Thoughts of pleasure
In cold weather.
A desire
For fire.
Girls hide in fur
From winter’s chill air.
Though the charm
Of a bare
Leg or arm
May still be seen
In the blind poet’s dream.
I will touch
For pure pleasure
In all kinds of weather.
Until I touch the dust.
As those of you who follow/read this blog will know, the primary purpose of my site is to share my poetry. I do, however sometimes blog about more personal matters and today is one of those rare occasions on which I shall do so.
Yesterday (Saturday 24 September) I went for my 4th Covid jab (booster). Being blind, and the vaccination centre being some distance away, a friend kindly took me in her car.
The centre was offering both the Covid booster and a flue jab for those entitled to receive one.
When it came to my turn to be vaccinated, the person giving the vaccinations asked my sighted friend why I was entitled to receive the flu jab. I answered that I am diabetic (people with diabetes are entitled to free flu jabs in the UK), and the vaccination against Covid and Flu was given.
The above incident reminded me of another case where a member of station staff asked a sighted work colleague with whom I was traveling “does he need any help?”.
In both cases the people putting the question to my companions where assuming that I was unable to speak for myself. This is a highly patronising and erroneous assumption as I and the vast majority of other disabled people are perfectly able to answer for ourselves.
Both incidents are ironic as had I been unaccompanied the individuals putting the questions would have had no alternative other than to address me directly, which is, of course as it should be.
Having visited both China and Sri Lanka, I am aware that those nations (and many other countries) do not have the facilities for people with disabilities which are available in the United Kingdom. However, this fact in no way excuses the patronising attitudes adopted by a minority of individuals. This is particularly the case in the NHS where all staff should be provided with disability awareness training.
The vast majority of those employed in the NHS do an excellent job (often under extremely difficult circumstances). However, the minority who adopt patronising attitudes needs to be addressed.
Disabled people are human beings and deserve to be treated with the same respect as are non-disabled fellow citizens.
Today (4 January) is World Braille Day, https://www.un.org/en/observances/braille-day.
I have been a braille user since approximately 5 years of age.
Braille is made by punching dots into paper or other materials. For example, when you next go shopping you may well come across braille on bottles of bleach or other cleaning products. In addition, many medications now have braille labels enabling people such as myself to identify them.
As a child who was unable to read print, braille was one of the main ways in which I accessed the printed word. I can still remember the first fully contracted (grade 2 braille) book I read. It was entitled The Story of Pets, and being able to access it independently of sighted assistance gave me a profound sense of achievement.
Despite the massive advances in technology (for instance the availability of text to speech on almost all titles in the Amazon Kindle store which enables those unable to read print to access them), braille still remains extremely important.
As mentioned above, braille enables visually impaired people to identify household cleaning products such as bleach. In addition, I continue to read braille books. Whilst I gain enjoyment from listening to audio downloads (for example of poetry books), the advantage to braille (as with print) is that it enables readers to put their own interpretation upon a work, rather than being influenced by the person narrating the audio book. I come across some readings and think to myself “that is not how I imagine the poem/other work in question should be read/interpreted”).
A number of my own books are available in braille from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), https://kmorrispoet.com/2020/06/23/braille-editions-of-my-books/. In addition, all of my works in the Kindle store have text to speech enabled, enabling those who are unable to read print to access them.
In conclusion, braille remains a vital means for braille readers to access information and to enjoy the written word in the form of literature. Braille displays can be linked to a computer allowing braille users to read the contents of the screen, https://www.rnib.org.uk/sight-loss-advice/technology-and-useful-products/technology-resource-hub-latest-facts-tips-and-guides/braille-displays-and-notetakers. Consequently braille will, I believe remain relevant for many years to come.
As many readers of this blog will know, most Amazon Kindle titles have a facility known as Text to Speech enabled. Text to Speech enables the contents of Kindle titles to be read aloud to readers, and is particularly useful to people with certain disabilities, for example those who are registered blind and who are not able to read print. You can find details of how to enable Text to Speech here, https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201829850.
I am myself registered blind and unable to read print. Consequently I rely on the Text to Speech facility on my Kindle or Voiceover (Apple’s screen reader which works with the Kindle app on Apple devices) to read Kindle content.
A week or so ago I noticed that product pages in the Amazon Kindle store had messages saying “Text to Speech not enabled”. This concerned me and I visited my own pages on Amazon only to discover that they also indicated the unavailability of Text to Speech.
