February 2008

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From an anonymous reader:

Romeo Edmead's December article about
paratransit ("On the Move") was informative and
for the most part accurate. Yet he writes,
"Government officials contacted for this article
would only speak anonymously or off the record.
Media relations departments failed to return
some phone calls. Those who did return calls
only offered Web sites that the officials
claimed could answer all questions about
paratransit."
An "official" who gives his or her name
might be reprimanded for not asking and
obtaining permission to be interviewed--a
sometimes lengthy process. Anonymity may mean
that an official is trying to give as much
information as quickly as he or she can. That
is why this letter is anonymous.
Media relations representatives refer
callers to Web sites because Web sites can
answer many questions. If the caller still has
questions after reviewing a Web site, he or she
can call the media representative again.
Readers may come away from the article with
the impression that the customers quoted
represent the views of all customers. A more
accurate picture could be obtained from
referencing customer-satisfaction surveys
conducted by outside companies hired by transit
agencies.
Recipients of poor customer service should
make specific complaints to their transit
agency. What happened? Who was involved? When
did it happen? I am aware of dispatchers and
drivers who have been fired because of poor
customer service, but such disciplinary action
only happens if customers voice specific
complaints that enable officials to identify the
offender.
Finally, a correction: Every applicant
denied service or dissatisfied with the degree
of service that he or she has been granted must
appeal the decision. There are not two options
as described in the article.

From Willis Saunders, Huntington, WV:

Although I have heard a few complaints about the
paratransit system here in Huntington, I have
had good results. I use paratransit to get to
NFB meetings. Once a driver was too early, but
they have been very helpful and polite. I give
them kudos for being efficient.

From Lucia Marett, New York, NY:

Too often I hear blind people judging other
blind people for using the paratransit system.
"After all," they say, "if I can use the subway,
so can you." While I use the New York City
subway system daily to get to and from work, I
use Access-a-Ride paratransit once in awhile, if
no one is available in an area to ask
directions, and people are all traveling in
their cars.
I am taking a neutral position on the issue
of the identification of U.S. currency for the
purposes of this submission to this column. If,
however, people want ATM's to speak, then there
is a contradiction. ATM's only disburse 20's.
Hence, the more likely it is that blind people
can be cheated out of money, with large bills.
Many blind people complain that they do not
want accommodations, such as detectable warning
domes on subway platform edges. Isn't the
removal of silent cars an accommodation? Why
not let the silent cars do their thing if no
accommodation is needed? The detectable warning
domes (not the strips) on subway platforms would
help everybody--not just blind people. The
noise of the cars, instead of silent cars, would
help everybody. Sighted people need noise too,
and they could use their other senses.
People who do not have dogs object to the
braille medallion numbers in New York taxicabs.
The braille can help everybody. It is not only
guide-dog users who suffer discrimination in
cabs. Cane users do, too, when cabbies lengthen
a trip by driving to the wrong place, or when
they take a roundabout route, and then charge a
higher fare.
Blind people had better unite to advocate
for civil rights and justice, and quit fighting
each other.

From Cynthia Groopman, Long Island City, NY:

The November issue of the Ziegler greatly
impressed me with its topical articles that were
well written. I really enjoyed Bob Dole's essay
about veterans. I am dismayed that a large
percentage of veterans are homeless, poor,
unemployed and not getting the medical services
that they need. The recent scandals at the
veterans' hospitals have shown that medical care
is not up to snuff. It is sad to think that
those who served are not being served.
Veterans' Day is now a day to shop and to
find sales and relax, but we should all
commemorate the true meaning of the day. We
must respect our veterans and honor all of them.
As the veterans age, more geriatric facilities
as well as programs and medical care must be
given to them.
I enjoyed the article about civility during
holidays. I have found that get-togethers--
holidays, weddings or religious events--
sometimes bring out the worst in family members.
In fact, there are more fights, arguments, ill-
will and anger expressed when families are
forced together once a year.
I also think that civility is missing in
relationships with our colleagues, neighbors,
businesses, medical personnel and in daily life.
There is no personal element any longer in
relationships. Neighbors are not nice, as they
used to be. At times, people do not respect the
white cane and ignore blind people, or even
insult us unnecessarily with stupid questions.
Civility must be taught at schools and in adult-
education courses. That is the basis of human
existence.

From Ayn Apelman, Pittsburgh, PA:

After reading The New York Times obituary for
Joybubbles in October's issue, I was outraged.
Although the article was well-written, the
character involved is a different story. I
think this man had some serious mental health
issues to deal with. He was childish, dishonest
and downright spiteful. It's a shame the way
Joybubbles misused his gifts and talents. He
was no better than the Badir brothers, the blind
men who were arrested for similar theft from
communications companies.
Is this the image we want society to have
of us? I don't think so! This man is a
disgrace to the blind community and the disabled
community in general. Joybubbles knew he could
do better; however, he chose not to.

