BLINDNESS, THE NFB, AND ME

BLINDNESS, THE NFB, AND ME

Future Reflections Spring 1996, Vol. 15 No. 2
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BLINDNESS, THE NFB, AND ME
[PICTURE] Wayne Pearcy
[PICTURE] Angela Sasser
[PICTURE] John E. Cheadle
Editor's Note: Of all the speakers and panels at the 1995
Parents Seminar, there was probably not one as well received
as this panel. Made up mostly of children and youth, parents
heard first-hand from the kids themselves what they have
learned about blindness from the NFB. Here are the
presentations of three of those youngsters; Wayne Percy, age
8, of Louisiana; Angela Sasser, a blind teen also from
Louisiana; and John E. Cheadle, a sighted sibling from
Maryland (yes, he is related to this editor-he's my son).
WAYNE PEARCY
The great things that can happen when you live with a
blind family in the NFB.
I am Wayne Pearcy. My mother is Zena Pearcy. My dad is
Jeff Pearcy. My parents are blind. They have been members of
the NFB for twenty years. I attended my first convention when
I was five years old. I attended my first state convention
when I was five months old. I learned to use a cane when I was
two years old. I learned to write and read Braille when I was
four. I think that all people should use Braille at an early
age. It's swell to be in the NFB cause there's a lot of blind
people around you. I like going to conventions. I like playing
with blind kids. I like the NFB film about Braille.
When I go to school, I use Braille in all my classes.
Sometimes, my teachers don't understand that I need to use my
cane. My parents make them understand about my cane.
Thanks to all of you for listening to my speech. I hope
you enjoyed it. Good bye.
ANGELA SASSER
Fire is a symbol of eternity; so strong that a single
flame can burn down an entire forest, yet so gentle that it
can warm the hearts of friends and family on a cold winter's
evening.
It symbolizes hope for those who are looking for light at
the end of their tunnel. Such as for a lost little boy who
sees a flickering candle in a window and knows that he is no
longer alone. Each one of us has a flame in our soul that
burns forever and is never blown out, not even when we die.
Take Dr. tenBroek for example, the flame that burned so
brightly in his soul is now burning in the souls of us, the
newer generations of blind people. He was the one that struck
the match that lit the candle of Dr. Jernigan and Mr. Maurer,
who passed the candle on to people like Joanne Wilson and
Ramona Walhof, who taught my generation about the ideas and
philosophy behind the National Federation of the Blind.
When I went blind four year ago, I had a spark that
wanted so badly to become a raging fire of ideas and
ambitions. But I couldn't fan the fire on my own. I needed
encouragement and education, and guess where I found it-the
National Federation of the Blind.
In a way I was like that lost little boy. I was lost too.
I had no idea how to use alternative techniques to do things.
But the Louisiana Center for the Blind was the candle in the
window for me. They gave me the hope and encouragement that
I needed to live my life as a normal kid. They taught me
Braille so I can read out loud with the rest of my classmates.
They taught me cane travel skills so I can keep up with my
friends when I'm out and can go on a date without having to
ask the guy to take me to the bathroom.
Having been taught these little things, I know I can take
on the bigger things in life. Through the past four years I
have not only done the usual growing, but the spark inside has
also grown into a fire that I wish to use to light the candle
of hope for others as past generations of blind people have
done for me. I thank the NFB for making growing up a little
easier.
JOHN EARL CHEADLE
One spring afternoon as I lay relaxing in my room the
phone rang. I picked up the receiver and started talking to
the lady on the other end of the line. The conversation, a
fairly typical exchange relating each of our adventures over
the course of the day, took an unexpected turn when she asked
me to give a speech on the benefits of growing up in the NFB,
and give it at the NFB's National Convention, no less.
After thinking of a number of answers I could have given
this woman I finally responded, "Sure, Mom. I'd be happy to."
Sitting down to write this speech, I first felt
absolutely overwhelmed at the enormous nature of the task at
hand. How was I supposed to put into words the positive
effects of eighteen years, my entire lifetime of experience
with the NFB. Then a revelation of divine proportions struck
me. All my life the NFB had provided me with the essential
ingredient necessary to lead a happy and productive life, lots
and lots of good food.
Now, while it's true that excellent refreshments and
meals are served at NFB picnics, cookouts, chapter meetings,
state conventions, and of course here at the National
Convention, I'm not talking about just that kind of food. I'm
talking about, for instance, brain food.
Through the NFB I have come in contact with some of the
leading minds in areas as diverse as statistical mathematics
and social justice. I can't count how many times I've quoted
Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, or President Maurer to create a
more intellectual term paper or class discussion.
Barbara Pierce and her thorough knowledge of
post-secondary institutions was invaluable to me as I embarked
upon my college search last year. I helped read for Scott
LaBarre as he studied for his Legal Bar exam and learned more
than I ever wanted to know about Tort legislation.
The vast literature of the NFB has helped me complete
more than a few school projects, and the people of this
organization have been to me teachers and mentors as excellent
as those in any school.
And so I am exceedingly thankful for the brain food of
the NFB.
Additionally, the NFB has raised me on a healthy diet of
justice ever since I was born. As an infant, I was protesting
unfair treatment of the blind. I'm sure my parents will be
happy to show you pictures of my days picketing in a stroller.
For most people my age, justice is simply another
assignment in a philosophy or literature class. Probably
given to them about the time they are sleeping off last
night's party. But for me, it is alive! My parents work for
it day in and day out. My sister and my brother and I have to
educate our peers at every turn that the blind deserve to be
treated justly because they are normal people and therefore
should be given all the normal human rights to which everyone
in this nation is entitled.
I've watched and on occasion helped the NFB correct
injustices of every sort: small injustices and large ones;
those that are swiftly defeated and those that require years
of fighting before they are finally trampled into dust; those
injustices derived from ignorance and those that are brutally
intentional. The NFB has given me energy, philosophy, and
strategy to fight injustice.
And so I count justice food as one of the best benefits
of growing up in the NFB.
Finally, I could not talk about the benefits of being an
NFB kid without mentioning my brother Charles, who's blind.
Known to many of you as Chaz. Please allow me a moment to brag
on my brother.
He is enrolled in the high school from which I graduated
a month ago, earning A's and B's in college level courses
offered there. He's active in his Boy Scout troop and is
working on his Eagle project. He plays guitar, harmonica, and
a little piano.
He was recently appointed to the Governor's Committee on
Service for the State of Maryland and has put in countless
hours of volunteer work at the National Center for the Blind
in Baltimore.
Chaz has given me quite a bit of first-hand experience
with a blind person although I rarely think of him that way
anymore. He's my brother. He helps me out when I need it; he
makes me laugh, even when I don't feel like laughing. And he
finishes off the food on my plate when I am too stuffed to
move.
The NFB has given me one of the best foods of all.
Brotherhood.
However these foods in and of themselves, are not the
most wonderful gifts I have received. The food of the National
Federation of the Blind has provided me with a second family.
In most cultures and religions food holds the status of
importance beyond the alleviation of physical hunger. It
represents community; community with nature or God or other
people. This is the greatest benefit of growing up in the
NFB-being an integral part of a community to which I give some
of my energy but from which I derive a power so much greater
than my own that who I am is no longer defined solely by my
personal achievements but increasingly by the achievements of
the community in which I function. The great benefits of
growing up in the NFB have included such rich varieties and
enormous volumes of food that it is with a proud and thankful
heart that I say...I am fed up to here with the NFB!
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