      



                         THE BLIND CALIFORNIAN



                      Quarterly Magazine of the 

                    CALIFORNIA COUNCIL OF THE BLIND



Fall, 2004, Volume 48, No. 4



      Published in Braille, Cassette, Diskette, online, and Large
Print 




                     Jeff Thom, President 
                          7414 Mooncrest Way 
                           Sacramento, CA 95831
                           916-429-8201 res.
                           jsthom@comcast.net 

                           Executive Office:
                             578 B Street
                           Hayward, CA 94541
                             800-221-6359
                             510-537-7877
                            ccotb@earthlink.net
                           Fax: 510-537-7830
                           www.ccbnet.org



                 Los Angeles Area Office, Mitch Pomerantz 
             1115 Cordova Street 
             Pasadena, CA 91106
             626-844-4388                             
             mpomerantz@mailbox.lacity.org

                   Sacramento Area Office, 
                   Dan Kysor
                   225 15th St. 
                   West Sacramento, CA 95691
                   916-371-1514
                   Fax 916-371-7630
                   dan@ccbnet.org 


Please send all address changes to the Executive Office in
Hayward





                       Editor: Winifred Downing
                      1587 38th Avenue
                      San Francisco, CA 94122
                     415-564-5798
                     wmdowning@mindspring.com




Call the CALIFORNIA CONNECTION at 800-221-6359 for an update on
legislation and CCB events Monday through Friday after 4 p.m. and
all day on weekends.  At these times it is available also in
Spanish.



Nonmembers are requested and members are invited to pay a yearly
subscription fee of $10 toward the printing of THE BLIND
CALIFORNIAN. 





If you or a friend would like to remember the California Council
of the
Blind in your will, you can do so by employing the following
language: 

"I give, devise, and bequeath unto the California Council of the
Blind,
a nonprofit charitable organization in California, the sum of
$---- (or
----) to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of blind
persons."

If your wishes are more complex, you may have your attorney 
communicate with the Hayward office for other suggested forms.
Thank
you.



                           TABLE OF CONTENTS

FROM THE EDITOR, by Winifred Downing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

PRESIDENT'S PAGE: TO VOTE OR NOT TO VOTE,
      by Jeff Thom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

BLIND PAIR, HERE FOR CONVENTION, WEDS IN 
      LINN PARK, by Amy Voigt  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

FEDERAL JOBS FOR DISABLED DROP; 20 % DECREASE SINCE 1984
      SURPRISEES ANALYSTS AND ADVOCATES, by Christopher Lee  . . . . . . . . .  10

ARMD DREAMS, by Josephine Carpignano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

TAXPAPYER ADFVOCATE SERVICE LENDS SUPPORT FOR 
      DIFFICULT TAX ISSUES, submitted by Margie Donovan  . . . . . . . . . . . .15

THE WORKING LIFE OF AN INDEPENDENT BLIND WOMAN,
      by Teddie-Joy Remhild  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

HONDURAS: AN EDUCATIONAL/CULTURAL EXCHANGE, Part 3, 
      by Denise Vancil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

SUMMARY OF MINUTES FOR BOAARD OF DIRECTORS 
      CONFERENCE CALL, jUNE 7, 2004, by Ardis Bazyn  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

2004 AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND CONVENTION, by
      Catherine Skivers and jeff Thom  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

LEGISLATION TO ENSURE ACCESS TO TELEVISION PROGRAMMING . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

BULLETIN BOARD, compiled by Keith Black  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

SULTANA STUDENTS DOESN'T LET BLLINDNESS SLOW HER DOWN,
      by Beau Yarbrough  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

MY EUROPeAN TOUR, Part 1, by Deborah Thompson  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

GIVING THANKS UPON THE THRESHOLD OF BLINDNESS, by Valerie
      Ries-Lerman  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

LIBRARY USERS BOOK LIST, by Debbie Rogers and 
      Winifred Downing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

DIGITAL TALKING BOOKS, A REVIEW  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

2004 ELECTION ISSUE, submitted by Billie Jean Keith  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

CCBB OFFICERS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

CCB BOARD OF DIRECTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

CCB PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
  

In accepting material for THE BLIND CALIFORNIAN, priority will be
given to articles concerning the activities and  policies of the
California Council of the Blind and to the experiences and
concerns of blind persons.  Recommended length is under 3 pages;
if space constraints make it necessary to divide an article,
every effort will be made to discuss the matter with the author
before publication. 



                                  FROM THE EDITOR

                                by Winifred Downing
      People who visit S. Petersburg in Russia are usually led to
do so by their interest in art, for the city has the kind of
standing in Russia that Florence has in Italy.  Obviously it
wasn't art that attracted me, but rather the fact that my sister
and her husband and my brother and his wife were going on a
cruise and wanted me to accompany them.  Because we don't live in
the same part of the country, are all getting on in our span of
life, and really enjoy each other, we felt we would like spending
twelve days together.  I demurred for a while because I didn't
want my sister to be my guide as she has in the past since I
anticipated that the terrain might be challenging.  It was
finally settled that my daughter Eileen would be my companion.  
She relates well to my family and hadn't been  to the continent
so she and her husband were willing for her to be away from her
family for a wile.  
      We flew from San Francisco to Frankfort, then from Frankfort
to Moscow, and boarded our ship, the Kirov, the evening after our
arrival.  The next two days we spent in Moscow touring the city,
visiting several of the famous churches that have been restored,
and spending time in the Kremlin.  One evening, we attended a
circus; and though we saw no evidence of cruelty to the animals,
what they were required to wear and to do would have driven
animal-rights advocates in this country up a wall.  
      On the third day, we set sail down the Volga River; through
Lake Onega and Lake Ladoga, two of the largest lakes in the
world; and then down the Sver River to St. Petersburg.  The ship
stopped at various towns along the way where we admired more
churches, visited museums, and saw and purchased items sold on
the streets that illustrated the marvelous craftsmanship still
practiced by many people there. Two of the monasteries where we
stopped had choruses of five or six monks, each of whom had a
voice that would easily qualify for            opera in San
Francisco.  They poured forth hymns and songs a capella seemingly
without effort.  
      Some time after World War II, the Russian government
constructed a complicated series of locks to permit the kind of
journey I described, thus providing Moscow
with a waterway to the Baltic Sea.  At many points, the ship went
through several locks in a row, and we could only speculate on
the scope of the engineering feat the system   represents. 
Technically Russia is far behind most western countries; but we
were repeatedly amazed at accomplishments like the engineering of
the Volga River Project; the detailed and complicated
restorations of palaces and churches all but destroyed in World
War II and by excesses of the stalinist era; and the almost
unbelievable craftsmanship evident everywhere.  Especially
marvelous were the floors of beautifully carved wood.  We were
required to put socks over our shoes to walk on them, and a sock
was even fitted to my cane.  No water bottles were permitted in
these buildings lest any drop injure those lovely floors.  
      St. Petersburg, formerly called Leningrad and before that
Petrograd, was besieged for two solid years during World War II. 
27 million people died in Russia in that war, a tragedy of
proportions we cannot even imagine.  The German soldiers used
Catherine's Palace and the palace of Peter the Great as barracks,
thus necessitating the extensive restoration that has gone on for
many years.  I found it hard to understand how the Russians we
met could exhibit so little bitterness toward Germany.  My
daughter did frequently comment, though, on the fact that
Russians do not smile often.  Reviewing what they have lived
through in the last 70 years with near starvation even as late as
the 1990s, one can only marvel at their strength and endurance.  
The whole experience was an event of lifetime significance, but I
cannot deny that it was also very difficult.  We never saw an
elevator in Russia and only one escalator, which was in the
metro.  Nothing was air conditioned, not even with fans.  At the
circus, the balet, and the folk concert, the auditoriums were
filled but not a breath stirred the air.  We walked miles and
climbed thousands of steps, all of different sizes and shapes and
with flights having as few as 8 steps and as many as 16 before a
landing.  The Kirov, though it is the largest river cruiser in
the world, was very different from an ocean-going cruise ship. 
It had five floors but again no elevator or escalator, so
climbing was constantly necessary there, too. All doors into
buildings in Russia, and sometimes doors to rooms within
buildings, had thresholds; but they weren't like our thresholds. 
Each was 8 or 10 inches tall,requiring that one step over
constantly.  Sometimes the top of the threshold was so broad that
a short person like me had to stand on the top and step down the
other side.  My daughter was rather distressed, too, by the
almost total absence of telephones.  We saws none in Moscow or
St. Petersburg, and the satellite phone on the ship was out of
order most of the time.  Another non-existent item was any
evidence of a computerized cash register in any shopping area. 
ATM machines were available in banks in the large cities where
American money could also be changed into rubles. 
      Cabins were tiny but adequate.  The toilet was flushed by
holding down a lever until the requisite amount of water to clean
it had flowed through it.  The shower was a shower head on a sort
of flexible wire, but that was also the faucet in the sink so
that one had to be careful to regulate the water gently lest one
soak the entire front of clothing.  Showers were done in the
middle of the bathroom floor with a drain to catch the water, but
the whole floor was then wet until it dried.  We were advised not
to drink the water and so used bottled water or boiled water
available for tea.  
      We never saw a person with any sort of disability.  Mischa,
the guide who went with us every time we left the ship, didn't
admonish me in any way or comment on what I should or shouldn't
do; but Eileen said he watched us all the time, being sure he was
near us on the metro and any other time in unusual circumstances. 
Once, near the end of the tour, a bus driver bodily lifted me
from the bottom step to the ground, and Micha called out, "Leave
her alone; she's just fine."  Eileen and I wrote him a note and
each gave him money at the end, and he and his wife came to our
cabin with a gift of a lovely shawl.  Micha said the staff had
been apprehensive ahead of time when they realized that a blind
person would be going on the cruise, wondering how they would
help me and what adjustments I would need in my food.  Micha's
wife was a waitress in the dining room, and we all laughed
comfortably as we said fond   good-byes.  
      The deadline for the nest BC is December 1.  


