Voting Day Blues

I have been very hyped about this election. Why?  I have chomped at the bit in anticipation of dramatically and meaningfully casting my inaccessible ballot at the polling station. Let me remind you about the core elements of a democratic vote; secret, independent and verifiable. I have gone on and on, to EVERYONE who will listen and to some who won’t, about the importance of these elements, the sanctity of the electoral process, and how I am denied this right by virtue of inaction on the part of Elections Canada. I am blind, as are hundreds of thousands of other voters. We do not have electronic voting in Canada. We do not have telephone voting. We do not have voting machines at the polls. We do not have Braille ballots. I thought that today I would be pumped and ready to let loose my schpeel at the Presbyterian church where I would be voting. I ran through my dialogue, my diatribe, my kvetching complaint, like a Shakespearean actor preparing for Stratford.

Here’s what really happened. I made it to the church, and found myself outside with a woman in a wheelchair attempting to open a monstrously large door (no automatic opener). I opened it for her, but it was not wide enough. A worker from the poll came and helped to open another door. I commented wryly about Elections Canada and their accessible voting sites. She commiserated. By this point, I had, for some reason, already lost my oomph.  Maybe it’s the time of year, or ‘my time of the month’.  Some one came over as Opal and I walked into the large church basement. The usual useless pointing and “over there” was followed by an arm-grab which I yanked away.  Someone else gave sensible directions to the table I needed.  My ID was requested and checked.  I did NOT give a long-winded lecture on the difficulty blind people have in meeting ID requirements, given that we don’t have driver’s license and many of us have no passport. Some of us choose not to have or use a charitable ID (CNIB) for reasons which are too numerous and complicated for this blog.  I provided my stunning photo ID cards which have a photo of Opal and me posing together (CGDB and the Attorney General of Ontario), but my Guide dog ID cards do not have my address on them, so I added a phone bill. I had considered bringing a Braille bill, but I did not want to be turned away. At this point, the DRO asked if I wanted a Braille template. My interest peaked, as I thought I had discussed this ad nauseum with Silvestre from elections Canada and had confirmed there would be no Braille on the ballot, and to expect the usual flaky template. Now I had no idea what they were offering me.  I asked (just to confuse them) if it was contracted or uncontracted Braille. The had no clue, so I let them off the hook and told them that I knew both, so it did’nt matter.  The DRO put the ballot into the ‘Braille template’ and then came the offer to “come into the voting area with you”. I said I would pass, given that I had this allegedly accessible Braille template in my hand.  Opal and I parked ourselves behind the privacy screen at a little table. I started to read the template. Numbers. Just numbers! I called out, “um, there’s no names here, just numbers”.  The old lady who had grabbed me when I came in, offered to read the names to me. I said that would not do. The DRO guy came over and offered to read them “as they appear in sequence. then you pick the braille number”, he said with full expectation that somehow this would be acceptable to me. I had PLANNED to make a big ‘to-do’, maybe proclaim myself the Rosa Parks of the voting blind, given that I am repeatedly told that blind people ‘have found this acceptable for years’. Instead, I told him “no thanks”, and ” if I can’t read it for myself”…( in a country where government material must be provided in alternate formats by law),  “I’ll have to  spoil my ballot”. He apologised (as everyone always does). I scrawled multiple X’s in allthe holes in my template and ballot and handed it to the old lady. She wisely did not attempt to go into the  insufferably patronizing routine of allowing me to put it in the box, but quickly disposed of it, stuffing it into the ballot box herself.   I walked out, declining someone’s eager offer for me to use the elevator, saying, “my legs are fine, we’ll use the stairs”. I left deflated.   I did not call the media, or my party delegate, or the PM (who doesn’t give a flying f…k anyway), or the queen, or Silvestre at Elections Canada (who I’m guessing was pretty busy today). Instead, I went for my routine blood work and called it a day. I wish I was one of those clever musicians, ’cause I’d be writing a tune tonight…’Voting Day Blues’.

STOP PRESS!!! Megan Leslie, newbie NDP canditate and personal acquaiantance declared winner of Halifax riding! Go get em in Ottawa, kid…and remember your roots…and your blind friends…

Big Al To The Rescue!!!!

Big Al  (AKA ‘Aluion’) is reportedly heading for Canada today. Upon learning about the plight of Blend (Blind) Canadians as they face an inaccessible voting non-machine on Tuesday, Big Al, a resident of Alabama,  boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Nova Scotia at 4 am this morning.  There was some confusion at the bus depot in Mobile, as Big Al dumped a 63- pound  sackful of Canadian coins onto the ticket agent’s counter to pay for his fare. Further disruption  occurred when bus terminal Security spotted him donning an outfit that included hockey equipment and pieces of a 17th century suit of armour.  He claimed that he needed to feel safe and to protect himself while riding the Greyhound, saying, “I can’t be losing my head on this trip”.

Wise Advice summoned Big Al to the Great White North, upon learning that his expertise might bolster the cause of the blind (blend) {See recent comments from Aluion} and lend support to her plan to ‘make a point’ when casting her ballot tomorrow. Big Al has been known to write clever comments and insults on doors in public spaces…in Braille. “He kinda scares me”, said Wise Advice of the southern guru, “Definitely a smart guy, but he must be crazy from listening to several synthesised speech voices on various computers simultaneously”. When asked about her plan to bring public  attention to the inaccessibility of the Canadian Election, WIse Advice said, “Look, I can’t do this alone. If Big Al can fake a Canadian accent, we’ll get him one of those spare ballots floating around to do whatever he chooses with”.

Like a ‘Price Is Right’ Cadillac Without an Engine

You know you’re not having a good day when you  go down to the laundry room to retrieve your clothes from the dryer and  you discover that someone (that old gaga fart from the 3rd floor) has opened your dryer at least a  half hour before time was due to elapse, and  she ‘forgets’ to shut it, thereby allowing the drying time to tick down to zip. She does this a lot.  I can never quite pin it on her, but I KNOW it’s her …What are you doing opening my dryer in the first place, you old ditz ?!!  It’s not like you can’t tell it’s in use. Laundry basket on top, warm rumbling coming from the machine… and seven other machines empty and idle. Old age is no excuse for downright rude, insane and disruptive behaviour! Not to mention the health risk you created by forcing me to  wear damp clothing  outside in October… because  gee, I hadn’t anticipated laundry sabotage today!  I want security cameras! And guards…with Tazers!… and some big mean dogs on patrol!  Then, just to add some nuts to my banana spit, I  discovered that the damp pile of clothes that I had just hauled up to my apartment, had an unusual smell coming from them. This continues to baffle me. They smell worse now than they did  before I washed them…much worse. Did the old biddie hurl a stinking potion onto them too?   It gets worse.   I had a few minutes to kill before leaving for the movie (‘Blindness’ day), so I thought I’d try out the HRM voting site on the Net.  Yes, it’s the first day of electronic voting in HRM.  I’ve been feeling all happy and victorious about accessible voting for weeks now,  ever since I heard that HRM was testing electronic voting for  the Halifax Municipal election.  Woa! Not too quick with the democratic process happy dance!  My joy fizzled out when I got onto the HRM voting web site start page and discovered that the security ‘descramble’ of letters and numbers DID NOT HAVE AN AUDIO OPTION!!! Good going guys. What are people with screen reading software supposed to do?  It’s like winning a big honking Cadillac on The Price Is Right and discovering that the car has no engine. Sheesh!  Being ever resourceful, I asked my neighbour to come look at my computer monitor and read the scramble for me.   She was ‘visiting’ anyway, at least, just long enough to complain about the ‘thunking’ noise against our adjoining wall.  “Oh that”, I said. “It’s just Opal getting settled in her recliner.”  I apologized and promised to move my dog’s favourite chair from against the wall,. I  gave my neighbour a cookie as she left, shaking her head and muttering all the way back to her lair.    Sigh. Yes, my dog has her own recliner. But it’s VERY old and I WAS going to toss it out back in July…except Opal wouldn’t let me.

In Preparation For ‘Blindness’

No, I’m not referring to preparation for loss of sight. I’m not referring to the skills-learning that someone “going blind”  might undertake…the hours of O&M (orientation & mobility) training with a qualified instructor where someone learns techniques in  the use of a white cane (example: streamline caning, tapping method, sweeping method) and use of sound reflection to determine position and location as well as learning to judge traffic flow etc., thereby allowing a blind person to travel independently. No, I don’t mean the time spent learning about, and purchasing adaptive devices which allow a blind person to read, cook, write, do math, tell time etc such as talking clocks, tape recorders, tactile measuring cups, talking book players, water level indicator, talking calculators etc… I’m not thinking of the exchange of information and tips with others who are blind which provide one with helpful ideas to make a home  safe (removing scatter rugs, and repositioning furniture …) and allows one to  perform the same tasks as they did before they couldn’t see, only differently (cleaning floors by using a grid system,  marking appliances with bump dots to facilitate cooking and cleaning, using elastic bands and large print labels to distinguish containers….) I don’t mean the hours some people (15%) spend learning Braille, first uncontracted or Grade 1 Braille, then contracted or Grade 2 Braille, so that books, documents bank statements, telephone bills become accessible when available, as well as providing a means of ‘writing’ on the go with a slate and stylus,  or reading storybooks to their children..No, I’m not referring to the assistive technology (Jaws, Guide, Window Eyes and other  screenreading software, Kurswell scanning software and other scan- to-speech programs)  that are available which enable blind people (who can afford or otherwise obtain them)  access to the Internet,  e-mail, document writing and reading etc as well as potentially  obtaining education and employment in a more equatable manner so that they earn a living, raise families…essentially the usual happy story, except maybe there’s no station wagon in their driveway.  Nor am I talking about joining blind sports and recreational organization for the usual reasons one joins them, like  getting  exercise and playing  cribbage. I’m not referring to any of the stuff that a blind person learns over time that provides the skills so that they can lead independent, full, happy normal lives.

What am I’m talking about? I’m talking about preparation to attend a screening of the Canadian co-production of the movie, ‘Blindness’, based on the book of the same name by Jose Saramago. This involves researching the plot summary (very disturbing, depicting a world gripped by a blindness epidemic….trouble is, all the blind people are portrayed as helpless, altered and desperate…), linking to articles on the Net, listening to the BBC production available ’till October 8th on Sendspace, following the protest in the USA by the NFB, sending out a media release to local media and responding to those who have requested interviews following the screening tomorrow, and preparing a statement in anticipation that this movie’s buzz (as one which portrays blind people in a vile and unacceptable manner) is accurate.  The  statement would likely ask the people of Halifax and beyond to give it a MISS altogether, NOT support the  filmmaker and theatre by paying for admission to see it, to look beyond Mr. Saramago’s comment that this is a  “allegorical” film and his dismissal of the blind community (who are widely protesting it) as “ridiculous”, and send a message that this film is NOT OK with the blind community…I’m just preparing for ‘Blindness’, ’cause this movie is sending the wrong message about real blindness, and frankly I don’t care if  Mr. Saramago’s literary soul is crushed in the process. Metaphor shmetaphor!

A Blog is a Blog is a Blog…

This is the 173 rd blog I have written. The bean (stats) counter on this page reveals that 13,479 + hits have occurred…and still counting  like Micky D’s keeps track ….”139,000,000,000,001 (bad burgers) served”. Traffic has been low for some blogs and through the roof for others. I am grateful for the interesting assortment of loyal readers and occasional visitors.  I know that some readers occasionally find my opinions harsh, my tone insolent, my satiric wit inappropriate….but I would say this in all seriousness…actually, I think it was Voltaire who said, ” I may not believe in what you say, but I will fight to my death for your right to say it”….

What I do NOT appreciate are misguided comments regarding the content of this blog.  Allow me to explain. It seems an individual is on the receiving end of reading (er, listening to someone read  TO them) SELECT blogs and  select ‘comments’ which I have written in response to  reader comments. That person is ‘disturbed’ by my words. My first thoughts are, (now get this straight ‘reader’/paraphrasing guy!!) you are not reading this yourself. Neither of us knows if you are getting an accurate rendition (verbatim and complete) of what I have written.  Reading is very subjective and interpretive.  Tone, inflection, reading speed, response to punctuation etc are all factors in the process that impact our perception of the text.  You, sadly have no control over that because someone else is reading to you and we don’t know how well they are doing that.  You have apparently not listened to someone read those numerous  blogs I wrote which I know you would find astoundingly interesting, informative, and sympathetic to the human condition.  Assuming that you are getting  an accurate reading of the controversial ones,   my second thought is, GET A GRIP!   Yes, I do have strong opinions about many things…the CNIB for example. That is my right. I have not slandered them. They do a fine job of screwing themselves up.  As for the mayor and my comment about “short guy with a whiny voice”? I talked to him last night. We kibutzed and laughed. He’s OK with me and my blog. He also is grateful that I work so hard for his city without payment…and he IS short and does have a whiny voice. it seems you are the one with a problem. The problem? You are in that horrible, dependant situation of passively receiving bits of my blog via a  third party  because you can not access it independently. Frankly, I think THAT  is more of an issue than the contents of this blog. That aside, I would say that the essence of any communication and voicing of opinion,  lends itself to a contrary or different opinion on the topic by anyone and everyone who hears or reads it.  The minute we open our mouths in the morning and begin saying stuff … ” I don’t like big cities, or Republicans, or Liberals, or the taste of chicken, or the movie last night”, someone else is going to have another opinion. That’s life. You would have enjoyed the blogs I wrote that support your like-minded position….on gay rights, homophobia (see ‘God loves Everyone’)  tips on independent living, fairness to animals and more. Trouble is, nobody’s reading those to you. Hmm. Maybe you should get over to that charitable organization you feel I trash too much and see if they will find you some computer gear so that you can check my blog yourself. If you do not wish to do so, (or they won’t/can’t give you what you need–a more likely scenario), then realize that I usually voice my opinion and temper it by adding something to the effect that others may not share it.  While I may talk ABOUT  the organizations or groups that I am involved with, I do not speak FOR them.  It seems that your ‘reader’ is doing you a selective disservice. I can not write something that will interest or please every reader all of the time, or even half of them. What I do know is, that many people including: guide dog handlers and  puppy-raisers, animal lovers, a jeweler in Australia, an urban planner in the UK, guide dog trainers, a blind guy who applauded my blog on who is suited to having a guide dog,  several authors,  Unitarians, environmentalists, a micro publisher in California, a gay guy somewhere in the world,  a woman in Italy who has a blind friend, a budding film maker, a vacuum cleaner rep, many people who want their bus stops announced, friends, a centre for the blind in the Eastern USA, a small initiative to publish audio books in Africa….all of these people and many more have found something useful in my writing. Others? Some are not happy, but they tend not to comment directly on the blog or to me very much….they just bitch behind my back. The wonderful thing about freedom of speech and the information age, is how the inter-connectedness of the world becomes so evident. This is the end of this discussion my friend…unless your selective ‘reader’ does not pass THIS blog on too.

Opal Goes to a Luncheon at City Hall

Mum says we’re going to a boring luncheon at city hall today. I don’t get it. I LOVE luncheons, especially at city hall where there is always lots of food, even though mum says the food is overpriced plastic crap payed for at the taxpayers expense.  She says we have to go so we can bug the mayor and some city councillors while the going is good…something about a municipal election coming up and they’re falling all over themselves trying to get some votes.  They don’t usually hold this event until springtime, but the mayor (you know, the little guy with a whiny voice?) wants to score political points NOW.  She says we must shmooze with them…work the room before they know what’s hit them.  I don’t get it. Why would HRM council not want to do the right thing in the first place?   She says they could  build me a service dog run (yeah!!!) and improve transit (maybe pay for a voice enunciator on buses to announce stops), and hire some bylaw enforcement officers, and FIRE some dead-weight HRM staff whose salaries suck up the city’s budget which could be better applied elsewhere, and get some funding to provide recreational programs for kids with disabilities, and spend more money on removing physical barriers instead of making ridiculous expenditures like the Chebucto road widening project which destroyed property and trees to allow a few more gas-guzzling SUV’s to squeeze into town, and make the public library services more equitable for the blind who don’t care to use the ‘charitable’ library, and find some balls ( not the kind I like) so they stop caving to the interests of developers who are destroying the city with condo and commercial development in all the wrong places, and….why don’t they just listen to mum in the first place? I think SHE should run for council in the next election. I’d love to run around my new service dog run.

Opal Goes to High School (again)

Yesterday, Opal and I went back to Citadel High school in Halifax. Our purpose this time was to introduce the 2008  Writing contest which AEBC Halifax (Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians) is hosting with 100 grade 10 students. The last time we visited Citadel, it was final exam time in June. There wasn’t much of anything going on then, except that a handful of kids,  bleary-eyed from all-night studying were getting bummed out about their exams.   A few others were in a tizzy because Security had  hacked off their locks and cleaned out their lockers.  Yesterday was a totally different scenario. In a word, CHAOS!  We handily found our way to the familiar ‘office’. The staff were helpful and made photocopies of some handouts for me. We sat next to a funked-out kid in trouble waiting to see one of the vice-principals.  Opal and I listened to the bedlam in the halls.  Announcements (both for students and teachers) are constantly being cranked out.  Each one is preceded by an alarming ‘alert’ tone, which is reminisant of something you would hear on a submarine …or in a prison. Maybe it was the added destinations in the announcements…”…meeting in ‘D’  block”  that made me think of this.  I ate my tuna sandwich and took in the conversations students were having with the staff…”I DID bring a note signed by a parent, so why am I marked missing?”  “My class is supposed to be in room 208 in ‘D’ block, but they’re not there!”   Today, we were back to meet Marjorie, an English teacher who asked me to introduce the Writing Contest and speak to her class about blindness. She seemed her usual harried self when she arrived.  As we gathered my photocopies, I noticed someone had stopped to pat and talk to Opal. “Don’t touch my dog please, she’s working”, I said automatically. They continued,  oblivious to my words.  I said, “Hey, don’t touch my dog”.  This is when Marjorie introduced me to the offender, Kam the principal of Citadel High. I grinned but  offered no appology. Instead I gave her one of the handouts on Guide dogs. Marjorie and I found our way to the staff lunch room on the 2nd floor where I was to wait for “the kids to settle down from lunch”.  A teacher walked in and screamed, apparently terrified at the sight of Opal. This happens occasionally.  Five  minutes later, we bumped into the same teacher as we entered  a doorway into a lunchroom alcove. He screamed again. This time, I grinned. Opal shrugged off his scream, disregarded him and guided me, as she is supposed to. Our visit with the kids was great. The contest will have them writing about what they think their world would be like without sight.  We talked about blindness too. Questions?  Sure. “How do audible traffic signals work?” When I mentioned blind sports, the restless, surly  kid in the front (I’m guessing Marjorie parks him there to keep an eye on him) blurted out his question, “Is there blind basketball?”.   I told him I didn’t know, but that Goal ball is a huge blind sport,  even a Para Olympic sport. We talked about accessible technology and devices.  I asked them to take out their cell phones. Most of these 36 kids have one and were eager to break the ‘no cell phone in class’ rule.  I urged them to resist actually dialing, but to imagine trying to use it to text message or call, if they could not see. “I can’t feel the keypad or see the display”, some girl complained. “That’s my point”,  I said. Most of the hundreds of models of cell phones,  MP3 players etc are totally impossible to use if you are blind.  As always, the majority of questions were about guide dogs.  Time flew by and soon Marjorie was giving me the hook. We got a round of applause and then Opal and I were escorted out before the buzzer and the ensuing stampede of kids by a pair of girls (teenage girls always travel in pairs, even in 2008). Opal and I managed to get home without causing anyone else to scream.

Hey! Taxi Drivers

Listen up cabbies! I’m going to say this once. Here is the not-so-definitive list of things you need to know when you pick up a customer who is blind or partially-sighted.

• If you drive a radio cab, or if you get your calls through a computerized dispatch system, chances are that the customer will have specified that they are blind (they should ’cause they can’t expect you to guess). So, when you get to the pick-up location, do not sit in your car and expect the blind person to know that you have arrived.  We are not physic.  It is impossible to know if the nearby idling vehicle I hear is ‘my cab’ or just some other vehicle at this busy location (like a pimpmobile or a  Fed Ex courier or a cab from the wrong company). You must get out of the car and identify yourself as the driver from XYZ cab company. If there is something wrong with your legs, attempt to crank open the window and announce yourself from the comfort of your car.
• Notice the guide dog with the person? They will have specified this too upon telephoning. Unless you have a medical certificate which exempts you from having a dog in your car (you would croak from the allergic reaction), then  YOU MUST, BY LAW, ACCEPT THE DOG IN YOUR VEHICLE!!! THERE ARE REPERCUSSIONS FOR PEOPLE WHO REFUSE ACCESS TO GUIDE DOGS…AND FINES.
• Do not charge an ‘extra passenger’ or ‘baggage’ fee for transporting a guide dog (I have experience d this before). If you do so in Halifax, you could lose your taxi permit.
• If the person with the guide dog wants to sit in the front with their dog, do not freak out. It is my practice to do so, as recommended by the school where I received my dog. I know that other schools have differing philosophies, but this is what I choose. Notice (as you always do) when we get in, that there is actually much more room for the dog in the front between my legs…yes, even (especially) in those monster luxury cars… than in the back behind the seat.  The big hump in the middle of the floor in the back is very constricting. Back seat? No way. If we crash, she will not go flying off a back seat, or be hurled to one side of the cab. It is more comfortable and safer for us both to sit in the front. this works for all cars, even the smallest. She is always well-behaved and will not touch you. (she may sneeze, though, ’cause your car is dusty)
• Do not think that because your passenger is blind, that you can travel the most indirect route to get to the destination (boosting the fare), ’cause most of us will notice that you have taken a side trip to Ecum Secum on the way to the corner of Barrington and Duke.
• I miss the old days. Taxi meters ticked back in the day. Now, there is no possible way to determine if the requested fare is what actually appears on the meter…however, do not get the idea that charging $17.50  for a one mile ride is something you can get away with.
• If your client has a charge slip, or you have a charge slip for them, and you want a signature, then think about how tricky that might be to sign. Me? I won’t sign one. “You sign it”, I say… (you  could be asking me to sign up for donating a kidney for all I know)
• When you  get to wherever the passenger wants to go, ask if they need assistance to get to the entrance of the building, or at the very least, give precise directions…”the is 5 meters straight ahead”. As I suggest to everyone, saying “over there”  while pointing is useless (and a bit brainless and thoughtless)
• Alert your passenger if you are dropping them off in a puddle or ice patch. (I once stepped out of a cab, slipped on an icy patch, did a pirouette, landing on my knees, resulting in a bruise and torn jeans)

CNIB AGM and ‘Community Meetings’…be there and be heard

The CNIB is having their Annual General Meeting in Toronto on September 27 th, at least that’s what I was told. I could not confirm this on their website…guess they don’t want anyone to know.  The local Nova Scotia/PEI Division is having its ACM (“Annual Community Meeting”) on Wednesday, September 24th. A community meeting is the spin that the local deadheads have put on an AGM which does not present an annual financial report. I can’t seem to get any accurate accounting for what this organization does with its money…er, that would be the money they suck out of innocent people who donate to their financial campaigns…like the horribly tasteless and demeaning e-mail campaign which caused such an uproar recently. No matter.  I have resigned myself to the fact that accountability, consultation  and transparency are not words in the CNIB vocabulary or philosophy. Imagine my delight when the local whiz kid who just won the NDP nomination in Halifax (Megan Leslie) invited me to attend this community meeting with her. I guess she needs an entourage in the guise of a friendly blind friend who can create a potentially good reason to leave (“Opal has a play date in Chicago! Let’s go, Megan!”).  It will be fun, I’m sure to go to this thing and have a sensible ally. The Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians was calling for a cross-Canada series of protests at the CNIB offices on the day that CNIB has their AGM (September 27th, I think). Why? Let me count the ways CNIB merits a slap on the wrists;

1- They must be publicly accountable for the tasteless and demeaning e-mail campaign which was the icing on the nutty CNIB cupcake for many blind people this year.

2- The CNIB plans to change their constitution to allow for a sighted CEO/president. I guess little Jim Sanders is going to be going quietly into that good night. I think there must be a stipulation about employing a percentage of staff within CNIB who are blind.

3- The CNIB services across the country have taken a gigantic nosedive.

4- The current philosophy  of this merry band is a little skewed for many of us (not client centered, not service centered, not democratic), and

5- The monopolistic status of this organization that purports to speak on behalf of the blind.

