We Don't Have North here
WE DON'T HAVE NORTH HERE
by Barbara Pierce
People tend to be curious about blindness.
Perhaps the
single item which arouses the most curiosity is
how a person can,
without seeing where he or she is going, move
about without
assistance both inside and out. Despite
appearances there's no
magic involved. Barbara Pierce addresses the
subject in the story
that follows. Here is what she has to say:
Blindness is both frightening and puzzling to
The Blind Beak of Bow Street
THE BLIND BEAK OF BOW STREET
by John Dashney
Can a blind man be a policeman? This one was--and
he lived
more than 200 years ago. Here is his story as it
appeared in
Lifeprints.
One of England's first and greatest policemen was
blind.
Sir John Fielding, the younger half-brother of
the great
English novelist Henry Fielding, was born in
1721. He joined the
navy as a youth, but an accident cost him his
sight at the age of
A Lesson From Marsha
A LESSON FROM MARSHA
by Barbara Walker
Almost all children test their parents to see
just what they
can get away with. What if the parent is blind?
And what if the
parent is blind and the child takes advantage of
the blindness?
Is it fair? And what does it say about the
child's attitude
toward the parent and the parent's blindness?
With sensitivity,
love, and true understanding of herself, her
blindness, and her
Toothpaste and Railroad Tracks
TOOTHPASTE AND RAILROAD TRACKS
Kenneth Jernigan, Editor
Large Type Edition
A KERNEL BOOK
published by
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
Copyright 1995
by the National Federation of the Blind
ISBN 1-885218-02-8
All Rights Reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Table of Contents
Editor's Introduction
Of Toothpaste and Shaving
Cream
Looking Back at Trains and
Tracks
The Axe and the Law Book
Learning to Read
Editor's Introduction
Editor's Introduction
Five years ago we printed What Color is the Sun,
the
first volume in the Kernel Book series. Now we
come to the
eleventh, Beginnings and Blueprints.
Although the previous ten and this volume contain
widely
divergent subject matter they have a constant
theme--what it
is like to live on a daily basis as a blind
person. Just as
with the others, the stories in this book are
true. They are
Beginnings and Blueprints
BEGINNINGS AND BLUEPRINTS
by Kenneth Jernigan
When does a beginning turn into a blueprint? I
don't
know, but of one thing I am certain. Blueprints
have played an
important part in my life. And not just in the
work I have
done managing and remodeling buildings but also
in the
disappointments and opportunities that have
shaped my being
and made me what I am.
As readers of the Kernel Books know, I have been
blind
The Leaky Roof, the Children, and the Future
THE LEAKY ROOF,
THE CHILDREN, AND THE FUTURE
by Marc Maurer
Marc Maurer is now in the full flower of his
Presidency
of the National Federation of the Blind. Both he
and his wife
Patricia are totally blind, but this does not
interfere with
the raising of their two children, David and
Dianna. If the
realization of the American dream means a full
life of
satisfying work and busy activity, the Maurers
qualify, and it
Hook, Line and Golf Balls
HOOK, LINE, AND GOLF BALLS
by David Walker
David Walker lives in Missouri with his wife
Betty, who
is also blind. Both work hard in the National
Federation of
the Blind, helping others come to have the
independence which
they have achieved for themselves. David, an avid
sportsman,
loves to fish; and neither his blindness nor golf
balls
whizzing across the path to the lake are going to
keep him
from it. Here is what he has to say:
Reaching for the Stars
REACHING FOR THE STARS
by Julie Hunter
Bob and Julie Hunter rejoiced at the birth of
their new
baby daughter--perfect in every way. Aglow with
anticipation,
they brought her home from the hospital. Then as
their baby's
vision faded, so did their hopes and dreams for
her future.
Here Julie relates the heartwarming story of how
she and her
husband Bob not only rekindled those dreams, but
learned to
reach for the stars as well.
The Metal Pole
The Metal Pole
Homer Page is a leader in the National Federation
of the
Blind of Colorado. When he was six years old he
learned a
lesson from a metal pole, and he remembers it
well to this
day. Here is how he tells it:
I was born seven weeks before Pearl Harbor. As
were so
many young men of his generation my father was
soon caught up
in the war. For a number of years during my early
life he was
away from home in the army.