                     PRESIDENT'S PAGE: TO VOTE OR NOT TO VOTE

                                   by Jeff Thom

      During the past several decades, the percentage of Americans
registered to vote, as well as those actually voting, has
gradually declined.  Currently, just over 50% of our citizenry
actually vote; and although the 2004 election could be an
exception because interest in the presidential race is far
greater than it was in 2000, there is no reason to think that
this election will mark a permanent change in American attitudes. 
Moreover, the percentage of those with disabilities who vote is
perhaps half the national average, a statistic that must change
markedly if our political power is to reach its potential.
      While Americans have slowly become less likely to vote, we,
as blind and visually impaired citizens, are fighting for our
right to vote without having to rely on somebody else to cast our
ballot for us.  This article will discuss the continuing saga of
that struggle in California.
      It is a humbling task even to attempt to write about it.  It
is open to debate as to where this issue ranks in importance to
those of us with visual impairments, but I can safely say that no
issue has created more controversy during my tenure as president
than this one.
      How many of us voted in election after election fondly
wishing we didn't need to use a friend, spouse, poll worker, or
other individual to fill out our ballot, but not really thinking
that any practical solution would become available in the
foreseeable future?  Braille ballots and the use of templates
were tried and had actually been used in some places, but it
wasn't until the end of the 1990's that we began to hear about
machines that just might change things for us.  The touch screen
machines, which had actually been used in other countries for
quite some time, coupled with screen-reading technology created
some very interesting possibilities.
      Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines, as they are
properly known, have already provided many readers of this
magazine their first opportunity to vote privately and
independently, and then events having nothing to do with our
population began to occur that really gave us a boost.  The need
to replace antiquated punch card machines that were becoming
prohibitively expensive to repair helped our cause, but the 2000
election was, of course, the big incentive for change.
      Hanging chads, allegations that voting officials
intentionally worked the system to disenfranchise certain voting
blocks; and the view held by many that the losing candidate was
declared the winner fueled demands for change by members of both
political parties.  The American Council of the Blind and other
advocacy organizations seized the  moment and fought successfully
for provisions to be included in the Help America Vote Act of
2002 (HAVA) that require every precinct used in a federal
election to have at least one machine accessible to persons with
visual impairments.  Just as important, although it is argued
that not enough money has been provided, Congress appropriated
funds for every state to improve its voting systems, including
the purchase of DRE machines.  State and county voting officials
needed a lot of education, and these machines still needed
improvement, but the general outlook was rosy indeed.  And here,
as Paul Harvey says, "is the rest of the story."
      States started to make strong commitments for the
installation of accessible machines.  California, beginning with
Secretary of State Bill Jones, and then under current Secretary
of State Kevin Shelley, began certifying accessible machines. 
Because state certification must occur before a county can use
the machine, this was, indeed, a watershed event.  Several
counties used the machines in the 2002 election, and then the
bubble began to burst.  No sooner had the ink dried on the
president's signature on HAVA than callers from David Dills and
other techies from the Silicon Valley began voicing strenuous
objections to touch-screen machines.  They claimed that these
systems could break down, and nobody would have a record of how a
ballot was cast.  They asserted that computer hackers could
actually cause changes in the way votes were recorded in an
effort to sway the election.  Despite statistics which
consistently indicated that the lowest election error rate of any
voting system occurs with touch screen machines, the assault on
touch screens had begun, and it would soon turn into a tidal
wave.  Democrats especially, being extraordinarily fearful that
touch screen machines would somehow be used to disenfranchise
their voters as paper ballots had done in 2000, quickly joined
the calls for reform.  The chorus really got louder when it was
disclosed that the chief executive officer of Diebold, the
largest maker of touch screen machines in the U.S., had made a
statement about his commitment to ensuring that President Bush
would be re-elected; and when it was divulged that Diebold was
using software in its California touch screen machines that had
not been certified by the Secretary of State, the tumult rose
even more.
      Some demanded that touch screen machines be modified so that
each voter would be provided with a paper ballot showing how he
or she had voted.  Even more, however, took the view that what
was needed was a paper copy in the hands of election officials
that could be used in recounts and to check the accuracy of the
system.  This latter approach is referred to in various ways, but
in California it is known as a verifiable paper audit trail or
2VPAT.  
      Matters were only made worse during the March, 2004,
California primary election.  Largely through deficiencies in
poll worker training, problems with touch screen machine systems
surfaced in San Diego and other counties.  Of course there were
problems with other systems, but nobody bothered to publicize
them.  Touch screen machines became a national whipping boy. 
Moreover, in the days immediately prior to and following the
election, it became abundantly clear that Mr. Shelley would soon
be publishing regulations for requirements for the inclusion of a
VPAT component on touch screen machines.  
      To fully grasp the election process, it must be understood
that, until the Secretary of State certifies a specific company's
product as meeting state standards, it cannot be purchased by
counties for use in the election.  Because these regulations for
a verifiable paper audit trail component hadn't been published
yet; and because counties knew that once they were published, the
counties would probably need to purchase some product that could
not be certified until some point after the regulations were
issued, counties that didn't yet have touch screens were not
likely to buy them.  Included were certain counties that had
opted for other systems since 1999 when touch screens became a
potential option.  Before we continue with our saga, a slight
digression is necessary.  
      It would seem to be a no-brainer as far as requiring a paper
ballot copy to be printed from a touch screen machine and thus be
available when needed for recounts or to check the general
accuracy of the system.  Why not have an extra layer of security
on top of the vote that is recorded via the computer itself? 
Well, it's a much more complex issue than it seems at first
blush.  First, there is a cost issue.  When you combine the cost
of a touch screen machine with the cost of printers, paper, etc.,
you end up with a system that costs more than either a paper
ballot system by itself or a touch screen system.  Second, there
are serious concerns as to whether the printers to be used in
such verifiable paper audit trail components will easily jam or
whether the ink will be dark enough to permit counting by
election officials.  These are not just theoretical concerns,
like those of Mr. Dills, but are based on trial use of the
machines.  Also, the same security issues of voter fraud that
have always surrounded the use of paper ballots through the
machinations of unscrupulous election officials apply to paper
ballots produced by touch screen machines.  Finally, and of most
concern to us, is whether the accessibility features for the
verifiable paper audit trail component will work so that we will
know the content of the paper ballot through speech just as a
sighted person will through reading it visually on the screen.
      About a week after the primary, therefore, CCB, along with
the American Association of Persons with Disabilities (AAPD), and
the California Foundation of Independent Living Centers realized
that action needed to be taken to ensure voting access for those
with visual impairments and those with manual dexterity issues. 
Notwithstanding that the full thrust of HAVA didn't kick in until
the 2006 election cycle, through its requirements that every
precinct have an accessible voting machine, it is our view that
the Americans with Disabilities Act mandated that counties that
have made changes in their voting systems during the last 5 years
must implement accessibility requirements and, far more
importantly, that the actions of Secretary of State Shelley were,
in effect, precluding counties from implementing access
requirements for the 2004 election.
      So it was that, approximately a week after the primary, we
jointly filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of State and four
counties, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Los
Angeles, in which, although the counties were not really the
villains, their actions gave us what we believed to be solid ADA
claims.  During the next month and a half, the Secretary of State
continued to proclaim his absolute commitment to accessibility,
while engaging in sniping and meaningless discussions with our
attorneys.
      Late in April, hearings were held on what needed to be done
with respect to voting systems in California.  Those who cared
about access for people with disabilities or for those with
problems in reading English, as well as a few just plain
reasonable people, were far outnumbered by the doomsayers who
screamed about the harm touch screen machines were certain to
cause.  Using the outcry from these hearings as evidence that
immediate action must be taken, on April 30, 2004, Mr. Shelley
really showed us his level of commitment to access by delivering
a directive that decertified the touch screen systems in all
counties currently using them until such time as a county could
demonstrate that these systems met a list of new security
standards or had a verifiable paper ballot.  His directive
completely prohibited counties that did not currently use touch
screens from installing any for the fall, 2004, election.  In
Sacramento County, for example, where election officials are
absolutely committed to access, the county's plans to implement a
touch screen system came to a screeching halt in favor of an
optical scan system, which, although having a higher error rate
than touch screens, works exclusively through the production of a
paper ballot and thus was not being criticized.  The counties
that already had touch screen systems and that would thus have
been precluded from using them by this order reacted angrily as
did the CCB, AAPD, and CFILC.  Thus it was that we filed another
suit, in federal court this time, challenging the April 30
directive.  In this suit, along with Riverside County, which had
been our ally from the outset, we were joined by San Bernardino
and Merced counties.
      The next few months were exciting: news conferences, letters
to the editor, legal wrangling, and wars of words.  At this
point, let me specifically thank a number of people who
participated in this battle.  Individual plaintiffs included
Pamela Hill and Mitch Pomerantz, as Los Angeles County residents;
Jeremy Johannesen of Santa Barbara County; Jessica Lorenz of San
Francisco County; Rhonda King of Sacramento County; Peter
Benavidas of Riverside County; Christy Crespin of San Bernardino
County; and John Gaspar of Merced County.  Dan Kysor, our
Governmental Affairs Director, who is extremely knowledgeable
with respect to voting access issues, worked tirelessly at
garnering good publicity for our cause.  Finally, Ardis Bazyn put
in a tremendous number of hours on our behalf.  Over the past few
years, she has participated in a number of different voting
reform activities in California.  She has become CCB's foremost
expert in this field and is highly respected by all stakeholders
in this area.
      After what seemed like interminable delays in our court date
for initial arguments in federal district court on our challenge
to the April 30 directive, a firm July 2 date was set. 
Obviously, we had no idea how things might go; but we were, and
still are, confident that our legal challenge to the actions of
the Secretary of State rested on solid legal grounds. 
Unfortunately, a few days prior to the arguments, all of us were
shocked by the judge's actually issuing a proposed order totally
blowing our case out of the water.  Her conclusions essentially
accepted every factual assumption the defense made and basically
held that, other than wheelchair access, the ADA didn't even
apply to voting.  The oral argument, we knew, would be a foregone
conclusion; but of course you can't go down without a fight and
so we didn't.  However, about the only modification we received
was the removal of any discussion of the ADA.  As the old saying
goes, that and five cents wouldn't even buy you ...  
      The summer news hasn't been all bad, however, for Mr.
Shelley received a tremendous amount of pressure from all those
counties whose voting systems were going to be decertified for
this fall's election.  The cost to those counties to replace
their systems would have been incredible.  County by county he
began recertifying the systems, finally even recertifying the
Diebold machines in those counties already using them.
      At least those of you who had the chance to vote privately
and independently in March will still have that chance.  As to
those of us who didn't, what can I say?  At this writing, we are
still involved in little skirmishes.  Regardless of the fact that
no accessible machine with a paper trail component has yet been
certified by the state for purchase, we are fighting efforts by
the Legislature to impose this incredibly costly requirement on
counties.  Without question, we will continue to do all in our
power to ensure that the promise of the Help America Vote Act
will be realized, and every precinct will have an accessible
machine in 2006.
      What then, are the positives that came from the events of
the year, and what is new on the horizon?  I believe that we have
benefited in at least two important ways.  First, although the
media coverage on behalf of paper trail advocates has far
outweighed the point of view of those with disabilities and
anyone trying to make the point that these machines have
performed better than any other type of election system, bringing
these law suits gave us a forum and a way in which to reach the
media.  Not only have we been able to try to educate the public,
but many people with disabilities, who do not share the access
problems in the voting area that we do, didn't realize the
importance of this issue to us.  I can personally attest to
changing a number of minds within the disability community. 
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we have worked closely and
harmoniously with the California Foundation of Independent Living
Centers and the statewide representative for these centers.  This
is not to say that we will always agree with them, nor will we be
any less shy about working on those issues on which we disagree;
but forging this alliance will, in my view, pay dividends for
people who are blind and visually impaired and for all persons
with disabilities; for we are certainly stronger when unified
than when we are divided.
      The future is full of uncertainty; but at least one state,
Nevada, will be using touch screen machines with a paper trail
component in the November election.  This may provide a glimpse
of how well these machines will work when that component is
added.  It is possible that the federal government might enact
legislation that will impose a federal election requirement for a
verifiable paper audit trail; and, although not quite as likely,
even change HAVA to delay the 2006 date by which every precinct
is required to be accessible.  Even if this were to happen, CCB
would certainly fight to ensure this didn't happen in California. 
In addition, one manufacturer is making an accessible optical
scan system machine.  Although never used in an actual election
context, some who have seen it demonstrated have been impressed,
though others have not.  Nonetheless, with many jurisdictions
deciding it's safer to use optical scan systems, or in some cases
almost feeling compelled by the Secretary of State's actions to
do so, the use of an accessible optical scan system is certainly
an option that we will be watching.  After all, although many of
us firmly believe that optical scan systems, being paper-ballot
based, are more prone to error than touch screen systems, and
although touch screens also provide greater benefits for those
with difficulty using English, as CCB members our primary focus
is to ensure that we have the choice to vote privately and
independently, no matter what system is utilized.
      So that's my shot at dealing with this most fascinating and
frustrating topic.  Have I written enough to make the article
illuminating without writing the Great American Novel?  If
nothing else, I'm stressing the importance of exercising  that
right of ours to vote.  It's the most cherished one a citizen
has, and it's the way that we can make our voices heard if we all
participate.


                BLIND PAIR, HERE FOR CONVENTION, WEDS IN LINN PARK

                                  by Amy E. Voigt

             submitted by Ardis Bazyn from the Birmingham-Post Herald

      Sheila Styron places a wedding ring on groom Bill Stephan
during their wedding ceremony performed by Circuit Judge Caryl
Privett in Linn Park on Tuesday.  Both Styron and Stephan are
blind.
      As the late morning sun slowly raised the temperature in
downtown's Linn Park on Tuesday, small groups of people and dogs
began to gather on a bench not far from the central fountain.
      They were waiting for a wedding party.  Soon enough, a man
in a dark suit and a woman in a strappy summer dress emerged from
the back door of the Jefferson County Courthouse.  In the bride's
hand was the leash of a Labrador retriever named Dorian.  The
groom walked alongside with a stunning Australian shepherd named
Logan.  In between the couple, a beaming red-haired judge in a
black robe helped guide them past a long reflecting pool toward
their friends.  "Weddings," Jefferson County Circuit Judge Caryl
Privett said later, "are the best part of a judge's job."  
      In the presence of friends and a few of the park's regular
residents, the nuptials went off without a hitch.  At the end,
well-wishers tossed tiny pepperoni treats at the bride and groom,
creating a moment of commotion among a couple of the dozen or so
guide dogs in attendance.
      For most of the casually dressed wedding guests, the
exchange of vows by Sheila Styron and Bill Stephan broke up a day
crammed with meetings at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention
Complex.  Styron, 50, lives in Los Angeles; and Stephan, 51, 
lives in Kansas City, Mo.  They'd been engaged for a while but
decided just last week to get married at the 43rd National
Convention of the American Council of the Blind, which runs
through Saturday at the BJCC.  
      "I wanted to have a fun wedding.  I wanted it to be a really
unique, fun experience; and because we ran off and had our first
date in the Grand Canyon, I was having difficulty planning what I
thought would be a fun wedding," the bride said in an interview
the next day.
      Because Styron, a vocalist and freelance composer, is
planning to move to Kansas City next week, they needed a fairly
simple plan for the wedding.  "It was a time when we would be
together and we controlled the input," the groom said.  And the
American Council of the Blind has special associations for the
couple, both of whom are completely without sight.
      They met by way of the Internet through their mutual
involvement in Guide Dog Users Inc., an affiliate organization of
the ACB.  On Tuesday, her wedding day, Styron was elected
President of the guide dog users' advocacy group.
      "Bill and I met through legislative activities related to
helping people with guide dog issues," Styron said.  "When we
decided we were interested in getting to know each other, we
planned a trip to the Grand Canyon."

      The Grand Canyon turned out to be an ideal meeting place. 
"First of all, there's not a lot you can do with a car there,
which makes it a good place for blind people," Styron said.  "We
hiked, we went river-rafting, we took a train tour."  That was in
November.  Since then the couple got engaged and decided to live
in Kansas City, where Stephan works as a contract specialist for
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
      Styron and Stephan knew that at the annual ACB conference
they'd be in touch with their friends involved in advocacy for
guide dog users.  
      The conference, which began Saturday, puts more than 1,000
blind people in touch with each other and with marketers of new
technology for the blind.  There's all manner of computer
equipment to enlarge type or make the Internet accessible. 
There's a descriptive video service, whose producers slip oral
descriptions of the on-screen action between the lines of
dialogue in films like "Bruce Almighty," "Finding Nemo" and "Cat
in the Hat."
      Glenn Kristiansen, a sighted volunteer from Oregon, was
there helping Kevin Stockton demonstrate "Blind Signs," a
relatively new system of directional instructions that can be
affixed to crosswalks.  Crossing the street safely remains a
serious issue for the blind, so there was much interest in the
system, as well as the audio crossing signals that have been
installed in front of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, where
Richard Arrington Boulevard curves into 22nd Street North.
      Sighted volunteers from throughout the nation also flock to
the annual conference to help the conference attendees navigate
the convention site and a strange city.  
      Vickie Burke, a wedding guest from North Carolina, had come
to Birmingham as president of Carolina Paws: Guide Dogs of North
Carolina.  An issue in that state is a measure that would
legalize left turns on red at the intersections of two one-way
streets.
      "We hope that doesn't pass, because we've already got the
right turn on red, and it's awful," she said.  Crossing the
street can be scary, a fact of life for the blind, about which
the rest of us can always stand a little education.
      In downtown Birmingham this week, the ACB conference was
about those facts of life with some time out for love.


                    FEDERAL JOBS FOR DISABLED DROP; 20 PERCENT 

               DECREASE SINCE 1984 SURPRISES ANALYSTS AND ADVOCATES 

         by Christopher Lee, Washington Post Staff Writer 
         Tuesday, July 6, 2004; 

      The number of federal employees with severe disabilities has
declined by nearly 20 percent over the last decade, challenging
the long-held notion that the federal government is a haven of
opportunity for such workers.
      In fiscal 2003, federal agencies employed 25,551 workers who
were deaf, blind, mentally ill or mentally retarded, or had other
serious disabilities, according to the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.  That was a 19.8 percent decrease from
31,860 such federal workers in fiscal 1994, the EEOC found.  The
steady decline far surpassed the 7.6 percent reduction in overall
civilian federal employment during the period, to 2.42 million
workers (including the U.S. Postal Service).
      The trend was among many employment issues highlighted in a
new annual EEOC report on the federal workforce.
      The decline is important because the federal government
always has striven to be a model employer that is open to
everyone, said Catherine McNamara, a lawyer and adviser in the
EEOC's Office of Federal Operations.  
      "The community of people with disabilities is a huge,
untapped resource of many, many talented, qualified people who
are not being drawn into the workplace,"
McNamara said.  "And as the federal government faces more and
more of a challenging world, and it is dependent on its employees
to meet those challenges; we're going to need to tap as many
areas of talent as we can."
      The contraction of the disabled federal workforce by nearly
one-fifth surprised analysts and advocates for the 54 million
Americans with disabilities.
      Nationwide, 35 percent of individuals with disabilities
report being employed full or part time, compared with 78 percent
of those without disabilities, according to a recent Harris poll.
      Experts both inside and outside the government say they are
not sure what accounts for the falling federal numbers.  They
theorize that more employees retired or left for jobs in a
private sector that has grown more welcoming of disabled
individuals, that federal recruiting efforts tapered off because
of downsizing, or that fewer employees are disclosing their
disabilities.
      "It's certainly a rather shocking decline," said Brewster
Thackeray, a spokesman for the National Organization on
Disability, an advocacy group.  "I'm surprised because our
impression has been that the government is making a sincere
effort." Doug Gallegos, acting director of the Office of
Affirmative Employment at the EEOC, said officials are studying
the issue.
      There has been a lot of downsizing of the federal
government.  That may play some role in this," he said.
      "There has been a lot less hiring by the federal government,
too, in the last 10 years.  The fact that people are doing less
hiring may mean that they are not recruiting as much and not
recruiting persons with targeted disabilities.  But it's kind of
preliminary at this point, and we don't have anything solid."
      Historically, the federal government has been considered a
model in attracting and accommodating disabled workers.
      The government extended civil rights protections and
employment opportunities to disabled individuals long before the
1990 Americans with Disabilities Act guaranteed equal opportunity
for them in public accommodations, private employment,
transportation, and state and local government services. 
      The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 banned discrimination against
disabled people in federal hiring and required agencies to
develop affirmative action plans to hire and promote more people
with disabilities. It mandated that agencies provide "reasonable
accommodations," such as interpreters or modified work schedules,
to help disabled workers do their jobs. And it required agencies
to buy, develop and maintain "accessible electronic and
information technology," such as voice recognition software and
computer screen readers.
      Such laws, as well as federal hiring policies, have helped
Mary Jean Secoolish and thousands of others with disabilities
carve out successful careers in public service.  Secoolish, who
is deaf, is a supervisory attorney in the EEOC's Office of
Federal Operations and has worked full time for the agency since
1985. 
      EEOC managers have always been supportive, Secoolish said. 
But her introduction to federal service, as an intern at the
Justice Department in 1980, was not a positive one.  Secoolish's
boss learned she was deaf when she introduced herself on her
first day, her government-provided interpreter in tow.
      "He doesn't realize that the interpreter interprets
everything he says," Secoolish recalled in an interview. "He
turns around and he says, 'What am I going to do with her?'" 
Secolish eventually won the boss over with her hard work, and
later workplace experiences were better.  A supervisor at EEOC
once quashed complaints by subordinates that Secoolish was
getting favored treatment because she did not have to review
legal cases with audiotaped depositions.  (She handled cases with
transcripts instead.)
      "I never failed to pull my share of the work, and he knew
that," she said.
      Although Secoolish considers the federal workplace receptive
to people with disabilities, she said officials could do more to
publicize job openings and the special rules that allow disabled
applicants to bypass much of the cumbersome federal hiring
process.
      "The application process to government jobs is very
intimidating," she said. "I don't think that they advertise that
they are looking for people with disabilities." Melanie Brunson,
Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind, said
newer technology used in government offices is not always as
accessible to disabled individuals as it should be.
      And one of the biggest problems is a lack of awareness by
human resources officials of the capabilities of people with
disabilities, Brunson said. 
      "No matter what the law says, I think there's a certain
number of people who are going to shy away from hiring somebody
with a disability because they are not going to know how to cope
with it," she said.
      W. Roy Grizzard Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Office of
Disability Employment Policy in the Labor Department, said the
success of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which opened many
private-sector doors, may help explain the decline in disabled
federal workers.
      "A lot of those people are being hired in private industry,"
he said.
      The Bush administration, through the New Freedom Initiative,
is promoting opportunities for disabled people by increasing
access to technology, integrating disabled people into the
workforce, and expanding educational and transportation options,
Grizzard said.
      One such effort is a recruitment program that this year will
provide more than 340 students or recent graduates with summer
internships in government offices, he said.  About 15 percent of
the participants get permanent government jobs, Labor officials
said.
      Agency leaders also are personally encouraging the hiring of
individuals with disabilities, he said. A May 24 memo from Labor
Secretary Elaine L. Chao and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
urged agency heads to take part in the summer jobs program.
      "There is a concerted effort in this administration to begin
to turn that ship around," Grizzard said.  The federal employment
Web site, USA Jobs www.usajobs.opm.gov), has assistive technology
such as screen readers to ensure that job listings are accessible
to everyone, said Michael Orenstein, a spokesman for the Office
of Personnel Management.  Also, OPM Director Kay Coles James has
proposed changing hiring rules for people with disabilities to
remove a requirement that the Department of Veterans Affairs or a
recognized rehabilitation agency certify that job seekers are
disabled, he said.  The proposal would allow other federal
agencies to certify in some cases.
      "If it's clearly obvious that the person has a disability,
then why run them through the wringer of having to get things
certified?" Orenstein said. "It's bureaucracy at its worst." 
      Peter Blanck, a law professor who is director of the Law,
Health Policy & Disability Center at the Iowa College of Law,
said employment opportunities for the disabled need to be
improved across the board, and the federal government is no
exception.
      "The government has typically been a model for hiring and
accommodating and has led the way for the private sector," he
said.  "And my hope would be that in the federal government we
would not be seeing negatives."


