (800) 658-8898. BRAILLE BOOKS If you crave chocolate desserts, National Braille Press has recently published "Baker's Easiest-Ever Chocolate Recipes" by Kraft Foods Inc. It features more than 100 no-fuss, one-bowl recipes. It is one volume in braille, and costs $10. For the career-minded, there is "What Do I Do Now? Making Sense of Today's Workplace." It outlines the changes going on in today's workplace, and spells out new strategies to turn the changes to your advantage. It sells for $14.95. To order either of these titles, contact National Braille Press, 88 St. Stephen St., Boston, MA 02115. Any orders under $10 must be prepaid. CAROLYN'S CATALOG Carolyn's has issued a new version of its "Products for Enhanced Living" catalog of items for the visually impaired. For a free copy, call (800) 648-2266. MIGEL WINNERS, OTHERS Robert Smithdas, associate director of the Helen Keller National Center for the Deaf-Blind in Sands Point, N.Y., and Robert Morris, founder of the Helen Keller Eye Research Foundation and the Eye Injury Registry in Alabama, are the 1995 winners of the American Foundation for the Blind's M.C. Migel Medals. Smithdas received the Professional Award, and Morris received the Volunteer Award. And speaking of Migel, AFB's Migel Library and Information Center are now open to the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, or by appointment for specialized reference consultation. Erik Weihenmayer, the man climbing Mount McKinley on behalf of AFB, reached the summit on June 27. He said the climb was a metaphor for the obstacles facing blind people every day. He hoped his effort would succeed in raising awareness of issues, as well as funds, for braille literacy and employment opportunity. If you wish to contribute to the effort, send checks made payable to AFB HighSights '95 to AFB at 11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300, New York, N.Y. 10001. LIGHTING INFO Dazor, a manufacturer of adjustable-arm task lights and illuminated magnifiers, now has a free brochure about how light and magnification can help your vision. It explains the importance of proper lighting and answers the most commonly asked questions about illuminated magnifiers. To request a brochure, call (800) 345-9103 or write Dazor Manufacturing Corp., 4483 Duncan Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. HELP GHANA SCHOOL The Ghana School for the Blind recently requested instructional materials and assistance devices, such as braille writers and white canes, slates and styli, and other such things. The African Poverty Eradication Commission International is requesting used equipment for the school. If you have used educational materials, braille writers, braille books, etc., that you would like to donate, contact either Dr. Patrick Clerk or Ms. Helen Ludlow at (213) 481-1003. WORLD SERIES Version 10 of the World Series Baseball Game and Information System will be available following the 1995 World Series. It will come with 155 teams and 10 information programs. It costs $15 for new users, and $5 for updates. Send your check to Harry Hollingsworth, 692 S. Sheraton Dr., Akron, OH 44319 or call (216) 644-2421. Specify if you need a certain disk size. ART OF THE EYE Art of the Eye, a collection of 52 multimedia works created by professional artists with visual impairments, will be on tour. From November 19, 1995 to January 21, 1996, the collection will be at the Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, Fla. On February 26, it will be at the Nashville Metro Art Commission Church Street Center, and will continue there through March 23. From April 5 to May 5 it will be at the Cleveland Sight Center, Cleveland, Ohio. From May 18 to June 30 it will be at the Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum, Detroit, Mich. And from August 1 through 30 it will be at the Sasakawa Gallery in Washington, D.C. LIGHTHOUSE BRAILLE The Lighthouse Inc. sells pamphlets of cookbooks, health- related issues, some knitting instructions, etc. in braille. A price list is available in braille or large print. Write The Lighthouse Inc., Braille Services, 111 E. 59th St., New York, N.Y. 10022. In addition, its regular $1 braille calendar will be available, as well as the 1996 braille calendar with a pocket for each month to hold memos, bills, receipts, money, etc. The 1996 calendar is 7 1/2 inches by 8 1/4 inches, 15 pages, and costs $6.50. POINT OF LIGHT Elizabeth Bazo of Pensacola, Fla., was one of 28 Americans honored through the president's Points of Light program, which recognizes volunteer work throughout the country. The focus of their volunteer efforts, Northwest Florida Radio Reading Service, uses WSRE-TV's spare audio signal to broadcast daily readings of the Pensacola News Journal and other publications. Its first program was Oct. 25, 1992. AWARD WINNERS The Cincinnati chapter of ACB of Ohio recently honored volunteers and members at an awards reception. Tim Roedersheimer, Chris Erhart and John Tolos, all of the Price Hill Lions Club, have provided transportation and sighted guide service to blind people for the first two years of the ACB Walking Group. The walking group is now four years old. Ed Schwinn and Diane Zdelar-Bush were both given certificates of appreciation, as was Pauline Doerger, another volunteer sighted guide. Among other honorees were Bob Biernat, Jim Boyd, Roxann Thomas, volunteers; Jim Duffy, president of the Price Hill Lions Club, received a plaque of appreciation for the Lions' financial support to the transportation assistance program; and George Coorey, the man who was instrumental in founding the local chapter of ACB and who has been an excellent ambassador for blind people to the sighted world. JETT AND SMITH Jett and Smith now has its 1995-96 "no frills, just priced right" catalog on tape. It has more than 300 products for everyday living and a collection of special gifts for all occasions. There is also a new line of liberating products. All items are discount priced. All orders will be shipped to your door. When requesting your free cassette catalog, call (800) 275-5553 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific time (noon and 8 p.m. Eastern time) Monday through Saturday. Jett and Smith does not ship outside the United States. AMMETER AWARDED The Washington State Governor's Trophy in memory of Carolyn Blair Brown was presented to Sue Ammeter in early October. The ceremony was hosted by the Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment. RADIO SHOW John McCarthy, 435 Shirley St., Apt. #4-1, Winthrop, MA 02152 has radio shows he would like to share and swap with others. For more information, contact him at the above address. MATERIALS ACCESS Transcription Technologies Inc. can provide materials in accessible formats to visually impaired individuals and agencies, organizations, businesses or industries providing goods or services to that person. The company will convert print materials into braille, large print, four-track tone-indexed cassette, DOS disk, and WordPerfect 5.1 disk. All materials are confidential; both the original and the accessible copy will be returned after payment. A copy will be kept on file in case an extra copy is desired later. Braille and large print materials will be bound and covered, if desired, or three standard notebook holes will be made and rings inserted. Cassettes and disks will be labeled in print or braille. Materials that can be converted include: correspondence, personal documents, brochures and newsletters, magazines, newspaper articles, books, manuals and menus. Permission from book publishers is required to convert any copyrighted material. The company also has a bimonthly magazine that includes a variety of articles from syndicated columns and other print sources. "Noteworthy News Magazine" offers news of medicine, short entertaining news nuggets, and articles related to current issues in the news nationally and internationally. A single issue in any format (braille, cassette, large print, DOS disk or WordPerfect 5.1 disk) costs $16; a year's subscription costs $45. Make checks payable to Transcription Technologies, Inc. For more information, contact the company at 470 Tunnel Rd., Vernon, CT 06066; or phone Marie Caputo at (203) 643-1234. NEW DIRECTORS Kenneth Rosenthal of Tewksbury, N.J., was recently named the executive director of The Seeing Eye. He will be responsible for operations and professional leadership of the organization. Barbara Gill Rogus recently became the Director of Development for the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind of Smithtown, N.Y. She was the executive director of the Townwide Fund