MINNESOTA BULLETIN Quarterly Publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, Inc. 100 East 22nd Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404 (612) 872-9363 Tom Scanlan, Editor Volume LXI, Number 4, Spring 1997 WE ARE CHANGING WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BLIND Table of Contents Les Affaires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 A Note of Thanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 A List of Ideas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Blindness, Learning and New Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Move-A-Thon Set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 SSB Communication Center Plans for the 21st Century. . . . . . . . 18 MCTO Meets the Metro Chapter Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Parent Column. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Linda Oliva Honored. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Convention Alert!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Les Affaires By Joyce Scanlan, President (Editor's Note: The quotations in the following article are made directly from the book being reviewed. The grammar was not edited.) When I became a rehabilitation student (they called us "trainees") at the Minneapolis Society for the Blind (now Vision Loss Resources, VLR), I had specific goals to achieve. I wanted employment. Independence and self- sufficiency had always meant everything to me. Teaching English and Latin had been my profession when I could see. But now that I was blind, I questioned my ability ever again to teach. My confidence had been shattered, and my self-esteem was at an all-time low. I wanted to know how to deal with this blindness, this new barrier in my career. On the surface, I wanted a job. Deep down, I wanted something done about the problems blindness was causing. My future had been destroyed. Financially, I was bankrupt. It was a very angry and frightened person who sat across from the intake worker that first day. If I could have verbalized my situation at the moment, I might have said, "I challenge you to show me that I can succeed as a blind person. Prove to me that I can have a happy and productive life. Give me hope that life can again be good." What did I learn at the rehab center? Instructors said to me, "You are not blind. You don't look blind. You look at people when you talk to them. You can carry your collapsible cane for identification. If you lose all your vision, you'll be better off than most people here, because you have seen. Also, if you lose more vision, you can always come back to the center for more training." This was my first experience in a rehab center, and I had nothing by which to measure what happened. Many observations made me very uncomfortable. Staff were heard talking about and laughing at students. They frequently discussed students with other students in negative terms. One instructor brought out a student file and read from it to another group of students. In my book, this was a breach of confidentiality and most unprofessional. All this was very upsetting, but I felt powerless to do anything about it. At the end of one month at the training center, I was informed that my time was up. All my fears and doubts about blindness had been confirmed. Blindness was even more a barrier, since I had learned that even the experts feared blindness and treated blind people with disdain. Any hope for a productive future was gone. Lest anyone think I am making up stories about the negative attitudes toward and poor treatment of blind people practiced by the professional staff of our local rehab center, let me tell you about a book written by Marie Williams entitled "The Worldwide Church of the Handicapped" and recently published by Coffee House Press in Minneapolis. The fifteen stories in this book provide the foundation for the criticism blind people in the area have raised concerning the attitudes toward blindness of our once-upon-a-time only rehab training center for blind people. Marie Williams, a social worker, served at various times as intake worker and director of community services at VLR in Minneapolis. According to her book, she also fancied herself to be a writer. I will not attempt to evaluate that aspect of her career. (Her book was quite favorably reviewed by several social workers and psychotherapists.) However, her role as a professional staff person in the rehab center, where many of our friends received "services," is of interest to us as Federationists. One major gripe many Minnesota Federationists might have with Ms. Williams' book is that she names one of her key characters Evangeline Kuhlman. Why would she choose the name Evangeline? One of our Federation members, who was also connected with VLR--she was employed in the sheltered workshop there--was Evangeline Larson. Ms. Williams' dedicates her book to several people, among them Myrtle Coplen, another social worker at VLR. The dedication says, "to Myrtle Clara Coplen, who lives in these stories and in the hearts of many, many people whose lives she touched." In fact, Myrtle Coplen, or Evangeline Kuhlman, does figure in many of the stories of Ms. Williams' book. The first story in the book is entitled, "The Worldwide Church of the Handicapped." The reader is immediately introduced to Evangeline Kuhlman as "a woman. . . . She is sixty years old, blind, fat, psychic, some kind of alcoholic, I guess; intelligent, kind, and tough; and she has high blood pressure which she attempts to control occasionally with Transcendental Meditation. She says the T.M. really works, but she can't be bothered most of the time." Later Evangeline is further described: "Her face is merry; round, soft, blurred, little nose, little mouth, almost always an effect of smiling; if you ask her any time at all how she is, she will say-- "Excellent!" You can depend on it. Her speaking voice is a hoarse shout, ruined into this by years and years of talking to blind people who are also hard of hearing. . . . She is (she says) crazy. I am pretty crazy too. When we are together we are sometimes marvelously and spectacularly crazy. Technically she is handicapped. Technically I am not." Later this Vange and Ms. Williams are discussing their jobs at the rehab agency; both are apparently quite drunk. They are considering somewhere else they might work; Vange says, "'Anyway, we're too crazy now, no place else would want us,' she said, with the cracking laugh that comes from screaming at deaf people for twenty-one years and smoking three or four packs of unfiltered Chesterfield Kings a day." This Vange is definitely Myrtle Coplen. Why in the world was the name Evangeline selected for Mrs. Coplen? Surely Ms. Williams knew both Myrtle Coplen and Evangeline Larson well. A lack of creativity? An attempt to confuse or blur personalities? There's no viable excuse. Many Federationists who will read the book will find this aspect offensive. I will not claim to understand everything Ms. Williams is talking about in this book. She goes crazy over dwarfs, authors' names, messages from former workers, and all manner of in-group sort of humor. Several of her characters are identifiable, although she does use aliases. In the first story, "The Worldwide Church of the Handicapped," she launches into this long diatribe on some dwarf with numerous disabilities and some church, which was organized or not organized. She says, "I would like to tell you that it lasted forever, but it didn't last forever of course. In a few years the blind people got the idea that because they were first, they were special. A superiority cult of blind people started up: A sort of subdivision-The International Church of the Blind." In some garbled way she is probably referring to us, the Federation. But who knows for sure? The attitude toward blindness and the blind people seeking services at the rehab agency expressed in this book provide the single reason for a Federationist to read and review the book at all. The negative attitude toward blindness and blind people comes out again and again throughout the stories in the book. In identifying herself and her colleagues, Ms. Williams says early on in the first story, "We are the honorable