To Park or Not To Park

To Park or Not To Park

In the same year, 1992, he edited As the Twig is Bent. In this volume he spoke
of the need to think of blind children, to plan for their future and to help them (and
blind adults) gain maturity. The "Editor’s Introduction" and his article,
"To Park or Not to Park," contain the following information.

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION
by Kenneth Jernigan
There is a well known saying that as the twig is bent, so grows the
tree.
What is true of plants is also true of people. The poet Wordsworth
said, "The child is father of the man." He meant, of course, that our behavior
and beliefs as adults are, to a large extent, determined by what happens to us when we are
growing up.
This third Kernel Book is largely focused on that theme-what
today’s blind children are being taught about themselves and what happened to
yesterday’s blind children, those who are today’s adults. As we of the National
Federation of the Blind have so often said, the real problem of blindness is not the
blindness itself but the mistaken notions and misunderstandings about blindness which are
so widely prevalent in society. The first two Kernel Books (What Color is the Sun
and The Freedom Bell) also dealt with this theme, but the present volume has a
particular emphasis on blind children and what lies ahead for them. Every day all of us
are, at least to some degree, bending the twig that will determine the final shape of
their lives.
In this book I have tried to acquaint you with quite a number of blind
children and adults, and I have tried to do it at something more than merely the surface
level. These are people I know-friends, former students, and colleagues. I think they are
people that you, too, will want to know. In the process I hope you will gain an increased
understanding of what blind people are like. Mostly we’re just like you. We cry if we
have reason to-but not because of blindness. And we laugh if something’s funny-but,
again, not because of blindness. Our lives are as varied, as interesting, or as dull as
yours. It all depends on how the twig is bent, how the tree grows, and what opportunities
and environment we have.
I don’t know how many more Kernel Books we will print, but if this
one gets the warm reaction which the first two have received, there will probably be
others. Meanwhile the present volume is now being widely distributed, hopefully to do its
bit to help improve the climate of public opinion about blindness. Every day we bend the
twig.

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