By Phyllis Slater
248 320–2586
Member of the Pontiac Lions Club
January 2019
Author Note: I am sharing my real life skills using a fictional story.
THE BACK STORY 2030
To make a long story short, when Craig Manning was a freshly-minted CPA, he had taken a position with a small accounting firm which had a client of questionable background. As the newest member of the accounting firm, Craig got stuck with some of the messiest cases. That would be the mystery client… Over a period of years, Craig was drawn into that client’s inner business dealings. In time he realized their business was a very convoluted money-laundering operation. The FBI paid him a series of visits at home and offered Craig a way out of his predicament.
DECEMBER 2030: CHRISTMAS MORNIN IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
Craig was preparing to testify against a Central American drug cartel, but he tried to put that out of his mind just for this morning. Maya, his daughter, had just opened a Christmas envelope to see the picture of a car inside, thrilled to know that she was really getting a car as a early high school graduation present! Seeing the glow on her face was priceless. Dana, Craig’s wife, and Maya decided to take advantage of the holiday car sales. But, wouldn’t you know it, a surprise storm Christmas night left a good 6 to 8 inches of snow on the ground. Around the kitchen table, Dana suggested she take Craig’s 2017 AWD Explorer. The two women bundled up and went outside to start the car and clean off the snow.
KaBlam!! There was a huge explosion from in front of the Manning home. Craig dropped his coffee and ran to the living room window. The Explorer was a flaming wreck. Dana was dead. Maya, who had just opened the passenger door when the bomb went off, took some of the blast in her face had been slammed to the ground next to the wreckage.
Two days later Maya awoke from a coma only to see a blurry room. The nurse standing in front of her said, “Hello Maya! It’s good to see you’re back with us.”Confused, Maya asked where she was and why she was there. Before the nurse could answer, Maya fell back to sleep.
The next time Maya awoke, Craig Manning, with tears in his eyes, answered her questions and promised they would work together to face the challenges ahead. Maya joined her father in prayer for courage and wisdom.
Over the following week, Maya’s vision improved a bit. She could recognize things within a narrow area. When Craig held out a glass of water from the left, Maya could not see it. But she could see a nurse walking past the room from the right. An ophthalmologist who specialized in retinal diseases conducted a field of vision test. This showed how much damage the explosion had caused. The doctor explained to Maya and her dad that she might continue having limited areas of sight or go completely blind. One thing for sure – Maya would never recover enough vision to be able to drive.
While in the visitors’ family room waiting for discharge papers, Craig leafed thru a small resource handout on a table. A nurse at the desk suggested he take one home, “This is just the first step on a long journey. Resources for dealing with blindness are available on the Internet but it can be overwhelming.” The nurse also suggested Manning and Maya check out the American Foundation for the Blind, also known as VisionAware, which provides support for families with loved ones who are losing their eyesight.
The cartel’s defense counsel maneuvered for a delay in the trial. The U.S. Marshal Service, knowing that the car explosion was meant for Craig Manning, decided that the surviving Mannings should be immediately put in the Witness Protection Program. This meant Craig would have to be brought back to testify when the trial finally got underway, but at least the father and daughter would be safe.
Craig and Maya found themselves in Pontiac, Michigan with new names –“Michael” and “Diana Doyle”. U.S. Marshals Ken Robertson and Sara Bishop were tasked with watching the “Doyles” 24/7 until they got settled in to their new identities. The Marshal Service made arrangements for “Diana” to start her last year of high school with doctored transcripts to protect her identity. “Michael’s” cover was that he had been injured in an industrial accident and was drawing Workman’s Comp disability.
“Diana” decided to sign up for courses suggested at the VisionAware website for independent living skills. With a little help from the U.S. Marshal Service, Diana was able to get into The Commission for the Blind Training Center in Kalamazoo with an excellent training center. The courses included mobility training using the white cane, technology aids for marking kitchen items, cooking, financial management, and Braille. “Michael” was given a stressful tutorial in guiding “Diana”; it’s not as easy as it looks… In computer classes, Diana tried screen reading software from three popular companies which allowed her to use the computer with the monitor turned off. Diana was relieved to find a class in using her beloved iPhone’s voice-over settings. She found it was similar to the screen reading feature on the computer. On the last day, Leader Dogs for the Blind gave the students a guided tour.