cadre of folks who look straight at incomprehensible pain five days a week for a living: Who the hell else could understand." This theme appears numerous times in the book. Blindness is "incomprehensible pain; it remains that way for all blind people forever. Nothing ever changes." The staff of the rehab agency escape from the pain that they sense around them on their jobs by drinking at the "Orange Onion," the local bar they all frequent. The staff have many discussions in public (on the bus) about who is more "handicapped" and should be allowed to sit in handicapped seating. Ms. Williams seems to be proud of this behavior. She says, "People look at us, or look away, in disapproval. Not all of them, though. Some of them like us. We do make inroads. . . . We laugh together; we are entirely enchanted with ourselves." "PBP's" are poor blind people, and a "PDSS" is a poor dumb sighted shit. There are derogative labels for everything and everyone. Sometimes Peter (probably John Bankovics, the Braille and abacus instructor at VLR) is also on the bus. Vange calls Peter a "blind drunk." All have just come from the Orange Onion and are probably drunk. What a scene to educate sighted people about blindness, and this provided by the professionals, the experts, of a rehab agency. What a fine set of role models for blind people present on the bus. Is it any wonder that VLR graduates are strong advocates for Metro Mobility for blind people? Who would want to mingle with this crowd of professionals? Rehab counselors are drawn into Ms. Williams' book also. She, the writer, is an intake worker at the agency for the blind. She tells of a counselor who called her from the referring agency one day. "I've got one for you: her sardonic, flat, pained voice came over the telephone. Brenda is probably my favorite counselor over there: she never bullshits me, she shoots absolutely straight, her attitudes are almost a hundred percent negative, I find her very funny." Then, the counselor goes on to tell about the couple she is referring: They will soon be on Social Security Disability benefits; currently they receive SSI: The author says, "I wouldn't want to shit you, said Brenda: I'm probably the only professional in town who likes them. Vickie's doctor hates them, and their social worker hates them, Legal Aid hates them, Methodist Hospital hates them, listen, their garbage collector probably hates them, the mailman probably hates them. . . . Well, you know, she said. They're a multiproblem couple. A blight on society. The sty in the eye of the nation, you should excuse the expression. They've got every agency in town involved in their case. And the thing is, they're not a bit ashamed or depressed or anything. They're making a very good life out of it." The story of "The Blight on Society" goes on to tell of how Vickie's diabetic condition deteriorated and the counselor and social worker went to visit her and her husband Grange in their home. Much is made of the couple's home with mirrors, paintings, sculptures, much art--all paid for by welfare. The bedroom in which the two professionals sit with Vickie to offer some comfort as she sobs over her toe, which has now become gangrenous, is described over and over. Ms. Williams says, "Oh, you know, the laughing devil in me loved it, the devil went mad. Purple crepe-paper bed canopy, he pointed out, and gangrene. Too much. Too much. . . . so there we were, two fortunate cynical women, holding a sobbing Vickie with her gangrenous toe under the purple crepe-paper canopy." As she and Brenda sit rocking and comforting Vickie, the writer's thoughts wander through many issues--her own life and divorce, her daughter, Brenda's life, their husbands, the mirrors, the Jesus statue, etc. Then Ms. Williams says, "Oh, my devil who saves me is laughing to split his sides: can you hear him? Surely his laughter is so loud that you can hear it." As the two leave Vickie and Grange, they go on ridiculing and laughing at the unfortunate pair whom they regard as "a blight on society." "Poor Raymond" is a story in which we see more self-pity on the part of the professional social worker. She and her coworkers receive calls from distraught clients who wish to die. Their conditions deteriorate, and there is no hope for recovery. The professionals laugh and cry and search for relief for themselves. They are unable to offer anything to their clients, so they focus on themselves. "You want to be a social worker, a therapist, serve mankind and rake in the chips? Be a fat cat? You can be my goddamn guest." We can all understand how difficult it is to feel helpless and not being able to offer solace to a person who is dying. But to laugh at those involved and ridicule them is not a good answer. Why do these social workers remain in their field of work? They are obviously miserable and would do better in another line of work. Leave the blindness field, please. At one point in the Williams book there is true honesty. In defining the professionals as "we" and the blind people as "they," she says, "Obviously we exist because of them--live off of them, if you care to look at it that way. Sometimes we do look at it that way, when we are being particularly honest, or bitter, or even just smart-ass. ("Live off of"?--there are days when I think that if this is living, you can--uh--have it.)" She says that clients are always told that they can come back for more training, as I was told, but she says also, "out of the hundreds, really very few ever come back." Typical attitudes toward blind clients appear and reappear throughout the book. In "The Prettiest Girl in Eau Claire," in reference to someone she calls Melanie, the storyteller says, "We did the best we could for her, but it wasn't really very much. And to tell the truth, we weren't that crazy about Melanie. We tried hard for her because we are, in our own field, the best in the business. But there was something about her you couldn't quite like." This story contains a long narrative about how the social worker waited with rehab students for taxicabs at the end of the day. Why aren't they, or some of them, taking the bus? Is this just another example of teaching blind people to be dependent and not ride the bus? More business for Metro Mobility! In the same story, a person named Emily begins to cry. Ms. Williams says, "Silly to cry? Not so, Emily. Cry all night, make rivers with your tears--I have to make a point with you, though, it will not help, tears are not silly, they are just useless after a while. And people do not like you when you cry all the time." The theme of despair, sadness, and hopelessness comes into the stories over and over again. As I read this book, I searched and searched for stories of success. Mostly the book tells of multihandicaps, futile struggles and deaths. I longed to hear of progress blind people were making, new skills they were learning, confidence they were gaining as they went through training. Frankly, I did not find any of this. In the story on "Wilma Bremer's Funeral," Ms. Williams reveals some of her thinking on cane travel and the use of sighted guides, as well as several other skills. She is discussing the teachers in the rehab center, who, she says, "teach blind people how to walk with white canes, for example (that is a terrifying job, I don't know how the hell they can do it; most of the mobility instructors are or become--very different from the rest of us, somewhat withdrawn and apart. And they more or less consider themselves the high priests of our remarkable craft, as strange and esoteric and religious in its way as any ancient Egyptian embalmer's trade); other teachers who teach blind people how to read Braille, use an abacus; how to cook without burning themselves and everything else up when they can't see the fire; how to type, write checks, use cassette recorders, how to knit, model in clay, crochet, weave, do macrame, play poker, and use the power saw. (You think I am putting you on, I'm not, we do teach blind people to use power tools, why not? We've even got a blind hockey team, blind archers.)" She does mention that some of the staff do teach blind people to work. She says that some of the staff teach blind people to "earn money, support themselves and their families, view themselves as workers--after all, that's where it's at, isn't it? You earn money, you are worth something? You do not, you aren't? So we teach blind people to work." The emphasis is on the sheltered shop workers, although Ms. Williams grants that some people do go out to work in the community (if they meet all sorts of qualifications, etc.) The sheltered workshop and the employees in it are described fully. Federationists have always recognized a conflict between the rehab center and the workshop. Ms. Williams confesses, "You have to understand that there is a great chasm, a barrier, between 'Rehab' and 'The Shop' so that very few of the people from the shop know the people from rehab, and vice versa. Essentially, I think rehab is shy and aloof because they are somehow afraid of the workshop. And the workshop is very resentful of what they perceive as rehab's disdainful attitude toward them. Rehab is the class operation--the showpiece of the agency--it is clean, righteous, haloed, the people in it seem to think of themselves as somehow better. (Confess--in your deepest heart, don't you think you are better than a worker on a factory assembly line?). . . The workshop nurses a terrible anger against rehab; whenever anything goes wrong, especially financially, it is 'rehab's fault.' And it is, too - rehab is expensive, it is the son or daughter going to college, it cannot support itself entirely. The workshop is the old mother and father who toil and drudge to support that glittering child--but sometimes they are hurt and angry even when they are proud. Especially if that child won't speak to them, especially if he (or she) seems to be ashamed of them. Rehab is ashamed of its hardworking parent: The workshop. It is a very uneasy relationship. Apparently it cannot be resolved. So the people in rehab do not know many of the people in the workshop." That is Ms. Williams' explanation and one with which we can probably agree. The thriving attitude toward blind people, travel, and sighted guides at the agency emerge in the story of Wilma Bremer's funeral. Ms. Williams is asked to be a sighted guide for some of the sheltered shopworkers. Sighted guide technique is described in detail. The sighted person leads "easily and gracefully and in a way that is perfectly dignified and inconspicuous. . . . Sighted guide becomes automatic after you've done it a few thousand times. It is a very beautiful thing to see when it is done properly; and it is a very beautiful thing to experience. It is an act of pure service, economical, absolutely appropriate, not too much given, not too little. The blind person (if he's a good sort--there are a few holdouts in any category) receives it as such, and this receiving, acceptance, on his or her part, makes it an interaction, a gift, perfectly offered, perfectly received. How many gifts are that pure? I absolutely love being a sighted guide." There you have it. What melodrama. This sighted guide thing goes on and on. The guided people in this story were told, "Now stand right here, don't move until I get back . . ." Those so instructed did not heed and left their assigned spot. The author concedes that it was understandable that they wouldn't wait, since this was a funeral of one of their colleagues. Then come the attitudes toward the use of white canes: We are told, "tripping or poking people with the white cane is strictly out, as is stepping on toes or crashing into people. A certain amount of this however unavoidable in a crowd situation, unless you've got one-to-one on sighted guide, which somehow never seems to happen in the clutch." This VLR social worker seems to believe that independent travel is simply not possible for blind people. We must all rely on the beneficence of our caretaking professionals whenever we go out of our houses. A very sad story, but one which reveals the underlying cause of the failure of blind people who were trained at that agency to believe in themselves. "The Sun, The Rain" tells the story of Rosealice, a misfit in society who comes to the rehab agency to work as a typist and braille transcriptionist. No one, except the social workers, like her because of her quaint style of dress, some rather antisocial behaviors, her "highwaters," her name, her "differences." In the end, Rosealice is transfered to the workshop, because, as Ms. Williams says, "The new blind board members don't want her, ... Because she's not blind. They think she should be blind." This seems to be a reference to the eight Federation board members who were elected to the board as a result of the litigation over VLR's discriminatory behavior toward blind members. None of us can remember any such complaint over a typist who wasn't blind. It is, however, very possible that VLR officials concocted that story for the staff when they wanted to move this Rosealice into the workshop. I am very glad to have had the opportunity to read Ms. Williams' book. She has corroborated for me and for all of us everything we thought about the rehab training provided by VLR when it had a monopoly on training programs for blind people in this state. Clearly, the purpose of the program was to keep jobs going for the professional staff. They were burned out and did not feel their work had merit. If we are to judge by this writer, they found escape in alcohol, etc. Why did they remain in their unpleasant jobs for so long? Thank you, Ms. Williams, for demonstrating your attitudes toward blindness on paper. There lies in your stories absolute proof that you have little to offer. Blind people deserve better. We have hope for a better life and we have found it in our own organization. The National Federation of the Blind has given us a philosophy with opportunity for changing our society. We are no longer powerless. We have each other as colleagues, and we no longer need the repression of the traditional agencies to keep us down. We're on the move to reach first-class status in society. A Note of Thanks By Maxine Schrader Dear Peggy, This is a note of thanks for your excellent Minnesota Bulletin articles concerning the past 75 years of the NFB of Minnesota. Thanks for the caring, thoughtful way you presented the people and events of those past years. You're a very discerning person. Thanks for the countless hours you spent researching the archives. Choosing just the right material was no easy task. Thanks for recognizing the dedication and loyalty of those old-time members. They fought the agencies for just the right to organize, and they won. And thanks for the memories your articles evoked. It's good to recall old times and old friends. They were tough-spirited, good people, and I'm proud to have known them and to have played a little part in shaping this organization into the great one it is today. Sincerely, Maaxine A List of Ideas By Peggy Chong At the March Metro Chapter meeting, we shared ideas and information on helpful locally-available products or services. Everyone learned something new that day. By keeping our ears open and using a bit of imagination, we can take advantage of many products and services. Services or products do not have to be specifically marketed for the blind to be used by blind people. Don't forget that your local library is a great place to start looking for information and ideas. Libraries have collections of videos, Compact Discs or tapes of recorded music, and books on tape (commercially done). Some have a large-print collection and some have reading machines. Here is an expanded list of the ideas that came out of the discussion at our March chapter meeting. INFORMATION AVAILABLE OVER THE TELEPHONE The Minneapolis Public Library, 372-6500, Info Line is 372-6633. St. Paul Public Library, 292-6311. City Line, 645-6060, has a variety of categories to choose from for information ranging from news to your horoscope. There are also job listings on this service. Certificates of Deposit Interest Rate Line, 673-9040. Movie Phone, 777-3456 (777-FILM), tells you what movies are playing this week and where. Minneapolis Star-Tribune Info Line, 673-9050, has many categories that include movie listings to racetrack results. The categories change from time to time. The current listings are listed in their newspaper. Phone A Home, 673-8888, has listings of current rental property in the Metro Area. Saint Paul Pioneer Press Info Line, 222-1000. ALTERNATIVE FORMATS The Home Shopping Network has a listing of their coupons in Braille. Sears and Westinghouse have Braille overlays for their appliances. Ask where you bought your microwave oven or stove for the overlays. AT&T sells an answering machine that is totally voice-accessible for blind people. Tupperware is putting the size of the bowls in Braille on the bottom of the bowls. Alan Ackley, 627 East 5th Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, 515-288-3931, repairs Braille writers. U.S. West Special Needs Center, 1-800-223-3131. Through the Telephone Pioneers, repairs Braille writers locally in Minneapolis. The fee for service is $15. Prophecy Designs, PO Box 84, Rt. 32, Road Pond, Maine 09564, 207-529-5318, has Braille greeting cards for sale. Not only is the verse in Braille, a description of the front of the card is also Brailled. Hidden Gifts, 522-2501. Maureen Pranghofer, one of our members has started a transcribing business. She will transcribe anything, no matter how small, onto tape, computer disc or Braille. Volunteer Braille Services, 612-521-0372, 3730 Toledo Ave. N. Robbinsdale, MN 55422, will Braille just about anything for blind persons. They also have a lending library of children's books in Braille and print/braille versions that is now open to blind children across the country. Playskool Toys sells magnetic letters and numbers for young children that have the Braille character in the mold of each letter or number. They are available at Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart and all other discount stores for under $4. Minnegasco offers a home thermostat free of charge that has raised print letters that can easily be read by touch. It also clicks every two degrees. Descriptive Video Service, 800-333-1203, has a catalog that comes out several times a year with a listing of descriptive videos for sale at the same cost as the original movie. Also, several of the Blockbuster stores in the Metro area now carry DVS videos. Raised-line checks are available through many banks, including First Bank. They have raised lines to locate the spaces needed to be filled in. These checks cost the same or just a bit more than the regular checks offered by the banks. TRANSPORTATION Transportation is important for many activities. There is more out there than the bus and a taxi. Check around at your local community center for leads on transportation services in your neighborhood. Don't forget that many of the suburbs have services through the Metropolitan Council, 291-6359, such as the Anoka or Dakota County Traveler, the new Woodbury Dial-A-Ride and the Roseville Circulator. Jewish Family and Children Services of Minneapolis, 593-1244, has a grocery bus that runs every Tuesday for $3. There are services to take you to the doctor and other trips. Call for routes and other information. Northeast Neighborhood House, 781-6011, provides transportation to the grocery store. They would like you to call a week ahead, but that is not always necessary. It serves residents of Northeast and Southeast Minneapolis. Several hospitals also offer a variety of transportation services for their in- patients and patients. Check with your hospital's Social Service Department to see what services they may offer. Minneapolis Age and Opportunity Center (MAO), 863-1042, provides transportation for Minneapolis residents over the age of 55 for a small fee. They also have a host of other services available to seniors. Below is a listing of van or shuttle services that service communities in greater Minnesota. Most of them leave from the airport. Your travel agent may also have other ideas of ground transportation that might service the communities that you wish to reach. Eau Clair Passenger, 715-835-0399. Rochester Express, 507-288-4490. Rochester Direct, 507-280-9270. Four Star Lines, 612-537-0609. Mankato Land to Air, 612-625-3977. STORES THAT CARRY HARD TO FIND ITEMS Brookstone sells a bird feeder with a cordless monitor so you can hear the birds singing at the feeder. At one time, they did sell a talking scale. Sharper Image has been known to carry talking items on many occasions. Speak To Me Catalog, 800-248-9965, 17913 108th Avenue, SE, Suite #155, Renton, WA 98055, seth@halcyon.com. They sell all kinds of things that make sounds or talk, such as a sneezing pepper shaker. They sell a talking caller ID box, a talking thermometer, and a voice-it card that can be used to record and play back verbal messages. Avery Paper Co., 529-9133, 1401 West River Road, Minneapolis MN 55411, carries hard-to-find paper products such as 5 x 7 roladex cards. The Store, located at State Services for the Blind, 642-0777, has many of the catalogs, too numerous to mention, from companies that market to the blindness community. Items from dymo tape and slates to computer-related products can be found in "The Store" and in the catalogs they order from. Radio Shack carries talking clocks, watches and at one time a talking volt meter. COMPUTERS AND SUCH Columbia House, 800-544-4431, has a web site at www.columbiahouse.com that a blind club member can use without sighted assistance. The entire catalog of videos, music, CD's and laser discs are listed on this site. Critic's Choice Video, 800-367-7765, has a video catalog that does not require membership or minimum order and has low shipping and handling charges. They will help search for titles or by stars through their video search line. They also have British imports such as "Are You Being Served" and "Dr. Who". OmniPage Pro 7.0 is a scanning software package that works well with speech in Windows 95. I am told that with an HP scanner that costs about $500 and this scanning package, it is better than an Arkenstone system at a fraction of the price. CD Now is a way to order CD's over the Internet. They are also selling videos on this site. TELNET to cdnow.com or access the service via the Web at www.cdnow.com. DELIVERY SERVICES Ask your mail carrier for an envelope to purchase stamps through the mail. It has come to my attention that there are a lot of stores that are starting to deliver their products. We just need to ask for the service to find out if it is available. Walgreens Drug and Butler Drug say that they will deliver everything in their store including pop. Other drug stores that will deliver are: Ideal Drug, Merwin Drug, and Snyder Drug. Check with your local drug store to find out what and where they will deliver. A few will even mail you a prescription if you purchase it from them on a regular basis. Rainbow Foods has a service to deliver its groceries. The service is called Store to Door. Call 642-1892 or call the nearest Rainbow Foods to see if they offer this service for your area. There is a membership fee plus a charge based on a percentage of your grocery bill. Lunds Foods does not deliver, however, they provide shoppers to accompany the customer through the store. Daytons stores have shoppers in the FYI Department. They are mostly used when shopping for clothes. The shoppers will give advice of style and color on the items they have chosen. They will also shop for anything in the store for you. Gourmet Express, 922-3463, delivers for a wide variety of restaurants in the Metro Area (southwest Minneapolis and western suburbs) for a fee. Call for specifics. IDEAS Tim Aune says that he purchased a CD adapter from Target that plugs into his talking book machine. With his walkman, he can listen to books on cassette through the headphones of his walkman radio, without having cords all over the place. The adapter transmits a signal to a radio. You need to select a section of the dial where there are few or no stations. David Andrews says that he takes a baby-monitor transmitter and puts it in front of his talking book machine to listen to his books around the house. Baby monitors can be bought all over the place such as Radio Shack and rummage sales. Blindness, Learning and New Dimensions By Cary A. Supalo (Editor's Note: Cary Supalo is a former student at our training center (BLIND, Inc.) and delivered this speech at the 1997 National Conference