Re: remembering my first experiences with the Optacon

  • From: "Peggy Kern" <kernsac@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 09:08:23 -0700

I had Optacon training in January, 1979 at TSI.  I was exhausted by the end 
of the first day, after six hours of training my fingers to recognize print 
letters and numbers, etc., but every evening in the Flamingo Hotel, or 
whatever it was called, I would sit down with the Optacon and read all 
evening long.  I was absolutely hooked.  There were three other students in 
my class, one of whom might be on this list.  (Milton Ota, are you out 
there?)  We also had a guy from Egypt learning to read in his native 
language, and another lady, Mary Wimberly or something like that.  Milton 
and I spent the weekend playing with TSI's Game Center, that is, when I 
wasn't barricaded in my room reading.  One funny memory I have is of going 
to a bookstore with one of the instructors, I believe it was Bonnie Skanse 
(I probably slaughtered her last name).  Anyway, she was showing me how the 
slipcovers on books give information about the books.  We were looking at a 
book by Ann Landers, and I was reading the cover aloud:  "What is your 
opinion of abortion?  What is your opinion of drugs?  What do you think of " 
and there was a big long word.  I, being a good little Optacon user, started 
to sound it out out loud:  "ma-st-ur-ba", and then I realized what the word 
was and got totally embarrassed.  Fortunately, no one else was around to 
hear.  But I still smile to myself at an adult word like that being sounded 
out in a first-grade sort of way by me.  <grin>  Ah, those were the days!

Peggy 



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