Marc Maurer, Editor
Reflecting the Flame
by Marc Maurer
Of Milk Cartons and Belief
by Noel Nightingale
Between Kindness and Honesty
by Gary Wunder
Cat-and-mouse Games
by Lynn Mattioli
Chain Saws and Chigger Bites
by Marie Cobb
Static on a Distant Station
by Jody W. Ianuzzi
All in a Day’s Work
by Peggy Elliott
Lessons of the River
by Pamela Dubel
A Fundamental Lesson
by Michael Baillif
In a fireplace one log by itself, regardless of how big, will almost certainly fail to burn. There must be at least two. The flame from one is reflected by the other. The brightness and heat come from the space between the logs, the reflection of the flame.
As it is with flame, so it is with ideas. If a new idea is to take fire, to catch the imagination of the public and burn—if the flame is to be reflected, the kindling point sustained—more than a single person is required. There must be many to build the heat and speed the process. The idea which reflects the flame of group interaction burns brightly; it acquires a life of its own; it becomes unstoppable!
So it has been with us, and the Kernel Books are no small part of the reason. When the National Federation of the Blind was founded fifty-nine years ago, the prospects for the blind of this country were utterly desolate. There was little education, almost no hope of a job, and virtually no chance for meaningful participation in other activities of life.
A powerful new spirit now moves in the blind of the nation—and also in growing numbers of the public, most especially in those of you who have become devoted readers of the Kernel Books.
Like logs in the fire, sixteen Kernel Books have reflected the flame. Now, the present volume (number seventeen in the series), Reflecting the Flame, adds new fuel to the process.
The blind men and women who tell their stories here—the lawyer, who gains a deeper understanding of her own blindness from her battle with the office milk carton; the city council member, who is threatened and sued just like any other politician; and the teacher, who learns the lessons of the river on a white-water rafting expedition—all of them, like logs in the fire, are reflecting the flame.
And finally you—the tens of thousands of you—who have come to know us through the pages of the Kernel Books are reflecting the flame. You share our dreams and understand our hurts. You help us keep the new and better ideas about blindness at the kindling point, ignited and burning brightly.
The flame must burn for the thousands of blind children growing up today. Their tomorrows are ahead of them, and it is up to us—to you and me—to see that their futures are filled with hope and opportunity. We want for them something better than we have had.
As more and more of our sighted friends and colleagues come truly to know us as ordinary human beings—who laugh and cry, work and play, hope and dream—the future grows brighter. Each generation must do for itself; but in so doing, it must build on the past. We are creating today the past upon which our children will build their futures. And the readers of the Kernel Books are helping us do it.
With your help the vital elements for an alteration in the pattern of our experience have formed an energetic and forceful mixture. Together we will believe in each other and, with joy in our hearts, we will go to meet the future. Together we will reflect the flame.
Marc Maurer
Baltimore, Maryland
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 want to show you what type size is helpful for people with limited sight.
The second reason is that 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.
A KERNEL BOOK published by NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
Copyright ©1999 by the National Federation of the Blind
ISBN 1-885218-17-6
All Rights Reserved
Printed in the United States of America