Michael Doyle needed something to fill his days. He decided to join a local Lions Club. There, Michael was warmly greeted by members who were both sighted and blind. He learned about the programs for which the Lions Clubs are famous. Just a few examples are: Recycling eyeglasses and distributing them throughout the third world; Screening preschool children for possible vision problems; collecting pet supplies for abused animals; Monthly bingo for the blind; And White Cane Week, collecting donations to pay for the free white canes, hearing aids and talking watches.
SEPTEMBER 2031: TAKING THE CHALLENGE
Diana started her new academic life. She met her teachers and was relieved to find most were eager to help her settle in. The school purchased screen reader software for her computer and provided Diana with a Braille note taker and class assistant. Diana and her assistant walked around the school to locate lockers, bathrooms, and the classrooms needed for the courses on her schedule.
That afternoon, after school, Diana found her dad had bought a special gift for her. It was a black backpack with her new name, Diana, custom-embroidered in English and Braille. Mr. Doyle said the store where he purchased the backpack put her name on it while he waited. They had a really cool computer set-up. The clerk typed in the name and specified the bright yellow color her dad had selected, pushed a button, and…bingo!!
Adapting to her new reality, Diana decided to lay out her white cane and backpack in one spot so she wouldn’t have to rush around in the morning searching for her stuff. (In addition to her text books and school supplies, the backpack contained bottled water, a protein bar, her iPhone and course schedule – in Braille.)
On that first day at the new school, three girls approached Diana and invited her to join them for lunch. Rosie, Judy and Alysha learned Diana had similar interests, and the four of them had a number of classes together. Over the next few months they studied together and collaborated on reports for their classes.
In Social Science class, the teacher asked another new student, Jack, to share his story about losing his eyesight at an early age to a hereditary disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa. Jack spoke about how he started writing a Science Fiction novel using his own Marvel character when he was in the 4th grade. In high school, Jack became interested in taking courses needed for a degree in film studies which included classes in history, creative writing and theatre art. Speaking to the class, he compared movies with real life. Jack felt after years of being laughed at the problem with sighted people is that they judge each other based on what they see. Jack explained that since he is blind, he can only judge people from their spirit and their actions
Judy and Diana discussed starting a business from home. Judy said making money isn’t so hard when you have something that people want and need. Impressed by the “cool factor” of Diana’s customized back pack, the girls decided to sell them for school and hiking. The backpack would be made of either textured or solid color waterproof fabric and have inside pockets for an iPhone, compass, flashlight and water bottle. The girls decided on the company name “Carry It with You” Personalized Gifts.
Their next step was to create a website and Twitter page. Within a month, a trickle of orders became a steady stream as word spread through the school and kids saw their classmates carrying the stylish backpacks. Soon, they were even getting orders from students at other schools! The Business teacher noticed the new backpacks and gave Judy & Diana extra credit for their initiative.
Diana asked Rosie why she joined the Leo Club. Rosie explained that the Leo Club, which is community-based and sponsored by a local Lions Club has a great membership her age. Rosie continued that she had joined a Leo Club because her Aunt Sarah, who had lost her sight to macular degeneration, belonged to the Lions, which are noted for their service to the sight-impaired in the community.
Their Leo projects included tutoring school children, visiting hospitals to read to young patients, doing chores for the elderly, teaching kids to use the computer with a screen reader, distributing drug education information and projects for the visually challenged. Other Leo clubs visit nursing homes & connect seniors with their growing grandchildren using Skype.
One day over spring break Alysha borrowed her dad’s car and picked up Rosie, Diana and Judy for a day at the mall. Marshal Bishop watched the girls from a discrete distance. With the help of her friends, Diana purchased a new purse, jeans and lovely matching tops. It was frustrating for Diana since she could not tell colors or read the clothing labels. She really appreciated her friends being her “eyes”. Diana treated everyone to lunch.
The girls were busy and happy. Time just flew by. Before they knew it, the school year was ending. Diana was surprised to get an invitation to the Senior Prom from Jack. Her dad purchased a powder blue dress with lace accents that complimented her curly red hair. He also gave Diana her mother’s sapphire necklace with matching earrings. At the dance, Diana and Jack danced a little, but neither of them was very comfortable on the crowded dance floor. They spent hours sharing their plans for next year and promised to keep in touch.
JULY 20332 EXPERIENCING INDEPENDENCE
Hardly a day, or even an hour, went by when Diana didn’t think of the explosion that killed her mother, took her eyesight, and pushed Diana and her dad into a new life. But youth is resilient. Diana never knew much about her father’s role in the cartel’s business prior to the accident. So, in her mind the danger faded with the passing of the months.
