TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editor's Line

President's Message

From the Executive Director

Education and Welfare Report

Public Relations Report

Membership Report

ACB Board Report

Update On MCB Listserv

White Cane Walk

In Memory Of Dorthy Cain

In Memory of Vonetta Frazier

Library Is a Life Saver for Visually Impaired Book Lovers

The Power Of One

Boys Lead The Cheers For Girl Who Wrestles Them At MSB

Everyday Heroes

A Miracle A Day by Ronald Yearns

Tribute to Jack Buck

Affiliate Affairs

From The Lower Left-Hand Drawer

In Fond Memory Of My Living Friend, Jerry

The Good Ole Days

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Editor's Line

I hope all of you had great holidays and that you all got over the Superbowl disappointment. To this point, it has been a fairly easy winter, but I know we're all looking forward to spring.

I'm sorry that the tapes of the last two issues have been a little late. It seems that the master tape has been taking a long time getting from my mailbox to the Recording studio in Maryland. I'll try to produce the master tape a little earlier so that you will get it sooner.

Along with several newspaper articles that I think you will find interesting, this issue also contains some contributions from readers--an article written by one of our readers and a poem contributed by Barbara Borgmeyer, which was written by one of her friends. I hope you will enjoy all of the features.

And now, I would like to take just a minute to don my other hat, that of Chairman of the Bylaws Committee. The New Bylaws, which were passed at the Convention in October, have been sent to the office for distribution to members. Board members and Affiliate Presidents will receive copies of the Bylaws and a copy will be sent to any member who requests one. Just ask the office for a copy of the New Bylaws in Braille, large print, tape or computer disc.

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President's Message

Dear MCB members and friends,

If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed. David Viscott

We are very pleased to announce that we are now in our new building at 5453 Chippewa in St. Louis. We signed the contract on November 13, 2001, just shortly after we had made our final walk-through of the building. We had found everything very much in order just as the inspectors had stated in their report. In fact, we had received several compliments earlier from some of the inspectors informing us that we have a very nice building and that it is in a great location. Immediately following the walk-through, Bill and Linda Burris, Sam and Celita White, Donna Weidlich, and my wife, all witnessed my signing of the contract at the Abstar Title Company. It was truly a historical moment in the history of MCB. I wish more of you could have been a part of the exciting event.

Then, during the early part of December, we successfully made the move to the new building. Everything seemed to have come together without a hitch. What I mean is that we were able to make the move without it being an inconvenience to any of our members or impeding the daily operations of the organization. What a tremendous feeling it was to have everything go so smoothly.

Also, at the time of this writing, the St. Louis Labor Council has graciously consented to do the remodeling to the building free of charge. What a wonderful contribution. The only cost to MCB will be for the cost of the materials.

The building was formerly a doctor's office with 10 examination rooms. We will be removing the examination rooms in order to make one large conference room. We hope that in the future we will be able to utilize this room for conducting trainings and seminars on blindness. Currently, the building has 3200 square feet with a nice size kitchen and bathroom with lots of cabinet and closet space. It also has a very nice reception area in the front part of the building where folks will be able to feel right at home. There are also wooden handrails along side of the walls as you walk down the hallway towards the back part of the building to assist folks with mobility impairments. In addition, the building also has 14 parking aisles and there are 2 bus stops nearby. There are also 2 lighted signs out in front of the building by which we will be able to proudly display the name of the Missouri Council of the Blind. The building also has a very nice brick face on the front with large picture windows on both sides of the entrance.

As soon as the remodeling has been completed, we are planning on decorating the inside of the building with some MCB memorabilia that will remind folks of our history. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Labor Council will be doing some other areas of remodeling to the building as well to make it more suitable for our needs. I would like to publically thank Edna Freeman for contacting the St. Louis Labor Council on our behalf with this vital request. I would also like to publically thank all of the other building committee members for their outstanding work in this important endeavor as well. We are very proud of our new facility and hope that you will stop by for a visit whenever you are in the St. Louis area.

On another topic, at our January Board meeting, the Board approved the appointment of Melvin Smith as our new Membership chair and Clint Campbell as our new Adaptive Technology chair. I have all the confidence in the world in these two gentlemen, and I feel very strongly that they will serve MCB well in their new capacity. Also, I have appointed Kathey Wheeler as our Records committee chair. Kathey will be responsible for keeping the records of the minutes of our meetings, as well as the records of our bylaws and resolutions, the guidelines of each standing committee, and any other important documents related to our board meetings. I think that Kathey is the perfect person for this position as she has already proven to be a tremendous asset to us all.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would now like to conclude my message by thanking each and everyone of you for your continued support. Your confidence in me as your MCB president has meant so much. I trust that we will continue to be able to work together for the success of MCB. I am absolutely certain that as we work together we can reach even greater heights in the success of MCB. Have a wonderful spring and may God continually bless you in all of your endeavors.

Warmest regards, Chip Hailey, MCB president

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From the Executive Director's Desk

By Sheri Keller

As most of you know by now our office moved. We moved on December 6th, 2001. We were fortunate that the weather was on our side. The move went very well and most of the boxes are unpacked. Our new address is 5453 Chippewa, St. Louis, MO 63109. Our telephone numbers remain the same. We have mailed out 700 scholarship applications from the office. If anyone is in need of a scholarship application please call our office. We are currently working on the informational legislative packets for Legislative Days. Our next two projects will be sending out the final Bylaws to the affiliates and camp applications to the Affiliates. Enjoy the rest of the winter.

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Education and Welfare Report by Dennis Miller

By the time you read this, we will have completed our 5th annual Legislative Day in Jefferson City. Thanks to all those who attended. It is more important than ever that legislators on the state level see us and get an opportunity to hear from us in person.

One of the difficulties that I face in writing this particular column is that by the time the Chronicle comes out in March, most of the bills we are following will have undergone numerous changes and may have already been voted on. I will therefore stick to the issues we are following and not give specific bill numbers as this information will have likely changed dramatically by the time you read this.

As most of you know, Missouri is in a budget crisis right now and this means that any bill that has a fiscal note attached to it will have a difficult time at best passing. Therefore, we may be seeing bills passed that have no dollar amount attached to them, meaning that legislators will have to go back at a later date and actually appropriate the funds necessary to implement these bills. This is the case with a proposed bill that would create an Older Blind Missourian's Fund. If this bill passes both the House and Senate, we will have to go back next year or sometime in the future and appropriate money to actually create the fund.

As some of you may be aware, all state departments are undergoing some sort of reorganization and this affects the Department of Social Services and could affect the Division of Family Services as well. Therefore, there is at this writing a bill, introduced by Senator Harold Caskey, which would give Rehabilitation Services for the Blind its own division within the Department of Social Services. Currently, Rehabilitation Services for the Blind is part of the Division of Family Services.

We are also keeping a close eye on efforts to pass election reform laws in the state of Missouri. It is very important that any reform to Missouri's election laws provides individuals who are blind or visually impaired the opportunity to vote independently.

If you need more information on any of the things I have covered in this report or have any other legislative questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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Public Relations Report

In November we met with a group at Warrensburg to discuss forming a club. There were sixteen people there. We talked on the things that MCB has to offer and handed out different items that PR has. January 8th was to be their next meeting.

On November 29th, we had a forum at The Settle Inn in Branson. We contacted several people by phone to invite them. We advertised in the local newspaper and with six radio stations in the Branson and Springfield area. We invited representatives from RSB, Social Security, Division of Family Services and Wolfner Library to come speak. Chip Hailey and his wife Linda attended and spoke on MCB. Leo Giger from Springfield Service Club also attended the forum. By the time you read this, the calendars for 2003 will have already been ordered. If anyone has any questions, please call. Thanks. Leroy Welch, Public Relations Chairman

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Membership Report
January 3, 2002

To all affiliates and readers of the Chronicle:

I would like to start by recognizing the members of my committee, Eldon Cox, Wanda Lentz and Alice Valdez. Without these fine folks my job would be a lot harder. Secondly, I would like to thank Chip for giving me the opportunity to help him in a very important role with the future membership of this great organization. Without finding younger people to join this organization, we will cease to exist as a powerful voice in Missouri. With all of us on the same team we will be able to make a big difference within the community.