As someone who is themselves visually impaired, I wish to ensure that my poetry collections and other works are accessible to all readers. I therefore contacted Amazon.
Yesterday I received a message from Amazon’s Tech Support advising me that most Kindle content has Text to Speech enabled and advising as to how this could be turned on. They did not respond to my point that titles (previously shown as having Text to Speech enabled, now do not do so).
I have checked several of my titles, which continue to read aloud using Voiceover in combination with the Kindle app on my iphone. In addition I downloaded another title (not my own) which is shown as not having Text to Speech enabled. Again this works fine on my iphone.
In conclusion, the problem appears to be not that Text to Speech has been disabled. Rather the issue centres on the fact that accessible Kindle titles are being shown as inaccessible. This could cause those who rely on Text to Speech, not to purchase books in the belief that the content is inaccessible (when, in fact it can be read aloud).
Kevin
Being in need of some new trainers (the 2 pairs I own are fine for walking the dog, but not much else), I visited TK Maxx with a friend yesterday.
According to this Guardian article, https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/jun/10/shopping-for-clothes-is-about-to-get-weird-heres-how-to-make-it-simpler, one can expect the following when clothes shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Staff wearing masks.
The presence of free hand sanatiser in stores.
A 2 meter social distancing rule,
And any clothes touched by customers quarantined (if not bought) to prevent the spread of the virus.
Being blind, I did my shopping with the assistance of a sighted friend.
Sure enough, on entering the store, we where directed to hand sanatiser which we both used prior to commencing our shopping.
“Are the staff wearing masks?” I enquired?”, as we stood by a clothes rail. “no”, my friend replied.
In England, its compulsory to wear masks/cover one’s face on public transport. However the wearing of face coverings in most other settings (including shops) is voluntary.
Whilst in store, I tried on several pairs of trainers, one of which I purchased, whilst the others where returned to the shelves.
My friend and I both handled clothes and put back those we did not purchase, as there seemed to be no separate place for depositing garments destined for quarantine.
In England, the 2 meter social distancing rule has been reduced to 1 meter plus. This means that 2 meters should still apply when practicality allows, but 1 meter is allowable where 2 meters is impossible or unreasonably difficult (for example in the hospitality industry). TK Max had a 2 meter distancing rule, which customers all seemed to be respecting.
Following our visit to TK Max, we went into a nearby Sainsburys. This was much busier than TK Maxx and I was glad to have my mask on (although just how effective face coverings are is still a matter of debate). Unlike TK Maxx, Sainsburys did not appear to have free hand sanatiser available for their customers use, although its possible that we failed to spot its presence.
Conclusions:
Pre COVID-19, I would, as a blind person enter a shop and take the arm of a member of staff who would conduct me round the store, help in the choosing of items ETC. Whilst under the Equalities Act stores (and other businesses and service providers) have to offer assistance to people who are disabled, just how this will happen during the pandemic is a cause for concern. For example would a member of staff be happy for a visually impaired person such as myself to take their arm? My own view is that with the wearing of a mask and the cleaning of the arm once the assistance has been provided, should greatly reduce the risk of transmission of any infection.
I have no idea what the policy of TK Maxx is as regards guiding, as I was guided by my friend. The store staff where pleasant and helpful and I’ve no negative comments. However I can’t help wondering what my experience would have been like had I gone in alone, with my guide dog or white cane.
The apparent absence of a quarantine pile for unwanted items did not entirely surprise me, as I’m not sure how practical such a policy is. Even where such a policy exists it is, of course dependent on customers remembering to place unwanted items on the quarantine pile.
As for masks, I am not sure how effective they are. I don’t wear them on the street, in parks ETC. However I will wear them in crowded shops. Although they are impractical in settings such as pubs and restaurants.
I met a girl in
A sequin
Top. Being blind
I find
That I notice the tactile.
And sequins,
Being tactile
I can not deny,
That I
Thought on sins.
Men see
A short skirt
And, attracted by legs
Think of beds
And flirt.
And me,
Being blind
What do I find
To attract
And distract
In she?
Is it personality,
Or am I
Just a regular guy,
Your average, he?
People come to my blog either because they like my poetry, or due to a post on a subject of interest to them catching their attention. Most of those clicking on this site are unaware of the fact that I am registered blind (unless they click on my “About page and see a photograph of me with my guide dog, Trigger, or they come across one of the few posts in which I talk about my visual impairment).