of Blind Students in Washington, D.C. as part of the National Federation of the Blind Washington Seminar.) It was five years ago when I was a junior at Bolingbrook High School in Bolingbrook, Illinois. That was when I was first told that a blind person was limited in what he or she could accomplish in life. I was in a meeting with my itinerant teacher, guidance counselor, current and several past math teachers, and my parents. The topic at hand was whether a blind person could do calculus or not. I wanted to take calculus my senior year, but there were those who were concerned about this. I had successfully met all of the prerequisite coursework. I don't remember what I thought I was going to accomplish in this meeting before I went in. Everyone in the room told me that it was impossible for a blind person to do calculus. This was the first time when it hit me that a blind person could not do everything he or she wanted to do in life. In that meeting, after over an hour of discussion, I was very reluctant to give in on the issue, so I stood up and walked out and slammed the door behind me. I had always been a well-behaved student and never got upset at anything school related before. I don't know what was said after I left, but their point was made: A blind person was limited in what he or she could do in life. Anyway, I then had to choose a major and a college that I wanted to attend. I, not knowing any better, chose a school that I thought would provide good services to help a blind student. I chose Northern Illinois University. My guidance counselor and my itinerant teacher both felt this school could best meet my needs. I proceeded to apply and was accepted. I then had to choose a major. All of my interest-inventory surveys indicated math or science-related fields. Of course, I ruled these options out because a blind person couldn't do calculus. I chose business administration for my major. My guidance counselor said, "Yes, that is probably a field that a blind person could manage." Before I knew it, I graduated from high school and was off to college. It was now the summer of 1993, and I had no idea what to expect in college for a blind student. I had heard about this convention that was going on in Dallas, Texas the first week in July. I didn't know what it was, but I had decided that it was in my best interest to attend this convention. This convention was, of course, the national convention of the National Federation of the Blind. There I met many blind people who were employed in different fields. One of whom, I will never forget, was a blind Advanced Calculus high school teacher. At that moment, I thought about what I had been told previously. I couldn't believe what I was seeing: Blind people employed in just about any field that I could imagine. I started asking questions and talking to many people, and getting people's names and numbers to contact later about other questions that came to mind. I now realized that Northern Illinois University was not the place for me. I changed my major to electrical engineering, and then decided to transfer to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Now that I knew a blind person could do Calculus and all the other science classes that went along with it, this was something that I wanted to try. There I spent my first year pursuing an electrical engineering degree. I learned that engineering wasn't the field for me. However, I enjoyed my science classes a great deal. I eventually changed my major to be pre-med, communications, and chemistry education. It took me some time before I came up with this combination of degrees. I would like to go to medical school and possibly go into the field of obstetrics or internal medicine. However, all students who are trying to go to medical school should have a viable fallback in mind in case they do not get in. My fallback would be my chemistry education degree. I would like to teach at a school for the blind teaching high school students to enjoy advanced math and science material. I realize this isn't for everyone, but I don't want what happened to me to happen to another blind student. Through the National Federation of the Blind, I learned that a blind person can do whatever it is he or she wants to do if the commitment and desire are there, along with the confidence and problem solving skills needed to deal with the many barriers that will be encountered in a scientific field. Obtaining quality training skills with the use of the long white cane, Braille, computers with speech, and good home management skills greatly enhance the learning experience. By showing faculty members, classmates, and other community residents that you are a competent blind person, it raises the expectations of your fellow peers. Being a pre-med student, I have to be familiar with several different science- related concepts and theories. These primarily consist of biology, chemistry, and physics. There is also some math required. Many of these classes require laboratory work. Chemistry usually consists of a procedure from a lab manual, required readings for that experiment which assist in helping me to predict what should happen in the experiment. In a chemistry lab, I do my required readings and calculations with a reader. If library research is required before the lab is performed, I do that with a reader also. Before lab, I read through the lab procedure with my sighted lab assistant. From there, we write up an outline of everything from what will be used in the lab, to the procedure that will be conducted, to preparing all data tables for data that is to be recorded. At this point, I determine what my lab assistant will and will not do. I always ask the questions of the T.A. who is overseeing the laboratory. I am always the one who thinks about why a certain result was obtained, and how to solve a problem if it should occur. I usually record observations with a slate and stylus, and the lab assistant writes down in the data table what I instruct them to write down. Once the lab is completed, I set up a time to do the final lab report. These I usually do on a computer with speech. I have my lab assistant draw the necessary graphs that go along with the report. These graphs can be anything from simple data relation graphs to diagrams of specific molecules. I also must be familiar with biology laboratory experiments. Again, in these labs the necessary readings are done in advance, and I have another sighted lab assistant in this lab also. Before the lab, we meet and read through the procedure, do any pre-lab questions and calculations, and write up an outline about what we'll be doing in the laboratory. In a biology lab, many experiments require the use of microscopes. For these parts, the lab assistant looks through the microscope and verbally describes what they see on the slide. From that, I decide what it is I am looking at. If I need further clarification, I ask questions. Does it appear that it has a firm exterior? Or are there any obvious visible discolorations? I also may ask the lab assistant to change the magnification to a higher or lower level, if I feel it would help in the identification of what it is that is being viewed. All collected data are recorded in a lab notebook. I sometimes record data with a slate and stylus, but I don't always because if the lab consists of a dissection, it is difficult to record data with animal parts and bodily fluids on your hands. For these experiments, I like to feel the organism that is being dissected to get an idea of structural layout and size of one part verses another. Once the data has been collected, I meet with the lab assistant at another time to do the lab report. Again I do these on a computer with speech, and the lab assistant draws the necessary diagrams of cells viewed on microscopes, organisms being dissected, mathematical data relations, etc. We also go over the data that was recorded to make sure it was recorded in the most appropriate way. These are just a few basic procedures that I have adopted that seem to work fairly well in laboratory classes. They don't always work. Some problems do arise, but it is nothing I usually can't figure out some viable solution to. I believe that if a blind