I have been sending out the referrals to the affiliate presidents. Please call me and let me know that you have received them. Finally, I have been writing articles for some of the smaller town papers, Letting people know about the membership drive of the MCB. Hopefully, we will have a lot of participation after they have read this article.

My prayers are with everyone that you may have a safe and fruitful year with all of your endeavors.

Melvin Smith Membership Chairman 9918 Holly Street Kansas City, MO 64114 (816) 942-0489

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ACB BOARD REPORT by Jerry Annunzio

As is normal the ACB Board is very busy. The following is a summary of some of the board's activities.

As most of you know, President Chris Gray has been working on ACB'S Web site. I am pleased to report that it is now up and running. The Resource Development Committee will continue to research the viability of the ATM fund raising proposal, including the determination of affiliate interest in actively participating in that program. This committee has the authority to move forward with the planning for the ACB History book signing gala, with the understanding that the event is to be self funded. This is to be a $250 a plate fund-raiser in Washington, DC. The Membership Committee will work with the ACB staff and experienced ACB members to prepare an in-house production of a membership recruitment commercial. President Gray has appointed a committee comprised of members of the Board of Directors, the Board of Publications, the ACB staff and the Public Relations Committee to develop policy regarding how the Board of Publications, the Editor of "The Braille Forum" and the Public Relations Committee will work together to ensure the timely creation and dissemination of accurate, well crafted publicity materials. The Guide Dog Relief Area Task Force will continue its work and will bring to the Board at the Mid-Year Meeting business proposals for guide dog relief area design, building and maintenance for both the Houston and Pittsburgh convention sites. The National Office staff was unable to employ a graphical design artist to create three versions of an ACB logo as directed by the board. After two months delay the job was sent back to the Logo Committee, whose chairman is Jerry Annunzio. That committee has completed its work in record time and will make its presentation to the board during the meeting on February 17 and 18 in Houston. President Gray has set up a Board Watch Dog Committee charged with the task of ensuring that the recommendations of the Endorsement Committee are followed.

President Gray has allocated time during the Mid-Year Presidents Meeting, February 16, 17 and 18, to discuss the dues cap issue. He will inform Affiliate Presidents why the Board chose to refer this matter to the Constitution and Bylaws Committee and he will ask them to bring this issue back to the membership for its input and guidance for the debate and voting processes which will be followed during the 2002 Convention.

Chris has establish an Education for Blind Children and Youth Task Force, which will assist the Board to establish clearly defined guidelines under which to work and clearly defined goals to achieve. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions with which I may help you. I do not forget that it is because of your support that I won a seat on the ACB Board of Directors. Thank you all and remember, "Together we will win."

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Update on MCB'S Listserv

As most of you know, the Missouri Council of the Blind has had an e-mail listserv for almost two years now. It has grown to have almost sixty subscribers and almost every MCB affiliate is represented.

In January ACB took over ownership of all their listservs and this constituted some changes on our end. Therefore the e-mail addresses for subscribing, unsubscribing and posting to the listserv have changed. If you are not currently on our listserv and you would like to join, send a blank e-mail message to: missouri-l-subscribe@acb.org. If possible, please leave the subject line blank. Do not write anything in the body of the message. You will then receive a confirmation message asking you to reply to confirm that you want to be added to the listserv. Once you have replied, you can post a message to the listserv by sending it to: missouri-l@acb.org. That's all there is to it. If for some reason you ever want to leave our listserv, you can do so by sending a blank message to: missouri-l-unsubscribe@acb.org.

If you have e-mail and are not on our listserv, you might want to think about getting on it. We have a lot of fun and it is a great way to stay on top of the latest legislative information.

If you have questions about the listserv, don't hesitate to call me.

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White Cane Walk by Phyllis Lovett

The annual White Cane Walk, sponsored by the Springfield Service Club of the Blind, will be held on Saturday, May 18. All MCB affiliates are invited to participate. The purpose of the Walk is to promote the use and importance of a white cane and to raise funds for a charity. Last year, we donated over $1,000 to the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation. We hope you will join us. I will send sign up sheets to several affiliates soon. If you don't get any, please contact me. Thanks for your help.

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In Memory Of Dorthy Cain

Dorthy Fleet Cain, of Butler, Missouri, was born February 10, 1918 to Sammuel F. Price and Delia Hutton Price near Lowry City, Missouri. She spent much of her adult life there until 1947, when she moved to Bates County, Missouri. On May 25, 1939, she married Mack L. Cain. To this union three daughters and one son were born. She was a short order cook in several caf`es in Butler.

She enjoyed quilting and crocheting. She attended MCB summer camp for several years and thoroughly enjoyed it. She was a member of the County Line Council of the Blind club in Harrisonville. After retiring at the age of 62, Dorthy spent numerous days helping to care for the loves of her life, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She had nine grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren. She had a gift for never knowing a stranger and was always giving of herself and had a great zest for life. Dorthy passed away in Butler on November 19, 2001 at the age of 83. Services were held on November 23rd at the Underwood Steinbeck Funeral Home, with internment in the Kidd Chapel Cemetery near Lowry City. She will be greatly missed.

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In Memory of Vonetta Terry Frazier

Vonetta Frazier, also known as Terry, of Humansville, was born on March 22, 1929 in Butler County, Missouri. She passed away on January 3, 2002 at St. John's Hospital in Springfield. Funeral services were held at F. H. Bronback Funeral Home in Stockton, Missouri. Internment was in Stockton Cemetery.

Vonetta took care of thirty-one foster children over the years. She was a charter member of the West Central Workers for the Blind in Butler and a charter member of Lake Stockton Council of the Blind and held offices in both of those clubs. Vonetta was Chairman of the Education and Welfare Committee for a period of time in MCB. Vonetta also held offices in IVIE and VIVA, which are special interest groups in the American Council of the Blind. She worked very closely with the Senators in her district on issues which were related to the blind. Vonetta attended the ACB Conventions. She also loved to attend the MCB Conventions. These conventions were the highlights of the year for her. She will be missed by many relatives and friends.

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Library is "a lifesaver" for visually impaired book lovers By Bill Bell Jr.

Post-Dispatch Jefferson City Bureau

JEFFERSON CITY--The last thing Marcus Engel saw was headlights. In 1993, a drunken driver broadsided the Toyota carrying Engel through the intersection of Hampton Avenue and Chippewa Street in St. Louis. Engel, now 26, of Chesterfield, was thrown from the vehicle. He broke every bone in his face and lost his eyesight. After the crash, Engel said he found he could still listen to books through the Wolfner Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Engel said he spent an entire year recovering from his surgeries and listening to books recorded on cassette tapes. "There's not a lot you can do when you can't walk, you can't eat, you can't chew your own food," Engel said. Listening to books "just kind of gave me an escape at the time."

The Wolfner Library provides visually impaired Missourians like Engel with magazines and books through the mail. The free service also is open to those with physical problems that stop them from reading standard printed material. For example, someone with Parkinson's disease or rheumatoid arthritis might qualify for the service.

Wolfner serves about 18,000 of the estimated 80,000 Missourians who are eligible. Public services librarian Debbie Musselman said many older residents don't know about the service, don't think they qualify or won't admit they need help. "Some people think it's too good to be true," she said. Musselman and others visit nursing and retirement homes to get the word out.

The library's readers are among some of the most prolific in the country. Wolfner's 18,000 patrons read about half a million books a year--a ratio that puts Missouri in the top five in the nation.

The library traces its roots to 1924, when the St. Louis Public Library formed a special department for the blind. In 1931, the Library of Congress chose the St. Louis Public Library as one of 18 nationwide to participate in a free library service for blind adults. Wolfner is named for Dr. Henry L. Wolfner, a St. Louis eye specialist who died in 1935. After moving from place to place in St. Louis, the library relocated to Jefferson City in 1985 and to its present home in the secretary of state's building in 1991.

Wolfner sends out almost all of its material through the mail in specially designed plastic packages. The library also mails special cassette players designed to play four-track tapes. All patrons have a "reader advisor," who asks them about their favorite types of books. A computer makes suggestions from the library's 60,000 titles. The works come in Braille, cassette, record and large-print formats.

Best sellers and westerns are the most popular. Musselman said Wolfner orders 43 copies of every western it keeps in stock. The same holds true for books by authors such as Mary Higgins Clark, Stephen King and Danielle Steel. "We can't keep them on the shelf," Musselman said. "We've got waiting lists for all of them."