of Huntington, N.Y. She currently serves as a board member and membership chair of the Long Island chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives. PINE TUTORIAL ON TAPE If you use the Internet to send and receive electronic mail, and if you're interested in learning more about Pine, an e-mail reader commonly used on the Internet, you might find the Talk-Me- Through tutorial valuable. This 90-minute tutorial begins with a brief introduction to Pine for new users of the editor and then discusses the pine main menu. Getting help with pine while online is the first order of business. Then you'll learn how to read, reply, write, and compose messages. Advanced features such as saving messages and attached files to disk is likewise explored. Learning how to attach files with e-mail messages, how to send carbon copies of a message to multiple recipients and how to forward a message to others is also covered. Managing Pine folders, news group application, creating personal and expanded address books, sending bulk mailings, and Pine customization are all part of this internet tutorial. For more information or to order the $20 tutorial, call (800) 484-9586 extension 9579 or (303) 934-7493. VISA and MasterCard are welcome. Other Internet tutorial tapes are also available. The entire set of three tapes costs $40. You can obtain additional information via e-mail by writing to: philscov@netcom.com. HIGH TECH SWAP SHOP FOR SALE: VersaBraille II+. Includes internal disk drive, external double disk drive, and several programs and games. Asking $2,000 or best offer. Contact Tony Cothren at P.O. Box 660099, Birmingham, AL 35266, or phone (205) 979-8887 (8 a.m.-5 p.m. Central time) or (205) 979-8818 (5-10 p.m. Central time). FOR SALE: Kurzweil scanner, model 35. Can handle books and other printed materials. Asking $3,500 or best offer. Contact Brenda Pride at (904) 455-3994. FOR SALE: TSI Advantage CCTV with 19-inch Sanyo composite monitor and monitor stand. Also included: an automated X-Y viewing table with pedals for easy hands-free reading, all manuals and cables. Excellent condition; like new. Asking $2,079. Must sell ASAP. Call John Chilelli at (814) 459-9981. FOR SALE: Xerox Reading Edge. Scarcely used. Paid $5,500; asking $3,000 or best offer. Contact Mrs. Charles Rieger, 1129 Dogwood Dr., McLean, VA 22101. FOR SALE: Perkins brailler in good working condition, $200. Technasonic Weight Talker with memory keys, slightly used. Uses seven AA batteries þ not included þ $75. Contact Merten Wagner at (612) 781-8442. FOR SALE: Xerox Reading Edge. In excellent condition. Has the most recent upgrade, plus a service agreement which is good until October 1996. Asking $2,000. Contact Robert Feinstein in braille, print, or tape (no handwriting) at 1750 E. 14th St., Apt. 2E, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11229, or phone (718) 627-0713. FOR SALE: Arkenstone Hot Card and HP scanner. Asking $500. Purchaser will receive a free screen reader. Contact Stan Lewis at (510) 778-4881. WANTED: Any adaptive speech software and synthesizer that would work with a 486 SX IBM-compatible computer system. Any information about used or unwanted equipment would be appreciated. Please call Alla at (617) 734-4216. ACB BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sue Ammeter, Seattle, WA Ardis Bazyn, Cedar Rapids, IA Christopher Gray, San Jose, CA Charles Hodge,Arlington, VA John Horst, Wilkes-Barre, PA Jean Mann, Guilderland, NY Kristal Platt, Omaha, NE M.J. Schmitt, Forest Park, IL Pamela Shaw, Philadelphia, PA Richard Villa, Bedford, TX LeRoy Saunders, Immediate Past President, Oklahoma City, OK BOARD OF PUBLICATIONS Carol McCarl, Chairperson, Salem, OR Kim Charlson, Watertown, MA Thomas Mitchell, North Salt Lake City, UT Mitch Pomerantz, Los Angeles, CA Jay Doudna, Lancaster, PA Ex Officio: Laura Oftedahl, Watertown, MA ACB OFFICERS PRESIDENT PAUL EDWARDS 20330 NE 20TH CT.. MIAMI, FL 33179 FIRST VICE PRESIDENT BRIAN CHARLSON 57 GRANDVIEW AVE. WATERTOWN, MA 02172 SECOND VICE PRESIDENT STEPHEN SPEICHER 825 M ST., SUITE 216 LINCOLN, NE 68508 SECRETARY CYNTHIA TOWERS 556 N. 80TH ST. SEATTLE, WA 98103 TREASURER PATRICIA BEATTIE CRYSTAL TOWERS #206 NORTH 1600 S. EADS ST. ARLINGTON, VA 22202 CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ELIZABETH M. LENNON, Kalamazoo, MI