So, if you are remotely interested in the rights of the blind, the nasty decline of services that the CNIB has taken, or the REALLY BAD IDEA of having a non-client as president of the CNIB (or at least a quota that ensures blind staff, and if you are tired about the dismal road that CNIB is travelling,  then get to a CNIB near you and voice your thoughts on it. Call the media! Call you friends and family and ask for their support in protesting on September 27th in Toronto, or at the numerous protests across Canada at CNIB offices planned that day…or you might go to a fake AGM, like the one here in Halifax which they are calling an Annual Community Meeting.

‘Blindness’ the Movie…Bunch of Blind People Will “Watch”

The movie, ‘Blindness’ opened at the Atlantic film Festival last week.  It opens in wide-release on October 3rd in Halifax. Ya gotta know that a bunch ‘o blind folk are going to have something to say about it.  At least, that’s my hope, idea, delusion, nightmare-to-be… When I heard about this movie, based on the book by Jose Saramago, I thought that it would be a great opportunity to get the Halifax chapter of Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians together for a little outing to view this thing. My plan? Send out a media release to local feature hounds and hope that they might be interested in interviewing the blind ‘Blindness’ viewers for on-the-spot reaction to this movie’s spin on blindness.  I listened to the trailers on the Internet that are pimping promoting this movie. It’s difficult to get a handle on what’s going on in this city where everyone suddenly goes blind. You know it can’t be good…a little chaos, panic, tortured emotional claptrap and the mandatory heroes who shine when their ‘lights’ go out.   I wanted to consult the book in preparation. It’s only fair to compare before you go to the flic, right? Well, bad news. It’s not available in audio within the Halifax public libraries. I doubt it exists in commercial audio format. The ‘charitable’ library (CNIB) might have found some bored Scarbourough housewife volunteer to read/record it on THEIR discs ( the ones they destroy when you return them..but that’s another story and a past blog—-go look), however, I quit my ‘membership’ with that service in protest. No matter. Who needs a book? Full steam ahead, I say! I rang up my AEBC buds to invite them to the ‘event’. Now,  I’m wondering…”What was I thinking!!!???”  It’s bound to be, umm…interesting. I predict the following; A. (with poor O & M –orientation and mobility)  will get lost on his way to the washroom, or worse, fall down the escalator. B will be shocked (devout Catholic) when she hears (despite her hearing loss because the sound will be maxed out for this monster movie on a Saturday) the sex scenes, foul language and violence which ‘Blindness’ promos and  ratings promise (I forgot to mention this to her).  A. (who has a brain injury) will show up at the wrong theatre on the wrong day, or not show up at all.  C.  (a smoker) will get wedged in the washroom stall with her walker as she tries to sneak a smoke that will set off a fire alarm. There will be lots of chatter amongst our group during the film…”What’s going on? What does that mean?..” which will cause other patrons to hiss. Opal will need a pee in the middle of the show, so I will step out (requires 15 minutes meandering through a mall) during which time, A.  will have had a loud fight with J.  (they don’t get along). The reporter (only one will show up from an obscure media outlet) will be awaiting our profound comments and reactions…after all, we are the pros, right? His recording device will fail. That may turn out to be the only blessing, as my motley crew will have no profound observations to make, other than that the sound was too loud and nobody ‘got it’. Oh, yeah…D’s guide dog, the ‘German boy’, that Opal loves so much, will bark incessantly  as we depart the cineplex.

ADDENDUM: It has become evident that the movie, ‘Blindness’ seriously impacts the blind community. It is a graphic and some times horrifying film that portrays blindness as a terrible condition that robs its victims of their humanity. It will compound and perpetuate the existing irrational prejudices of blind people which are based on stereotype. It falsely depicts blind people as incapable of almost everything and even suggests that blindness alters the human personality. The complex decision for blind people everywhere is if they will spend money to see  it (thereby supporting  the film maker) or boycott…or protest…or go, sit and watch until they are disgusted (somewhere long before it ends), disrupt the show as they leave, and demand their money back and then discourage the general public from viewing it…choices to be made.

Opal Votes

Mum says we are going to the NDP nomination meeting to vote (for Megan Leslie). She didn’t seem too happy about it…says someone else is going to read the ballot, point where to sign, watch her do it and check it for her…so why bother?   She seemed to brighten up a moment later  when she got one of her ‘ideas’.  Now she says I AM GOING TO VOTE FOR HER!!! cause I’m so smart, and she trusts me and we’re going to make a statement about accessible voting for the blind. I don’t usually say much but now I get to make a statement….wow!

Let the ‘Other’ Games Begin!

The hoopla is over in Beijing. Or is it? Sure,  thousands of athletes and visitors have streamed onto airplanes and returned to their home countries.  They tote medals and for some, sponsorship deals. The media assault on the world has abated. Disinterested people around the globe give a collective sigh of relief as their TV and radio programming returns to normal. However, on September 6th, the Para Olympics get underway. These are, in my opinion, the REAL games. You won’t find flaky sub “sports” such as BMX bike racing, syncro-swimming (plenty of gel and nose plugs here!) or trampoline in the Para Olympic lineup.  No, instead, count on things like equestrian, swimming and goalball.

The Para Olympics began in 1948, when British war veterans  with spinal cord injuries decided to participate in a sporting ‘olympics’. Since then, the Para Olympic Games has grown into a huge ‘after’ event with thousands of ‘disabled’ athletes (the lucky ones who are have the resources and facilities at home to participate in para sport). These Games come on the heels of the ‘real’ Olympics.  Frankly, I would love to see the day, when there is no separation of the games. It would be a logistical nightmare to facilitate all this ‘inclusion’  and access to venues etc, but how wonderful it would be for Olympic fans (able bodied and not) to be able to wander from ‘Olympic Girls Gymnastics’ in one part of a stadium, to the ‘Para Olympic Fencing’ competition in another part of the same stadium.

‘They’ (and I mean the government funders and planners and other  do-gooders who spout ‘inclusion’ and ‘accessibility’ in all things) often do not really walk the para-walk, so to speak.   It’s one thing to provide an automatic door opener and modified washroom in a sports arena or community centre and announce with great fanfare that the complex is “ACCESSIBLE”, but it’s another thing to provide accessible PROGRAMS for the kids with disabilities who want to use them.  These facilities are erected at great cost and are intended for EVERYONE’S use. However, they often have physical barriers to PWD (persons with disabilities)  or, there simply is no provission for PWD (kids and adults) to access programs. What is the point if someone in a wheelchair can get INTO the building, onto the pool deck and maybe, even into the pool,  but there are no programs for them?  The big bucks and support go to mainstream (able-bodied) sports.  I think there is really little genuine interest on the part of government and society in true ‘accessibility’, ‘inclusion’, ‘full participation’, ‘diversity’…yada, yada, yada.  For many ‘Planners’ (the able-bodied guys and gals in suits) who tweak design and convince the tax payers that they have done an admirable job with their ‘accessible’ design, it’s ‘all about the money’ and creating a building that minimizes  spending on the project and provides what is mandatory by law in the way of accessibility features. There is much time and effort (ergo money) spent (ie. wasted) on legal consultation by city planners to avoid the risk of not meeting the minimum accessibility requirements and, god forbid, a Human Rights or other legal (ie costly and embarrassing) challenge by some ‘minority’ group (persons with disabilities or cultural, ethnic or other). Sigh. Do you need to live the experience of seeing YOUR kid in a wheel chair before you start thinking, “Hey! there are hardly any programs for my little Johny!” ?  Sadly, that’s the way it seems to work. A physiotherapist and advocate for kids with disabilities recently told me that she has spent 3 years trying to hammer home the need for programs, not just physical accessibility to a proposed Halifax sports venue  to some of our city ’suits’. She described ‘vacant stares’ by some of these dudes and dudettes. Her frustration was evident but her conviction?…unwavering.

Why CNIB Leaves Me Flat

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Jim Sanders, national CNIB president. I doubt that Jim actually hit ’send’ himself. This e-mail was soliciting money. It was probably spun out by the CNIB fund raising elite PR machine to everyone within the CNIB data bases, including clients. I don’t fault any organization for being creative with fund raising initiatives. This thing? It offended me to the point where I wrote Jim an e-mail letter this morning. Let me explain the nature of ‘Jim’s’ request.

The e-plea was colourful and filled with lovely photos of guide dogs and blind people with guide dogs. the header stated, “Harnessing Independence begins with your generous support”. It went from bad to worse by asking the question, “How much is your Independence worth to you? Dear Helen, close your eyes for a moment and imagine that you’ve lost your sight”  Hmm, Jim. You’re too late, done deal, been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I AM blind! Then, to really annoy me, it went on to claim that “37 % of Canadians would sell everything they owned to keep their sight.”  I don’t know or care if this is statistically valid. What I DO know, is that these kinds of claims propagate the erroneous assumption that blind people are miserable with their lot. Hey Jim, I’m OK being blind, my life is not horrible, so don’t yammer this defeatist nonsense which only entrenches public misconception about Persons With Disabilities. As for the clever references to guide dogs… “and when we’re ready, some of us may even get a guide dog” …blah, blah, blah, resplendent with pics of the dogs with CNIB clients who are in the CNIB  photo op pocket,  I could vomit. You and I both know (though apparently you’re still milking the sensibilities of a confused public who do NOT KNOW)  that CNIB does NOT train guide dogs nor do they financially support guide dog training. Why go down that murky road, Jim? Why not spend some of your PR money  on CNIB client services (ya gotta know that expensive glossy hard copy of this pitch for donations will be sent out to thousands of Canucks).  I walked into my local CNIB office a couple of weeks ago looking to BORROW a tape recorder. My two recorders are broken, and my Hadley School for Blind Spanish assignment is due. Did I get some of that CNIB ’support’? No, Jim. I left with bubkis and went home to e-mail Senora Good-Krochuk that I am tostada with my Spanish until further notice. When someone stopped me on the street later that day and asked, “Is that a CNIB dog?”, I promptly took 15 minutes of my time to explain to the deluded individual that ” THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A CNIB DOG!!! CNIB HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GUIDE DOG TRAINING!!! THEY DON’T PROVIDE A SCINTILLA OF THE STUFF TO THE BLIND THAT THE PUBLIC ERRONEOUSLY THINK THEY DO!!!!” Sigh. Jim, I am so dissapointed with this sordid pathetic e-mail. You can bet that I am going to encourage people to respond to it’s lack of respect for people like me…happy, hard-working, tax-paying citizens who happen to be blind. And how, you ask Jim? I’m going to suggest to them that they make their charitable contributions elsewhere...like any guide dog training school, and my pick would be, Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind in Manotick Ontario (613-692-7777 link on blogroll).  maybe they should e-mail you about their displeasure too…. jim.sanders@cnib.ca oops, I think I just did. Have a nice day.

Hey Operator!

That’s right, I mean you, the  Bell Aliant operator on duty yesterday afternoon. Watch out lady, ’cause you’re in store for some deep doo dah. Did ya think I’d just ‘let it go’? Not a chance, babe. Sure, it took 30 minutes to go through the complaint process with the customer service department, but at least I have the reassurance that you will be ’spoken to’. Maybe you will think twice before you say something stupid when a PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER dials and asks you how to go about making a conference call. Maybe you won’t say, “the number for the conference operator is in the phone book” in reply to a PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER who has told you that the Aliant web site is INACCESSIBLE and won’t cough up the information she needs. Maybe when that PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER says, “I can’t read the phone book” , your smart ass sarcastic reply will not be, “You can’t read?”  Maybe you won’t mutter to the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER, who tells you in frustration (even though it is none of your bloody business) that she is blind, “ok, wait a sec”  and follow that up by shouting, “What did you say?” when the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER says “thanks for that”.  Maybe you won’t proceed to grumble and send the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER into her own voicemail system instead of linking her to the conference call operator.  Yep, maybe you will just do your job in the first place and provide the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER with information instead of going down that murky road by asking, “can’t you read?”. Maybe the reprimand will include reading a fact sheet with statistical information about the 6,000,000  or more Canadians who can not read print because of a visual, perceptual or intellectual disability. Maybe your boss will tell you that it doesn’t matter why the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER can’t READ a phone book, or why they don’t HAVE a phone book, or why they don’t WANT to use their phone book…you just do what the PAYING ALIANT CUSTOMER requests.

STOP PRESS!!! This just in: Aliant Customer Service Management tippy-toeing very carefully all over an apology to Wise advice. It seems that the Aliant operator in question is going to have that informative talk with her supervisor this afternoon….