From George Griller, Faribault, MN:

Month after month I sing accolades of the
Ziegler and of its high-caliber choices of
informative and encouraging articles. The brief
article about Joybubbles, the thief of telephone
calls, was simply not Ziegler quality--
especially when there are so very many blind
people doing noteworthy things and never
receiving tribute.

From Mira Wilson, Calgary, Canada:

I'm responding to Blaine Deutscher's letter of
concern in the September Readers Forum. I think
it is most tacky of people to have responded to
him by requesting donations!
Second, I think e-mail etiquette needs to
be addressed. For those who keep forwarding
already forwarded messages: you're running
the risk of receiving and passing along viruses.
It shows a lack of consideration for privacy by
passing along all those e-mail addresses. If
you want to pass along a good joke, or items of
interest, at least do a new note, clean up by
copying only the material into the note you want
the reader to appreciate, and don't pass along
all the other e-mail addresses. If you have a
BCC feature in your e-mail, enter the e-mail
addresses in there so they show as a "suppressed
list." That way you're not passing along e-mail
addresses of those multiple people you're
sharing these items with.
I find it most tedious to go through lines
of e-mail addresses and clutter. If there's too
much of that clutter, I delete the item without
getting to the contents.

From Keith Wiglesworth, Rockingham, NC:

I just want to say thanks for the September
editor's letter that listed so many good
resources found in the exhibit hall at the
American Council of the Blind (ACB) convention
as well as Romeo Edmead's article about the
National Federation of the Blind (NFB) exhibits.
This is a dandy way to update my resource list
of the many companies we look to for products
and services.

From Ben Watson, Madison, GA:

Thank you for an informative magazine. I
especially appreciated the tour through the
exhibit halls of both the ACB and NFB
conventions, along with the Web sites, mailing
address and telephone numbers of exhibitors.
Like other readers, I am constantly on the
lookout for helpful companies selling what I
need, and the September issue had several I will
likely do business with at some time.

From Didi Tarsidi, Bandung, Indonesia:

Since the beginning of September 2007, when you
try to join a chat room in Yahoo, you will find
this prompt: "Chat room verification. We know
you hate spam and automated bots in chat rooms
as much as we do. To help prevent them, please
verify your account by typing the characters
shown in the illustration into the text box
below. Then click the Submit button. Upon
verification, you'll be allowed to join the room
and start chatting."
I know that the prompt is well meaning, but
it creates a barrier for blind chatters, as
screen readers such as JAWS cannot read the word
verification characters. I wonder how other
chatters have solved this problem, or whether
blind activists in the United States have
notified Yahoo of the barrier it has created for
blind users.

From Tim Hendel, Huntsville, AL:

For many years, residential schools for the
blind have been spoken of in very negative
terms, and those of us who attended them have
been assumed to have had an inferior education,
along with poor or no social-skills training. I
would like to contradict this impression. I
received all of my pre-university education at
the New York State School for the Blind in
Batavia. My residential school time was a
positive experience. I am not saying it was
perfect, by any means, but, then, many sighted
people who attended public school do not look
back on their school days with very much
joy. My own sister, sighted and a public school
graduate, had a much harder and less happy time
in school than I did. I have absolutely no
regrets about not having been mainstreamed. I
hear many blind people who attended public
schools talk about their isolation and
loneliness. I had excellent braille
instruction, including braille music, which I
still remember. I would like to encourage
others who had positive experiences at
residential school to write to Readers Forum,
and contradict the negative impression that many
have given.

From a reader in Colorado:

One fitness idea that has not been mentioned in
the Ziegler is a jump rope. Buying a 1/4-inch
round nylon rope at a hardware store is an
economical purchase. You stand on the rope
before the clerk cuts any off of the roll. The
rope should reach a little above the hips on
each side of your body. A little extra length
is necessary if you wish to have loops or knots
for handles. Have someone heat the ends so the
rope will not fray. A match may be used for
this job.
Be sure you find an indoor location, free
of lamps, light fixtures, furniture and stairs.
A hallway may work well in bad weather. I
enjoyed jumping rope as a child. I found it fun
to go back to this childhood joy after my
limited vision was gone.
I am wondering if discontinuing the Optacon
was a mistake by its manufacturer. I wish users
luck in keeping their machines running. I never
owned one. I once felt the Optacon would go
down in price and more blind people would have
print access.