                                    ARMD DREAMS

                              by Josephine Carpignano

      (ARMD: age-related macular degeneration)

When I dream, I see with clearest eye
Each color of the flower, and the sky 
Filled with rounded moon and sparkling stars 
I see as far as Venus, Saturn, Mars

The green leaf shines like China jade 
While twigs from silver wires are made 
I need not bend to see the shape of rock 
The edges clear, the effort does not mock

All steps ahead are sharp and clear 
No hesitation as I walk down here
My dreams are like it was before 
I enter through a taller wider door

Still I am grateful for the little that remains 
Try to learn the art of few complaints 
I walk in shoes that I have never worn before 
Know that with my loss I have learned more


                     TAXPAYER ADVOCATE SERVICE LENDS SUPPORT 
                             WITH DIFFICULT TAX ISSUES

                            submitted by Margie Donovan

      A recent experience with the Taxpayer Advocate Service has led me to
submit this article.  This service assisted me to resolve an issue with the IRS, as
well as to obtain accessible correspondence in Braille.  Prior to the Tax Payer
Advocate's service, my issue was not resolved for over a year.  I am happy to
say that, not only was my problem resolved, but the result was in my favor. 
      Individuals and small businesses with unresolved federal tax problems
may be eligible for free assistance from the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS),
an independent branch within the Internal Revenue Service that represents the
interests of taxpayers.
      TAS recognizes the hardship that tax problems impose on individuals and
small businesses.  It will assign knowledgeable advocates to help qualified
taxpayers navigate the federal tax system, understand what is causing the
unresolved tax problem, and reach closure with the IRS.  Because TAS is a part
of the IRS, the advocates are experienced in the business and know how to
navigate the system.  They are impartial and will work on your case until it is
finalized, so you can move on with your life.  TAS works to solve both specific
and system-wide tax problems.
      Individuals and small businesses may be eligible for free TAS assistance. 
Taxpayers may be eligible if they have tried normal channels to resolve their
issues and still face: economic hardships or significant cost because of their tax
problem, a 30-day delay to resolve the issue, or a response or resolution
deadline that was promised by the IRS but not met.
      If you want to request the assistance of the Taxpayer Advocate Service,
call 1-877-275-8271.
      Making accessibility a reality is an ongoing effort of the IRS' Alternative
Media Center (AMC).   The IRS established the AMC in 2001 to provide
alternative media resources to taxpayers and IRS employees with disabilities and
to exemplify the spirit of the laws designed to enhance access to government
information by people with disabilities.
      The AMC provides braille, large print, and accessible electronic versions
of IRS documents including tax instructions, tax publications, and, of course,
tax forms.  Your local IRS Customer Service office can request any document
in an alternative format from the Alternative Media Center.  You can either call
the toll free number (1-800-829-1040) or walk in to make your request. 
However, if you're in a hurry, you can also find many accessible tax products
on the IRS web site at htt//www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=96151,00.html. 
The tax instructions and tax publications are available in text and "Braille Ready
Format" (.brf) while tax forms are available in an accessible PDF format , 
Sometimes called "talking tax forms" our fillable, screen reader friendly tax
forms are accessible to MSAA compliant screen readers like Jaws and Window
Eyes.  


                  THE WORKING LIFE OF AN INDEPENDENT BLIND WOMAN

                               by Teddie-Joy Remhild

      Let me preface this piece by stating that seeking autonomy and
independence for any woman in the 20th century, blind or sighted, was, and to
some extent still is, a daunting struggle.
      My working life as a blind woman for the past 30 years has been an
odyssey, navigating through a sea of bureaucratic storms, battles and occasional
anchorages at peaceful ports of employment.
      This odyssey began, of course, with an application to the Department of
Vocational Rehabilitation.  In those days the choices for a blind woman were
quite limited.  I am aware that many blind men would claim the same restricted
opportunities.  While this may be true to the extent that any person with a
disability has faced barriers to employment, the fact is that males have had and
still have an advantage, simply by virtue of their gender.
      As a blind woman, I was limited to the job choices of medical transcriber
or BEP vendor.  I tried the latter for a year and had to leave because the long
hours were incompatible with my single parent responsibilities.  I ended up,
therefore, spending 9 years as a medical transcriber in order to support my 3
young children.  This was a good job, paid the bills and saw my kids through
those stormy years.  It was, however, not an opportunity to fulfill my human
potential.  It was an entry level, dead-end job, and I needed more in my life.
      Now you ask, "Why are you complaining?  You had a good job and
many people with or without disabilities would be satisfied."  I have never
bought into the concept that "being satisfied" was the end-all of my life journey. 
Therefore, I have traveled many risky roads, keeping in mind that this is my
very own life, and I will spend it being the best and the most I can be.
      The question that has traveled those roads with me has been: who or what
defines the sum total of my being: my values, my choices, my needs, my joys? 
And the answer is always: you, Teddie-Joy, you are the keeper of this
definition.  Consequently, I have had a somewhat speckled 30-year working life
but exciting and always filled with self-discoveries and epiphanies.
      I spent 9 years as a medical transcriber, one year as a vendor, 5 years as
a recreation director with Department of Rec. and Parks, 2 years as a CAP
Advocate, one year as a CAP (Client Assistance Program) trainer, and the last
4 years as a community liaison and disability rights advocate.  Along the way, I
spent time being unemployed and 5 years going back to college at the age of 49
and graduating at age 54 with a degree in gerontology.
      It is certainly true that many bureaucratic systems have assisted me in this
journey, but always I have made the life choices, and they have not always been
ones of which the systems approved.  I don't have the time to wait on either
systemic or popular approval.
      After these 30 plus years, I am exceedingly pleased and proud of the
woman I have become.  My values, needs, choices and joys have all been
owned by me alone and I celebrate that achievement!  The sorrows and pain in
life cannot be escaped, but I live it all with commitment to my independence
and autonomy.      That's why I would subtitle this essay "Annoyingly
Independent? Maybe; but you go, girl!"
 

                HONDURAS: AN EDUCATIONAL/CULTURAL EXCHANGE, Part 3

                                 by Denise Vancil 

      (Editor's note: This is the final section of Denise Vancil's report on her
experiences in Honduras.  This time she deals with her visit to the school for
the blind and ends her adventure.)
      Sometimes lessons at the center would be interrupted by a trip to the
capital, Tegucigalpa.  Since most people in Honduras don't have cars, various
people would take advantage of Irma's trip to run errands.  One day, Irma took
Barbara and me to visit the Pilar Salinas Residential School for Blind children;
and, of course, a few others from the center tagged along so that what should
have taken only a short time ended up taking most of the day.  Being
time-conscious North Americans, sometimes it was hard for Barbara and me to
get used to accepting that the clock in Honduras is always approximate.
      When we arrived at the school, the students were dressed in their
uniforms and were at recess or snack time.  They were in an enclosed
courtyard; and I was immediately surprised by the fact that, although most of
the children were totally blind, none used canes.  After their free time, they
were gathered in a large room where we were greeted with a a welcoming
speech, and each of us was presented with a a corsage.  A music presentation
followed in which the students sang a variety of songs including the Honduran
national anthem.  One young 16-year-old girl sang a few solos in English
including "Yesterday" by the Beatles and the theme song from the Titanic.  She
has real talent and a lovely voice.  The assembly also included students playing
the guitar and some small plastic recorder-style flutes.  Lastly, several
youngsters performed a short skit that they made up themselves.  The program
was beautiful and heart warming.  
      Afterward, I was taken on a short tour of the school.  The students stay
in dormitories with seven to nine children per room, the younger children on
the lower floor.  There is a chapel where Mass is offered twice a week.  
      I greeted the children individually and passed out candies and balloons. 
The school director distributed the clothing, shoes, and some toys that I had
collected to donate.  A few of the Spanish talking watches were given to
top-achieving students.  I sat with several students and blind staff members
answering questions, sharing information, and showing my cane and braille
electronic note-taking device.  I shall long treasure the experience.    
      We returned to the center, and Barbara and I planned to stay the night on
the grounds, sharing a room with the women students.  We arranged a dance
party providing some snacks and sodas.  The students were enthusiastic when I
taught them steps to meringue and salsa, and I danced with each student until I
couldn't dance anymore.  We headed to bed, and the whispering and giggling
reminded Barbara and me of summer camp.  
      After my time of observing, participating, learning, teaching, interacting,
and just being sociable, I felt the need  of some relaxation and ended up
spending my last weekend with my friend Lori and some of her friends for a
little fun in the sun on the Caribbean coast of Honduras.  
      I will be continuing my work by sending packages of much needed
supplies to both the children's and adult centers.  I also will be in charge of
developing a sister program between the Earle Baum Center and CAIPAC.  In
order to do so, there are many things that need to happen, including fundraising
to pay for monthly phone service as well as e-mail to advance communication.  
In addition, there is a continual need for supplies like oven mitts, canes and
cane tips, tape recorders and tapes, talking and Braille watches, slates and styli,
Perkins Braillers, labeling supplies, Spanish talking calculators, etc.  I want to
express my gratitude to all those who called, e-mailed, and sent donations. 
CAIPAC wants to further expand their program to work with older adults,
increase outreach to rural communities, serve one-on-one with visually impaired
clients in their own homes, and educate families and communities to foster
disability awareness. If you wish to help in any way, please contact me, Denise
Vancil, at the Earle Baum Center.   


                     SUMMARY OF MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS 
                           CONFERENCE CALL, JUNE 7, 2004

                                  by Ardis Bazyn

      Jeff Thom called the conference call board meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. 
Roll call was taken, and he read the  proposed agenda.  Peter reported that the
new phone system would be set up before the national convention.  Ardis gave
an update on the upcoming accessible voting litigation.  The 2nd court date was
discussed.  Next, the San Francisco audible signals were discussed with Beze
Benson's participation.
      Mitch moved that the board enter into executive session and the motion
passed.  After personnel matters were discussed, Ardis moved that the executive
session be adjourned and that the board return to the regular meeting.  The
motion passed.
      Jeff said that the pictures for the CCB video were completed though they
are still working on the script.  The rough cut should be available soon.  The
bids for the audio description and voice-over are under consideration.  Audio
Vision submitted a bid for $1000 for audio description.  Rick Boggs submitted a
bid for $300 and a bid for voice-over for $250.  A bid was also received for
free service from a contact in the Bay Area.  Ardis moved to contract Rick
Boggs for both the audio description and voice-over, and the motion passed.
      Jeff and Ken gave the fall convention update.  CCB received $1000 from
Union Bank for convention expenses.  The spring convention cost in excess of
expenses was $10,000, far less than expected.  Several grant requests were also
sent to other banks.  Local Lions Clubs will be asked to cover CCB costs for
bringing scholarship winners to the fall convention.  Ken went over some
possible program items.  Paul Edwards will be the banquet speaker.  We want
to honor employers of blind persons such as the Marriott.
      The Convention Committee requested that the following prices be charged
for the convention meals: luncheon for $20, $25 for president's dinner, and $30
for the banquet.  Ken's motion to adopt this suggestion was passed.  Mitch
mentioned the additional DVS narration being offered in the L.A.  area.
      Cathie made a second motion for an executive session and it passed. 
After more personnel matters were discussed, Cathie moved to adjourn the
executive session and the motion passed.  Mitch made a motion to update the
CCB office laptop and it passed.  It will cost approximately $2600 for the
necessary upgrades and additional software.
      The coalition for the vehicle donation program was the next topic.  It was
determined that if ACB enters into an agreement, CCB should possibly join it,
probably paying one month of ACB's share.  This coalition has 3 levels: $2400
a year to $1000 per month.
      Peter stated that we received copies of the accounts for the Ellen Murphy
funds.  Cathie moved that CCB not further pursue the 2002 audit papers
requested for the Ellen Murphy Fund, and the motion passed.
      Tagline was discussed.  Each customer receives 1500 minutes per month. 
If CCB encourages people to join, it would receive credit for referrals: $25 per
year for finder's fee and 2 1/2% of the monthly fees.  Mitch moved that CCB
enter into this agreement with Tagline, and the motion passed.
      The pictures for the brochure are nearly finished.  Quotes for the number
of brochures printed were given: 10,000 for $2100 brochures, 30,000 for $3793
brochures.  Mitch requested that we ask for a bid from John Lopez's brother
before we vote on a printer.  
      Jeff said that he spoke at a seminar in Bayview explaining  how to get a
bill into the legislature.  Congratulations were extended to Ken Metz for his
upcoming wedding.  The meeting was adjourned.