Opal Goes On a Photo Shoot

Opal and I took over a local hospital today. We had an entourage that included; two AEBC (Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians) Halifax chapter members, three Halifax Infirmary staff people, and my friend, Anita a photographer who was armed with camera equipment. We were on a photo shoot for a pamphlet which AEBC Halifax has created in collaboration with the Diversity team at CDHA (Capital District Health Authority).  This pamphlet is being developed for some of the front-line staff of CDHA.  CDHA is made up of several hospitals and clinics in Halifax (10,000 employees in total).  The information in the pamphlet is designed to inform them on how to assist patients or clients who are blind or partially sighted. It includes information on the types of things to say to a blind person in the hospital/clinic setting (identify yourself…offer assistance…explain a procedure…) what NOT to say (“Over there”, “you don’t look blind”…), what to do (elementary guiding,  provide audible cues ie tapping a counter), what NOT to do (grab a blind person, touch a guide dog….), some general information (blind people have different types and levels of vision…some blind people use aids such as long white cane, or white support cane, ID cane, walker,  or guide dog…) information about the AEBC (see link on blogroll) and the Diversity Initiative at CDHA.  This is a phenomenal achievement for AEBC Halifax, a new chapter that no one knows much about yet.  CDHA wanted ‘realistic’ photos for the pamphlet instead of my cheesy Clip Art.   I convinced them to hire my favourite photographer. I also asked Randy (who has a standard long cane) and Joann (who uses a walker, but also brought along her white support cane) to meet us for some ‘action shots’.    The hospital provided three volunteer staff people to ‘ease the pain’ and chaos arising from our little  photo shoot with the ‘hospitalish’ looking staff and employees I needed in the pictures. I wanted Anita to take shots of us in various settings. We posed at the information counter, though we stalled there until confirmation with ‘Security’ about ‘permission’.  We also shot pics in the blood collection services area,  the Infirmary’s hallways, and in the Occupational Therapy department.   Fortunately, I am familiar with the blood lab staff and managed to sweet talk Glenda and Cathy (Cathy stopped long enough to put on her lipstick) to allow us into their department. They took time to pose with us, pretending to draw blood samples. Ya gotta love a phlebotomist! It also doesn’t hurt that I have the ability to steamroll a situation before anyone knows what is happening. A  lovely young woman from New Zealand who works in OT seemed a little camera shy at first, but when she realized that it was her chance at Canadian immortality (she is going back to the land of kiwis soon) she acquiesced and posed too.   We had some technical glitches.  Not the photography equipment…Randy’s cane fell apart and we had to stop and get it taped  up before he could continue. Opal led the parade all over the 4th floor of the Halifax Infirmary, and appeared in a number of shots. You can’t have a pamphlet without a guide dog on the front of it, can you?!

The Gift of Giving

I am as poor as a church mouse. At least, that’s what my bank account would have you believe. Do I have hidden riches? You bet. No, it’s not Opal, my ‘precious jewel’… though that would be a good answer. My latest ‘riches’ arrived through the Advisory Committee For Persons with Disabilities which I chair. Recently, the city Mayor and Council felt generous (and maybe wanted to make points for the upcoming municipal election?). They approved $200,000 for fixing or adapting or creating stuff in HRM buildings to make them more accessible for persons with disabilities. Nice. The committee’s job is to decide how this money gets spent. We have a wish list that is growing by the minute. My suggestion was to maximize the spending of this money. 200K is squat when you consider that this is the price tag for major accessibility surgery like putting in one new elevator in a community center. I wanted to do the most with this, and effect change in many buildings. Yesterday, after much discussion following the ‘pitch’ from a representative from the Sledge Hockey Task Force, we passed a motion to funnel 35 thousand towards retrofitting the Bowles arena in Dartmouth (auto door opener and washroom) so that the new sledge hockey team can get off the ground here in HRM. Sledge Hockey, by the way, is a form of hockey that uses ’sledges’ to move disabled players around the ice. This is CANADA! Hockey is our game and part of our identity. All kids should have the opportunity to participate in the game. What a wonderful gift for me to be able to say the words, “motion passed”. I had bumped into Mayor Kelly before my meeting started (He was coming into city hall as I was stepping out to relieve Opal). He knew who I was though I don’t know why. We’ve only met at big, crowded functions. My paranoia led me to believe that he has been following this blog…remember the ‘can relocator’ and my confession by proxy? I think I mentioned that I should be dumping Opal’s poop bags on his desk because my requested garbage can had not arrived after two months… my photo is on one page of this blog…you can see how my mind got to this conclusion. But no, he was setting up for the Pride flag raising ceremony (could it be that Mayor Kelly is courting the gay vote?) and the reception in Halifax Hall which followed. I told him that I was going to my meeting and that I was not pleased that he had booted us out of our regular meeting room (about to be used for the Pride Week shindig). He suggested that I drop by after my meeting. I did. It was a little crowded and noisy. You know what people are like when food is available on the city’s dime. I stayed long enough to say hello to Mayor Kelly again. He told me that he is feeling better after his recent hospitalization. He insisted that I take one of the sweets from the tray he was wielding around like a social butterfly. Perhaps I’ll send him a note to announce the spending of some money for the sledge hockey team and their arena. Could it be that we can double the 200K amount that is set aside for disability-related retrofitting next year?

Opal ‘Gets the Beat’

Opal’s life is dictated by my activities. Where I go, she goes. Lucky for her, I tend to go to varied and interesting places. Yesterday, for example, we attended the annual ILRC (Independent Living Resource Centre–now renamed ILC Independent Living Canada) picnic. It was held on the grounds behind the Natural History Museum; a perfectly lovely and fully accessible setting. She dodged wheel chairs and scooters like a pro. Once again, she shone when the guy with the nutty guide dog allowed his dog to wander (in harness) and attempt to pin Opal into, uuhmm… a compromising position. Actually it’s all about the handler, not the dog. It’s the handler’s responsibility to keep track of what their dog is up to. I yelled out, “John, sort your dog out!” while ensuring that his ‘boy’ did not get too carried away and that Opal maintained her cool. We were waiting in the food line at the time. My friend remarked that John had not noticed that his dog’s paws were stationary on the hot paved path. I had Opal on the grass beside it. It boggles my mind that handlers don’t think more about the comfort and safety of their guides. We eventually got our plates and settled at a table in the shade to enjoy our meal. The food was excellent; a Mediterranean feast of tabbouleh, humus, vegie cabbage rolls, pita, tomatoes and olives. Later, an excellent baklava was served. Numerous prizes were drawn, and my friend won a t-shirt. The after-food activities included visits from a face painter ( Opal and I passed), an offer to create a chef d’oeuvre from a balloon artist ( I passed on that too, given my irrational fear of balloons popping). However, when we were invited to join the drum circle, my interest peaked. A drum circle facilitator (Heather Pentz of Tidal Beat) passed out dozens of drums and shakers. SHE had a Djembe drum which I fell in love with. Djembe drums have a wonderful, rich sound that, in the right hands, can soothe, rouse, calm, or move (emotionally) whomever is in the circle. It brought back memories of Saturday mornings in Montreal where, on the slope of Mount Royal, upwards of 25 Djembe drummers would gather to play together. It was an intoxicating experience that I recall sharing with hundreds of other Montrealais who would gather to listen. I imagine they still do. The little drum circle at the picnic was not quite of that caliber, but I enjoyed it all the same, as well as the trip down memory lane. Opal appreciated it too. At the very least, she liked the smell of the goat skin drum cover stretched over a hand carved base of West African wood. I KNOW Opal ‘gets the beat’, like her mum. Hmm. I sense the purchase of a Djembe drum in our future! I think it’s my answer to my search for a ’stress-buster’.

Thanks to ILRC and it’s director, Lois Miller who always puts together a great event. Her dedicated work and unparalled commitment to the community is appreciated by so many. Her husband (sound guy) and staff are remarkable people who always help out and make it a fun event for some folks who don’t always have an opportunity to ’step out’.

Still Not Announcing Bus Stops in Halifax

Hmm. Yesterday was hot and humid. According to those who saw the interview on TV, Opal looked bored. I can tell you now, she was hot and bothered. So was I.  A CBC ‘Nova Scotia News at 6′ reporter phoned to ask me for a follow-up interview about Metro Transit’s policy/lack of policy/inability to comply with a policy to ANNOUNCE BUS STOPS.  You would think that this is a no-brainer. Apparently not. Metro Transit’s acting general manager was asked to comment on the elusive plan to install a ‘voice enunciator system’ (automaticaly announces stops as buses cruise along the route).  Money. Yes, it’s all about the underfunding, the high cost of such a system…. but one day…

Sorry, that’s not good enough.  Halifax must come to its senses and get in line with major cities across this country (including Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Ottawa) and the dozens of small town transit companies who have adopted a policy to announce stops on buses and on other forms of transit.  Some have seen the light all on their own,  while other cities (like Toronto and Ottawa) have been mandated  to do so through Human Rights Tribunals and other legislating bodies.

This is the city that is trying to sell its HRM (Halifax) By Design strategy. If this town wants to become an urban mecca, then it needs to get serious about transit. That’s right. Get the money from the feds, the province or maybe the money can be secured by taxing the gas-guzzling  (usually single-driver) vehicles entering the downtown core (like London).  I don’t really care. Neither does the rest of the blind population AND the other citizens in this city who would like to know where they are on the bus route. We have several universities here with a huge student population arriving “FROM AWAY” each year.  We have a small invasion each summer of cruise ship passengers and other tourists.  We have numerous  people immigrating to Canada  who land on our shore and into our city each year as well as  other newcomers to town.  NONE OF THEM KNOW WHERE THEY ARE GOING!!  Surprise!  You must realize that not all residents know where each street, transfer point, major intersection or significant public building is located on every bus route. So, find the money for the automated system. Pick a date for the project to be finalized by. In the meanwhile, make the drivers announce major stops!!! They can do it the old fashioned way and shout out the stops! Give them a trip sheet to figure out what those major stops are. If they don’t like it, TOO BAD!  Maybe the pressure Metro Transit management gets  from their union (you KNOW they will go cry foul to the union. Winnipeg drivers did) will be motivation to find the money for the automated system lickety split! Sheesh!

More on Web Accessibility

I have not heard back from our city’s web master since I suggested they test the HRM (Halifax) site using a screen-reading software download. I suggested last week to our web master that he/she download a free version of Jaws and attempt to use the speech output program (with the computer monitor turned OFF). I have an image in my mind of this person sitting at their desk, with hands covering their ears, and shouting… “Shut up you stupid Jaws voice!!!! I can’t find anything on this site!!!!”

If only it were true. Did our web master extraordinaire actually have the hutzpah to follow through with my wise advice? I doubt it…. But hey! if you did, ‘K’, how about trying out the audio ‘captcha’ options for security letter de-scrambles?  You know what I’m talking about…. often you are asked to enter the swirly letters, words or numbers on the screen in order to move on to your next step. These are used on many web sites as a security measure before you can access the  ’contact’,  ’access our site’, ‘ make payment’,  ’apply for ‘  or ‘order’ applications. The audio option  often turns out to be a total mess of garbled nonsense which no one can understand, no matter how many times they try to listen to it. How’s that working for ya, eh?

Accessible Voting–I’ll Vote For That!

The electoral process is still held in high regard by most of society. The right to participate in the democratic process has been hard fought by many groups. It continues to be fought in countries such as Zimbabwe.  Some Canadians take for granted the opportunity to participate FULLY in the democratic voting process.  This includes seeking nomination as a candidate, participating in candidate meetings, informing oneself about the party platforms, voting in secret, and being able to independently verify how one voted.   My parents instilled in me a healthy sense of responsibility about my ‘duty’ to vote. I have done so, at all levels of government, since I reached the age of majority. I have voted by proxy when I was out of the country. I have struggled to the polls on crutches.  There are three components that are essential to voting: 

1. Secrecy: privacy
2. Independent: without assistance from another person to choose and mark your choice.
3. Verification: being able to check how you voted after you have marked it.

Voting has become more accessible for people who are disabled, however, it remains unacceptably inaccessible for most people who are blind, deaf-blind, or partially sighted.  Most often, a template is offered, but this offers no means of verification. Blind people usually must depend on voting with another person to set up the template etc.. Braille ballots are sometimes available, but Braille is not used by over 80% of adult people who are blind.  Some jurisdictions are attempting alternative means of voting for the blind. These include using on-site computers with audio, tactile, sip and puff interfaces which make it possible for people who are blind or quadriplegic to vote independently. Electronic (Internet) voting is also being tried (Halifax’s next municipal election will allow people to vote over the Net or with a cell phone and a pin number which they will receive in the mail). Intelivote Systems of Dartmouth NS is working to convince cities in Canada that electronic voting will increase voting stats, particularly with younger voters.  It also has environmental appeal. Me? I prefer the on-site buzz at the polls. BUT, I want to see the next provincial election here, to be fully accessible to me and others who have vision loss. I want the candidates to provide me and others who are partially sighted with their platform and  ’pitch’ in alternate formats. I want to go to the polls and be given an accessible list of candidates names on the ballot (in Braille, audio electronic or large print) and I want to vote ALONE, and to CHECK MY CHOICE on my ballot MYSELF before I put it in the box. Tomorrow, I meet with my MLA, Graham Steele and a representative from the Elections Nova Scotia. Hmm. 

Opal Goes To High School!

Opal rarely complains about going to boring places.  Sure, some of the meetings I force her to sit through are a bit of a snooze, but overall, I  think she enjoys the variety of places we go to. Today, we went somewhere totally new… Citadel High School. I had not been in ANY high school since I graduated from MCMHS in 1972.  Honestly?  I was feeling a little apprehensive about entering into the fray of 1700 students in this spanking new building on Trollope street in Halifax. It’s exam week, so I don’t think they were all present. However, there was a lot of activity and confusion in the administration office where I was to meet the English teacher with whom I had a meeting.  The secretary was fielding frantic pleas from students…  ”Mr. T. told me I had to get a ____ form before I can write the exam!”…”somebody took my stuff out of my locker!” ….  The admin person tried to calm the students by encouraging them to breathe and “look through that cart for lost locker items”).  We had arrived early, so we sat and eavesdropped on the conversations of the kids poking through a gigantic cart of confiscated stuff.  Apparently, they didn’t all hear about the deadline to empty their lockers.  If they did, they did not for a second, believe that the locks would be chopped off and the lockers cleaned out, as they had been warned.  There seemed to be a good vibe  with students, staff and teachers. Maybe they were heady with dreams of summer vacation, graduation and ‘moving on’ which resulted in them being nicer to one another. The meeting with the English teacher?  After being introduced to the vice principal, we went to the cafeteria. It was pretty quiet for a high school cafeteria. (My high school caf days sometimes come back to me in nightmares).  I hear they serve better food now.  The meeting’s purpose was to iron out some details for the 2008 Writing Contest which the Halifax chapter of the AEBC (Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians) has launched.  In the fall, the new crop of grade ten students will (little do they know as they now sit their grade 9 exams)  write a 400 word essay based on the question, ” What if I woke up one day, and could not see?”   They will submit these essays to their English teachers. Then, edited versions will be sent to AEBC chapter members in other Canadian cities to be judged according to AEBC criteria.  They will be sent electronically so that the judges (who are blind) can ‘read’ them independently with adaptive computer software. These volunteer judges will decide which essays are most introspective and meet the yet-to-be-determined criteria. The finalists will receive prizes (yet to be solicited, but it will likely be cash and electronics) AND the winning essay writer will (hopefully) receive wide media attention through publication and reading of his/her essay on radio etc. This is a great opportunity for kids to start thinking about blindness and disability. In grade 10 (average age is 15 years), kids tend to be a little…umm… ’stunned’ (not all of them, of course).  That is not typically an age when it is cool to be ‘nice’ .  Thoughtfulness and awareness of ones surroundings are not commonly part of their make-up. Maybe it’s genetic. I was probably just as ’stunned’ as many of them are, when I was 15 years old. To be fair, many have had zero personal experience with someone with a disability. They just need a chance to think about it for a while. Hopefully, the writing contest will help them do that.  Bye the way, Opal loved the buzz in the school. She was hopeful about being given the stuffed animal that one of the students was waving around (it was in the cart of confiscated locker items), but alas, it was returned to the cart. She also anticipated a chance to scarf up the bits of food on the cafeteria floor, but no such luck! Mum is quick on the draw.  I am sure that she will enjoy returning to Citadel to meet with the kids in October when I  get to tell them about the writing contest. It will be exciting to navigate a Citadel High school during peak class hours!

Wise Advice For Web Masters….on ACCESSIBILITY

Call me wishful. I had an inspired moment yesterday. The web master for our city’s web site contacted me after I had sent in a complaint about not being able to ‘read’ a lot of stuff on the HRM site with my screen reading software. Screen reading software (like Jaws or Guide) enables someone who cannot see their monitor (like blind folk), to listen to a mechanical or synthesized  voice reading whatever is on the screen;  e-mail, web page etc.  At least, that’s what is suppose to happen in  theory. In practice, many web sites are ridiculously difficult or impossible to navigate with Jaws. There is a movement afoot towards web accessibility standards. Retail giant, Target in the USA is in a legal battle with the NFB (National Federation of the Blind) over their inaccessible web site. Hmm.  Here’s my wise advice today for web masters (so that they can  ’test’ their own sites for accessibility): go to the Freedom scientific site…

http://freedomscientific.com/fs_downloads/jaws.asp

 and download a FREE trial version of Jaws software. Learn to use it. Then turn your computer monitors OFF and navigate your own site using Jaws. Try the links, the documents, opening pages etc.  Have fun!

ACB Radio For the Blind

I discovered ACB radio yesterday. Where have I been?!  ACB radio provides 5 channels of internet radio, streamed live through free players (You can download Winamp or others). This is radio by the blind, for the blind and for anyone interested in blindness issues. ‘Cafe’ channel provides music by blind musicians. On ‘Classic’, you can listen to classic comedy and drama programs. ‘On Demand’ will allow you to listen to programs such as: ‘Cooking in the Dark’, ‘Disability Nation’, ‘The Sound of Sight’, ‘Blind Handyman’, ‘Eye on Employment’ and more. You can also download a ‘tuner’ so that you have quick access to ACB from your computer desktop. You must check this out. I will link it to my blogroll.  It should be the first on the alphabetical list….The web site is: http://www.acbradio.org

Equitable Library Service in Canada—We’re Still Waiting

I recently attended the Annual General Meeting of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians in Toronto. A lively debate ensued when a  Library and Archives Canada representative updated us on the Initiative for Equitable Library Service (IELA). The IELA web site claims that their mandate is to “create the conditions for sustainable and equitable library access for Canadians with print disabilities” .  There are over three million Canadians (10%)  who can not read print because of visual, perceptual or physical disability. We require publications in alternate formats, such as Braille, Large print, audio and electronic text. IELA’s stats indicate that only 5% (five) of all  published Canadian material is available in multiple formats. We provided our opinion on what we would like to see in the Canadian public library system (again).  It seems that we are often consulted, but I have to wonder why we are still waiting for change. The endless rhetoric about ’stakeholders’ is getting stale. Robin East, Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians president, echoed my sentiments when he stated that “we are not stakeholders…we are rights holders”. The difference?:  The erroneous  mindset that blind people deserve consultation in the process of achieving equitable library service in Canada instead of the more accurate belief that blind people have the RIGHT to equitable library service. What do I personally feel I have a right to find when I walk into a public library in Canada? Here’s my list.  I suggest that the rights of the blind to equitable library service be honoured very quickly…before we become an ultra-organized force with a common judicial application forcing the change we have RIGHTS to.

• I want books made available to me in any format I choose: audio, Braille, electronic and large print.
• I like audio books. The publishing industry needs to realize that the audio version of ANY BOOK PUBLISHED must be released simultaneously in audio format. If that means forcing the Canadian government to amend copyright and publishing legislation, that is what we must all support. 
• Audio books must be unabridged….I don’t like half a book.
• Release the stranglehold you have on independent  multiple format information producers in Canada. They are the answer to filling the gap by providing multiple format information; Braille transcription, audio books, etc.
• Provide accessible technology within the library; computers with screen-reading software, scanners, braille printers, CCTV’s, etc.
• Someone needs to know how to use, troubleshoot, and teach the use of all of the above equipment. 
• Make your catalogue accessible within the library. IE. I can use your website at home to search for something, but once I’m in your library, I am unfortunately forced to rely on your staff.
• Update your large print collections. People across the country are complaining about small, outdated, and dog-eared LP books collections. Put your large print collection in an area with good lighting.
• Your audio books must have Braille and large print labeling.  I want to  ’browse’ the books like other patrons. As it is now, I must rely on a staff person to be available to read the titles and descriptions for me.
• Libraries are big on displaying community information. the bulletin boards, notices, guides, pamphlets must be made available to everyone. How about an information line linked into your phone system? Tweak a grant or student placement to provide for  conversion of  information pamphlets and guides into audio, Braille and large print.
• Sometimes, your accessible computer is nowhere near the reference materials. Ensure easier physical access to this technology.
• Train your staff and employees to be ’sensitive’ (I hate that term) to the needs of blind and partially sighted patrons.
• Blind students have a hard time finding accessible  research materials in a timely manner. It is not up to the ‘charitable library’ (AKA CNIB)  to provide everything. (they do a poor job anyway). Publishers, particularly of textbooks must realize that audio/electronically-generated information often ignores describing or interpreting  graphs, scales diagrams, photographs and tables. This information is critical if education is to fair and equitable. 

I’ve just started a list. I hope to hear from others. 

 

Run Opal, Run!!!

I know. I’ve already written a blog with the same title. Today, however, we are a BIG step forward towards getting a safe, enclosed ‘run’ for service dogs in Halifax. I felt a little guilty about making Opal work on her birthday. Going to Advisory meetings at City Hall is not much fun for her. As usual, I brought her food ration for supper in the ladies room before the meeting. To my dismay, I forgot her dish. The Commissionaire saved the day. A lovely ceramic bowl was brought to me courtesy of the kitchen staff.  ”Perhaps Mayor Kelly once ate his Wheaties out this bowl”, I say to Opal.  She could care less!  The meeting got underway at 4:00. As Chair of this monthly shindig, I can make announcements and requests. Yes, of course I added  singing  ’Happy Birthday’ to Opal to the agenda. Councillor Wile has nice pipes. It got even better when Phil Townsend dropped in to announce that Council has approved $200,000.00 for improvement or development in HRM buildings with regards to disability. We (the HRM Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities) are the ones who are being consulted on the money’s dispersal. This is BIG for an advisory committee. It is BIG for THIS advisory committee. I asked how the proposal for a Service dog run would fit in. I put this proposal forward many months ago. Now that there is money committed to disability-related infrastructure, it will very likely be approved, says Phil. It could take a while, but I suspect that one day, I will be able to take a bus and access an enclosed service dog run…the first in Canada. Hot dog! Run Opal, Run!.  The meeting ended and I left feeling elated and important…then Opal had a poop in front of City Hall (I picked up). Nothing like a dog to bring you down to earth.

Paul Watson–Eco-terrorist goes too far…again

 Canadian Green Party leader, Elizabeth May announced her resignation from the advisory committee of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society after Paul Watson is quoted as saying,  ”the death of seals is an even greater tragedy than the death of four sealers”.  Mr. Watson, a self described Eco-terrorist, repeated this comment today. Conservationists and Environmentalists are dropping their support of Watson.  He made these comments as the funeral of three sealers in Cap-aux-Meulles, a small community in the Madlelaine Islands was taking place. A fourth sealer’s body is missing.  Mr. Watson has rammed, skuttled and sunk fishing vessels all over the world. The names of the ships he has sunk are painted onto the side of one the cement-hulled boats he uses to ram them.  His ships are also armed with high-powered water cannons and protected with barbed wire. He has used acid, explosives and other means to sink or disable “enemy” ships.  His goal to bring an end to the fishing industry has found him brandishing an AK 47.   a Watson was a co-founder of Greenpeace, but splintered off because of the groups ‘impassivity’.  While the world still grieved in the aftermath of 9/11, Watson announced “there is nothing wrong with terrorism, as long as you win”. The eco-terrorist goal is to return the earth to it’s pre-human condition by any means. Watson’s dogmatic and authoritarian ‘love’ of animals coupled with his hatred of humanity has led him to absurdly remark, “earthworms are far more valuable than people”.  His distorted stance of ‘animals first/humans last’ is bizarre and frightening. His claim that he owes no allegiance to humanity is incongruous with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s  (the group he founded) claim that they “are a vehicle to empower people”. I am disgusted and enraged by the words and actions of Paul Watson. I encourage all Canadians to withdraw support from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and any groups Mr. Watson is associated with, including the Sierra Club, until those organizations remove themselves from any association with Mr. Watson.   I think that Farley Mowat, the great Canadian writer and naturalist, should step forward and comment on this, given that Watson’s premiere ship is named the ‘Farley Mowat’.  For the record, the names of the three victims from the fishing vessel,  l’ Acadian II are: Gilles Leblanc, Bruno Bourque, and Marc-Andre Deraspe.  A fourth man is missing and presumed dead. His name is Carl Aucoin. 

