Hi Lactnetters, and especially Hi Betsy,

        This may take awhile and sound a bit personal, but as the "other" blind
person on Lactnet, would you mind if I chime in and try to weave
together a couple of recent discussion threads?

        First of all, Betsy, I want to thank you for your recent messages.
While the content was interesting, the most valuable thing about your
messages was that my desire to read them finally motivated me to take
some time out of my schedule and learn a useful new skill. In the past
my computer, an older Mac with its own quirky personality, had refused
to read your fancy on-line oral onebox messages, just as it refused to
do several other things. But my curiosity to hear your recent
contributions got the better of me, and I spent a good two hours doing
the necessary fact-finding, downloading and system tweaking to get
onebox working. My reward was not simply hearing your voice and
listening to what you had to say, though that reward would have been
ample in itself. The offshoot of my efforts was that I got my whole
computer audio system, which really needed some attention, working
better. I've learned something I didn't know before and would not have
made the effort to learn without a compelling reason. What is more, I
managed to accomplish it myself, and once again savoured the thrill of
achievement after an worthwhile investment of my time and effort.

        Now, for those of you who may be wondering, I operate my  quirky old
Mac with the help of a 20-inch monitor, a magnification program which
enlarges the screen display, though all parts of the screen aren't
visible at once,  and catches the mouse in crosshairs. Fortunately,
while I am legally blind and have no useful vision beyond a few inches,
I can read both computer screens and inkprint within limitations. This,
of course, takes me more time and creativity, and so I have to be
selective about what I read and do, but a blind person soon learns that
everything takes extra time and creativity.

        My ability to read makes it easier for me to use the Web than it is for
those blind people who have to use speech screen reader programs. But
even for me, those gorgeous graphics and fancy colours that most of you
love so much are a real detriment. Give me a plain old textfile--please.

        Oh, Betsy, your comments about being able to meet other Lactnetters at
the LLLI Conference brought to mind my own once-in-a-lifetime LLLI
Conference experience in Chicago in 1995, where, incidentally, you and I
met in person for the first and only time . At the Chicago Hilton, a
huge conference of blind people had been held immediately before the
LLLI conference, and many blind people were still in evidence at the
hotel. When I arrived, cane in hand,  to register for the LLLI World
Assembly, the lady at the desk assured me that I was in the wrong room.
But not to worry, she knew exactly where I belonged, and she had someone
who would be happy to take me down the hall to the right conference.
(smile) A few hours later, when I was part of a huge line-up to register
for the main LLLI Conference, an angel appeared. "Over this way, Donna.
I've got your registration packet right here." (We learn quickly in
LLL.--smile again)

        Travelling with me at the 1995 Conference was my then 19-year-old
daughter, Margaret. She spent much of her time seeing the sights of
Chicago while I attended sessions and negotiated through the crowds. But
when she was with me, I noticed that few people spoke directly to me.
They would speak to Margaret instead--they could make eye contact with
her. Sometimes they would even talk to her about me as though I were not
there. Lactnetters, if you see Betsy at this year's Conference, I hope
you'll make a point of introducing yourself. Remember, too, that we
blind people can't read name tags and can't see the colour of your
ribbons. It always helps if you give us your name, even if you've spoken
with us before. Voices can be much harder to identify and recall than
faces, and this is especially true at conferences and in crowds of any
type where there are many strangers (prospective new friends) and much
extraneous noise and confusion. When I am at conferences I want to meet
people and talk with them as much as possible, but because I can't make
that initial eye contact and don't know who to make contact with, my
courage usually fails me. I wait till you approach me first.

        Betsy, I hope you won't mind if I point out that even here on Lactnet,
we sometimes tend to speculate and ask questions about you, rather than
make our comments and pose our questions directly to you. Even though
your posts reach us in a different format, you are a fully participating
member of Lactnet. You read the posts just like the rest of us, although
you read them in a different format, and you can write posts just like
the rest of us, although you write them in a different format.

Now back to lurking, learning and loving it on Lactnet,

Donna Cookson Martin, BA, BEd, Grad Dip (Ed Psych), LLLL, and most
important of all,  MUM and GRANNIE

– weaving threads in Sedgewick, Alberta, Canada in June
– wishing a miracle could put me in Chicago at the LLLI Conference in July

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