The library also offers videos of movies with added narration and a newspaper-reading service. Patrons can call a special phone line to have the Post-Dispatch, for example, read to them. In March, the newspaper service is expected to go nationwide, meaning patrons would be able to listen to everything from the New York Times to the Toledo Blade.

One fan of best sellers is Delores Johnson, 74, of St. Charles County. Macular degeneration has taken all but the rim of the vision in her left eye. The vision in her right eye also is poor, making book and newspaper reading difficult. The former McDonnell Douglas employee said she started losing her vision in the mid-1980s. At first, Johnson listened to books on tape from the public library and soon found the selection too limited. She said Wolfner offers her a much greater range of books--everything she wants from historical fiction to murder mysteries. Johnson listens to tapes when she's exercising and even when she's just cleaning the house. Over the years, she said, she's listened to hundreds of titles--sometimes seven books a month. Said Johnson: "I'll tell you what, it's been a lifesaver, when you can't read and you like books." The library's toll-free phone number is 1-800-392-2614.

Library, state have had their differences by Bill Bell Jr.

JEFFERSON CITY--Relations between the secretary of state's office and Wolfner Library patrons haven't always been rosy. Consider July 1999. Scores of blind patrons marched on former Secretary of State Bekki Cook's office in withering heat. In June, Cook had fired ex-Wolfner Director Beth Eckles after fights between Eckles and her superiors over library space and her salary. Cook also drew some criticism when she questioned the handling of the will of Floydine D. Miscampbell. Miscampbell bequeathed about $300,000 to the "Wolfner Library for the Blind in Jefferson City, Mo." In September 1997, the gift went to the Friends of the Wolfner Library, a private group that aids the library. Eckles served as treasurer of the group at the time. Cook asked Attorney General Jay Nixon to go after the money, but nothing happened. Cook's successor, Matt Blunt, has not pursued the issue. Terry Jarrett, Blunt's general counsel, said Friends of Wolfner has the best interest of the library at heart and that a legal fight would have sapped library resources.

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THE POWER OF ONE LOCAL HEROES

From The Editor: This article was taken from the January 4, 2002 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

MOST PEOPLE, after devoting decades of their lives to a career or cause, turn their thoughts to R and R. Not Max Starkloff.

Thirty-one years after he founded Paraquad, a pioneering, non-profit group that helps people with disabilities live independently, one of St. Louis' brightest stars is shifting into a high gear, ready for the next challenge. Mr. Starkloff, 64, is turning over the daily administration of Paraquad to Bob Funk, a disability rights advocate from Washington, in order to focus on the bigger picture.

Mr. Starkloff plans to bring together the best minds of the area's universities with those of people in the disabled community. He wants blind, deaf and paralyzed people at the same table with policy strategists to study employment, housing, transportation and health care issues that will help the nation's 50 million people with disabilities live more independent and productive lives. "This is fun for me," Mr. Starkloff replied, when asked why he wants to keep working. "This stuff is exciting when you can come up with new concepts that make real sense."

The grandson of Max C. Starkloff, a physician and long-time St. Louis health commissioner, Mr. Starkloff might have followed in his grandfather's footsteps. An uncle even offered to pay his way through medical school. Instead, he took a day job as a shipping clerk and studied business at night school at St. Louis University. Mostly, he wanted to drive race cars.

But in 1959, he injured his spinal cord in a car accident that left him a quadriplegic. The 21-year-old was sent home from the hospital with dim prospects. At that time, the prognosis for those with spinal cord injuries as serious as his was poor, and life expectancy short. But the otherwise healthy--and tenacious--Mr. Starkloff proved conventional wisdom wrong.

For four years, his mother, Hertha, tended to his care at home. But problems in getting attendant services at home compelled him to move to St. Joseph Hill Infirmary near Eureka, where he lived from 1963 to 1975. Watching those around him surrender to their disabilities, and increasingly frustrated by the condescending attitudes of people without disabilities, Mr. Starkloff began to look for a way out.

Starting with nothing more than a telephone in his nursing home room, Mr. Starkloff launched a fledgling disability advocacy organization. With the support of his mother, a few friends and his wife, Colleen, (whom he met when she took a job as a physical therapist at the nursing home), Mr. Starkloff built what is now Paraquad. This was at a time--long before the Americans with Disabilities Act--when pushing for the rights of the disabled was a rather lonely endeavor. The organization is now an internationally recognized group with a $4.5 million annual budget and a staff of 75.

Thousands of disabled people in the St. Louis region live on their own today in no small part because of the help they receive from Paraquad. Among other things, the organization led the fight for curb-cuts and disabled parking legislation; helped obtain accessible public transportation and established the first independent living program for disabled young people and their families.

Mr. Starkloff personally lobbied Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton, serving on the latter's Commission on White House Fellowships. In 1995 he was named to the Democratic National Committee's Disability Advisory Council.

Mr. Starkloff refused to let his disabilities define him, and pushed back the limits society unthinkingly imposed on others with disabilities. In so doing, he quite literally removed physical and psychological barriers that kept those with disabilities from living full lives.

Mr. Starkloff has opened many doors for people with disabilities. He also opened many minds, helping the disabled see more options and helping the people without disabilities see how much can be gained when barriers of discrimination fall.

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BOYS LEAD THE CHEERS FOR GIRL WHO WRESTLES WITH THEM AT MISSOURI SCHOOL FOR The BLIND

BY Tom Wheatley of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Deke Edwards is blunt. Most high school wrestling coaches are, especially those in their 40th year at one school.

When the whistle blows, this is no sport for blowhards. Two wrestlers butt heads and the best man wins. Nothing could be more basic.

Except at the Missouri School for the Blind near Tower Grove Park, where Deke is head coach. For the past two years, Deke's wrestling room has been invaded by a female wrestler, 125-pound senior Amanda House from Columbia, Mo.

"I think it's stupid," said Deke, with typical political incorrectness. "I wouldn't want a daughter of mine to wrestle a boy. The girls are just not strong enough. Until they're 10 or 12, they're pretty equal physically. Then the shoulders start growing out on the boys, and they get too strong."

Amanda, 18, has heard all of this before from her crusty old coach. "He's just concerned for me," said Amanda, who smiles a lot when she's not crossfacing someone or being crossfaced. "He's worried that I'll get hurt."

That's the only issue for Deke. "What really worries me," he said, "is if some guy with a macho attitude, who's really strong and not very skilled, starts slamming her around. She could break something."

"Well," snapped Amanda, "guys get their arms and legs broke, too." Deke, 63, is not campaigning to ban females from the sport. Just the opposite.

"It'd be great if they could wrestle each other," he said. "Some states have wrestling teams for girls now. And they're talking about women's wrestling in the Olympics, which would be great.

"Amanda's wrestled four girls last year and this year, and she's beaten them all. One girl beat her early this year, and when they wrestled again Amanda pinned her. So she's 4-1 against girls.

"But she hasn't beaten any boys yet--except for the ones that forfeit because they won't wrestle her. There's been three of them, including one for religious reasons."

Sprinting down a hallway for conditioning, with Deke barking at each runner, is Amanda's least favorite part of wrestling. Being shunned is a close second.

"That makes me really mad," she said. "It makes me want to go over and drag them off the bench and make them wrestle. I think they're afraid of me. They just don't want to lose to a girl. I've wrestled five boys so far. I score quite a few points, but I haven't beaten any yet. Sometimes I get pinned, but mostly I hang in there.

"The most mad I got was when I was on the mat, all suited up, and I just stood there for about five minutes. Then the coach finally came out and said, '"my boy doesn't want to wrestle a girl." He was from the Ohio School for the Deaf."

Losing to a girl is an issue that should have died in the last millennium. Religious objectors cannot be dismissed so lightly.

For a boy, grappling with a girl can lead to contact that would bring a slap at other times.

At a match, by rule, Amanda must wear a t-shirt under her wrestling singlet. That's the only concession to modesty. She wears no special protection. And sees no need.

"There are some moves that can be awkward," she said, "but that doesn't happen often. They don't do them because I'm a girl. If they did, I'd end up hurting them. Did you know I do judo, too?"

In Deke's wrestling room, Amanda is accepted as an equal. Volunteer coach Danny Lawrence, 31, has no qualms about Amanda. He was a three-time Missouri state qualifier in 1-A-2-A for the school at 125, 130 and 135 pounds.

"Things have changed," he said. "Girls used to cheerlead and boys wrestle, and now boys cheerlead and girls wrestle. You've got to keep an open mind."

That analogy is a perfect fit for Deke's team. Jimmy Lasley, a 98-pound junior from Scott City, is Amanda's frequent practice partner.

"It's all the same," Jimmy said. "She's really dedicated and wants to work out."

He is also a gung-ho cheerleader when wrestling is out of season. "Want to see my new routine?" he asked, peeling off a series of cartwheels and backflips.

Jimmy is no slouch as a wrestler. besides giving away five pounds at 103, the lightest weight class, he placed fourth in 1-A-2-A districts last year, went 2-2 at sectionals and just missed a trip to the state meet.

Amanda, meanwhile, said, "I didn't want to cheerlead. I wanted to do a sport. I like swimming a lot, but that's after wrestling is over. And I wanted to do this because it's physical, not because I'm a girl. That's why I do judo. It's a way to get the stress out."

At this point, it should be noted that nobody but a visitor has mentioned blindness during the team's crisp 90-minute workout.

Assistant coach John Schrock, a fully sighted faculty member, is the ringmaster. He keeps both eyes on practice and snaps instructions as the wrestlers pair off for drills.

Deke has been at the school since 1951, when he enrolled at age 12 after a hunting accident stole his vision in both eyes.

"I coach by wrestling," he said. In sweats, kneepads and wrestling shoes, he nimbly drops alongside a wrestler or a wrestling pair and works by touch. He gets cold-cocked by many a flying foot or elbow, which may be why Deke for years has claimed to be on the verge of retiring.

His wrestlers have sight ranging from dim to none. Amanda has 20-400 vision in the left eye and 20-200 in the right. Her good eye, such as it is, can make out the clock on the wall but not the hands. "I don't use the other eye at all," she said. "I also have no peripheral vision and I'm night blind."

For all of that, she does not consider herself handicapped. "People who say that don't know me," Amanda said. "If I want to do something, I'm going to do it."

That also goes for her male teammates. Three of them have just two losses apiece: Jimmy; Darwin May, a 152-pound sophomore from Kansas City; and Bobby Hall, a sophomore at 112 from Park Hills.

Sophomore Adnan Gutic of Affton, 17, a Bosnian and new American citizen, is 8-4 at 160 pounds. And Tony Samson of St. Charles, 15, is a promising freshman at 119.

They take on all comers, blind or sighted. At a recent nine-team meet, they placed third behind Soldan and Sumner while beating Gateway Tech, Vashon, Clayton's B team and schools for the blind from Indiana, Arkansas and Minnesota.

Jimmy and Darwin won individual championships. Tony was third and Amanda won a match by forfeit.

Deke concedes that his team has a handicap. It's not vision. It's depth. "We only have 10 kids," he said. "And since they went from 12 to 14 weight classes, that's four weights where we can't get points. So it's tough."

Still, he allows no can't-do talk and few allowances. For safety in the wrestling room, mats cushion the walls and pillars as well as the floor. For fairness in matches, opponents touch hands with Deke's kids in the up position until the whistle blows.

Deke is training independent citizens, the school's mission since the doors opened 150 years ago. When graduates step onto Magnolia Street and beyond, they know how to bounce up if they trip or get pushed.

Confidence and enthusiasm are crucial. So he encourages antics such as Darwin jumping him in the hall during classes.

"When Darwin knows I'm coming," Deke said, "he'll single-leg me and try to take me down. Some teacher will yell at him to stop. But I always say, `Don't criticize him unless he's doing it wrong!""

Deke's wrestlers have absorbed his humor as well as his instruction. "You've got to be able to take a joke if you're in something like this," said Amanda, "or you'll never make it."

She meant living in the male-dominated wrestling world. She could have meant surviving in the sight-dominated outside world.

That's why Amanda just laughed and shook her ponytail when her coach threw one more barb at her.

"If she was serious about this," grumped Deke, "she'd get a hair cut."

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Everyday Heroes by Ethel Lee

From The Editor: Ethel has been sending us columns about people she considers to be everyday heroes. This time she writes about her most recent trip to obtain a guide dog and about a very unique puppy-raising program, Puppies Behind Bars.

There are people who believe that guide dog training is a time for vacationing. Well, think again. Trainees are on duty from the time we wake up until the time we go to bed. There is pressure on us, as well as on the teacher and on the dog. But I tend to think that the people who give the most are those who raise the puppies, teaching them manners, obedience and love of people.

I left for guide dog training on September 4, 2001. When I was asked if I would be open to receiving a dog from the Puppies Behind Bars Program, I had no objections. I received a very gentle eighty pound Yellow Lab named Thornton. He loves to please, and wants very much to give. He had two puppy raisers. The first one, Susan, got him when he in eight weeks old. When Susan was paroled, he was given to Roselain. Both women were inmates at the Women's Correctional Facility in Bedford Hills, New York. Unlike Susan, Roz will be spending her life there. You see, she murdered someone. She wrote to me and in her letter she said that Thornton had given her a reason to live, and something to hold onto. She said that she feels again like a human being.

This fall I plan to attend Guiding Eyes for the Blind's fund raiser. Called a Lease On Life, it is a walkathon, which will be held in October. I also plan to visit the prison and to show Roz what a great dog Thornton is.

It is people like Susan and Roz, and others like them, who I salute as my Everyday Heroes. I want them to know just how grateful I am for what Thornton has given me. Here is a newspaper article that describes the Puppies Behind Bars Program.

Prisoners With Purpose: Inmates Training Dogs

Guide Dogs Get Started in Fishkill

by Larry Fisher-Hertz

Poughkeepsie Journal

The way Chris Rogers sees it, prison is a perfect place for puppies.

"Housebreaking is easier here than on the outside," the 36-year-old convicted murderer said recently as he scratched the ears of his current charge, a Labrador Retriever named Hunter. "We're with the dogs all day. We have nowhere else to go."

Over the past three years, Rogers and about two dozen other inmates at Fishkill Correctional Facility have put quite a few puppies through their paces. They are volunteers for Puppies Behind Bars, a New York city-based organization that recruits prisoners to train guide dogs for the blind.

The puppies, most of them Labradors and Golden Retrievers, are as young as eight weeks old when they arrive at the prison. Under instruction from trainers from Puppies Behind Bars, the inmates learn how to take care of them and teach them basic commands until the dogs are about two years old. Those deemed ready for further instruction are sent to Guiding Eyes for the Blind training centers where they are taught the specific skills they need to be guide dogs.

Rogers said he volunteered for the program in 1998 because he had always liked dogs when he was growing up in Brooklyn. He was also looking to break the tedium of prison life. He said the rewards of training and nurturing a puppy have been even greater than he expected.

"Blind people come to the prison now and then and thank us for helping them," he said. "It's great to be able to see the end result of your work. Here's a dog you've loved and worried about and watched as he's grown, and then you see how much he means to another human being."

Rogers' observations sum up the philosophy of Puppies Behind Bars, according to Executive Director Gloria Gilbert Stoga.

"The puppies need love and constant reinforcement and the inmates here are able to give them both," Stoga said during a recent visit to the prison, where she and other trainers offer twice-weekly classes.

"Several of the men have told me it's unusual to feel a sense of accomplishment and success in a setting like this," she said. "They say having a dog to care for has made them feel human again."

The organization has 13 dogs in training at Fishkill, nine more at the Bedford Hills Women's Prison in Westchester County and five at the Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, New Jersey. Eight dogs who have graduated from prison are currently in training at Guide Dogs for the Blind and four others are working guide dogs.

Stoga said she formed Puppies Behind Bars after learning that a Florida veterinarian had come up with the idea in 1990. It has since been introduced at prisons in Florida, South Carolina, Texas and Ohio, Stoga said. The first puppies in the New York prison system arrived at Bedford Hills in 1997, and the program was expanded to Fishkill a year later.

Fishkill's Deputy Superintendent, Raymond Cunningham, said having the dogs had some unexpected dividends for the entire prison community. "Since the puppies go everywhere with their owners," they have become a familiar some of the scenery in the dormitories and grounds of the facility, Cunningham said.

"The puppies contribute to the overall morale of the institution," he said. "They add a welcome dimension to prison life."