The week before college started, Diana decided she needed some alone time. She told her dad that she was going over to Judy’s house to work on backpack orders, and would probably stay overnight.
Walking down the street, Diana used the Uber app on her iPhone to hail a driver. Judy suggested a quaint town, Carmel, with a new economy hotel aimed at the Millennial crowd as a safe and inexpensive place to stay. The driver dropped her off at the front door. Diana, expertly wielding her trusty white cane, walked into the hotel, registered, and paid for one night. She never suspected that she was under the watchful eye of Marshal Robertson…
Inside the hotel lobby there were two girls, a bit older than Diana, returning from a day of hiking & sightseeing. Laurie and Maria asked if Diana wanted to join them for dinner at a local cafe. Laurie noticed Diana’s backpack was like theirs. Diana ‘confessed’ that she was co-proprietor of “Carry It with You” Personalized Gifts. Diana was intrigued with the girls’ stories. It turned out that Laurie and Maria were entrepreneurs too. Their company buys, renovates and resells homes. It helped that both their dads are general contractors. Time flew by. Diana’s talking watch reminded her it was time to turn in for a good night’s sleep. The three young women said their goodbyes, exchanged business cards, and went off to their rooms.
The next morning Diana confidently walked down the main street of Carmel using her Seeing Eye GPS app. The GPS told her each street sign and store as she strolled along. When the app announced she was passing the Sweet Carmel Bookstore, Diana was intrigued by the name. Upon entering, Diana was greeted by the proprietor, “Hello, dear.” I see by your white cane that you have a vision problem. My sister lost her sight at age 50, so I know a little about the everyday challenges you face. We’ve put in a whole shelf of Braille books and accompanying CD sets. Let me take you over there, and you can browse for a bit.” Pleasantly surprised, Diana responded, “Thank you so much! This really makes my day!” Scanning the Braille covers, Diana found an Old Testament Bible, which she purchased. The owner put a Braille business card in the bag and invited Diana to call any time for updates on new additions to the Braille book shelf.
Continuing her stroll, Diana began looking for quality flashlights, vanilla scented flameless candles and chocolate flowers to include with the holiday backpack orders. At a gift shop she purchased two Carry-It-With -You pendants for Judy and herself.
Diana’s stomach announced it was time for lunch. She walked down the street and followed the familiar scent of fresh-cut flowers from a flower shop to find last night’s cafe. Sitting alone at the table, she enjoyed “people-watching” by listening to near-by conversations. There was an Iraq veteran chatting with a girl drummer from a local band, and two girls talking about the hand-crafted jewelry they were planning to sell at the craft show next weekend.
Before leaving for home, Diana walked over to the park. She knew there were life-size bronze statues there. With a little help from passers-by Diana made her way to the statue of a young girl kissing her soldier-boyfriend goodbye. It was a lovely day. Young families were picnicking and playing ball. Over at the bandstand, a small band was tuning their instruments. Hey! There was the girl Drummer from the café! She was tuning her drum set and singing. She was pretty good!
Near the statues, a man noticed the red-haired blind girl and checked the picture on his smart phone. Next, he called the Uber driver from the cartel and directed him into position to respond to Diana’s call for her return home. Once underway, Diana listened on her GPS and realized she was going in the wrong direction. The driver gave Diana a weak excuse about a construction detour on the route to her home. In fear, Diana tried to hide her cell phone under the seat. The driver noticed her activity in his mirror and grabbed the phone. It was set in voice-over mode and he couldn’t make it work because he didn’t know the finger-swipes required.
Outside of town, the Uber driver met up with several cartel soldiers and the local boss. None of them could work the phone either. The boss finally said, we jus’ want to talk to your Papa. If he refuses to testify, everybody walks away happy, and you & your papa go home.” Terrified, Diana refused. She was sure the cartel goons would kill her and her father if they could locate him. The only thing keeping her alive was her abductors’ inability to work the phone!
Diana was roughly pushed into a shed. The door locked from the outside. She felt helpless. Her father had been honest with her on the danger they faced due to her father’s business dealings. Reliving the explosion that killed her mother and blinded her left no doubt in Diana’s mind what was going to happen as soon as the cartel located her father.
Suddenly Diana heard a big commotion outside the shed.