                  2004 AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND CONVENTION 

                        by Jeff Thom and Catherine Skivers 

      The 43rd annual convention of the American Council of the Blind (ACB)
was held at the Sheraton  Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, from July 3 through
10, 2004.  That famous southern hospitality was amply shown by the residents
of the Birmingham area and the host affiliate, the Alabama Council of the Blind,
headed by President David Trot of Talladega.  Door prizes, tours, and social
events of all kinds plus the serious considerations undertaken ensured attendees
of a memorable experience.   Our shy and retiring Guide Dog Users of
California President, Sheila Styron, even made Birmingham the location of her
wedding.  Sincere congratulations go to newly-weds Sheila and Bill. 
Congratulations also go to 2nd Vice President Ken Metz and Pam Hill, who
also got married during the convention; but they didn't leave Los Angeles to do
it.
      Opening ceremonies were held on the evening of July 4th.  President
Chris Gray outlined what each staff member in the Washington, DC, office does
and congratulated the staff on doing their jobs well,  commenting especially on
the performance of Executive Director Melanie Brunson.  She reported that
ACB has been working on audio description, pedestrian safety, transportation
(especially bus services), and protection of rights under the Randolph-Sheppard
Act.  With the ACB President, 2nd Vice President, and Treasurer all being
CCB members and the executive director having been a CCB member until her
work began in the ACB office, nothing more need be said about the importance
of CCB in the American Council of the Blind.
      Always anticipated in the opening ceremonies are the presentation of
awards, which will be described in detail in the November issue of The Braille
Forum, and the conferring of approximately 15 life memberships.  Life
memberships can be procured for $1000 and are purchased by individuals for
themselves, family members who wish to give a gift to someone, and chapters
and affiliates wanting to honor a member who has been especially valuable.  At
every convention, there is a reception just for the life members.  
      Also, a charter was presented to a new ACB affiliate, West Virginia, the
Mountain State Council of the Blind.  The final item of business was the roll
call of affiliates presided over by Donna Seliger,  ACB Secretary.  It is always
interesting to learn who the delegates will be for the various functions of the
convention and the number of chairs each affiliate has asked to be reserved. 
They vary from 2 seats to 30 or more for the larger affiliates.       
      Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid helped to initiate the proceedings on
July 5 by declaring that day in Birmingham to honor especially Blind Friends of
Lesbians and Gays (BFLAG, an ACB affiliate.)  On Monday morning and the
rest of the days of the convention, members sit according to their affiliate, each
designated by a sign to assist in the seating.  The convention  program that day
was concerned mainly with transportation, sponsored by Cingular Wireless and
conducted by Mitch Pomerantz, ACB 2nd Vice President.  Melanie Brunson
introduced a panel including Donna Smith, Easter Seals Project Action, and Bill
Hecker, Accessibility Consultant, Heckor Design LTD. They emphasized the
need for more consistency in design and for greater coordination among
transportation services in a given area.  The importance of coordination is
supported by a U.S. General Accounting Office report leading Congress to
direct the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) to become involved with
solving this problem.  Through its United We Ride program, the FTA can make
grants to advance plans to improve coordination.         Next, Lucas Frank of
the Seeing Eye and Janet Barlow discussed accessible pedestrian signal
research.  As an illustration of the power that consumers have when they make
their wishes known, Pasadena, California, was influenced to install at several
crossings accessible pedestrian signals.  Research has been done to analyze the
time allocated for signals and how people find the push button locators.  Where
push buttons were required, 50% of the people did not have enough time to
cross on the "Walk" sign.  Another study indicated that people did not know
that accessible signals were installed or how to use them.  The locator tone goes
off every second announcing where there is a push button.  It is essential that
we learn about how this equipment is installed and how to use it.  Mention was
also made of talking signs.
      The next panel, composed of Susan Crawford, Lynne Koral, Darian
Hartman and Lorraine Phenix, was entitled, "Stop the Violence, Break the
Silence."  A disabled person is twice as likely to be a victim of violence as is an
able-bodied individual.  Many people with disabilities are conditioned to be
compliant, to believe nothing can be done, to have low self esteem, and are
often afraid to let people know what is happening to them.  Funded by the
Justice Department, ACB partnered with "Safe Place" to prepare ACB members
as trainers.  The panelists are now able to provide training to others.
      Joanne Wilson, Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration,
was the next speaker.  She believes that mentoring and role modeling are most
important and has asked for funding for mentoring students and seniors.  All
recipients of SSI and SSDI are automatically eligible for rehabilitation services
and can choose their plan and provider.  She stressed the agency's strong
commitment to informed choice; but when asked why people with guide dogs
could not attend the rehabilitation center of their choice, she was somewhat
evasive.  It is important to attend state conventions, learn how to teach others,
and be involved in state rehabilitation planning.  
      During the session, the Robert S. Bray Award was conferred on Kim
Charlson, the director of the large library serving the blind at the Perkins
School for the Blind.  Finally, an NLS update was given by Frank Kurt Cylke,
director, National 
Library Services.  The music library is the largest in the world, and there are
three magazines devoted to music.  One problem is the paucity of braille music
transcribers; a survey is being conducted to identify transcribing issues.  
      On July 6, M.J. Schmitt, ACB First Vice President, chaired Education
Day, sponsored by America Online.  Richard Scribner, CEO of Recording for
the Blind and Dyslexic, spoke first.  students should not have to wait for their
books, should be able to easily conduct research, and should find it possible to
obtain even a long book on one CD.  Last year RFB&D distributed 50,000
books and expects to double that number in 2004.  Interested persons are invited
to visit the redesigned Web site.
      Dr. Terry Graham, President of the Alabama Institute
for Deaf and Blind, said that the school has improved services to blind and
deaf-blind students in spite of serious budget constraints.  Programs include
services to the senior blind, an outstanding Randolph-Sheppard vending facility
program, services for the deaf and deaf-blind, the orientation and mobility
program, technology instruction and training in employment preparation.  
      Patty Slavy, chair of the ACB Scholarship Committee, presented
scholarships to students from all over the country.  They represent study in
diverse fields: bio-engineering, computer science, political science, pre-law,
pre-med, communications, public relations, business management, music, and
special education.  
      President of National Industries for the Blind, Jim Gibbons, gave a
program update.  NIB-contracted programs have management jobs that pay
about $40,000 per year.  These jobs and training in the various items that the
factories make provide experience and preparation in order that personnel can
advance in employment.  NIB conducted a survey of 2,000 employees from
these programs and found a 10% higher favorable comment rate than is
generally obtained in the labor market.            George Abbot of the Hadley
Correspondence School for the Blind was the final morning speaker.  The
school taught its first student braille in 1920 and now offers more than 100
courses in braille and large print and on cassette and on-line.  Applicants can
begin taking courses when they are 14 years old, and there is a high school
program with transferrable credits.  An important aspect of the school's
philosophy is fostering a close relationship between student and instructor.  All
courses are offered without cost.   For answers to questions, call 1-800-323-
4238. 
      The July 7th session, sponsored by Bank of America, was devoted to
Technology and presided over by President Gray.  Ralph Sanders, Chair of the
Public Relations Committee, described the public service announcements sent all
over the country by the committee and aired by many stations.  ACB received
daily news coverage during the convention especially on accessible voting. 
      American Council of the Blind Enterprises and Services (ACBES) is
ACB's largest funding source, and it was good to hear that the organization is
on track with income for this year.         Mark Richert, Executive Director of
the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually
Impaired (AER), brought greetings from the organization.  It consists of 4,000
professionals in services for the blind and visually impaired.  
      The international speaker this year was Dan Frye, Executive Director of
Blind Citizens of New Zealand.  The organization was founded by around 100
blind people on October 8, 1945, and has assisted in the gradual improvement
of the lives of blind people.  As late as the 1980s, blind persons were educated
in an institution and received all services there so that some spent their entire
lives in that environment.  They had to have the institution's permission even to
marry.  The government has, however, come to the point of consulting blind
persons about their own lives and is gradually gaining confidence in their ability
to be independent.  
      On the lighter side, Damar Travel will donate to ACB $100 for every
person who books a reservation for one of its cruises.
      Representatives of Motorola and Nextel engaged in a discussion of cell
phones and strategies for making them accessible to blind persons.  Some
manuals are available in accessible formats.
      Our next speaker, Susan Palmer-Mazrui, Director, Regulatory Affairs,
Washington, DC, gave a Cingular Wireless presentation.  She went out to the
blind community to learn what features are most needed, and the company has
been working on the matter.  The new Cingular accessible cell phone should be
available soon. 
      The talking book narrator this year was Mark Ashby who reads for
Potomac Talking Book Services where he narrates The Braille Forum and many
of the magazines NLS distributes.  He also read  ACB's history, People of
Vision.  He eagerly welcomes readers' comments.  As usual, our NLS narrators
are among ACB's most  honored  guests.   
      Our final speaker was Mary Beth James, Assistive Technology
Developer, Worldwide Relations, Apple Computer, Inc.  She discussed the
Apple Way and specifically the new Apple Interface that is intended to prevent
incompatibility problems with speech software.  She provided a demonstration
of this product.
      July 8, Thursday, was set aside as Work Day, sponsored by Freedom
Scientific and conducted by Donna Seliger, ACB Secretary.  Lenn Gordon,
Chief Technology Officer, Freedom Scientific, spoke of the pocket PC and its
flexibility with regard to keyboards and the presence or absence of a braille
display.  This presentation was followed by Jonathon Mosen, International
Braille Note Product Manager, and Mike Gibson, Blindness Product Specialist,
PulseDate International, speaking on "Technology's Cutting Edge" embracing
New Braille and newer approaches to enhance low vision.  Significant
investments have been made to bring the cost down to $4,995.  Both speakers
were very enthusiastic about what they are doing.  
      At the Affiliate Presidents' meeting later that day, the announcement was
made that the mid-year Affiliate Presidents' meeting and the Legislative Seminar 
will be held from February 18-22, 2005.
      Ardis Bazyn, ACB Treasurer, was in charge of the meeting on Friday,
July 9.  Only one item preceded matters of business, some items of which had
been dealt with earlier in the week as time allowed.  It was a presentation on
the new Medicare perscription cards presented by Phil Strong, ACB Advocacy
Specialist and Tara Shaver-Jarmon, State Director Ship Media Mart.  Medicare
recipients and advocates will need to study carefully to determine whether or
not the plan will be advantageous in making perscriptions more affordable. 
Further alterations in the system will be made by 2006.  Every state has a
hotline with counselors to give assistance; just call 1-800-medicar. 
      On that day and the next, elections were held accompanied by great
excitement and suspense.  Mitch Pomerantz was elected 2nd Vice-President.  Ed
Bradley of Texas; Cynthia Towers of Washington; David Trott of Alabama;
Oral Miller of Washington, DC; and Naomi Soule of Missouri were elected to
the Board of Directors.  Incumbent Mike Duke of Mississippi; Cindy Burgett,
President of the Washington Council of the Blind; and Deanna Quietwater
Noriega of Colorado were elected to the Board of Publications.  It should be
noted that our own Winifred Downing left that board because of term
limitations.  As with everything she does, Win had done an outstanding job.
      We now turn to a discussion of Constitution and Bylaw Amendments and
Resolutions.  Ray Campbell was the chair of the Constitution, and Bylaws
Committee and Jeff Thom chaired the Resolutions Committee; both performed
their arduous tasks with outstanding ability. In general, the amendments that
were adopted made little substantive change in the governance of the
organization.  One amendment contains procedures regarding executive sessions
of the Board of Directors and disclosure of information while in executive
session.  Another was narrowly defeated which would have increased the
number of elected members to the Board of Publications, modified the manner
of selecting the chair of that board, and made other related changes.  
      Because The Braille Forum will contain a summary of the resolutions
adopted at the convention, this report will mention only a few of the most
important ones.  Resolution ACB2004-3, initiated by CCB, related to access
problems with the Law School Admission Test, including the failure of the Law
School Admission Council to abide by the terms of settlement agreements. 
Resolution ACB2004-11 reiterated the ACB position opposing any efforts that
would delay the installation of accessible voting systems in compliance with the
Help America Vote Act.  Resolution ACB2004-15 expressed our continuing
opposition to the currently proposed Unified  English Braille Code, and
underscored the need for more research to find a workable system.  Resolution
ACB2004-17 opposed cuts in Greyhound services.  Topics of other resolutions
adopted by the convention included special education legislation, radio reading
services,  transportation, our efforts to promote accessible currency, the 100th
anniversary of the Free Matter Privilege, accessible citizenship testing, and
universal design in appliances and other products.  
      A resolution to urge the Board of Directors to remove the ACB President
and another to censure the President failed.  Open debate of this type of
resolution is never pleasant, but the fact that members of ACB can express their
point of view openly and have vastly differing opinions shows the long-term
strength of ACB and why it truly is the most representative organization of
consumers who are blind or visually impaired.
      After a long day of business on Friday and before a final morning of
business on July 10, ACB members and friends relaxed at the annual banquet
on Friday evening.  Good food, good entertainment, and good company made
for a great time.  
      As co-author of this article, let me thank Cathie Skivers for her work in
writing much of it and her service as alternate delegate, including allowing me
some time off the convention floor to catch up on my resolution work. 
Incidentally, you can order  tapes of the entire convention or of specific days by
calling the ACB national office: 1-800-424-8666 daily between 3  and 5:30 p.m.
or (202) 467-5081.
      It was another exciting convention, and next year promises to be extra
special with the election of national officers.  The 2005 ACB convention will be
held from July 2-9, in Las Vegas at the Riviera Hotel.  We urge you to call and
make your reservation immediately at 800-634-6753.  This convention will have
a large attendance, and we hope that the CCB delegation dwarfs all the others.