student wishes to go to medical school, I think he or she should be given the opportunity to do so. With good training in the alternative skills of blindness, problem solving skills, lots of creativity, and an innate ability to understand scientific and mathematical concepts, you can probably succeed in a field of this nature. Move-A-Thon Set By Peggy Chong The date for the 1997 Move-A-Thon has been set. Our Move-A-Thon will be Saturday, September 20, 1997 in the great city of New Ulm. Participants will remember that last year's route took us past historical brewery sites in that city. Some of us also remember the opportunity to stop and shop at some local garage sales while walking through the quiet neighborhoods along the route. Others will remember the fantastic food that was donated to the Move-A-Thon by many local businesses of New Ulm and the surrounding area. We all enjoyed our Sub sandwich lunch as we sat or played in the park. Charlene Childrey has offered again to chair this year's event. She promises that things will be even bigger and better than last year. "This year I know what I am doing" Charlene told me. So, make sure you attend your July chapter meeting to pick up your Move-A- Thon brochures for you, your friends, and your family. Get out there and collect pledges and contributions for yourself or the person you have chosen to sponsor. Remember, this is our only state fundraiser. If we are going to continue to fund many of our state's activities and the Minnesota Bulletin, we need to go out there and collect contributions for our Move-A-Thon. Finally, I look forward to seeing everyone Saturday, Sept. 20 at 9:00 a.m. in New Ulm. I should have my new walking shoes broken in by then. A great time will be had by all. Oh yes, one can't forget the glockenspiel. Some of us missed its beautiful music last year. The shopping is wonderful there as well. Why not make a weekend of it? SSB Communication Center Plans for the 21st Century By David Andrews The Communication Center of Minnesota State Services for the Blind has developed a comprehensive plan to meet the needs of its blind, visually impaired, and print-impaired customers in the 21st century. It will address changing needs due to increased technological sophistication of customers and use new technology in broadcasting, electronics, and computers for their benefit. The plan is estimated to cost $2.1 million in one-time expenditures. The Communication Center is now actively seeking funding to bring this plan to fruition. The Communication Center will be able to deliver its services via the Internet, digital media such as CD-ROMs, and new digitally based delivery systems currently under development. It will also make recording and broadcasting processes simpler and more efficient for volunteers and staff. The plan is divided into two phases. Phase I will replace all existing Radio Talking Book (RTB) receivers with new modern portable units. These receivers will operate on a new frequency which is less susceptible to interference from other broadcast services current and developing. Besides offering improved reception characteristics and audio quality, the new radios will be designed as portable receivers. This will allow our listeners to take the RTB with them as they go from place to place. Phase II will replace the Communication Center's current analog recording and broadcast equipment with a state-of-the-art digital recording and broadcast facility. The new digital infrastructure will make it easy to improve the quality and quantity of services. We will be able to more easily produce locally- oriented programming and direct it to different parts of the state. New space- saving digital storage technology, such as CD-ROM, will allow us to keep what we record indefinitely instead of discarding it after a short time. Other future possibilities this new digital infrastructure will make feasible include distribution of programming via the Internet, more efficient operation of Dial- In News and RTB due to one-time recording of newspapers, enhanced services for learning disabled persons, and more. Minnesota State Services for the Blind has established a Communication Center 21st Century Fund which can accept grants from foundations and corporate givers as well as gifts from organizations and individuals. Interested persons and organizations can help by making a tax deductible contribution to the Communication Center 21st Century Fund. Individuals or organizations wishing to contribute may make checks payable to the "Communication Center 21st Century Fund" and send them to Gwen Bighley, Communication Center, State Services for the Blind, 2200 University Avenue West, Suite 240, St. Paul, MN 55114-1840. All gifts are tax deductible. Persons having questions or ideas on how to reach our goal are invited to give Communication Center Director David Andrews a call at (800) 652-9000 or (612) 642-0513. We also have a more detailed plan if you should need it and copies are available. MCTO Meets the Metro Chapter Again By Peggy Chong Does this title sound like a horror film? I'm sure that at some point, several employees of MCTO wondered if that were not so. Since the beginning of 1996, the members of the Metro Chapter have talked with officials at the Metropolitan Council Transit Operations (MCTO) about the changes that were made in July 1996. At the time, an electronic fare box was installed on every bus. Punch cards, transfers and flash passes were replaced with electronic fare cards. These cards are inserted into a slot on the fare box that reads the magnetic strip to take the fare and count the passengers for the driver. Before the new boxes were installed, members wanted to know how blind people could identify the correct way to insert the fare card. MCTO officials assured us that a corner of the card would be clipped to help identify the correct position of the card. For the first month-and-a-half things went as well as could be expected for any new system. Problems that blind passengers had with the new system were the same problems that sighted passengers had. Then came mid-August. The corner of the fare card was not clipped. I called MCTO Customer Service to let them know that cards were not clipped. We clipped our own cards and waited. But nothing happened. Customer service was not passing on our concerns. At the October chapter meeting, our guest was Mel Baker, MCTO's Customer Advocate. He certainly was a lively speaker. But he took nothing of our concerns back to MCTO. A letter was sent in November to MCTO Acting Director Julie Johanson expressing our concerns that the cards were not clipped and MCTO was not responding to customers' concerns. There was no answer. So after two weeks, our chapter filed an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) complaint with the U. S. Department of Transportation. Repeated telephone calls to Ms. Johnson's office brought a response from her. Mostly she was sorry that I was upset with MCTO. She promised to look into the non-clipped cards. However, nothing happened. In January the Federal government notified MCTO of the ADA complaint. Now I received calls from other MCTO officials and we exchanged several letters. The January issue of MCTO Takeout (MCTO's newsletter that is placed on the buses to inform passengers of transit issues) reported on proposed modifications to the fare box for persons with limited vision. As a person with "limited vision," I could not see what modifications were needed. So I called MCTO to talk with the person responsible for this project. It was Sam Jacobs. In my conversation about the fare boxes with Mr. Jacobs, I mentioned that the cards were still not clipped after several months. He was very surprised to hear this. One wonders if anyone talks to anyone else at MCTO. Mr. Jacobs oversees the ordering of the cards. In just a little over a week, bus cards were sold with clipped corners. I sent this letter to Mr. Jacobs. January 8, 1997 Peggy Chong, President National Federation of the Blind Metro Chapter 20 N.E. 2nd Street Apartment 908 Minneapolis MN 55413 Sam Jacobs Metropolitan Council Transit Operations 560 North 6th Street Minneapolis MN 55411 Dear Mr. Jacobs, Thank you for taking the time to talk with me