My Shot in the Arm

American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Convention 2018 CONVENTION PERSPECTIVES
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My Shot in the Arm
by Sheena Manuel
From the Editor: Sheena Manuel is a reading specialist and itinerant teacher of blind children in Louisiana. She is also a researcher at the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness (PDRIB) at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston.

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Editor's Introduction

Editor's Introduction

What do toothpaste and railroad tracks have in

common? Just

about the same that axes and law books

do--nothing and

everything. They are the building blocks of the

routine of daily

existence. In a very real sense they are the

essence of humanity

itself.

When I was younger (maybe 40 years ago), there

was a popular

song called "Little Things Mean a Lot."

It dealt with what the

Of Toothpaste and Shaving Cream

OF TOOTHPASTE AND SHAVING CREAM

by Kenneth Jernigan

Almost everybody who thinks about blindness

begins with the

assumption that if you are blind, you are at a

tremendous

disadvantage in dealing with the everyday tasks

of getting along

and managing your life. To some extent, of

course, that is true.

Regardless of other things, the world is

structured for the

sighted. Most books are in print, not Braille; an

increasing

Looking Back at Trains and Tracks

LOOKING BACK AT TRAINS AND TRACKS

by Maureen Pranghofer

An unnamed terror, needless and debilitating

accompanied

Maureen Pranghofer from early childhood to middle

age. In the

story that follows Maureen tells of her struggle

to get on the

right track. Here is what she has to say:

My fascination with trains began on the north

side of the

living room and gradually spread south. For it

was on the north

side that the television was located just a

The Axe and the Lawbook

THE AXE AND THE LAW BOOK

by Marc Maurer

Abraham Lincoln wielded and axe, and he also

became a

lawyer. Although Marc Maurer has never been

elected President of

the United States, he has followed Lincoln's

footsteps with the

axe and the lawbook. Living in different

centuries, both Lincoln

and Maurer had hardships to overcome--and both

succeeded when

they might have despaired and given up.

No, Marc Maurer has never been elected President

of the

Learning to Read

LEARNING TO READ

by Patricia Maurer

Patricia Maurer, the wife of the President of the

National

Federation of the Blind, didn't learn to read

until she was well

along in school. Her blindness wasn't the

problem. It was

simply that nobody had offered her the

opportunity and the

stimulation to learn Braille. Today she has a

college degree, is

a certified teacher, and is the mother of two

active sighted

children--a boy named David and a girl named

KEEPING THE RENT CURRENT PIONEERINGIN THE COURTS

KEEPING THE RENT CURRENT PIONEERING

IN THE COURTS

by Hazel Staley

The strength of the National Federation of the

Blind lies in

its members from the very young to the not so

young. Here one of

our senior members tells about her life. Her

story reminds me of

something I frequently tell people about us: We

laugh and cry,

work and play, hope and dream--just like you.

Here is what she

has to say: