This is the fourth Kernel Book. When we started the series a little over two years ago, we didn't know where it would go or how it would be received. The response has exceeded all expectations. As readers of the series know, I have been the spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind for more than twenty years. Before 1991 total strangers were always stopping me on the street or in the supermarket or airport to ask me what blindness was like. They would tell me that they had seen me on television. They still do it—but more often than not, they now couple their questions with comments about what they have read in one or another of the Kernel Books. They not only talk about things I have told them about my own experiences (both as child and adult) but also about the experiences and lives of others they have met through these pages. They feel that they know us personally and that because of this personal acquaintance they have gained new understanding about blindness.
This, of course, is what I hoped would happen, and it is what I hope will continue to happen as you read the present volume. You will meet new people in this fourth Kernel Book, and you will renew old acquaintances. I have also taken the opportunity (editors are like that) to tell you some additional things about myselfþhow I tried to break away from the confinement of an isolated existence on a Tennessee farm and what I did as a blind child to try to earn my own way.
As in former volumes, those who appear in this book are people that I know former students, colleagues in the National Federation of the Blind, and personal friends. There is one exception. I did not know the blind senator Thomas Gore. However, since his great-grandson has now been elected Vice President of the United States, it seems particularly appropriate to include his story. Beyond that, after I graduated from high school and was entering manhood in Tennessee, I used to hear the Vice President's father (Congressman Albert Gore, the Congressman from my district) speak on the radio every Sunday morning. I felt that I knew him personally, and I also feel a personal acquaintance and kinship with his ancestor, who (at least, so far as I know) was the first blind member of Congress.
As to the future of the Kernel Book series, there seems little doubt that we will continue it. The fact that it has already run to a publication of more than two million copies underscores the interest and demand. Meanwhile I hope you will enjoy the present volume and that you will find it interesting and useful. The essence of its message is simple: We who are blind are pretty much like you. We are, that is, if we have the chance to try. We have our share of both geniuses and jerks, but most of us are somewhere between ordinary people living regular lives.
Kenneth Jernigan
Baltimore, Maryland
1993
The type size used in this book is 14 Point for two important reasons: One, because typesetting of 14 Point or larger complies with federal standards for the printing of materials for visually impaired readers, and we wanted to show you exactly what type size is necessary for people with limited sight. The second reason is because many of our friends and supporters have asked us to print our paperback books in 14 Point type so they too can easily read them. Many people with limited sight do not use Braille. We hope that by printing this book in a larger type than customary, many more people will be able to benefit from it.
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