on the phone yesterday, concerning a variety of issues affecting blind people in the metro area. I am enclosing, with this letter, some background material. I hope it will give you an understanding that our organization takes matters concerning transportation seriously. After talking with you regarding the upgrades to the fare boxes to help blind persons with some vision find the slot, I took a closer look at the fare box on my way home. Since it has never been a problem for me or any other blind persons that I know, to find the card slot after the first time or two, I did not think of this as a problem. As a blind person with limited vision, I use blindness techniques to locate the card slot on the fare box. But last night I did look at the fare box and discovered several visual cues. Above the card slot there is an amber light. It would seem to me that a light would be a good indicator. Also, below the card slot there is an LED display that looks like a red light to me. This would also tell me that I would want to look for the card slot between these two lights. Has this been brought up at the meetings with the other disabled groups you have attended? But I also think that I should point out here that if a blind person is using limited vision to find the card slot on the fare box and has not noticed the many different lights on the machine or cannot use those lights as guides, that those same people will not be able to use the colored strips with any more success. Too many factors come into play that will effect one's ability to see the strips that cannot be controlled on the bus, such as lighting. Our organization is not opposed to Braille labels or making things more accessible to blind persons. But we realize that funds are limited for transportation. We want to see the funds used to their greatest extent. Cutting the corners off the SuperSaver and monthly-pass cards to allow blind persons to tell what direction to put the card into the fare box, will assist more blind persons than the Braille on the fare box. This is something, as you know, that has been done in the past by MCTO. I asked one of our members who bought a bus pass in late December at the MCTO store in Minneapolis if his card was clipped. He said it was not. This is an important issue to our members. I spoke with Joyce Scanlan, Executive Director at BLIND, Inc. regarding the testing of the colored strips on the card reader. She said that BLIND, Inc. would be glad to give you an opinion on this prototype. I would also like to invite you to address our chapter meeting on Saturday, February 15. Our meeting runs from 2 to 5 p.m. We would like to have you on the agenda sometime around 2:30. This would be a great opportunity for you to meet our members whom I have been elected to represent. I assure you that we will provide you with very direct input on this and other transit issues, including those that affect blind persons. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, Peggy Chong Meanwhile, it was business as usual with MCTO, so I sent this letter. January 15, 1997 Linda Bechtold, Director Customer Service Metropolitan Council Transit Operations 560 North 6th Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55411 Dear Ms. Bechtold: I am a frequent rider of buses operated by the Metropolitan Council Transit Operations (MCTO). In fact, I have been riding MCTO buses for more than twenty-five years. I am also the president of the Metro Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, having held that office for more than seven years. In this capacity, I have had many occasions to contact MCTO on a wide variety of issues. Customer Service has been one of my more frequently called numbers. I routinely use the $38 thirty-day pass that allows me to ride the bus during nonpeak hours without having to deposit any additional fare--that is, the pass which covers bus fares up to a dollar. I do not ride the bus very much during the rush hour. When I do ride the bus during the rush hour, I know that I must pay an additional fifty cents. I have no problem doing this. However, I do have a problem when I transfer to a different bus and am required to pay yet another fifty cents! I am told that convenience passes can be used as transfers. In fact, I understand that MCTO policy instructs drivers not to provide transfer cards to passengers who use these passes. The two examples shown below illustrate that, in fact, transfer information is not being recorded on the $38 thirty-day pass, forcing me and other MCTO passengers to pay extra fares. Example 1: I board a #14 bus at Douglas Drive and 42nd Avenue North at 4:00 p.m., using my $38 thirty-day pass. After inserting my card, I pay fifty cents. No problem so far. I transfer at Sixth and Hennepin to a #6C bus going to Rosedale. I insert my card into the slot. The fact that I am transferring seems not to have been recorded. I am required to deposit an additional fifty cents! Now, I have a problem. Example 2: At 3:15 p.m., I board a #17 bus at 22nd and Nicollet in Minneapolis, heading north toward downtown. I insert my $38 thirty-day pass into the slot. The fare is registered. It is still $1 because rush hour has not started yet. I do not have to pay an additional fifty cents. Because the pass is supposed to function as a transfer, I say nothing to the driver. No problem so far. I get off the bus in downtown Minneapolis at 3:30 p.m. I do some shopping. At 4:00 p.m., I board the northbound #18 bus. I insert my $38 thirty-day pass into the slot. Because transfer information has not been recorded from my earlier trip, I must pay an additional fifty cents! Now I have a problem. The above two examples illustrate situations which I have encountered on many occasions. If I remember to do so, I ask the bus driver for a transfer card. Even though policy says that they are not supposed to, they give me the card, and I travel without incident. Before describing what is perhaps the most aggravating problem about this entire affair, I should point out that I have made many calls to MCTO Customer Service describing the above two situations. As I intend to demonstrate, no remedy has been forthcoming. The situation described in Example 2 above did, in fact, happen to me yesterday--January 14, 1997. After I got home, I called Customer Service to report the problem. Although she was polite, the woman who answered the phone could not grasp the fact that this is an ongoing and recurring problem which I have reported many times. She explained the "no transfer" policy to me again. Near the end of our conversation, I said, "If you in Customer Service kept track of complaints, you would realize that I complain about this problem every month." She asked for my name so that she could check her database to see if I was there. I was not! How could this be? We in the National Federation of the Blind feel that MCTO is not taking our concerns seriously. Certainly, the evidence in my case would show that you are not keeping track of the problem reports you are receiving. Your representative claims that there has rarely been a call to Customer Service complaining that the thirty-day passes do not record a transfer. I don't know where she got her statistics. I myself have made many calls over the past three or four months. But then, it would appear that I am no longer in the database. I cannot help but wonder if other problem reports have similarly disappeared. Another issue I wish to bring to your attention has to do with the convenience passes themselves. They are no longer being clipped on the corner. Clipped corners on passes make it easier for many passengers, including those who are blind, to insert the passes correctly into the receiving slot. Passes issued in July and August of 1996 were clipped. In fact, in past conversations between the National Federation of the Blind and MCTO officials, we were promised that passes would be clipped to enable everyone to more easily determine the correct position for inserting them into the slot. But by late August, passes were no longer clipped on the corners. Many of our members, including myself, called to report this to MCTO. Yet, last week, Sam Jacobs, Director of Transportation, told me that he had not been made