              LEGISLATION TO ENSURE ACCESS TO TELEVISION PROGRAMMING

      (Taken from The Lantern, published by the Rose Resnick Lighthouse for
the Blind.)
       Following is an overview of Rep. Edward J. Markey's (D-MA)
statement accompanying his introduction of H.R. 4311, the "Video Description
Restoration Act of 2004," legislation that is identical to provisions in Section 9
of Senate bill S.1264, sponsored by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Fritz
Hollings (D-SC).
      History of Telecommunications:  Americans have a history of ensuring
that the benefits of technology reach all segments of American society.  In the
late 1980s, the Telecommunications Subcommittee enacted legislation to include
a decoder chip in all televisions to ensure that people who are deaf or
hard-of-hearing had affordable access to closed captioning.  Although the
industry opposed the effort as too costly, the cost turned out to be only one
dollar per television set.   
      Video Description: The FCC's video description rules were designed to
serve people who are blind or visually impaired.  Television is a mainstay for
information, news, and family-oriented viewing in the home; it is important that
steps are taken, to make this medium accessible.  The bill H.R.  4311 would
restore the video programming rules that the DC Circuit Court of Appeals
invalidated.  Congress ought to give the Commission clear guidance that such
rules should be reinstated and cannot be questioned in the future.  By approving
such legislation, Congress can also establish that such video description rules do
not regulate content in violation of any Constitutional protections.  The video
description rules require that a modest portion of speech be made available to
all listeners.  The regulations would not stipulate which speech is acceptable,
favored or otherwise, and broadcasters can choose which speech they wish to
make available.  In fact, rather than infringing upon speech, the rules celebrate
it, essentially saying that such speech is so important, so valued, that more
Americans deserve to be able to hear it over their public airwaves, as broadcast
by public licensees who are required by law to serve the public interest.
      Current Bill Status: 5/6/2004: Referred to the House Committee on
Energy and Commerce.  5/7/2004: Introductory remarks on measure.  (CR
E790.  5/21/2004: Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and
the Internet.


                                  BULLETIN BOARD

                              compiled by Keith Black

      Each section of "Bulletin Board" will be terminated by a line of asterisks. 
After the first item from a magazine is listed, subsequent items will be marked
with a single asterisk at the beginning of the paragraph.

      (From Newsreel, August, 2004: A special offering of Pentium 2
computers: Each computer will give you everything you will need to send and
receive e-mail; surf the net; retain tax, insurance, and other personal records. 
It is a 3-5-year-old computer that has been made like new.  When it leaves here
in good working order, it will have Windows 98 and a demo copy of Window-
Eyes.  That means that it is a fully working screen-reader with synthesized
voice that will work for 30 minutes at a time; and when it says "Time's up,"
you save, back out of the computer, reboot the computer (which takes about a
minute), and you have as many more 30-minute working periods as  you want. 
I send you a new, professionallly done, computer training tutorial which is on 7
audio cassettes.  It will walk you step by step through how to use a computer
with the keyboard.  There are also two methods of enlarging the print on the
monitor for those who have enough vision to read the screen that way.  It will
have a 50-page training tutorial that you can pull up on the screen, and it will
walk you step by step through how to use a computer with a mouse.  This
computer will include the monitor, keyboard, the processor, CBU speakers,
modem, sound card and a CD player as well as the 3 1/2-inch floppy.  There is
a one-time, total, $100 gift required.  When I receive that, allow 3 to 4 weeks,
and you will receive the computer.  This offer is good in the United States and
Canada only.  If you are interested, give me a call: Bob Langford, (214) 340-
6328; 11330 Quail Run, Dallas, TX 75238
      *Perkins braille writer repair and purchase: The Writer Repair Service in
Brooklyn,NY, will repair any Perkins brailler, starting at $65 with a 5-day turn-
around time.  The company will buy any broken Perkins brailler.  It has many
used Perkins braillers for sale  starting at $250.  Shipping is not included. Paul
Jackanin:  (718) 384-2945; 44 Powers Street,  Brooklyn, NY 11211.

*****          *****          *****          *****
      Cross-country skiing in 2005: Does the tranquility of nature in the winter
appeal to you, or perhaps a wild run down an advanced cross-country ski trail? 
Well, if any of this sounds like your cup of tea, the 12th annual Sierra Regional
Ski for Light 3-day event, to be held March 13-15, 2005,  is for you.  It
provides a great cross-country skiing experience for blind and visually impaired
skiers of all levels.  At a cost of $220 if you need to rent skis and $180 if you
have your own, you will receive two nights' lodging at the Best Western Inn in
Truckee, two breakfasts, two dinners, and three days of trail passes at the
Tahoe-Donner Cross-Country Ski Lodge, along with transportation from
Sacramento to the ski area and back.  For anyone seeking a private room, the
cost is an additional $117.  Limited scholarships are available.  The food is out
of this world, the camaraderie is unbelievable, and only the ski conditions are in
the hands of fate.  If you would like any additional information or an
application, please contact Jeff Thom at 916-995-3967, or Betsy Rowell at
916-362-5557.

*****          *****         *****          *****
      From The Matilda Ziegler Magazine, June, 2004:  Hall of Fame. The
Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness
Field will soon open in the 80-year-old building of the American Printing House
for the Blind in Louisville, KY.  The newly renovated space will be filled with
special displays of artifacts, photographs, videos and plaques honoring the great
names of the profession.  Helen Keller is one of the first 32 Hall of Fame
inductees.  A wall of tribute will honor men and women who have made a
difference in the lives of blind persons.   The wall will be made of inscribed
stones placed in wooden columns.  The APH invites anyone to become a
Charter Benefactor and support the growth of the Hall of Fame, or to become a
Friend of Leaders and honor a personal hero.  Call 502-895-2405, visit
www.aph.org, or send e-mail to fame@aph.org.  
      From The Matilda Ziegler Magazine, July, 2004: Apple Screen Reader. 
Screen-reading software will be built into the next version of the Apple
Macintosh OS X operating system, providing speech accessibility at no extra
cost, Apple announced recently.  It will include voice output, sound cues, and
enhanced keyboard functions to help users navigate through menus, toolbars,
and other onscreen objects.  The software will enable blind people to use the
MAC's sound recording and editing equipment, which is perceived as the music
industry's standard.
      From The Matilda Ziegler Magazine, August, 2004: Loans for Assistive
Equipment.  Advances in technology can open up new opportunities for blind
and visually impaired people, but the cost is often prohibitive.  Thanks to the
so-called "Tech Act" of 1988, most states now have programs that offer
Americans with disabilities low-interest, long-term loans to purchase assistive
equipment.  Amounts and repayment terms vary from state to state.  It is not
hard to qualify--even people with a poor credit history may get a loan.  A brief
survey found that 70 percent of loan recipients were unemployed; 48 percent
were over 60 years old; 40 percent lived in rural areas; and the median monthly
income was $1,742.  Commonly purchased items included computers with
adaptive hardware and software, mobility equipment, hearing aids and low
vision aids.  Almost 80 percent of loan applications were approved for amounts
ranging from $79 to $90,000; the median was $4,200.  To apply: (1) Determine
the specific device you need (make, model, manufacturer), where it will be
purchased, and the price.  Ask your medical or rehabilitation professional for a
prescription.  (2) Get together basic data about yourself: your disability, when it
began, and cause; employment history; family gross income; monthly
expenses--rent, utilities, loan payments, health insurance, medical costs; names
and ages of dependents.  Readers in California without access to the Internet
can call 800-390-2699.  Those with computers may visit www.resna.org and
www.abledata.com.  Electronic Magnifier. The Quicklook is a 10-ounce,
pocket-size, portable device that acts as an electronic magnifying glass.  It can
enlarge text to an inch high, enabling visually impaired people to read mail,
subway maps, labels on pescription bottles or food packages, books, and
newspapers, and also to write.  A combination of a tiny digital video camera
and a four-inch liquid crystal display screen, it costs $800 from Lighthouse
International.  Call 800-829-0500 or 212-821-9200.


                SULTANA STUDENT DOESN'T LET BLINDNESS SLOW HER DOWN

                        by Beau Yarbrough

      (Taken from The Hesperia Star, May 11, 2004; submitted by Domenic
Martinelli)
     Carl Dominik has a serious look on his face as he gazes out over his second
period choir class at Sultana High School.  
      "We have two days to make things work," he said, erasing part of the
whiteboard at the front of the room. "Rumor has it that the senior class won't
be here on Friday.  That's half the class."
      He seats himself at the electric piano and begins to play, directing the
different sections of the choir to come in, and closing his eyes as he listens to
them practice "Now is the Month of May."
      When the song ends, he opens his eyes again, but one of his sopranos
keeps her eyes shut as she stands listening.  It doesn't make much difference to
Bertha, as her world is just as dark with her eyes open as when she keeps them
closed.  The 16 year old has been blind from birth.
      As the choir takes another pass through the song, Bertha follows along
with the music on large printouts, with the lyrics written in braille, the raised
alphabet read by the blind.  No one around her takes any notice, other than
when Dominik writes "basses" in frustration on the board with an arrow
pointing to the boys on the side of the room; one of her neighbors quietly
narrates it all to her.
      While common wisdom says that high school is a time where everyone is
picked on and treated poorly, for whatever reason, Bertha said that her
blindness doesn't seem to make her a
 target for classmates.
      "They're not stupid about it," she smiled later.  New classmates, whether
freshmen or kids Bertha hasn't shared a class with before, tend to be interested
at first, of course.  
      "They think I'm faking it, they hold up fingers and say 
'How many fingers am I holding up?' And I say two, and they say 'you're not
blind'" She laughed.
      Certain allowances do have to be made for her.  She later leaves choir
class early to get a head start on getting to her next class.  Each spring, she sits
down with the teachers for her next year and figures out what books she will
need, so she can order them in braille, and she takes notes using a small
specialized laptop computer called a BrailleNote.         
      But for the most part, she's just like any other Sultana junior.  "I'm used
to blindness by now," she said.  "I mean, yes, sometimes I wish I could  see,
but, you know, maybe it's for a reason."   And sometimes, blindness has its
advantages.  Bertha says she was glad she was not able to see the 9/11 attacks,
for instance.
      Back in choir class, Bertha and her neighbors quietly share jokes between
numbers.
      Dominik stands, writing on the board.  "I just read on the Internet; you
do believe everything you read on the in Internet, right?" she says.  "I just read
that this guy, the arranger, died last year.  So every one we're performing is
dead, and I hope we don't die on stage."
      A board on the far side of the room announces "Spring Concert is May."
      Blindness hasn't interfered with Bertha's participating in choir, church
youth group or the church choir; and she is part of Sultana's junior varsity track
and field team, running the 200 yard dash and participating in the long jump. 
When running, she runs with another member of the team who is just there to
help her stay on course.
      Usually, she has a rope and she holds onto one end, and "I keep up the
pace."
      When she doesn't have youth group or practice for choir or track, Bertha
spends her time at home, talking on the phone, reading (she often whips through
a book a day), writing in her diary and listening to music (she listens to
everything but country.)
      "I attempt to write music," she said. "Not very successfully, but at least
I'm trying."  
      After graduation, Bertha plans to attend Pasadena City College for two
years, and major in music and English and minor in psychology before going
onto a four-year college with the ultimate goal of a career in music.
      She is qualified to get a Seeing Eye dog but hasn't gotten one yet.  She
hopes to get one in the future, perhaps even in the next year, to give her more
independence.
      Dominik grins as the song concludes and plays a flourish on the piano. 
"Not bad! That may work," he says.
      Bertha isn't the only blind student Sultana has ever had in its 2,400-plus
student body, but her casual attitude toward her blindness puts her at odds with
at least previous blind students.     "I don't care, really, about being blind.  I
care about having a brain and that I can use it," she laughed. 
 