Not being aware of my blindness means that my readers interact with me as they would with anyone else (which is, of course as it should be for I am not defined by my visual impairment). However, when I meet people in the real (off-line world) I do come across individuals who are unsure how to interact with a visually impaired person, indeed some people are downright embarrassed.
A few days back, I came across this excellent post on “Life of a Blind Girl”, https://lifeofablindgirl.com/2019/06/02/the-dos-and-donts-when-interacting-with-a-blind-or-visually-impaired-person/, in which the author talks about the dos and donts of interacting with someone who is blind or visually impaired. In essence, as the author states, one should interact with a blind or visually impaired person in the same way in which one would interact with anyone else.
However (as the blogger points out) many people do not follow this simple rule. Examples of the behaviour identified by the author (and experienced by myself) include: speaking to the non-visually impaired companion of the blind person rather than addressing the visually impaired person directly, asking personal questions one would not address to a non-disabled person and being afraid of using commonly utilised language such as “see you later”.
In terms of the latter, I have lost count of the number of occasions on which someone has said “see you around” only to apologise to me for using visual language!
As someone who is blind, I use such language all the time and I don’t expect people to avoid utilising it when interacting with me. In fact by employing such language people demonstrate that they regard me (and other blind/visually impaired people) as individuals who are not defined by our disability.
There are too many self-appointed spokesmen who claim to speak on behalf of the visually impaired (and, I would add other groups), who say that one should not employ such and such language. Many of these people are well meaning (but wrong) while a few do, perhaps wish to use disability politics for their own unholy ends.
I commend this article to anyone who has ever felt unsure (or embarrassed) as regards interacting with a visually impaired or blind person.
Kevin
out into the rain I dash.
A flash
Of lightening.
The sky, for a moment brightening
And me wondering
Whether I will survive the thundering
As my guide dog’s harness is part steel,
So its really not ideal …
—
My guide dog needed to pay a call of nature earlier this evening. While I was aware of the rain, I was not cognisant of the storm which suddenly broke overhead. Had I been aware, I certainly would have remained safely indoors! As it was, all ended well.
Meeting My Inspiration Again
By Abbie Johnson Taylor
One sunny spring afternoon, I was resting in my recliner, listening to the drone of lawnmowers and whine of weed whackers as my landscapers did their weekly
chores in my yard. Suddenly, I heard a crash. It was a lawnmower colliding with a parked car in my neighbor’s driveway. I know this only because one of
the landscapers, not knowing me, came to my door, thinking it was my driveway and my car.
According to a policeman who showed up a couple of hours later, the car sustained a lot of damage. I gave him the landscaping company’s phone number, and
he gave me his card, saying he remembered asking me years ago if drivers were stopping to let me cross streets with my white cane. I couldn’t believe it.
In the fall of 2002, I was single and living in an apartment complex subsidized for seniors and people with disabilities. A registered music therapist,
I was working in a nursing home. On a day off, I was walking home after my water exercise class at the YMCA. I’d just jaywalked in front of my building
and stopped to talk to a neighbor in a wheelchair when she told me there was a policeman behind me. I turned around and there he was, on a bicycle.
Where had he come from? Had he seen me jaywalk? Was I about to get a ticket, my first ever brush with the law?
To my surprise and relief, he asked me if I was having difficulty crossing streets because drivers weren’t stopping. I told him that as long as I used
four-way and other intersections where drivers were required by law to stop, I rarely had a problem. I also explained that I couldn’t see well enough to
get the license plates from offending vehicles. He said he would bring up the issue at roll call and rode away.
Now, I was again flustered, even though I’d done nothing wrong this time. All I could tell him was that our first meeting had inspired my first novel.
I should have given him my card, but I didn’t. He probably thought I was nuts and wished he’d given me that ticket for jaywalking years ago. In any case,
we parted amicably enough.
After I posted about this incident on Facebook, someone asked if the story would continue. That remains to be seen. I may never see that officer again,
but I’ll always have the memory of how our first meeting inspired We Shall Overcome. As for the damaged car next door, my landscaper told me his insurance
would pay for it, so all’s well that ends well.
Bio
Besides We Shall Overcome, Abbie Johnson Taylor has published two poetry collections and a memoir and is working on another novel. Her work has appeared
in Magnets and Ladders, The Weekly Avocet, and other publications. She lives in Sheridan, Wyoming, where for six years, she cared for her late husband
Bill, who was totally blind and partially paralyzed by two strokes. This is the subject of her memoir, My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared
for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds. To learn more about her and her books, please visit her website at
http://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com.
K Morris - Poet 