Jason Sellitti, 27, who is serving a sentence of five to 15 years for for assault, said his participation in Puppies Behind Bars had changed his life. He said he had high hopes that his current charge, a young Labrador named Rudy, would make a good guide dog some day.

"He still reacts more than he should to sudden noises" Sellitti said, "but I'm working with him. He'll be fine."

Sellitti said working with Rudy had helped him take his mind off his own plight and focus more on the future.

"Since I got here seven years ago, I've been concentrating mostly on doing things for myself, such as getting an education," he said. "Working with Rudy gives me a chance to benefit someone who is less fortunate than I am. I plan to volunteer for Puppies Behind Bars when I get out," said Sellitti. "It's a great feeling teaching a dog how to help others."

Judy Goldman was so grateful for the work that the prisoners had done that she took a trip last month from her home in suburban Pittsburgh to visit New York inmates with her guide dog, Lucie, who was raised at Bedford Hills.

"The first time I walked with Lucie in harness was just awesome," said Goldman, 57, who lost her sight when she had a stroke four years ago.

She said Lucie had enabled her to engage again in one of her favorite pastimes, hiking in the woods.

"Having Lucie means I'm almost able to resume the life I had four years ago," Goldman said.

She said she planned to make the trip to Bedford Hills and Fishkill every year to thank the inmates for what they are doing.

"I want the prisoners to see for themselves what a difference they have made in my life," Goldman said. "I think it's very important for them to see the end result of all their work. I told them they should be very proud."

Rogers, Sellitti and the other inmates at Fishkill said meeting Goldman and Lucie had reinforced their commitment to Puppies Behind Bars.

"As long as I'm here, it's something I want to be involved in," Rogers said. "I can't imagine my life in here without the dogs."

Sellitti agreed. "Having the puppies in here," he said, "brings hope and happiness to a place where such things are often missing."

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A MIRACLE A DAY

From The Editor: This article was sent to me by Ronald Yearns, a reader from Warrensburg. It is a story that he wrote about an experience he had shortly after losing his sight. He says he wrote it to encourage others who have lost vision to let them know that the world is alive and they should continue to be a part of it.

This is a true story of recognizing Gods' miracles. Names have been altered by request.

During the summer of 2001 my wife sort of volunteered me to assist a lady in our church in a service project. Even though I am legally blind and had taken disability retirement a couple of years ago, I still do some handyman work in my home. I heard my wife tell her friend Susan that I would be glad to help; I can estimate it down to the number of nails to buy. Susan was a little hesitant about the project; as she wasn't real familiar with all the different building materials. Little did I know where this little bit of help in estimating would lead! I had spent twenty years supervising and estimating for maintenance at the university I worked at. Feeling the discouragement of being blind, I thought I could only do limited work in my home shop. We had been attending this church for about six months and I had been able to do some minor work in helping to finish a building project at the church. Maybe, I thought, I could be of some use on this house project.

The first day Susan picked me up to visit Nan's house. Nan was divorced with four children. Due to circumstances with her ex-husband and opportunities she felt compelled to leave the two older boys in our town and to relocate herself and the two girls. Susan had agreed to fix up the house with volunteers so it would sell for enough to pay the mortgage off and a little to help Nan start a new life.

I had been fortunate enough to be in a prayer meeting and heard Nan's prayers. What a marvelous spirit of God's humble servant I thought. But as we examined the property I thought what a shambles; these ladies have no idea how much work this is. Rotten siding, broken windows, holes in the doors and window sills, plaster missing, gutters gone, floors needing repair, painting to do and lots of plain cleaning up. Where, I wondered, will Susan get the volunteer labor to do this on such a limited budget? Susan wrote the list as I gave amounts and names of building materials to purchase. Nan's uncle, John, had been there before and estimated interior trim material and was going to install it. Praise the Lord for that I thought.

The next day Susan and I went to the local lumber emporium and shopped for four hours with one of their employees. We took the small items and delivery time was set up for the larger ones.

Then the surprise--Susan asked or I volunteered to assist the workers. How could I not try to do my part; besides I only needed to do what I felt I could.

Things started slow, each person kind of taking on what each felt fit to do or taking Susan's directions. Being the hottest part of July in steamy Missouri didn't help. We only worked about four hours the first day and felt dead tired because of the heat. The thought of heat stroke became more real than when I was younger.

Work soon fell into a routine. The first time it occurred to me that circumstances were unusual was when Bob Truex was helping to hang some siding. I mentioned how God seemed to be in this project, as Susan could find just the board or tool we happened to need just by looking in the garage or wherever. At this point we were about out of siding and needed a piece 85 inches long. Having none left, I asked Bob to see if any of the scraps around front would work. He came back with one 86 and a half inches long, just long enough. I mentioned that if one was not a believer in God this place would make one so. And it didn't end. The next Saturday, Marvin Parks was helping hang the front door. Just as we came in, I noticed the trigger guts on the doorknob were gone. We had intended to reuse all existing knobs, locks and hinges. Remember the budget was limited. I asked Nan's oldest son to call Susan and ask her to pick up a new lock before she came out. Unfortunately, Susan had left. I asked Nan's son to call the church or the parsonage to see if they knew her cell phone number. No one was answering. Not two minutes later Susan called and asked if we needed anything else, since she was at Wal-Mart. The three of us were awe struck. We asked later why she had called. Her reply was she just felt it a good idea to see if we needed anything else. Was it coincidence or miracle? I chose miracle. So now we are on the miracle a day plan. A day or two later when I asked what was the day's miracle, it was plain. The lumberyard had delivered the siding we were short of just as I used up the last scraps. So the materials came and I didn't have to start a different job and change tools and location, a time consuming and difficult task with my vision. A day later I finished my morning prayer by asking God to send someone to come and help with the trim inside. Uncle John had been working on it but had said a few days ago it was too far to drive and he would not be back. When we arrived, there was Uncle John sawing trim. When I related this to Susan she also related she had been praying for trim help. Another answer.

The following day more holes had been found in the windows that needed to be filled with the epoxy mix. Looking at the large gaping holes and the dwindling amount of epoxy in my hands, I thought I need some wooden blocks for filler to make the mix go further. Looking on the ground, I thought I saw a piece of wood. No, God knew better. It was a metal scrap we had used to fasten the downspouts with. By cutting it up and bending it, it worked better than any piece of wood could have with no leftover. We need to learn to recognize the miracles lying right at our feet.

On almost the last day I had taken some baseboards home to rip to the correct width. The room was ten foot six. I thought the board was ten foot so I ripped it plus another one that was about eighteen inches. It was plenty to work with. The next morning I checked the width, just right. I cut the ends, then laid them together to measure for the final cut. We were too short. What I thought was a ten was only an eight-foot board. I asked Susan to see if we had any other boards. Of course she found a used one that looked long enough. I cut the ends using all the board available. Then when I put the two together to measure for the final cut, I had to cut off only about a quarter of an inch. God didn't provide waste in the wilderness for Moses and his people. Isn't that as life should be--just enough for our needs?

I had never lived this close to God working daily for the smallest things. It had always been whatever God's will and maybe never expecting real results. Some days working at this project house I felt as if I was on hallowed ground and was afraid to turn around because I might see a burning bush. Maybe that's a bit corny, but this project of work and sweat, (more sweat than toil some days," had done more for my faith than a bunch of sermons. Perhaps a prayer a day brings a miracle a day if we will recognize them. The fact that we wake up of a morning and can get out of bed is a daily miracle. Praise God.

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Tribute to Jack Buck

From The Editor, This article was sent to me several months ago over the Internet. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find out who wrote it, but it is certainly an excellent tribute to a man that so many of us admire. It is a little off the track of what we normally publish in the Chronicle, but I wanted to include it since baseball season is about to start and to express my hope that Jack will recover from his many medical problems and be behind the mike again this year.

As square as a pan of corn bread, as American as a red Corvette, Buck has been doing what he loves in the St. Louis Cardinals' radio booth for 47 years, which makes him just about the exact center of this country. The last thing he wants is sympathy. Yeah, Buck has Parkinson's disease, which makes his hands tremble and his arms flail. He also has diabetes, which means poking needles into himself twice a day. He also has a pacemaker. And cataracts. And vertigo. And excruciatingly painful sciatica. And a box of pills the size of a toaster.

But all that only gives him more material to work with. "I wish I'd get Alzheimer's," he cracks. "Then I could forget I've got all the other stuff."

Luckily, you can still find the 76-year-old Buck at the mike during every St. Louis home game, broadcasting to the Cardinal Nation over more than 100 radio stations in 11 states. Herking and jerking in his seat, his face contorting this way and that, he still sends out the most wonderful descriptions of games you've ever heard. "I've given the Cardinals the best years of my life," Buck says. "Now I'm giving them the worst."

That's a lie. Despite enough diseases to kill a moose, Buck has gotten even better lately. "I have no idea how," says his son and radio partner, Joe, "but his voice has been stronger lately. It's like he's pouring every ounce of energy God can give him into those three hours of the broadcast."

Yet Buck makes it all sound effortless, like talking baseball with the guy across the backyard fence. He's natural, simple and unforgettable. When Kirk Gibson hit his dramatic home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers and limped around the bases in the 1988 World Series, Buck, calling the game for CBS Radio, said, "I don't believe what I just saw!" When St. Louis's Ozzie Smith hit a rare left handed home run in Game 5 of the 1985 playoffs, Buck said, "Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!" When Mark McGwire hit No. 61 in 1998, Buck said, "Pardon me while I stand and applaud!"

Like thousands of other eight-year-old boys in Middle America in 1966, all I had of baseball most nights was Buck. If I fiddled enough with my mom's old radio in our kitchen in Boulder, Colorado, I could pick up Buck doing the Cardinals' games on KMOX. Bob Gibson. Tim McCarver. Curt Flood. I worshiped Buck then. I respect him now.

He was a kid whose family couldn't afford toothpaste; who didn't go to the dentist until he was 15 (and immediately had five teeth pulled); who worked as a soda jerk, a newspaper hawk, a boat painter, a waiter, a factory hand; who was the first person in his family to own a car; who took shrapnel in an arm and a leg from the Germans in World War II; who danced in Paris on VE Day.

This is a man who is coming up on his 10,000th game broadcast; who was in the stands the day that Joe DiMaggio's 56-71me hitting streak ended; who called Stan Musial's five-home-run doubleheader; who ate dinner with Rocky Marciano in Havana; whom Jesse Owens called friend; who survived the Ice Bowl-- and 16 years in the booth with Harry Caray.

I would eat a bathtub full of rubber chicken just to hear him emcee a banquet. He has more lines than the DMV.

"If an Italian woman wins the door prize," Buck says, "You know, I've always had a fondness for Italian women. In fact, during World War II an Italian woman hid me in her basement for three months. (Pause.) Of course, this was in Cleveland."

If anything, Parkinson's has given Buck more banquet material. "I shook hands with Muhammad Ali recently," he says. "It took 30 minutes to get us untangled."

This may be Buck's last year behind the mike, so he's savoring every inning. So should we. "This is his victory lap," says Joe. "This is him circling the outfield."

That lousy day is coming, of course, when he opens his mouth and the Parkinson's won't let anything come out. But don't feel sorry for him. "Hell, I've touched so many bases," says Buck, "I've got no quarrel with these last few."

So, on the day he quits, he'll have to pardon us while we stand and applaud.

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Affiliate Affairs

Where we find out what's happening in your corner of MCB

Blind of Central Mo

The Holidays have come and gone,

We hope the New Year will be good for everyone.

Hello to everyone from Sedalia.

We have a new member in our club. His name is Galen Blood and he is blind. He moved here from Kansas City. He was in the Allied Workers of the Blind club for a while. He is originally from Iowa and attended the Blind School in Vinton Iowa. Congratulations Galen and welcome to our club.

We had our Christmas party on December 15 at Great Subs. We had an attendance of 30 members and guests. We had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, corn, lettuce salad, rolls, an assortment of pies and cheesecake, and choice of beverage. We had a gift exchange afterwards and Gerry Smith brought her guitar. We sang some Christmas carols and Gerry played and sang some songs. Robbie Barnier sang the auctioneer song. We all had a great time of fun, food, and fellowship.

The Blind of Central Mo. would like to thank Chip and Linda Hailey for the beautiful Christmas card.

We will have a bowling party perhaps sometime in February. Linda is gathering all of the details for that. I will let you know how that turns out in the next Chronicle.

We hope everyone has many great months ahead in the new year. Until next time, keep smiling and keep a song in your heart. If you can't be good, be good at it.

Trudy Howard

Blind of Central Mo

Recording Secretary

BRAILLE Report

BRAILLE is Alive and Well!!!

The BRAILLE board met on Jan. 25, in St. Louis. All but one of the members were able to be there, and we got a humongus amount done. Well, maybe just quite a lot. Anyway, we are going to try having meetings around the state, one every quarter. The first one will be held in Kansas City on March 30th at 1:00 at Alphapointe. I don't have dates for the other meetings yet, I'm sorry to say, so stay tuned to your local affiliate for further details. If you're a member at large, contact someone you know in the nearest affiliate, or call me at (417) 865-0410. As many of the board as possible will come. You come too, please, please, please! We need you! Marti Watson

President, BRAILLE

Delta Area Blind

Hello again from the Delta Area Blind,

It is time to start making your reservations for the 2002 MCB Convention, which will be held in Sikeston, Mo. The Delta Area Blind and the Southeast United Blind Club are your hosts for the convention this year.

May I make a suggestion for all of you? When you make your reservations, let the hotels know if you have more than one disability. If you have walking or climbing problems or use a wheelchair, let the hotels know that you really need a first floor room. The main hotel is the Remada Inn, and the overflow hotel is the Peartree. The phone number for the Remada is (573) 471-4700. The number for the Peartree is (573) 471-8660. Also be sure to get a confirmation number when you make your reservation. The room rates are $47.00 plus tax for up to four people in a room, for either hotel.

Get ready for some fun and surprises. Our theme this year is Western. We're calling it the Hill Billy Bash. So bring your jeans, dust off your boots and prepare to be calm, cool and comfortable.

The banquet meal will be prime rib with baked potato, green beans, salad, rolls, desert and drinks for $13.00 which includes tax. The Friday night Hospitality room will feature home-made pizza with all the trimmings. The price will be $8.00.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please call Marie Thompson at (573) 379-5007 or write me at 932 Highway 162 East, Portageville Mo 63873. Without all of you, there would be no convention. God bless you.

Marie Thompson

Guide Dog Users Report

Hi, There is not much to report at this time except we will have election for new officers this year at our Guide Dog Users Breakfast. This year's breakfast will be in the full service restaurant and will cost $5.25. I suggest we all pay for our own breakfast since you will have to eat breakfast somewhere anyway. The Dog Users breakfast will be held on Friday, October 11 from 7:30-8:30.

I would like to thank all of my Board members. You all did a good job. I hope you all had good Holidays and that you and your four-legged friends have stayed well.

As always, if you have questions or suggestions, call me at (573) 379-5007.

Marie Thompson, Guide Dog Users President

Joplin Service Club

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New year as well. The last few months have been pretty quiet down this way. We had our annual Thanksgiving dinner which was hosted by the Telephone Pioneers Group. Thank you ladies! We also had one new member who was welcomed into our service club as well. Congratulations Doris Cline! In December a group of us from the service club took a trip to Carthage to see the Christmas lights at the Vietnamese Park one evening and then went back to the Service Club for refreshments. We also had our childrens Christmas party with a special guest appearance from Santa Claus as well. Our Thursday night dinner was hosted by Still Mary's Catholic Church. Thank you so much! For the month of January not much has happened here. The Joplin Service Club participated in the annual Ham and Bean feed which was hosted by the Lions Club. And on Tuesday January 29th we had a guest speaker. Her name was Gloria Fiene, a story teller and an english teacher from Missouri Southern College. She told us about her heroine, Harriet Tubman and how she helped free the slaves with the help of the underground railway. Excellent story, Gloria, we hope that you will come back soon!!

And many Happy Birthday Wishes for those members who had Birthdays in November, December and January!

Submitted by Cynthia Rowen

Lake Stockton Area Council of the Blind

The Lake Stockton Area Council of the Blind wishes everyone a Happy New Year!! It's a brand new year and Christmas is now behind us. And now we are looking forward to spring. We had a lovely dinner in December. The tables were beautifully decorated for Christmas and thirty-four members and thirteen visitors attended. The music was furnished by a group called The "Esquire Singers" and then entertained us with Christmas songs. The evening ended with a gift exchange. Thanks to Eujean and Everett Dody, we all received a turkey.

