[bksvol-discuss] Re: OT sighted volunteers
- From: "Jana Jackson" <jana@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 23:40:21 -0600
Charlie, what an awesome story! As a Braille reader and a Bookshare
advocate, I thank you for all of your hard work. I haven't checked all of
my e-mail yet, so maybe someone has already asked you this, but what types
of things do you transcribe? What is the name of your company? If you've
already answered those questions, forgive me. I don't usually respond to
something until I've read everyone's posts, but your story really touched
me. Thanks again, and take care!
Jana
----- Original Message -----
From: Charles Wadman
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2005 7:18 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: OT sighted volunteers
Here's my story:
I met a guy in the army (11th Airborne Division) who became a good friend.
Introduced me to the girl who became my wife, best man at my wedding, etc.
He was making a jump one day, slipped in the doorway of the plane, and was
hit in the head by the trailing edge of the doorway. He woke up in the
hospital and appeared to be OK.
Many years later while he stayed in New York and I had moved to California
he mentioned in one of his letters that he was going blind and was learning
braille. He had a tumor pressing on the optic nerve (presumably a result of
that plane accident), but removal of the tumor did not improve his vision.
He's still blind.
I decided to learn braille so that I could continue writing to him and to
provide some long-range moral support. I've since lost contact with him,
but the braille continues on inexorably.
I believe that I first heard of Bookshare in a newspaper article. It was a
natural fit with my braille interests so I volunteered.
This is probably the longest posting I've ever made. I apologize for the
length, but you did ask, Allison.
Regards,
Charlie
At 07:51 PM 2/17/2005 -0500, you wrote:
I'm just wondering, for the sighted volunteers, how did you guys get
mixed up in
this crazy Bookshare crowd? What lead you to wanna become part? Do you
know someone blind, did you hear about it through some volunteer
organization, did you just type in "whiny bookish blind people into
Google
one day?"
Seriously though, I am curious. I'm wondering how this info
enters the sighted book-reading sphere and what compels someone to put
in
the work. Also, how has it worked for you as an education tool about
blindness? How would one convince other sighted folks that they should
volunteer too?Most of my sighted friends and family would be like,
"Bookshare what?" "You want me to do what?"
Curiously,
Allison
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