Opal Goes To The Movies

I  plan to go to a movie this afternoon.  My Guide dog Opal is coming with me.  Some Guide dog training schools suggest leaving the dog at home when one goes to the movies because the sound level is too high. I agree. Cinemas tend to crank out the sound beyond a comfortable level. I don’t enjoy it, so I can just imagine what a dog is experiencing.  Dogs have very  sensitive hearing.  There’s also the problem of popcorn all over the floor area that even a well trained Guide dog would find hard to resist.  I have solved both problems, thereby allowing me to have Opal with me.  The major issue of intolerable sound was dealt with by speaking to the cinema manager.  It is important to restrict movie-going to weekday matinees. That is when they are fewest people going to the cineplex. Often, there are only a half dozen people going to any one movie, especially the non-Hollywood blockbuster films which I prefer to avoid.  The manager is always willing to speak to the projectionist (more of a programmer these days) and have them set the sound down.  I also make sure that I enter AFTER all the promotional claptrap that appears before the feature which is always louder.  The popcorn problem is less of an obstacle.  By going to the first show of the day, chances are that the cinemas are quite clear of food on the floor.  I remain vigilant  none the less, with my harness arm ready to sense Opal attempting to snag a snack on the floor, so that I can tug her head up. My free hand is ready to shove into her mouth and yank out the scavenged food if she has moved too quickly. I’m sure some people are grossed out by the idea of probing a dog’s mouth, but if you are committed to your dog’s health and safety, you must learn to ‘get over it’. Your town’s cinemas may have matinees and hospitable management that would allow you to feel comfortable in bringing your Guide dog with you when you go to the movies. Some movie houses also offer free admission to a companion for disabled people.  This is sometimes an available courtesy provision at theatres and other entertainment venues. Some cinemas and theatres offer ‘descriptive’ options for the blind. This involves wearing a head set to hear a description of non-audible action and sets of the film or play you are attending.  Call first to inquire. 

Opal goes to Sunday school

Actually,  Universalist Unitarians call it RE or Religious Education.  There are no Bible studies and I don’t think there is anything particular religious about it.  UU kids learn about many things with the hope that it prepares them to become good human beings and citizens who care about others.  Today, Opal and I visited with the kids ‘upstairs’.  Our church is housed in a historic building. Originally, it had been two large, private homes with several staircases and many rooms of all sizes.  We had pre-arranged our visit with the RE teacher.  The number of kids in the RE class varies from week to week. Today, there were ten or so. They ranged in age between 2 and 10. Opal knew something was going to be different the minute we entered church.  She wanted to take me to ‘my seat’, but I coaxed her to the front row. We sat on the floor with the young ones during the ‘Story For All Ages’.  Then, when the congregation began to sing, “Go Now In Peace”, to usher the kids out of the room where the service is held,  I asked her to “follow”.  Up the multiple stairways that twist and turn we went  with a backpack full of ’stuff’.  We often go to schools to talk to kids about Guide dog etiquette and also about vision loss and ‘blind stuff’.  The difference today, was the age spread of our audience.  It’s difficult to keep things simple enough for everyone to understand.  Still, I think it was a good learning experience for them.  The first question was, “what happens if Opal becomes blind”?    This, oddly enough, is not the first time I have been asked this or something similar. I was once asked, if Opal’s mom had been blind.   Other questions have included, “Does she take a bath with you?”, “Does she chase cats?”, and “Will she always be your dog?”.  Jordan (the one who asked about Opal going blind) was tenacious.  Her follow up question was, “Would she still be able to work if she was blind?”  Once we established how unlikely that would be to occur, we talked about Opal’s job and why she must be allowed to concentrate.  I must confess, I had an ulterior motive in planning to  visit the kids… I have noticed that several of them come up and pat and talk to Opal as we are walking through the crowded church entry area and fellowship room.  My solution?  Be proactive and chat them up and sort them out as a group.  I offered ourselves as guest speakers, and the RE teacher was delighted to plan for our visit. ( I do most of the talking. Opal is the silent type).  The culprits who pat her, may or may not have been present today,  but kids tend to share their information with each other.   I hope so.  It’s always surprising for kids (and adults) to learn that the approximate cost of putting a Guide dog into the hands of a blind person, is in excess of $35,000.00.  We also brought gadgets which usually interest kids.  The talking calculator drew some “Neat!”s. The Braille kids books were also interesting for some.  I pointed out that blind people do not all know Braille but I find it very useful.  Out came the Braille tags which are used to put on clothing, the labeler to create stick on labels, and examples of a Braille phone bill and bank statement.  They peered through the vision simulator cards I had brought. These are plastic cards with circles to peer through, with each circle providing a simulation of what things might l0ok like with diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, cataracts or glaucoma.  Opal, meanwhile had a power nap.  She woke up periodicaly to comfort the little guy (2 years old) who was in the care of a family friend today (not too happy to away from mom).  When the service downstairs could be heard wrapping up,  the kids began to collect their things. Opal and I  packed up and left to find one of the many twisty stairways down to the ground floor.  We ended up in the fellowship room where everyone usually gathers to shares tea and coffee after the service. At least three older ladies and one man asked to pet Opal.   I realized that our work was not done yet!  Finally, I decided to have EVERYONE who wanted, a chance to greet her…”Get it out of your system today” I suggested. The UU church dog lovers gave her a pat or two and thanked me.  They said they would be OK from now on. I’m not entirely convinced.  We may end up having a similar talk on Guide dog etiquette  with the grown ups some time. 

ACCESSIBILITY 101

The last thing I had on my mind yesterday, as I went to the mall to help sell tickets for a fund raising initiative for the local CCB (Canadian Council for the Blind), was that I would find myself donning  my ‘Accessibility’ advocacy hat (the one that puts my mouth in gear and finds me writing, phoning… and blogging).  The Halifax Shopping Centre is managed by a group called Vic 20 retail. The head of this little empire, Blaize Morrison  is the elusive fella who I have left messages for in the past, but never spoken to directly.  I have tried unsuccessfully to reach him to complain about the mall renovations which lasted eight months and created great hardship for people with disabilities.  Opal and I  entered the mall at 8:45 and the place was very quiet, as stores do not open until 9:30.  My plan was to get a snack in the upper level food court and then go to the community booth to help my friend set up.  Opal’s feet were caked with salt, so that necessitated a trip to the washroom before going up to buy my snack.  We were  just 7 meters inside the mall, when she stopped. Hmm, I wondered.  I slid my foot forward and encountered some sort of obstacle.  It was a fixed beam-like thing, almost two inches high and six inches wide. I slid my foot between the floor and this obstacle, and found that it ran quite a width.  I praised Opal for finding it and asked her “forward”, and we gracefully stepped over it and moved on down the hall in search of the washroom.  Eventually, we navigated up to the food court.  These places aren’t my idea of dining options, but I had a Tim’s card in my pocket, with a credit balance that would pay for a bagel and a cup of tea. Opal dazzled all the sleepyheads at Tim Horton’s with her clever ability to “find the queue” and “counter”… Snack items in hand, we swung around and headed for the area of the elevator. When we reached the end of the food court area, a woman said, “Watch out for that thing on the floor, dear”.   I thanked her even though I know Opal would find it.  She did and we safely wandered off.   By the time we found the lift, I was thinking about these obstacles, and that a trip to customer service might be in order. We greeted Alice who had set up the display in the ‘community box’. Opal lay dutifully, hopefully attracting some ticket sales with her stunning looks (or so Alice hoped).  Along came Mary. She was being guided by a stranger that had been drafted into assistance near the entrance of the mall.   Mary said that  she was lucky her white cane found this “big board” on the floor.  That was it. I  went to customer service and asked why there are dangerous obstacles on the floor, on this busy Easter Saturday?  I was told that it probably has something to do with “Easter events…wires or something… just temporary”.  I asked  to speak to a management person.  I was told that there no management employees worked on weekends. I told the customer service woman that the mall is liable for injuries to shoppers. I ranted a bit about accessibility, barriers, public safety, lack of consideration for people who are blind or partially sighted… I heard her snap her gum and offer a kid a paper bunny hat.  Once back in the booth,  I learned that Susan had arrived. She told me that she “just tripped over this obstacle and hurt my knee and hand. The security guard was nice and all that, but what are those dangerous things doing there?”.  I hauled Susan back to customer service with me. Opal sighs. I hear her thinking, ‘mum is on another mission’.  We lodged a complaint, and demanded that sufficient security be posted to warn people (even though it will be too crowded to effectively warn everyone with all the frenzy and the Easter shoppers).  The security guard was summoned.  I gave him the accessibility schpeel.  He called the manager of security.  Lovely B.J. arrived and informed me that there are six locations in the mall with these strips covering a floor joint renovation project.  She was obviously feeling a bit embarrassed about this whole mess.  I ran with it:  pointing out the issue of public safety. I  told her that while the mall may find it economically advantageous to start this work in six areas, they have a responsibility to maintain accessibility standards.  Doing construction projects in one secure area at a time, would have been preferable. Now that it is Easter Saturday, and there is no management staff, and the crowds are streaming in, I suggested to her that it will be a miracle if no one is seriously injured by day’s end.  She agreed that even sighted people would be in danger, as most would not notice the obstacles despite markings with yellow tape.   I also pointed out liability to the public, and that I had advised my friend to see her physician on Monday. I told her, that as president of the Halifax chapter of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians, one of my roles is to address issues of accessibility.  I remarked how inconvenient it had been for people in wheelchairs, seniors, people with strollers,  and guide dog handlers, when the lower floor washrooms were closed for six months due to renovation delays and everyone was forced to travel to the upper level.  ”Yes, but look how accessible the new ones are” she said.  I laughed at B. J.’s remark.  I explain that while they (the mall designers and management) may have run around measuring and meeting wheelchair standards and codes, they did not really have an interest in creating an ACCESSIBLE  environment.  Mary told her that by using one (off white) colour tile design from floor to ceiling in the long tube-like hall to the washrooms AND low incandescent spot lighting, they turned it into a partially sighted persons nightmare. They had not made any attempt to consider vital factors such as contrast, lighting, and texture.  I added that the automatic flushing toilets, auto-start one-temperature sinks, and auto dispense paper towel were a gimmick that no one needed and that money and effort should have been spent on designing an accessible space.  They used an open door concept, which makes it very hard to determine where the ‘men’s’ and ‘women’s’ begin and end.  The signage is not tactile, large print, or Braille.   I pointed out that there is no shortage of guidelines, checklists, design notes, accessibility resources and studies available to ‘professionals’ who design these public spaces.  B.J. and I exchanged contact information and she told me that she would be calling Mr. Morrison immediately.   Later, on my way out of the mall,  B.J. was at the obstacle with a team of security guards, trying to prevent sighted and able bodied people from tripping.  She yelled at me, “there’s an obstacle ahead…..and I’m on the phone to the construction company manager…”  I smiled as Opal stopped long enough to allow me to find the beam. We moved out and headed home.

Braille and the ‘Braille Crisis’

What is Braille?  Braille is a system of  6 raised dots, arranged in combinations in two vertical lines. There are 63 combinations. The space they occupy is called the Braille cell.  The positions of the dots within the cell are identified by a specific number;  top left is #1, middle left is #2,  bottom left is #3, top right is #4, middle right is #5, and bottom right is #6. Louis Braille was born near Paris in 1809.  His father was a shoemaker.  One day,  at age four,  while Louis was playing with a tool for punching holes in leather (awl), he ended up piercing  his eye.  The other eye soon became infected, and he lost all his vision.  He was sent to a school for the blind in Paris.   In 1821, a man named Charles Barbier visited the school.  He showed the kids his communication system called, ‘Nightwriting’. It had been developed for soldiers to pass information to one another at night.  While it failed for the French military, it did give Louis the idea to develop its use for the blind in 1827.  He expanded it to include codes for math(Nemeth) and music notation.  Braille would not become a big hit in his lifetime.  In fact, it was ‘banned’ from use with blind kids for a while.  Naturally, kids enjoyed the idea of reading the contraband books, so it did not die.  In 1868, Dr. Thomas Armitage led a group of four blind men to form the ‘British Society For the Embossed Literature of the Blind’.   Louis Braille died of tuberculosis in 1852 at age 43.  In 1952 his body was moved to the Pantheon site where National heroes of France are honoured.  One little know fellow is William Moon. He was born in Kent, England in 1818.  He developed the ‘Moon’ system of reading in 1845.  It uses raised curves and lines with 14 characters.  Moon  is easier to use, and is much easier to learn by people who loose sight later in life, particularly if they are elderly.  William Moon died in 1894. His daughter continued his work and founded ‘Moonworks’.  For more on Moon, visit…. http://www.moonliteracy.org.uk Braille has been around for  over 180 years.  It has provide blind children with the opportunity to become literate.   Today, it is estimated that fewer than 20% of Blind adults use Braille.  The push and allure of technology has created an audio- dependent generation of Blind people.  I sit here, using a computer that is ‘talking’ to me, courtesy of screen-reading software allowing me to  write a blog on Braille.  Somehow,   I find the irony of that, to be both amusing and alarming.  I had the opportunity to learn the alphabet, grammar, syntax, phonics, use of punctuation, composition etc. as a sighted child.  When I began to loose my vision, I made it my business to learn Braille.  The emphasis of the type of ‘mainstream’ education Blind children recieve today, is not on Braille literacy.  We now have, what is called by many, a  ”Braille Crisis” . In fact, legislation called the Braille Bill was passed in Minnesota in 1987.  Groups such as the National Federation of the Blind, have advocated vigourously for similar bills to be passed.  There are many more states that have endorsed Braille bills.  These protect the important need/right of  blind children to become literate.  Audio-heavy education does not foster literate children who can move ahead successfully in life.  

Traveling Blind

Interesting to note that travel accessibility for people who are blind or partially sighted has taken an even bigger step forward.  Cruises are now catering to the requests and requirements of their patrons who are Blind. In fact, some travel agencies are creating special packages for groups of people who are blind.  Guide dogs on board?  No problem. Appropriate signage and menus (Braille and Large Print) have become a more common feature on some of these ships.  Check the web site of the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality http://www.sath.org  Also, one of the travel agents specializing in these cruises (Florida) is found at: http://www.outtasighttravel.com 

Talking the Walk: Audible Navigation for the Blind

There is no shortage of ‘tech’ stuff for the Blind.  The idea of having a portable talking GPS system as a mobility aid for people who are Blind or partially sighted, appeals to many.  It certainly has peaked my interest.  I like the idea that I could explore new routes or areas with greater ease. Having a portable device that would announce “Mumford road …10 meters” or be programable to advise me of my specific targets or obstacles, like “bus shelter #3″ or “building dumpster”, is a tempting notion.   There are drawbacks to all this new gadgetry. First, is cost.  These items are coming down in price, however, their costs are so high that they remain out of reach for most people who want them.  I also think there is no replacement for good mobility skills with a cane or Guide dog.  I don’t like to depend on a device that can potentially fail.  Call me fatalistic, but the ‘what if it breaks?’ consideration is what goes through my mind. Personally, I enjoy all the quiet I can get.  There seem to be plenty of ‘talking’ gadgets in my life as it is now, with my computer, calculator, glucometer, and bank note reader yaking up a storm daily. Would I accept a free trial?  Sure.  As with all technology, audible GPS systems for the Blind will improve in design in time.  They have the potential of being a valuable tool in the arsenal of the Blind.  If anyone is interested in learning more about what is available, I suggest going to the websites of the major producers. They include:  Humanware, TalkNav,  and Sendero’s Group.  I have nothing to recommend. It’s all a big, expensive high tech mystery to me. Links will be on the blogroll for a while.  They will remain on this blog entry–they are: 

• http://www.talknav.com
• http://www.humamware.com
• http://www.senderogroup.com

Audio Book Club

I am meeting with the manager of one of Halifax’s public libraries today.  I pitched an idea a while ago: to form an audio book club.  To date, book clubs in Halifax, have been of the print variety.  I thought that it would be a good idea to bring together both sighted audio book lovers (and there are lots of those) and non-sighted folks. That way, some blind people will be using the Halifax system for the first time (a good thing) and will also have a chance to discuss in a group, their experience with the selected title. Simple. It’s a pilot project, which might expand to include groups at other libraries.  People have asked me, Why not join a regular club and listen to the audio version? The problem with this, is twofold: many ‘current’ book club selections are not available in audio format.  The majority of the titles available, are ABRIDGED! This is a major problem that puts a burr under my saddle. I don’t want to ‘read’ half of a book.  Also, the advantage of sharing the common experience of reading an audio format book, is that the discussion can include other aspects important to us, like narrator’s voice quality and skill. So, we’re off to set this puppy up! Why not do the same in your community?

When Someone You Know “Goes Blind”

Vision loss is no picnic for the person who is experiencing it.  Rarely do people “go blind” over night.  Most experience a gradual decline and have up and down periods. Some people retain useful  RV (residual vision).  Eye conditions create many types of abilities and restrictions. Macular Degeneration causes loss of central vision needed to see detail.  Glaucoma can cause tunnel vision,and  reduced night vision.  Diabetic Retinopathy causes reduced vision, especially at night, and sensitivity to glare.   It’s a bleak day at the opthamologist’s office, when a declaration of ‘Legal Blindness’ is made.  A journey of change  and adjustment begins.   Feelings of depression and anger are common. New skills must be learned.  Everything seems difficult.  Me?  I thought my head would explode trying to remember everything.  I learned that multi tasking is best left to sighted people.  Patience with yourself is critical. It takes more time to do everything, it seems, when you are doing it with less sight. It frustrated me to ‘think’ about everything I was doing. I resented spending 20 minutes on a task that I once performed in 5 minutes.  Emotional support is very important for people experience vision loss.  Peer support groups can make all the difference.  Being able to share the daily frustrations with others ‘in the same boat’,  is very helpful.  I joined such a group many years ago. I continue to ‘chair’ this motley crew today.  People come together every second friday of the month. For some, it is one of the few social outings they will have that month.  Everyone relaxes and has a chance to share whatever is on their minds.  It’s a lot easier to laugh about an experience related to blindness outside of the ’sighted’ circle of support.  For example, people roared when I admitted that I had accidentally washed my hair with Vim (tub cleaner) instead of shampoo that morning.  OK, it was a few years ago and I tend not to do that kind of thing anymore, but it is the type of thing that is best shared with people who ‘understand’.  The most commonly voiced sadness and frustration with new group members, comes as a result of loss of a drivers license or car.  The family members and friends of the person who has lost most of their vision,  must also go through a period of adjustment.  I often hear people who are new to vision loss, particularly older individuals,  expressing that they “feel like a burden” to their family members.  Sometimes, an entire circle of friends seem to drift away out of the life of a man or woman who is experiencing significant vision loss.  There are professionals etc. who can elaborate on the whole ‘psychosocial dynamics of blindness’, but here’s my wise advice:  Do not smother your loved one who has lost their vision.  It is far more helpful to facilitate good skills and O & M (orientation and mobility) training with a service providing agency (like CNIB in Canada) than to adopt a “let me do that for you” attitude.  However, realize that this is a difficult time. Some people learn faster than others.  Some skills are just too difficult for some to master. There is the element of safety to consider.  It’s nice to believe that your brother or mother who has lost their vision, can ‘do it just like anyone’, but things like using a stove, chopping, navigating through a noisy, busy mall with a cane, are not safe to attempt, without good skills.  Every human being has a comfort zone and it is not fair to force someone into a situation where they are thrown out of it. I think there are unrealistic expectations for many people who lose their vision, made unknowingly by friends and family members.  I learned Braille. But only 15 to 20% of all blind adults ever learn it.  I have a Guide dog (Opal) who has changed my life.  Back in the ‘planning stage’ when I was applying to go to Guide dog school,  one of my peer group members reported that a family member had commented to them, “you should get one too, mom”.  The mom in question, did not know how to walk down the road with a white cane, did not go to any location without assistance, did not particularly like dogs, did not like going out on rainy or snowy days… My point? it made no sense.  It can be helpful to someone who is experiencing vision loss, for family members to help reorganize the home environment.  A big factor in feeling comfortable is the accessibilility of the home.  Whether the person with vision loss is living alone, or with others, reorganizing the environment is necessary. Simple things, like specific placement of household items (so they can be found), using colour contrast schemes (paint or non-skid tape on stair risers, coloured handrails, floor material),  installing good lighting (mostly incandescent) and  ’attach’ lights on underside of cabinets. Get rid of dangerous scatter rugs and keeping cupboard and closet doors closed, and keep shoes etc. out of the footpath.  It’s easier and more pleasant to get on with life, when your home is safe and comfortable.  I have friends in my peer group who have told me that their friends or family members are often more ‘distressed’ than they are about their vision loss.  This is an unfortunate and common occurrence. I’m not sure if it involves fear (of their own potential vision loss), misconceptions of blindness, social stigma of blindness, or feelings of inadequacy (“I don’t know how to help”).  All of this stems from lack of general public awareness, and total absence of knowledge of the facts.  If you have a family member or friend who is “going blind”, express your feelings (of inadequacy  or whatever),  get your supports in place (books, internet, organizations, service providers), but  for goodness sake, GET OVER YOURSELF!  The world has not ended for you, or your loved one. 

Alternate Format Billing

I had time on my hands yesterday, so I phoned up my power company (Nova Scotia Power) and asked them if they could start sending me my statement in Braille.  I also asked them if they provided other options to customers who are Blind or partially sighted, such as Large Print, audio cassette or disc.  I mentioned that I was not certain, but I thought they might have a legal obligation to do so.  The clerk seemed confused.  She said she would call back after she checked with her supervisors.  Seven hours later, She did call back to tell me, “we don’t have the technical means to provide Braille or large print bills and statements”.  I then asked her to send that statement to me in writing.   I have no idea what our laws say about utility company requirements to provide alternate format billing, though I would bet that it’s in the books.  If it is not, it will be eventually  (grin). I will be a thorn in Nova Scotia Power’s side, until they ensure that alternate format billing options are available. The CRTC (Canadian Radio Telecommunications Commission) has issued all sorts of rulings for telephone, cell phone and cable companies, directing them to provide alternate format billing to customers who request it.  If you don’t know what your local telephone, mobile phone, and utility companies provide in the way of alternate format billing, ask.  Be specific. Ask if they provide Braille, Large Print, audio cassette, or computer disc.  while you’re at it, ask them if their web site is ‘accessible’.  They might not know what you’re talking about.  Their web site designers should. I don’t think people who are Blind or partially sighted should be expected to pay a utility bill they can not read themselves. 

Why Blind People Get ‘Freebies’…Rights or Charity?

