Grizzled? I resemble that statement!
But while you are keeping an open mind, Kevin, be ready to find out
that your friends may have aged so much that they won't know you from
the potted palm in the lobby.
But your comments are familiar to me. It is easy to feel isolated
when moving from a long established community, like WCB. Back in the
mid 70's Manuel Urena urged me to take a position as director
of...I've even forgotten which California program it was, but the
salary was about two and a half times what Washington State was paying
me. After tossing and turning for nights, I decided that whatever
influence I had in the blind movement, was tied tightly in with the
blind people of my home state. I would have been like a fish out of
water.
Trying to build a network in a new location is hard enough for those
folks who are highly mobile, like being able to grab the car keys and
head out at a moments notice. Still, it can be done. In earlier
times I moved to Spokane from Seattle. We were fairly isolated from
the activities on the West side of the state, so I organized a new
chapter, and joined with Lew Hendrix in founding Lilac Blind
Foundation.
When Cathy and I had our house built here in the forest near Quilcene,
there had never been a WCB chapter West of Hood Canal. We gathered a
few blind people together, made a pilgrimage to state convention and
organized the Jefferson County Council of the Blind. 6 members joined
together in 1996. Today we have 25 members, and only Cathy and I are
what remains of our original membership.
If you are not happy with the politics of the local blind people,
start a new discussion group. Even three or four of you meeting
monthly can be a beginning. Talk about issues that affect life for
blind folks. Write a letter or two to your governor. Call any local
talk shows and raise concerns regarding lack of support for blind
programs. You'd be surprised at how many blind and low vision folks
listen to the radio. Always give a contact number or an email for
people to get in touch with you. If you are feeling isolated, there
must be dozens of others who feel the same.
And have a grand time at the ACB convention. The last one we attended
was back in 2005. But I've only missed one State convention since
1969. 47 years coming up. that's where my roots are.
Carl Jarvis
On 5/25/16, Kevin LaRose <kl1964@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I am currently gearing up to attend my first ACB national convention in
several years. I used to go on a fairly regular basis; the last one I
attended was Orlando, 2009. I have to admit to getting rather jaded about
the organized blind movement over the years. I'm not meaning to cast
aspersions; many good people have devoted a good chunk of their lives to the
organizations, including that grizzled veterans of the wars, Carl. I think
part of my problem is I feel somewhat disconnected from things since moving
from Washington to Indiana four years ago. I don't live anywhere near a
local chapter, and the state affiliate isn't nearly as nationally plugged in
as Washington is, so it's easy to feel kind of lost at sea. I also don't
like the politics that go along with being active. In addition, the crafting
of resolutions on the floor can be very frustrating, with the fights over
specific wording and whatnot. I also wonder if anyone pays attention to them
anyway? Whatever the case, I'm off to Minneapolis in July, and I'm going
with an open mind, so maybe I'll get reenergized. If nothing else it will be
fun to reconnect with old friends.
Kevin LaRose
Anderson, IN
Email: kl1964@xxxxxxxxxx