                             MY EUROPEAN TOUR, Part 1

                                by Deborah Thompson

      (From Jeff Thom, CCB president, "This humorous, refreshing, and
fascinating account was submitted by the Secretary of the CCB Capitol
Chapter."  Part 2 will appear in the Winter issue of The  Blind Californian.)
      This summer I went on a choral tour with the Sacramento Choral Society
and Orchestra, and it was a trip of a lifetime.  We visited Germany, the Czech
Republic, Austria and Hungary; and we performed in Ottobeuren, Prague,
Vienna and Budapest.  
      Ottobeuren is about 2 hours from Munich.  We landed in Munich around
5:00 p.m. on July 2nd and went to our hotel.  After we settled in, we went to a
beer garden for dinner.  The food at this establishment was fabulous!  We had
roast pork, sauerkraut and potatoes with apple strudel for dessert.  Almost
everyone had their beer; but since the smell of alcohol turns my stomach, I
skipped all alcoholic beverages while in Europe.  I actually skip them in the
USA too.  I really can't understand how people can drink the yucky stuff.  I
don't, however, like coffee, melons, or dark chocolate either, so maybe it is my
wacked out taste/olfactory sensors that are a little off.  
      The next day we toured Munich on the bus and stopped at a palace.  I
wasn't able to get post cards of this palace but bought some of another one so
my friends could see pictures of some places like that.  I did get my fill of
touring palaces!  One thing I discovered about them is that they are rather like
castles in that they are a campus of buildings.  I had always thought they were
just single big buildings, maybe with courtyards inside.   
      After the palace tour, we learned how to take the subway train to get to
the concentration camp site at Dachau to visit that tragic, historic place.  By the
time we arrived, there was only an hour left before closing time so we didn't
get to tour the whole memorial; but we were able to see the museum part and
the barracks, and I got to feel the sculpture of inmates standing in line.  Part of
the sculpture showed an inmate who had fainted in the line.  The sculpture
showed the ribs sticking out and the faces flat, without feature surfaces, to
indicate that they were considered only numbers.  That was kind of freaky, but
something I certainly won't forget any time soon.  We all need to remember the
value of all human beings whether we think they are useful or desirable
members of society.  After all, we are created by God; people are not mistakes
that society has the right or obligation to discard because they don't seem to fit
in.  Oops, I think I had better get off my soap box.  
      After our visit to Dachau, we returned to the hotel and went to dinner at
the Hofbrau Haus, where I had Bavarian meatloaf which I didn't like; but the
evening was redeemed when, walking home, we heard a string trio playing
Bach--very cool! There were lots of street musicians in Munich and Prague, but
I didn't encounter any in Vienna or Budapest though I am sure they must have
been there. 
      Riding the public transportation (subways) in Munich, Prague and Vienna
was a memorable experience.  I had never ridden a subway in spite of all the
traveling on public transit systems I had done, and I rather enjoyed it.  The
trains in Germany and Prague announced the stops, but those in Vienna didn't,
or perhaps their speakers were out of order. 
      The next day we went to Ottobeuren (which is pronounced autoboyren),
where we were to perform our first concert.  We rehearsed and then went to
lunch, which was an excellent turkey dinner.  The one thing in Ottobeuren that
everyone commented on was the presence of flowers in window boxes and pots
and on
islands of the streets.  Ottobeuren also had white houses with red tiled roofs
giving everything a manicured look.  It was also very green and fresh looking,
and the temperature was in the 60's and 70's with sprinkles occasionally.  It
was quite pleasant.   
      The concert went well.  The abbey we sang in was Baroque style, and my
friend said that there wasn't any bare space on walls or ceilings coming close to
being gaudy if my memory serves me correctly.  Ottobeuren has been a town
since 800 A.D.  
      We went to a town called Innabeuren after the concert to have dinner. 
We ate the German style of macaroni and cheese called "spaetzle" and had an
apple dessert with ice cream--very good food.  We arrived back at the hotel
around 10 and had to get up and out of the hotel by 8:15 the next morning.    
      We drove to Prague, stopping along the way in Pilzn to tour a brewery. 
This town was the furthest east that the American army got when liberating
Europe from Hitler, and there is a monument to the American soldiers.  The
brewery tour was interesting.  The barrels used to store the beer were large,
The diameter at the top being about 63 inches.  they were on their sides so I
don't know how deep they were for sure, but a friend estimated they were at
least 72 inches.  All I know is that when I stood in front of one, it would have
been taller than I if it were upright.  Only three ingredients are allowed in beer
in Europe, but don't ask me what they are because this was a discussion that I
found boring, and I didn't listen very well.  
      When we finally reached Prague, we checked in at the hotel.  The nice
thing about our hotels was that they had modern plumbing and hair dryers.  The
toilets flushed by pushing a button on the wall, and the showers had one of
those shower heads that is on a cord.  You could take it down and put the water
where you wanted it.  The bathtubs were high and narrow, but really nice.  I
was prepared for the worst and brought my own soft toilet paper.  I used it,
too, because the paper, though it wasn't horrible, certainly wasn't worth writing
home about.   
      Our breakfasts were continental but fabulous.  We never had the hard-
rolls-and-coffee routine that I had heard so much about.  I learned to enjoy mint
tea while there.  I had scrambled eggs every morning, my choice of fruit,
croissants, and pork, be it sausage or bacon or ham.  I like eating breakfast so
enjoyed that thoroughly.  They also offered salad makings for breakfast, and I
ate that one morning when I was in the mood to be a rabbit.    
      The next morning we took a thoroughly enjoyable walking tour of
Prague.  The city is built on a hill and composed of four sections.  The
shopping prices get better the closer you get to the bottom of the hill.  One of
the streets I walked on had stairs at varying intervals making the travel different
from walking on a regular flat or even sloped street.  Most of the large
buildings of Prague date from the 13th and 14th centuries and smaller ones from
the 10th and 11th centuries.  Prague was not destroyed or damaged by World
War II, so it is an architectural and educational must for anyone who can afford
to go there.  We toured a cathedral whose name I can't remember.  I
discovered that cathedrals are so large that it feels as if one is standing in a
huge warehouse.  The ceilings were high, of course, so that sound just faded
away making it impossible for me to get a sense of the shape and dimensions of
the building.  Everyone said that the decoration was elaborate.   
      Another landmark we encountered was the Charles Bridge where there
are many statues of important people, including martyrs of Bohemia.  Of
particular interest is a statue of a dog next to St. John of Nipomo; our guide
asked a few of the tourists why they all wanted to touch the dog.  She
understood why they might want to reverently touch the statue of St. John but
why the dog?  They asked me if I wanted to touch the dog, but  I had no
interest in feeling a dog.  These statues are very old and rather worn, but at
least people don't go around kissing them as they do in other places in Europe. 

      One thing I don't like is cobblestone streets and sidewalks.   The cane
will not go over them without trying to remove parts of
my abdomen.  The cane is very necessary, though, because the curbs and steps
are all different and easy to trip over.  The two items that the Czech Republic is
known for are its crystal and garnets.  I bought small samples of both.
      Our concert In Prague went well, and the hall (Smetana Hall, the main
hall in the Municipal House) was beautiful, as all buildings seem to be in
Europe.  This was an actual concert hall, so the sound was better than in the
Abbey where we did our first concert, but we were so far back from the
conductor that we had to keep close watch on the baton to make sure we were
not behind the orchestra.  My colleagues watched our conductor, and I perked
up my ears to be in sync with them in my usual style.  Also, we were packed in
like sardines, and it was hot on the stage!  We had 120 singers, and smaller
choirs may be more usual there.     
      The afternoon of the day we toured Prague, I went with a friend to a little
town called Horovice (pronounced Horchoveesta) that had been the home of her
grandmother.  The weather was actually getting warm in Prague; but when we
reached Horovice, we got drenched with rain.  We were crossing a street
looking for the cemetery to see if my friend's mother's family name was
represented there when the rain came down in buckets and the thunder made us
jump and run.  You'd have thought that we'd never heard thunder before.  We
were just not expecting it.  We made our cab driver laugh heartily so I guess he
had a good day.  We drove around this town for a while so my friend could see
it, and then returned to Prague.   It was sunny when we got back.  
      One thing I will say about eating in Europe; the people believe in slow
enjoyment.  I now know why they take 2-hour lunches.  It did actually take 2
hours to get through a dinner.  The waiters were in no hurry, and I was often
feeling antsy before most meals were over.  A few times I was tempted to leave
without paying, but then told myself to calm down and enjoy the European
experience.  I liked breakfast because we served ourselves, and it didn't,
therefore, take long to finish.   
      (We will accompany Deborah to Vienna for the rest of her European
experience in the Winter issue of the BC.) 


                   GIVING THANKS UPON THE THRESHOLD OF BLINDNESS

                              by Valerie Ries-Lerman

      What measure can accurately value the importance of one's sight? What
are some of the issues that are confronted when dealing with vision loss?  This
narrative follows my journey into blindness and my recovery from eye surgery. 
Although what I write is strictly from a personal point of view, it emphasizes
how we can foster an environment that encourages hope, understanding and
empowerment in the blind community.   
     Minutes before being rushed to the hospital, I looked one last time in the
office mirror.  I was wondering if, as time passed,  I'd remember the image I'd
grown so accustomed to; would my reflection soon become lost to me?  If left
blind, would I be able to maintain a suitable personal appearance?
      There were, of course, more important things to consider.  Would I be
able to keep the job I loved?  Would I be a burden to a husband who valued my
independence?  In a matter of minutes,  I was to undergo emergency surgery
for a retina detachment in my only usable eye.  The doctor's reassurances
should have heartened me, but what dominated my thoughts were the numerous
stories I had heard to the contrary.  Serving the blind community at the Braille
and Talking Book Library, I had talked to thousands of people; and they had
spoken volumes.  My life was going to change, and I assumed it wasn't for the
better.  Besides, I had just signed off on every ocular procedure known to man;
if doctors could possibly do it to the human eye, it was to be done to mine
momentarily.  Fear of blindness was strangely equaled by a stoicism bracing me
for the fate so many of us bear.      Opening my eyes to the all-encompassing
blackness when waking after surgery was disorienting; but I knew that,
whatever the future held, I would meet it with courage and determination.  I
was soon to be hurled into a different reality, but one that those with glaucoma
know well.  Extremely high eye pressure in the first couple of days of recovery
made life somehow resemble something close to a class B horror flick. 
Although left at first with virtually no vision, I was unexpectedly blessed with
brilliant, colorful dreams which radiated hope that mercifully comforted me
until my eyes opened each day to the visual reality I now faced.  I was on what
appeared to be a long road to recovery, but where was it leading?  My horizons
seemed as dark and dreary as the deep December skies.
     It was during this time that I received a call from Rhonda King, President
of the Capitol Chapter of the California Council of the Blind.  That there are
organizations that actively reach out to newly blinded individuals is
commendable; her call couldn't have come at a better time; I, who felt I had
given so much to the blind community, was now the one in need.  Ministrations
I'd often used to console those who were newly blind now rung hollow in my
ears.  Could I now stand up to the challenge?  I had been legally blind with
much usable vision since birth but something closer to total blindness now
enveloped me.  Was it indeed possible that someone who had been sighted could
become a successful, well-adjusted blind person?  I knew  intellectually that this
was done but wasn't sure it applied to me.  Rhonda revealed that she had
confronted and overcome the profoundly life-altering event of blindness.  It was
evident that she had emerged unscathed and even survived with a bit of humor
left intact.  She had come through the experience of vision loss with confidence
and strength, and now by her example she showed me that there was in fact a
way.  Life did not have to end with blindness.
      There was a new world out there if I was only open to the possibilities.  It
became clear that one of the most powerful tools available for a blind person
was braille.  Whether it was used for referring to phone numbers, recipes, or
organizing one's wardrobe, I knew it was the key to my independence.  I was
tentative at first, but with the course Rhonda leant me, it was no time at all
before learning braille became a wonderfully rewarding experience.  That it was
possible to master something I had once so feared was empowering.  On the
threshold of blindness there was now hope.  That it was due entirely to one
person's kindness did not escape me: a path was lit by the inspiration Rhonda
offered.
     In the days that followed, I was truly one of the fortunate ones.  Slowly but
surely my vision came back.  Words cannot express my gratitude for the
miracle that modern medicine has afforded me.  With ROP (retinopathy of
prematurity), my chances of future problems are all but guaranteed, but I will
now be prepared to meet the challenges.  Thanks to people like Rhonda and the
tools she gave me, I will be ready to face blindness.  I am very grateful to the
CCB for making what others might call a seemingly small intervention amount
to something that has meant so very, very much.  Thank you, Rhonda, for
exemplifying what an organization of the blind should stand for: support,
advocacy, and leadership.  Together we as blind people can do what we could
never do alone.