People who are legally Blind (20/200 vision or worse with best correction), get a lot of free stuff, or perks ( or so it appears). This has led to great misconception by the general public. Other groups of persons with disabilities have expressed discontent with particular ‘advantages’ given to the Blind community. In addition, I sense  that a pervasive guilt trip is going on with many blind people.  Let me explain the kind of freebies that are at the root of  the whole issue.  While some countries have very similar policies, I will only speak to the situation as it affects most Canadians who are ‘registered’ with the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind). What sorts of ‘advantages’ or freebies do blind people have, and why do they have them? Books. Talking books and Braille books are available (usually with a free device to play the audio material on) from the central CNIB library.  Books, major magazines, and newspapers in audio or Braille format, travel back and forth, POST-FREE to people in Canada. In fact, ‘free matter for the blind’ is stamped on many items, including all BRAILLE matter, including personal letters, bank statements,  utility bills, government documents, and Braille paper stock. Other audio correspondence material travels post-free as well. These might include course tapes to a school such as Hadley  School for the Blind,  tax assessments on cassette from Revenue Canada, or the like.  All items mailed ‘free matter for the Blind’ must be mailed in unsealed envelopes or containers.  Blind students requiring textbooks, or anyone doing research or wanting specific information can request it of the national library for the blind, and they will eventually receive their information in audio, Braille, or computer disc format.  The process takes time and students often end up paying people in their community to do the job because of school project deadlines.  Why do blind people get free books and postage of same? This has to do with the right that recognizes that everyone must  have ACCESS TO INFORMATION.  The core of this right centers around other human rights, including the right to equitable  education, employment, and fair and responsible participation in the democratic process.   The reality is, that the number of people who are blind, remain disproportionate in university enrolment,  and employment.  Interestingly enough, the internet may be changing all that. Technology has given everyone more information. It is making life much easier, in some respects, and much more complicated in others, for all of us.   The Right to Information Access,  is extending into the area of web accessibility. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is suing retail giant, Target, because their web site is not accessible to people who use screen reading soft ware.  This case is drawing a lot of attention because the issue of web accessibility for the blind, in a world that has created a “digital divide” in its rapid growth, could prove to be pivotal. It might  ensure that there is universal access to services, commerce and entertainment on the web, in the same way that physical access is mandated in the ‘real world’.  The second area that gives alleged ‘perks’ to the blind, is transportation. In most urban centers where public transit exists,  registered blind people normally receive a pass for free transit. Why? For some of the same reasons the blind have Access to Information. In order to get to work, school, health care, government offices,  or to go shopping, voting, or anywhere else, blind people must rely on transit. Blind people are not permitted to drive, therefore the free transit pass was introduced as a means of protecting the right to access employment, education etc.  This is a very sensitive issue.  Other groups representing people with disabilities argue that they should have free transit too.  Indeed, in some European cities, they do. However, the argument that supports limitation of free transit to the blind, is that people who  are deaf, and some wheel chair users, are permitted to drive modified vehicles and theorectically have access.  The reality is that a large number of ALL people with disabilities,  live in poverty and will never be able to afford a vehicle of any kind, let alone one that requires expensive modifications. Many blind people never exercise the availability of this free pass, because they do not travel independantly and choose to use a form of para transit which they must pay for. Others travel with friends and family members, or they simply don’t travel at all. In the city of Halifax, the free transit pass is negotiated between the CNIB and Metro Transit. The current pass was re-issued in 2005 after a two year period when blind people were caught in a ‘negotiating’ period and were told to just carry their expired passes.  The pass issued in 2005 expires this year (2008). The air is now rank with apprehension  again, as new negotiations continue for renewal. I am disgusted by the tactics employed. Many blind people express feelings of  intimidation when they encounter unacceptable service from a Metro Transit driver. They choose not to formally complain or report drivers because they are afraid of ‘losing the pass’. There is a prevalant sense that they should feel ‘grateful’ that they have a free transit pass and should ‘just suck it up’. This is partly because they do not know their rights,  do not understand that there is recourse available to protect their rights (Human Rights complaints),  or they do not possess a sense of  full ‘entitlement’.  In the area of air and train travel,  passengers with disabilities are sometimes permitted to have an ‘attendant’ travelling with them at a free or reduced rate.  Some movie theatres provide  free admission  for ‘attendants’ accompanying a disabled person.  

Blind Etiquette 101 for…Retail Businesses

Do you own a small retail business? Are you a manager or employee in a shop, grocery store or other retail outlet? Here are some basic suggestions to help you or your staff in responding to the needs of your customers who may be blind, or partially sighted. First, think about the physical space in you store. Make it a firm policy to keep floor space clear of boxes and other obstacles. If you have any say in design features, such as lighting and signs, consider inquiring about what can optimize your site. Local organizations for the Blind, may be able to provide you with suggestions of specific types of lighting and how to use them, as well as other ways to create contrast (strips on steps etc.) Signs on bathroom doors should be a combination of large print, tactile symbols and Braille. Building standards and codes vary from place to place, however there are all sorts of Accessibility guidelines and checklists available from many sources, which can help you make your store or business accessible to EVERYONE. It can be daunting, with measurements of counter height and doors for wheelchair accessibility, automatic door openers, ramps, TTY access, etc. but try and think of the overall picture: If someone in a wheelchair, or someone who is Blind or Deaf, were to visit your store, what barriers would they face? ‘People skills’ is usually the aspect of accessibility, which creates the biggest barrier for people with disabilities. For people who are Blind or have limited vision? Here’s what you need to know: Identify yourself as a store employee, before asking a blind or partially sighted customer if they want help. OFFER assistance first (No grabbing of the arm etc.). It could be that the person does not want or need help, so don’t take a refusal personally. If they do want assistance, ask what they require. They will tell you what they need, or how they want to be guided (take your left arm etc.) If you are giving directions, be SPECIFIC. For example, “The washroom door is ten meters away at ten o’clock”, and not “Over there”. If I had a buck for every time I was told something was in that mysterious place called, “over there”, I’d have enough to buy a small condo. If the person has a Guide dog with them? know the do’s and don’ts that pertain to them (no petting, no talking to the dog, no eye contact…) and abide by them.  Also be aware of Access laws that protect Guide dogs and their handlers and allow them entry into your business (this extends to other properly qualified service dogs). The dog does not know where to find Ladies lingerie, so the handler might want to take your left arm and go ’sighted guide’, or have the dog “follow”. It’s up to the handler in the specific situation. In a grocery store, Blind people have some unique, preferred methods for shopping. Realize that they can not read labels, or aisle markings. Whoever is available to be a ’shopper’ (clerk who is helping), should have a good knowledge of the store and where everything is located. My biggest frustration in grocery stores stem from ’shoppers’ who can’t find anything, and take me and Opal through a 2 hour odyssey. That’s not fair to the dog. It’s also frustrating to have a ’shopper’ who has little knowledge of what constitutes a ‘good buy’ in produce. I may have access to the online ‘flyer’, but I have no idea what is actually available in the way of produce in the store when I get there, how much it costs, or if it is any good. Packaging makes it impossible for me to smell or feel the trussed-up package of green beans or asparagus, so I am counting on the ’shopper’ to tell me what’s available, how it looks and how much it costs…in a timely fashion. No two ways about it, the art of description requires some thought and practice on the part of store clerks. If the blind customer has a large number of items on the shopping list, the challenge is even greater. Many people who are blind, (with or without a guide dog) will take hold of the shopping cart while the ’shopper’ pulls the cart from the front. That way, a five foot-wide berth is not required to accommodate the cart, customer, ’shopper’ and Guide dog. A good ’shopper’ will advise of tight spots and turns. They will think ahead to where things are located in the store, so that there is no need to wander back and forth in the store. I try to plan for a maximum shopping time of forty minutes, for Opal’s sake. People don’t realize that a grocery store trek is one of the most challenging parts of her job. Smells, food spilled over on the floor, people trying to pet her, and the stop-and -go of the whole adventure is most difficult. She prefers working; being able to “find the bakery counter” at my direction, in a local store (actively working) over a situation where she is in harness, yet not guiding me in the store (when we go for a large number of items that require the help of a ’shopper’ to locate them). Paying for items? Cashiers should (for everyone) say aloud, “out of twenty” when handed a bill. They should put the change in the customers hand, and then give the receipt. If a signature is required for a credit card payment by a blind person, the easiest way to accomplish this, is for you to place the card directly beneath the ‘line’ where they must sign (as a straight edge guide). If your customer with vision loss is taking a cab from your store, try and have someone watch for the taxi, so that they actually know it has arrived (cabbies should know to get out of their car, or at least announce themselves, instead of pulling up in an area where other cars are coming and going when the person waiting can’t distinguish one car from another…but they don’t necessarily). I tend to avoid shops that are so packed with stuff that I can’t navigate. Special displays everywhere create an obstacle course for someone using a white cane. With a Guide dog, a person may be able to work around stuff, but still require adequate manouvering room. If the aisles are too narrow because of bins and displays, Opal can not take me through it, if the space is not there. One thing I emphasize with my blind friends; when someone does an exceptional or even adequate job of assisting you, fuss it up a bit, maybe even tell the manager. When service or access is not adequate, point out the shortcomings. I would love to see all businesses, big and small think about Acessibility issues. I don’t like to refer to my right to shop where I choose, as ACCOMMODATION, but rather, as EVERYDAY INCLUSION. Ask your local service organization for the Blind to give your employees a little ‘blind people relations’ skills talk. Check for pamphlets that they might have for distribution. Create a space where everyone feel welcome and people will come back to spend more money in your place of business. Remember, that they will probably tell other people about their experiences too (good or bad), and THAT has even broader implications.

Blind Etiquette 101: For Transit Drivers

It could be that your town or city has a wonderful training program for its public transit drivers. Ideally, it would include a ‘people skills’ component. In other words, bus drivers, and subway, trolly car and ferry boat operators would be provided with a set of guidelines, which outline how they should interact with their passengers…the sort of ’sensitivity training’ that keep them from making total goofs of themselves. An additional part of driver training, would specifically outline appropriate responses, behaviour, and interaction with passengers who have disabilities.
They seem to have missed that part of training here in Halifax. So, if I were Queen of Halifax for a day, I would mandate our transit drivers to comply with this set of guidelines. It is not a complete Wish List. I leave it up to others to suggest other aspects of training.

1- When you pull your bus up, and someone asks, “What number bus is this?”, YOUR ANSWER is: “Number 14″ or “Number 81 downtown”,etc. NOT, “Can’t you see?” or “Look for yourself”. The person asking, might have a visual, perceptual or intellectual disability. It’s not up to you to make a diagnosis or comment. Please say it nice and loud too, because there may be ambient noise outside your bus making it hard to hear you.

2- On the same note, drivers (and EVERYONE) should know that there are DEGREES of Blindness and vision loss. Therefore, learn to recognize the standard white cane (long cane typically used), the white ID (identification) cane, the white support cane (used by someone who has both vision loss and mobility difficulty…often an elderly person), or a sign on a walker indicating the individual has a visual disability. A person with a Guide dog, by the way, should be a clue for you, that the person is blind. FYI Some people are Partially sighted (legally Blind) and might be wearing corrective lenses. Comments such as, “you’re not blind, you’ve got glasses” are NOT appropriate.

3- Now that you know how to spot the person who has a visual impairment, and you have appropriately identified your bus number, you should check the front area of your bus and then indicate to the person, where they might find a seat. example: “there’s a seat on your left, by the door”, or “there’s a seat behind me”. “Over there”, is not helpful. I realize that there is no OBLIGATION to force any other passengers from the front area seats on a bus, but, if there are no available seats, you should, POLITELY REQUEST that someone give up their seat. (Many blind people, or people with other disabilities, prefer to sit up front to facilitate any communication with the driver.)

4- The next appropriate action is: Ask the person who is Blind or partially sighted, “What stop do you want to get off at?”. (They may ask you first). Unless your city has automated voice system technology on buses and subways, the person with vision loss, has a difficult time to determine where they are on the route. Your city may or may not be required to ‘announce’ major stops on the route, though many Human Rights challenges have been fought and won over this issue.

5- Try and refrain from pulling away from the stop the second the passenger is aboard. Give the Blind person a chance to sit down before taking off. Doing so, averts risk of them falling and getting injured.

6- Remember to announce the requested stop. Do it in a loud, clear voice. DO NOT FORGET! Blowing by a familiar stop, may reek havoc for a Blind person. It can be difficult to get oriented when the blind person is even one block off the stop they wanted.

7- When the blind or partially sighted person is getting off your bus, advise them if the bus is a distance away from the curb, or if there is a snowbank or icy patch where they are about to step down onto. At a stop congested with people who are about to board, you should call out that they should step aside, if they are not clever enough to do so on their own.

8- If you are driving a bus that “kneels on request” (Accessible Low Floor or other), OFFER to lower the bus (boarding and getting off). Some people have Guide dogs that object to the high pitched lowering ‘alert’ noise. Other people just don’t require or want it. Some NEED it.

9- Be aware of the Guide dog Access Laws that protect Guide dogs and their handlers, allowing them to board the bus, subway etc. Do not talk to the dog, pet it etc.

10- In most cities, it is against policy to stand and chat with the driver while the bus is moving, unless there is a valid reason. It is distracting for the driver. It also blocks the bus aisle, making it awkward for a Blind person to get on or off, especially with a Guide dog (require wider space to pass). Mindless conversation might also distract you, (the driver) to the point where you forget to announce the requested stop.

11- If your blind or partially sighted passenger asks you a question, such as, “Is this Main Street?”, reply loudly and clearly. Do not nod your head, or grunt.

Access For the Blind: Top Resources

Would you like to read some terrific articles online?  Discover Blind World Magazine. www.earthlink.net/~blindworld  Also, learn about Web Accessibility at: www.web-4-all.ca 

Guide Dog Access Laws: Where Guide dogs are allowed to go, and why

Please go to the following site to learn about the laws in various countries that protect Blind people and their Guide Dogs.

• http://www.nfb-nagdu.org/laws/laws.html 

It’s also on my blogroll to the right.