“U.S. Marshals!! Hands in the air! You move, you die! (Scuffling and then …quiet!) A voice came thru the door. “Diana, it’s Marshal Robertson. Move away from the door – I’m going to shoot the lock off.” Bang. The door swung open. Marshal Robertson in full SWAT gear – all 6’5” of him – filled the doorway. The four cartel men were laying on the ground, bound hand and foot with heavy plastic ties. Standing over them were at least a dozen men in gear similar to Marshal Robertson’s. Each man’s jacket was marked “U.S. Marshal” across the back in large white letters. Diana’s dad, Michael, climbed out of one of the Marshals’ cars and ran to embrace his daughter.
“It’s almost over, baby! Now I can testify against the cartel and the Marshal Service will relocate us one last time as Mitchell and Erika Dunning. They will pull some strings to get you into a college far from here. I’m afraid you will have to sell your interest in the backpack business to Judy.”
Diana choked up thinking of the good times – and hard work – she and Judy had put into their Senior year of high school and their thriving backpack business, but she managed a smile and said, “I understand, Dad. We will start over. I will have to apply myself to my studies. And I have so many ideas for new businesses. I can’t wait to get started!” “I’ll be in my own off-campus apartment. As a gift can you provide a talking microwave?
RESOURCES
AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) has launched an easy to use informational website for adults. It is called VisionAware (www.visionaware.org). The families, caregivers, healthcare providers, and social service professionals gain understanding and ways to assist the blind, family and elderly through forums and informational articles.
NATIONAL LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND AND PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED
Through a national network of cooperating libraries, National Library for the Blind and PhysicallyHandicapped administers a free library program of Braille and audio materials, circulated postage free. Receive your free player and cartridges via mail. For more information call: (248) 650–5681.
NFB NEWSLINE
Would you like a newspaper with your morning cup of coffee? NFB-NEWSLINE® features well over 300 publications AND it’s still growing. The service handles thousands of phone calls each day for individuals across the country that now access daily newspapers and magazines as never before. The toll-free centralized call-in center provides service on-demand to any subscriber. This also enables those who cannot read conventional print to have access to all content offered on NFB-NEWSLINE® when traveling throughout the United States 24/7. CALL Toll-free: 1–866-504–7300 for more information.
LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND
Leader Dog programs are crafted to address individual situations and adapt to our clients’ changing needs at any point in their lives. From youth camp to orientation and mobility cane training through guide dog training and GPS technology integration , Leader Dog’s programs give clients the confidence and skills they need to live independent lives. Contact Leader Dogs For the Blind
1–888-777–5332
ABOUT LIONS CLUBs
The Lions are an international network of about 1.3 million men and women in 200 countries and geographic areas who work together to answer the needs that challenge communities around the world. Lions club members are men and women who strive to make a difference in their local community as well as in communities worldwide. Their volunteer efforts go beyond the support of vision care, to addressing unmet health and education needs worldwide.
COMPUTER AND MOBILE PHONE TOOLS FOR THE VISION IMPAIRED
SCREEN READER
A screen reader is a software application that enables people with severe visual impairments to use a computer. Screen readers work closely with the computer’s Operating System (OS) to provide information about icons, menus, dialogue boxes, files and folders. A screen reader provides access to the entire OS that it works with, including many common applications. Since the majority of screen reader users don’t use a mouse, screen readers use a wide variety of keyboard commands to carry out different tasks. Tasks include reading part or whole of a document, navigating web pages, opening and closing files, editing and listening to music. Popular screen readers: System Access, JAWS and NVDA
Microsoft Accessibility Support: (800) 936–5900
VOICE OVER
Few assistive technologies have resonated as deeply with blind and the visually impaired as the accessibility of Apple’s iPhone . The iPhone has a built-in screen reader called VoiceOver and supports apps that convert what the camera sees into information that can enable blind users to access more of the world around them.
Apple Accessibility Support: 877 204–3930
BE MY EYES IPHONE App, presently iPhone only
Bringing Sight to the Blind and Visually Impaired combining the camera on the iPhone with a volunteer.-
Who are the sighted helpers?
Our sighted helpers are friendly citizens who have decided they are willing to lend their sight as they go about their daily lives. If a volunteer is busy when they receive a call, the Be My Eyes technology will find the next available helper right away. In fact, we send one call request to multiple volunteers at a time to ensure that you get connected with someone as quickly as possible.
Right now there are over half a million sighted helpers in the Be My Eyes community who are ready and willing to assist you – in every time zone and in over 90 languages. We would like to stress that you, therefore, can, and should, feel free to make calls as frequently as you wish without ever disturbing anyone. In fact, we have many eager volunteers who are still waiting to receive their first help request, so you can use Be My Eyes as much as you possibly want!
This page is powered by Sero. Learn more about accessibility anywhere.