From Cheryl Wade, Midland, MI:

I'd like to know if any of the blindness
organizations have compiled a guide to help
companies produce bills that are friendly to
scanner programs.
I feel blessed to have scanning software on
my computer, but I've noticed a lot more of my
bills are almost incomprehensible because many
letters are turned into I's or L's. Has anyone
analyzed bills from major companies to find out
what features--perhaps font or color or
background--are good for reading with scanner
software and which ones are not? If such
information is available, I'd love to send it to
my bank and my credit card company.
Also, I have heard of blindness
organizations or companies that produce braille
bills. I would imagine these organizations
produce only bills from large companies--I know
Sears and AT&T bills are available. But are
there actually companies that produce braille
bills for smaller numbers of payers? If so, how
do they prepare them in a timely manner?

From Corrine Phillips, Oshkosh, WI:

I am writing to let people know there are
employers who will treat you like a person. I
have found that place: A.P. Nonweiler/Crescent
Bronze, which makes metallic and enamel paint.
I had to show them I deserved the opportunity--
just like you have to at any other plant. I
work hard and have proven myself to be a
reliable person. They let me try things before
they say I can't do them. I also have been
trained the same as everyone else. I feel like
part of something, for I'm included in a lot of
things. I have never experienced that before.
My job involves labeling the cans and
bottles and making the boxes they are put in.
When I have nothing to do, I help out in
shipping or with the non-toxic powders that need
to be put in cans. I enjoy my job and my co-
workers.
When I got hurt at work, they were right
there to help me. I broke my humerus bone in my
left arm. Everyone made me feel like I was
missed, like I was needed. When I got better,
for the first few days everyone came and checked
to make sure I was OK. I feel that they are my
second family.
I know there are a lot of employers that
see disability and not a person's true ability.
They are wrong. We are people first. Disability
limits what we can do. What we can do makes up
for what we can't. If you have questions about
the paints we make, the number is 920-231-0850.
I thought I would let readers of the Ziegler
know that there are companies who will work with
the challenged, although they are few and far
between. Keep searching for the right place for
you.

From Gary Norman, Baltimore, MD:

I am an attorney and am partnered with a guide
dog. The German Marshall Fund of the United
States has selected me to be a 2008 American
Marshall Memorial Fellow. This is a prestigious
fellowship program for emerging leaders under
the age of 40. About 80 Fellows are selected
annually. The purpose of this fellowship, which
consists of a month-long journey to Europe, is
to educate emerging American leaders on
trans-Atlantic foreign relations. I shall
travel to Europe from Oct. 2-28. Fellows travel
to a core city at the advent and at the
conclusion of the adventure. In between, Fellows
travel to an array of cities and nations, based
on their personal intellectual and career
interests.
As such, I desire to publish a notice
about my selection to this fellowship and
journey to Europe next year. I welcome
individuals who have traveled recently to Europe
to contact me at mdguidedogs@hotmail.com or 410-
241-6745.

From John Barros, Corcoran, CA:

I am a prison inmate and as well as a lover of
the Ziegler Magazine. I enjoy abstract
painting. For many years, I have been working
with the handicapped and elderly. Most have no
art supplies, so I use the funds that I make
from my art sales to provide them with basics.
Unfortunately, I have not found many places that
will sell my art. Do any Ziegler readers know
where I can sell it? There is little help for
the men who cannot help themselves, and that's
why I try to do what I can.

From Altaf and Imran Ahmed, Waukesha, WI:

We are a sister and brother who are blind. We
used to live in Pakistan, where we subscribed to
the Ziegler. We still love to read the
magazine, but in America we now have a better
Internet connection, so we read it online.
We came to United States last year to
attend Carroll College in Wisconsin. We are the
first blind students from Pakistan studying
computer software engineering. Once we complete
our education, we would love to design a screen
reader for blind Pakistanis in Urdu. This would
open new horizons for blind people there, since
no books are produced in braille and there is no
software that can read Urdu. We also want to
work in the accessibility field to enrich the
lives of blind people all around the world.
We were fortunate that a kind doctor
sponsored us for one year. That year is over
now, and we are in need of funds, scholarships,
grants or sponsorships to continue our
education. As international students, we are
not eligible for any federal aid or state
services. If anybody can help us to find some
scholarships, we will be very thankful. Please
call 262-524-7041 or 262-305-9710, or send e-
mail to haltaf@cc.edu.

From MaryLou Potgeter, Kalamazoo, MI:

We had an election on the 6th of November, and
when I went down to vote, I got a pleasant
surprise. I did not even know that Michigan had
implemented a voting system for blind people
until I went down there, and it was so cool. It
took a little bit of time to get used to it. I
had to ask for help a couple of times, but other
than that, everything went really well. I had
never minded having to ask for help before, but
being able to vote by myself for the first time
was really neat. My girlfriend Donna, however,
had a much harder time. She said the machine
talked too fast, she didn't like the
computerized voice, and she doesn't read braille
as well as I do. She ended up having to vote
the old way, but at least now we have a choice.