Remember to Feed the Kittens

Marc Maurer, Editor

Editor's Introduction

The Colonies, the Court, and the Kittens
by Marc Maurer

A Roof with a View
by Michael Baillif

It’s a Cat’s Life
by Peggy Elliott

This Is the Way We Wash Our Clothes
by Barbara Pierce

Of Mice and Refrigerators
by Tonia Valetta Trapp

Cars, Teen-Agers, and Insurance
by Ramona Walhof

A Hurried Exit
by Nancy Coffman

But the Others Majored in Music
by Hazel Staley

Editor’s Introduction

This is the sixteenth Kernel Book. When we started the Kernel Book series some eight years ago we had little idea what a significant factor these little books would become in our work to change what it means to be blind. With more than three and a quarter million of them in circulation, it is fair to say that the way vast numbers of people think about blindness and blind people is different today from what it was before the Kernel Books.

And this, of course, is just what we wanted to accomplish. By sharing the stories of our lives with you—our fears and our failures, our hopes and our accomplishments—we want you to come to know us as real people. People you might meet in church, on the job, or in school.

We know that blindness can seem strange and even a little bit scary. We know that people who see us are sometimes curious and would like to be friendly, but often don’t know what to say or how to start.

How does a blind teen-ager in love behave? What does a blind widow do when her teen-agers are ready to learn to drive? And, what about the blind college student who is told she must major in music? These are real-life happenings to real people—to us, the blind men and women you will meet in this book. We are happy to tell you our stories. It helps us to sort out our feelings and reactions to others and to come to feel closer to you, too.

Regular readers of our Kernel Books are increasingly beginning to feel at ease with us, to think of us as friends, to want to help us in our struggle to find understanding and the freedom to participate fully in all the things that make life joyous and complete.

Especially in these pages they have come to know and love and respect Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, who founded the Kernel Books, who edited the first fifteen of them, and whose warm, poignant, sparkling, and inspiring personal stories have formed the "Kernel" of every previous offering.

Which brings me to the present volume. We lost Kenneth Jernigan to cancer some months ago, and I am the new editor. From the time I was eighteen years old Dr. Jernigan was my teacher, my friend, my mentor—a dearly loved second father. I promised him I would do my best to carry on his work and particularly that I would see to it that the Kernel Books continued to help bring our sighted friends to share our hopes and dreams.

I have named this sixteenth volume in the series Remember To Feed The Kittens as a symbol and remembrance of the love and care Kenneth Jernigan unceasingly gave to all in need of his help. I watched him throughout his lifetime gather to him those who had no place in the world—be they human or stray kitten—and make them belong. He always remembered to feed the kittens. We and our ever-increasing number of sighted friends and colleagues will do the same.

Marc Maurer
Baltimore, Maryland
1999

Large Type Edition

A KERNEL BOOK published by NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

Table of Contents

Editor’s Introduction