aware of this issue. Why didn't your department pass along the reports of the problem? Members of the Metro Chapter knew that when the convenience passes were issued last July, there would be a few wrinkles to iron out. Such things are inevitable when any new system goes into place. We were willing to be patient. We were also willing to report any problems so they could be fixed. We expected that MCTO would take our problems and concerns seriously. This has obviously not happened. As MCTO officials have acknowledged in the past, blind bus riders are typically more sophisticated than your ordinary, run of the mill passenger. We understand how the system works, we know how to plan our bus travel properly, and individually, we probably are familiar with more bus routes. If there is a glitch in the system, we will probably be one of the first groups of riders to find it. We do not report problems simply to cause trouble for the bus company. In fact, history will show that the blind, as a group, have been one of MCTO's strongest supporters. Therefore, we are rightfully concerned when we receive indications that the problems and issues we raise are being ignored. We are rightfully concerned and--yes--annoyed when we are erased from your database. I hope that you will not take the issues I have raised in this letter and pigeonhole them in the category of "Disability Issues." Our concerns are the same concerns that all other passengers have and equally as valid. I look forward to your response to this letter. We would like to work with MCTO to ensure a better bus system for all riders. Sincerely, Peggy Chong President Metro Chapter National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota cc: Julie Johnson Sam Jacobs Robert Gibbons Mel Baker Joyce Scanlan Sen. Larry Pogemiller Rep. Phyllis Kahn Because of the ADA complaint, MCTO told two of their management people they would be attending the February Metro Chapter meeting. And they did. On February 15, 1997, Sam Jacobs, Acting Director of Transportation and Linda Bechtold, Supervisor of Customer Service, spent almost two hours talking with our chapter about the concerns that we have about our bus system and customer service. We talked with them about how blind persons are perceived at MCTO. As we see it, blind customers are not seen as customers at all, but rather as part of the disabled group that they have to deal with. We pointed out that a blind person had not been hired by MCTO for over two decades. Last summer a member of our chapter applied for a customer service job and was scheduled to take the exam for that position. When she called to ask if the test was in Braille or should she bring a reader, she was told that a blind person could not do the job and was not allowed to take the test. They listened to what we had to say, answered our questions and welcomed us to call them directly if we have any questions or concerns. They shared with us the little information they had on the newly-hired Director for MCTO. The new Director is a man who started in transportation as a bus driver. We hope this means he has a love for transportation and can give MCTO the direction that it so badly needs. Our guests left with NFB literature in hand. Everyone left that meeting feeling hopeful that a good working relationship can continue between us and MCTO. Parent Column By Barbara Schultz School-aged children who are deaf-blind, blind, or visually impaired are invited to submit art pieces for the Helen Keller National Center National Art Show. Winning pieces will be displayed in congressional offices. Contact Sally Prouty at 612-871-4788. A youth camp for blind children will be held June 15-22, 1997 in Brainerd Minnesota. The cost is $25.00 for the week. Contact: National Camps for Blind Children, 4444 South 52nd Street, Box 6097, Lincoln, Nebraska 58506- 0097. PACER Center Computer Resource Center (612-827-2966) has applications available for Project GOLD (Girls On Line with Disabilities). This is a club for girls in 6th-8th grade who are interested in monthly meetings to share interest in math, science, and computers. Minnesota Parents of Blind Children will hold a fundraiser at Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Woodbury Sunday, May 25, from 1:00 to 5:00 PM. Representatives of POBC will be in the store with information on our organization, and some of the store's sales during that time will be donated to POBC to help fund future activities. Interest has been expressed in establishing a solid, formalized mentoring program for blind children in Minnesota. If you are interested, have ideas, or would be willing to work on organizing this, please call Barbara Schultz (612- 772-4093). If you are a blind adult or student, and would serve as a mentor for a child, also please call. New kids on the list include an 8-year old boy in West St. Paul, a 14-year old girl in Minneapolis, and a 16-year old girl in Bemidji. Minnesota State Academy for the Blind will run two summer programs. The first is a three-week program beginning July 13 for school aged children who are blind (call Elaine Sveen at 507-332-3226). The second is the L.I.F.E. program beginning July 7 for students 16 or older with blindness and additional disabilities (call Max Carter at (800-657-3634). Blind Sports Camp at Camp Courage will be July 23-30. All ability levels are welcome. Call Bob Polland at 612-520-0502. The Learning To Be Free Program at BLIND, Inc. will be July 20 to August 15. This is for children ages 9-17. Call Joyce Scanlan at 612-872-0100. Looking for an affordable computer? DRAGnet is a nonprofit organization that takes donations of used computers, and puts them into families of children with disabilities for a small fee. Call 512-378-9796. Please write B. Schultz, 1728 Leone Ave. St. Paul, MN 55106, or call Barbara at 612-772-4093 if you have resources or information to share in this column, or questions others may be able to answer. Linda Oliva Honored By Peggy Chong On Tuesday, March 18, 1997, Linda Oliva, a senior at Augsburg College, was inducted into the Beta Chapter of the Alpha Chi Honor Society. Only 36 Augsburg juniors and seniors received this honor this year. A reception and ceremony were held at 6:30 p.m. in the chapel on the Augsburg campus. Later a banquet to honor the initiates was held on campus. Linda's daughter Donna Oliva and Peggy Chong attended the ceremony and banquet. Linda was a recipient of the Minnesota state scholarship for blind students in 1993. After working for several years as a medical transcriber and raising her daughter to get her through school, Linda went back to school herself. At first she went part-time at the Minneapolis Community College. For her junior and senior years, Linda transferred to Augsburg College to complete her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. Linda has been an active member of the Metro Chapter for several years, serving as our chapter secretary for four years. In 1995, Linda was an instructor in the older blind program at BLIND, Inc. Convention Alert! Exciting times are coming in NFB conventions. Keep these in mind as you plan your activities throughout the coming year. The National NFB Convention will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana during the first week of July 1997. This is a whole week of friends, fun (the French Quarter!), and serious business. It is a chance to be part of the largest gathering of blind people in the world. Full details are in the December 1996 issue of the Braille Monitor. However, get your reservations into the NFB National Office right away. The Hyatt Regency Hotel has reserved only 1,100 rooms for our convention, but we expect to need nearly 1,500. Dr. Jernigan is working hard to get the rest, but there is a big jazz convention at the same time. So don't take a chance and wait too long and be left out in the cold (even in New Orleans in July). The Annual NFB of Minnesota Convention will be held in October in the Twin Cities. Members will receive a letter with details about a month before the convention. The Semiannual NFB of Minnesota Convention will be held in Greater Minnesota in April or May 1998. Members will receive a letter with details about a month before the convention.