We have lost two more members with the death of Marguerite Carter and Vonetta Frazier. Our prayers go out to their families and loved ones. Marguerite was one who would try to do anything she was asked to do. Vonetta will be missed on the Education and Welfare and Resolutions Committees. When Vonetta was well, she was so active and kept everyone happy. They will be missed.

Our January meeting was held with thirty present. We enjoyed bingo after our meeting. We really appreciate Teresa Evans, who calls the bingo numbers. In February we will celebrate Valentine's Day.

Pauline Eggert, Secretary

Southwest Missouri Friendship Council

My name is Jackie Kennedy and I am the new public Relations representative for the Friendship Council of the Blind. We've had an exciting three months, including getting three new members.

In November, we had our Thanksgiving dinner. We thought we'd all be tired of turkey and dressing, so instead of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, we decided to have a chili feed. Jane Olsen, one of our members, provided the chili and she makes a mean chili. Everyone else brought a covered dish or desert and a good time was had by all.

In December, we had our Christmas dinner at a really nice restaurant. We had around twenty-five people. We asked each person to bring a gift for a gift exchange. We put all the gifts on a table, put numbers on the bottom of each gift and then drew numbers to see who got each gift. Everyone was pleased with their gift and it was great fun.

Also in December we created a new office, a historian. We elected Helen Highley to fill that new position. Helen always takes pictures at meetings and dinners and now we'll always have that to remember our activities.

In January, Kathleen Everett celebrated her 86th birthday, so we had cake for her at our January business meeting. So we've had an exciting three months and we hope the next three will be even better.

Jackie Kennedy

Springfield Service Club

Say good morning to the Ozarks, everyone! This is the Springfield Service Club, with good times past and future. West Plains came to share Thanksgiving dinner with us, (no, not the whole town, just the affiliate) and we were so glad they came. We had a good dinner, good fellowship, good all the way. We had our Christmas party, and, unlike last year, we didn't get snowed out. It was a wonderful party, with carols, food, gifts, noise. Well, a little noise. Now we are looking forward to our Valentine dinner with West Plains, at their house this time. This has become a tradition between the two affiliates, and I think that some of the rest of you do something similar. Isn't it a wonderful way to get together? All ride easy til next time, and don't let your horse slip on the stairs. Marti Watson

United Workers for the Blind

Greetings from UWB

On December 1, we held our Christmas Party at the Salad Bowl Restaurant. We were pleased to have Chip and Linda Hailey with us all the way from Joplin. Entertainment was provided by Katie Cron, who sang and played the piano. Katie is a rehab teacher with RSB, working in the South St. Louis office. She did an especially beautiful version of Oh, Holy Night. I performed a silly song I wrote called the Twelve Days of Rehab, based on the twelve days of Christmas. I took the idea from a similar song posted on the MCB List, which I updated with references to current technology. It began: On the first day of rehab, RSB gave to me, a white cane because I can't see. It continued with two talking books, three Braille Lites, four talking clocks and five years of school. It also mentioned guide dogs, magnifiers, jobs, computers and authorization forms. It ended with: On the last day of rehab, my counselor said to me, "Your case is closed," but still I can't see.

UWB continues to grow with three new members so far in 2002. They are Tony Deutch, who works for the IRS, Dennis Neely, a Lighthouse employee, and Bill Jennings, who is an attorney. I guess we'll have to stop telling those lawyer jokes. We are glad to have them in our affiliate.

Way back in 1912, a group of blind people from St. Louis got together with the idea of forming an organization for the blind. That organization became the United Workers for the Blind of Missouri, which was founded in 1912 and chartered in 1914. On September 21, we will celebrate our 90th anniversary with a dinner. Lucille Fierce is the Chair of the committee planning the anniversary celebration. I'll tell you more about it as plans unfold. We hope to make it quite an event.

John Weidlich

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From The Lower Left-Hand Drawer

Here we are again with another load of information about products and services that you may want to check out. These announcements are presented to you for informational purposes only; they are not being endorsed by me or by MCB.

The L.A. Theatre Works has a catalog listing more than one hundred classic and contemporary plays, docudramas, musicals and novels performed by professional actors and recorded on cassette or Cd. Prices begin at $19.95. For more information contact the L.A. Theatre Works, 681 Venice Boulevard, Venice CA 90291, phone: (310) 827-0808. Their web site is

www.latw.org

Here are two sources for Braille greeting cards: Shadows in the Dark has Braille cards for all occasions as well as customized poetry cards. Prices range from $1.05 to $3.00. The address is 4600 Pine Hill Road, Shreeveport LA 71107. The phone number is (318) 459-2233. The other source is Vanduzer Braille Productions, 1881 West La Osa Street, Tucson AZ 85705-2152. Sorry, no phone number, but you can send e-mail to

vanduzer@earthlink.net

I have no idea how this works, but I may have to check it out. Message Cleaner is software that removes all of those irritating greater than signs and linefeeds that clutter up forwarded e-mail messages. I have literally seen hundreds of those things in long forwarded articles. Does anyone know why they are there in the first place? Anyway, Message Cleaner costs $7.50 and is available from Roundhill Software, e-mail

messagecleaner@roundhillsoftware.com

At the close of the column in the last issue, I made a joking reference to Ray Charles developing accessible slot machines. Well, here's the rest of the story. Ray is indeed working with a company called Bally Gaming Systems and they have developed three slot machines that are fully accessible to blind gamblers. They are called America the Beautiful, What I'd pay (I love that one), and Ray's Jukebox. The machines feature audio cues and buttons marked with braille, along with videos of some of Ray's concerts. The audio assist button gives players audible instructions on how to play the games. Bally Gaming Systems can be contacted by calling (877) 462-2559. or by visiting the web site

www.ballygaming.com

Quick, we need to get this information to the Casino Queen. I promise to give half of my winnings to MCB. Well, ten percent.

Premier Programming Solutions offers Scan and Read, a software package that translates written text into speech, priced at $89.95. All I have on this one is a phone number, (517) 668-8188, and a web site

www.premierprogramming.com

Now let's give several sources of religious material. Glad Tidings Magazine, a free magazine published quarterly in Braille containing songs, bible questions, biographies, and inspirational articles, is available from Glad Tidings, 1063 Aviation Boulevard, Hermosa Beach CA 90254.

The International Braille Christian Mission (ICBM), offers New Testament literature, hymnals, periodicals and a newsletter to blind readers through a lending library. Contact ICBM at 5210 Mccorkle Avenue, Sw., Charleston WV 25309-1010, Phone: (304) 768-8776.

World Wide Ministry has tapes of sermons, Bible studies, music and poetry, all free. The address is 1810 32nd Place N.E., Number 20, Salem OR 97303.

Christian Services for the Blind has a library of books on Braille and tape that you can borrow by contacting Dr. Franklin Tucker, Christian Services for the Blind, Po Box 26, South Pasadena CA 91030-0026, (626) 799-3935.

Finally, Lutheran Braille Workers produce bibles in Braille and large print which are given free to the blind. For more information, contact Lutheran Braille Workers Inc. at Po Box 5000, Yucaipa CA 92399-1450. The phone number is (909) 795-8977.

California Canes has a new toll-free number and a new seven-section folding cane. The new number is (866) 489-1973. The address for California Canes is still 25611 Quail Run, Number 125, Dana Point CA 92629.

The Social Security Administration has a new web site dealing especially with issues affecting women. Go to

www.ssa.gov/women

for information about Social Security benefits as they apply to working women, brides, widows, divorced women, mothers and caregivers.

Katherine Thomas will provide braille copies of information from the Internet upon request. Send e-mail to

braille@panix.com

The American Printing House is selling an interpoint slate. It has nine lines of 21 cells each. You just turn over the slate to write on the other side of the paper. The price is $9.00 and you can order it by writing American Printing House, 1839 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville KY 40206 or by calling (800) 233-1839.

The Newsline Service, previously available only to residents in a few parts of the state, will be available to all Missouri residents by March. This is the service that gives subscribers access to daily newspapers over the telephone. Call Wolfner Library to sign up for the service.