                              LIBRARY USERS BOOK LIST

                       by Debby Rogers and Winifreed Downing

(At the spring luncheon of the California chapater of Library Users of America,
those present mentioned books they had enjoyed.  Believing that others might
also like them, we submit this list.  In many cases, we do not have the author,
and five books were suggested which we couldn't find in the NLS catalog.  
Thanks to Martin Magid, librarian at the San Francisco Subregional Library
serving the blind, for his assistance.)
YESTERDAY: Fby ern Michaels RC50078
AMERICAN FRONT, Book I.:  Harry Turtledove RC53761
THE KING'S ORCHARD RC23191
UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN RC56777
SHE'S COME UNDONE! RC36063
RIVER GOD: Wilbur Smith RC37819
CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN RC23282
FEAR LESS RC54316
COMING OF AGE IN MISSISSIPPI, Ann Moody RC35659
LOlita, Vladimir Nabokov RC16746
RUPPLE, John Mortimer RC22744 RC22860 RC22872 RC36319 RC32423
      RC57977 RC55589 RC46290
THE MUMMY CONGRESS RC53164
DEMEzla, a Poldark Novel RC54182   a Poldark Novel
CHOCOLATE CHIP MURDER; CHEESECAKE MURDER; Fluke  RD54603
THE HOBBIT; Tolkien RC48978
HANDLING SIN, Malone RC3\24876

GHOST SOLDIERS RC52290
THE WEB AND THE ROCK, Wolfe RC52078
CROCHET YOUR WAY: CROCHETING IN PLAIN ENGLISH RC41102
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS; Jacqueline Susanne RC50906
THE ONE-MINUTE MILLIONAIRE RC55336
THE SCENT OF THE ROSES
JUST GODDESSES
WONDER! WONDERFUL, by Lawrence Welk
LAW AND ORDER, Jake York


                          DIGITAL TALKING BOOKS: A REVIEW

      Looking to purchase a Digital Talking Book device?  Following are the
pros and cons of five products now available to buy.
      VictorReader Classic Plus (Visuaide); a descendant of the CD player,
Victor Reader Vibe (Visuaide); Scholar (Telex Communications), another
descendent of the CD player; the portable BookCourier (Springer Design); Book
Port (American Printing House for the Blind).  
      Among the five devices reviewed, at least three lineages are discernable. 
The Victor Reader Vibe and the Telex Scholar are descendants of portable CD
players that have been on the consumer market for years.  Their hardware and
software designs have been enhanced to make them more accessible by, and
useful to, print-impaired users.  The Book Port and Book Courier are siblings in
the large, raucous family of digital playback devices that contain no moving
parts and use flash memory.  The Victor Classic Plus, on the other hand, seems
to be designedly descended from the analog audiocassette playback device used
by print-impaired users in the U.S. for decades.
      All five devices were fairly easy to install and begin using.  Overall, the
Book Port seemed to be a better device than the Book Courier, and the Victor
Vibe seemed to be better than the Telex Scholar.  Because of the various design
lineages, however, it is very difficult to select a best device from
the three finalists: Victor Classic Plus, Victor Vibe, and Book Port.
      Recommendations include: the need to intermingle the three design
paradigms, perhaps incorporating more PDA functionality as well; the need to
standardize the design of the keys a bit; and the need for greater accessibility to
more file formats on a single device, including proprietary file formats.
      The complete text of the report is available on the MITBC website at
http://www.mitbc.org/projecthalfinal.doc
<http://www.mitbc.org/projecthalfinal.doc> .
      The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center (www.mitbc.org) is a sub-regional
library serving the blind and physically challenged in central and northwest
Illinois.  A talking book center provides library services via toll-free telephone
and U.S. mail.  Books and magazines in Braille and audiocassette formats are
available to readers enrolled in the program.  MITBC is part of a statewide
network administered by the Illinois State Library, a division of the Office of
the Illinois Secretary of State.  The statewide network is tied to a national
network under the administration of the National Library Service for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped, a division of the Library of Congress.
      TAP Information Services provides a wide variety of services supporting
libraries, consortia, government agencies, museums, publishers, and other
organizations in the information industry.  Services include: support for
projects, research reports, strategic planning, workshops, writing and editing,
conference services, consortial negotiations and agreements, and speeches.
      For more information about this report, please contact either Tom Peters
at tapinformation@yahoo.com or Lori Bell at lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com.
      TAP Information Services and Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center have
completed a critical analysis and evaluation of portable audio devices intended 

primarily for use by the print-impaired to access and enjoy digital talking books. 

                                2004 ELECTION ISSUE

                           submitted on the Internet by
                                Billie Jean Keith 

      Get a bill started to place all politicians on Social Security.  This must be
an issue in 2004.  Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election
years. 
      Our Senators and Representatives do not pay into Social Security; and, of
course, they do not collect from it.  You see, Social Security benefits were not
suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society.  They felt they should
have a special plan for themselves.  So, many years ago they voted in their own
benefit plan.  In more recent years, no Senator or Representative has felt the
need to change it.  After all, it is a great plan.  For all practical purposes their
plan works like this:  
      When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die, 
except that it may increase from time to time for cost-of-living adjustments. 
For example, former Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives
may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's seven million, eight-hundred thousand
dollars), with their wives drawing $275,000.00 during the last years of their
lives.  This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two
dignitaries.  Younger dignitaries who retire at an early age will receive much
more during the rest of their lives.  Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. 
"Nada" ... "Zilch" ...  This little perk they voted for themselves is free to
them.  You and I pick up the tab for this plan.  The funds for this fine
retirement plan come directly from the general funds; "oUR tAX dOLLARS aT
wORK"!
      From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid)
into, every payday until we retire (which amount is  matched by our employer)
we can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement; or, in
other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits
for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's benefits!
      Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made. 
That change would be to jerk the golden fleece retirement plan from under the
Senators and Representatives.  Put them into the Social Security plan with the
rest of us.  Then sit back and watch how fast they would fix it.
      If enough people learn about this situation, maybe a seed of awareness
will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve.  How many people can
yOU tell about this article?  Keep this going clear up through the 2004 election! 
We need to be heard! 
 

                        CCB OFFICERS

       Editor's note: We are indebted to Bernice Kandarian who updates and
corrects the list of CCB officers and board members, including the number of
the term each is presently serving, the year elected to that term and the year
next up for election.  Terms begin on January 1 following election.  We shall
publish the list this way at least in issues just preceding and following elections
and routinely if members wish.  The presence of an asterisk means that the
individual served a partial term before the first full term.)

President, Jeff Thom (02-04, 1st term)
     7414 Mooncrest Way
     Sacramento, CA 95831
     916 995-3967 c
     <jsthom@comcast.net>
1st Vice President, Mitch Pomerantz (02-04, 1st term)
     1115 Cordova Street, #402
     Pasadena, CA 91106
     626 844-4388 H
     213 847-9124 W
     <MPomerantz@mailbox.lacity.org>
2nd Vice President, Ken Metz (03-05, 2nd term)
    1965 South Sherbourne Drive, #1
     Los Angeles, CA 90034
     310 559-0170 H
     323 295-4555 ext 255 W
     <kenmetz@comcast.net>
Secretary, Ardis Bazyn (03-05, 2nd term)
     500 South 3rd Street, # H
     Burbank, CA 91502
     818 238-9321
     <abazyn@bazyncommunications.com>
Treasurer, Peter Pardini (*02-04, 2nd term)
     267 Cardinal Road
     Mill Valley, CA 94941-3618
     415 381-9211 H
     <peterpar@pacbell.net>
Immediate Past President, Catherine Skivers (2002-??)
     836 Resota Street
     Hayward, CA 94545
     510 357-1986 H
     <ccotb@earthlink.net>


                             BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jerry Arakawa (03-05, 1st term)
      11180 Orville St.
      Culver City, CA  90230
      310 398-7004 h
      <jarakawa@comcast.net>
Al Biegler (03-05, 3rd term)
     819 Colusa Street
     Chico, CA 95928-4116
     530 893-8840 H
    <aljobiegler@juno.com>
Jane Kardas (*03-05, 3rd term)
     810 Maple Avenue
     Ukiah, CA 95482
     707 468-5510 H/Fax
     <janecalvert35@yahoo.com>
Rhonda King (02-04, 3rd term)
     4541 Cyclamen Way
     Sacramento, CA 95841
     916 349-9960 H
     <imjoking@earthlink.net>
Eugene Lozano, Jr. (03-05, 4th term)
     4537 Sycamore Avenue
     Sacramento, CA 95841
     916 485-8307 H
     916 278-6988 W
     <lozanoe@csus.edu>
Ahmad Rahman (02-04, 3rd term)
     19616 Leapwood Avenue
     Carson, CA 90746
     310 327-0463 H
Barbara Rhodes (02-04, 2nd term)
     6396 Tamalpais Avenue
     San Jose, CA 95120
     408 268-2110 H
     <brhodes@pacbell.net>
Richard Rueda (03-05, 2nd term)
     1501 Decoto Road, #169
     Union  City, CA 94587
     510 324-0418 H
     <richr@surfside.net>
Frank Welte (02-04, 1st term)
     1432 San Carlos Avenue, #6
     San Carlos, CA 94070
       650 508-8329 H
     <fwelte@sbcglobal.net>

                           PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

Bernice Kandarian, Chair
       2211 Latham Street #120
       Mountain View, CA 94040
       650 969-3155
       bernice@tsoft.nett
Winifred Downing, Editor
       1587 38th Avenue
       San Francisco, CA 94122
       415 564-5798
       wmdowning@mindspring.com
Joan Black
       4925 Coke Ave.
       Lakewood, CA 90712
       562 630-2304
       kvblack@ix.netcom.com
Brian Hall
       5722 Abraham Avenue
       Westminster, CA 92683
       714 894-3497
       brianlhall@earthlink.net
Charles Nabarrete
       239 North Walnuthaven Drive
       West Covina, CA 91790
       626 338-8106
       charlesn@cuiab.ca.gov
Patty Nash
       901 Central Avenue, #C
       Alameda, CA 94501
       510 521-2042
       p.a.nsah@att.net
Louis Preston
     17129 Antonio Avenue
     Cerritos, CA 90703
     562 404-7935
     lpreston@csulb.edu
Bonnie Rennie
     1719 West Olive Avenue
     Fullerton, CA 92833
     714 870-9135
     eal727200@aol.com
Richard Rueda, CCB-L and BC Email Edition
       1501 Decoto Road, #169
       Union City, CA  94587-3548
       510 324-0418
       richr@surfside.net
Catherine Schmitt Whitaker
       604 Camaritas Drive
       Diamond Bar, CA 91765
       909 861-2931
       clschmitt@csupomona.edu
Dan Kysor, Webmaster
       225 15th Street
       West Sacramento, CA 95691
       916 372-9869
       dan@kysor.net