Playback Marketing, 1308 Evergreen, Goldsboro NC 27530 has a new catalog on tape listing nineteen categories of merchandise for sale. The catalog costs $4. In addition, the company has old radio shows on tape and several collections of music on compact disc. The phone number is (888) 217-2312.

The Reader's Digest is available in a large print edition, which includes illustrations. A year's subscription is $19.95 and can be ordered by writing to Reader's Digest Large Edition, Po Box 3013, Harlan IA 51593-2014. Phone: (800) 807-2780.

If you read large print and like to do crossword puzzles, you might want to check out the Crossword Club from Woodsquare Publishing Company. For $59.95, you get six crossword puzzles a month in large type. Each one is a three-page fold-out puzzle. The address for Woodsquare Publishing Company is 2227 Lakeside Drive, Box 740, Deerfield, IL 60015.

Arnold Dunn, a retired engineer living in Florida, makes sets of wooden tiles showing the Braille alphabet which he gives free to schools for the blind or to blind children. Each set contains the letters of the alphabet and the number sign. Each tile is two and a half inches long and has the Braille letter on one side and the print letter on the other side. He also makes a set of tiles with Grade II symbols. He would like to make them available to every blind child who wants one. His address is 5130 Brittany Drive South, Apartment 301, St. Petersburg, FL 33715. His phone number is (727) 867-3818.

Project Assist sells tutorials and keyboard guides to help blind people use several popular Windows programs. The tutorials include keystrokes to use with screen readers. They range in price from $35 to $50. They are available on cassette tape or they can be downloaded. For a complete list of what is available, contact Project Assist With Windows, Iowa Department for the Blind, 524 Fourth Street, Des Moines IA 50309-2364, (515) 281-1357.

The bookworm is a small battery-operated device, about the size of a Walkman, in which you can store electronic text that can be read on an eight-cell Braille display. It can also be used as a miniature Braille display for a personal computer. The Bookworm does not have speech, just a Braille display. You download books into the Bookworm from a computer. It can hold several volumes of Braille. Although it has a Braille display of only eight cells, it can be set to scroll automatically at your desired pace. The Bookworm, which costs $1,695 is made in Germany. The North American distributor is Access Ability, a San Francisco company. The phone number is (888) 322-7200. You can find a glowing review of the Bookworm in the February issue of the Braille Forum.

Now let's mention some e-mail lists. Newsdesk is a list on which people can post newspaper or magazine articles dealing with blindness. There is no discussion on the list and only one person ever seems to post anything, but he has been known to post as many as 15 or 20 items at a time when he gets going. This gentleman, by the name of Geoff Stevens, manages to find articles from newspapers all over the world, some of them quite interesting--everything from the latest eye research to crimes committed by and against blind people. Most of the best items on Newsdesk eventUally find their way onto the MCB list, but if you want to take advantage of this service send a blank e-mail to

newsdesk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

My wife Donna recently joined a list she is really enjoying. It is a discussion list for visually impaired women. However, they did permit me to wade in on a discussion they were having regarding Braille. The ladies on the list discuss women's issues and exchange humor. There are also women on the list from England and Spain who have posted very interesting comments about blindness issues in their countries. To join, send a blank message to

viswomen-subscribe@topica.com

Meet Your Mate is an e-mail list for blind and visually impaired singles. To join, send a blank e-mail message to

meet-your-mate-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

and you can send an introductory message about yourself and your interests, after which you might just meet your mate.

Blind Students is a list where blind students, teachers and counselors can discuss some of their special concerns. Assistive technology is also a frequent topic on this list. Join by sending a blank message to

blindstudents-list-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Finally, Accessible Computing 101 is a list where blind computer users can get step-by-step instructions on how to perform computer functions from experienced computer users. Subscribe by sending a blank message to

accesscomp-101-subscribe@topica.com

Cathy Anne Murtha has compiled a list of more than 300 blindness-related e-mail lists which you can read by going to this web site:

www.accesstechnologyinstitute.com

Business Owners Who Are Blind is a book by Deborah Kendrick profiling several blind people who operate their own businesses. It is available in tape or in print for $22 from the American Foundation for the Blind. To order, call (800) 232-5463.

The Freedom Box is a new device that allows users to get information from the Internet using voice commands and a standard phone line and without needing a computer. The Box connects you to the Internet through your phone. As I understand it, (and I don't really understand it very well), you can navigate web sites using voice commands or a keypad. For information on how the system works and what it costs, contact Mike Kelvo at Freedom Box, 13786 South 56th Street, Number 181, Miami FL 33175, Phone: (877 661-3785, Extension 20.

Job Line, a service operated by the US Labor Department and the National Federation of the Blind, is a service that allows users to get job listings by phone. The first time you call the number, which is (800) 414-5748, you set up a personal profile of your work skills and the types of jobs you are looking for. After that, you enter your personal profile number and the system gives you the latest listings of jobs that fit the profile you have set up for yourself. So you only hear listings of jobs that might interest you. I believe the listings are updated daily.

The Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind, which has been around since the early 1900s, is now available by e-mail as well as in braille and on tape. The Ziegler is a free monthly publication that contains articles from other periodicals on a variety of subjects. Each issue also contains a reader's Forum column, special notices, and pen pal listings. Each issue also has a short story and a poem. Here is the contact information: Matilda Ziegler Magazine, 80 Eighth Avenue, Room 1304, New York NY 10011; (212) 242-0263. The e-mail address is

blind@bellatlantic.net

Wolfner Library has two new recorded magazines that you can borrow: Good Old Days and Reminisce. Both contain stories submitted by readers about school days, work, trips and the way things used to be. Call the library at (800) 392-2614 to get on the list for either of these magazines.

A company called Designs In Braille sells a line of jewelry which can be personalized with your name, a word or a short phrase in Braille. It is sterling silver with eighteen-karat gold Braille cells. Items include rings, bracelets, key chains, necklaces and cuff links. The print words are engraved on the reverse side. I have no prices here, but somehow I'm betting it's not cheap. Designs In Braille can be reached at (908) 930-8883.

The National Braille Press has two new free Braille publications. The first is Keeping Your Child Safer in the World: Tips for Children, Teens and Parents, produced by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The other new book, also free, is The Menopause Guidebook 2001, the cost of which was underwritten by the North American Menopause Society. To order either of these, contact the National Braille Press at 88 St. Stephen Street, Boston, MA 02115 or call (800) 548-7323.

Handiworks, 10235 Glenoaks boulevard Pacoima, CA 91331 sells leather cases custom-made to hold a Braille Lite, organizer bags, cane holders, guide dog signs, large print checkbooks, wallets, coin cases, and specialty t-shirts. The phone number is (800) 331-6123.

The Campanian Society is an organization that plans travel tours for blind people that emphasize audible and tactile experiences. Tours for 2002 include trips to Washington, DC; Philadelphia and Atlantic City; Boston, Lexington and Concord; Minneapolis-St. Paul; and Hawaii. A Mississippi River cruise is planned for November. For more information, contact the Campanian Society at Box 167, Oxford, OH 45056, Phone: (513) 524-4846.

Vision Community Services will provide items like menus, financial statements, users guides for electrical appliances, and hymnals in Braille upon request. Contact Bob Hachey, Braille Program Supervisor, Vision Community Services, 23A Elm Street, Watertown, MA 02472. Call (617) 972-9109 or e-mail

rachey@mablind.org

Speaking of getting things transcribed into Braille, Nardin Park Braille Transcribers will put greeting cards in Braille for no charge. Just put the card in an unsealed and stamped envelope with the address of the person to whom you want to send the card. Put the card and envelope in a larger envelope and mail it to Nardin Park Braille Transcribers, 33542 Argonne Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48335.

This sounds like a unique service--the recipe of the month club, operated by Maureen Pranghofer. For $25 a year, you receive five recipes each month in your choice of Braille, cassette, large print, computer disk or e-mail. Maureen will also transcribe print recipes for you. The address is Maureen Pranghofer, Recipe of the Month Club, 4910 Dawnview Terrace, Golden Valley, Mn 55422. The phone number is (763) 522-2501 and the e-mail address is

maureen72@mediaone.net

That's it for this time. If you have items you think should be included in this column, send them to me.

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IN FOND MEMORY OF MY LIVING FRIEND, JERRY

From The Editor, As you know, we often end the Chronicle with some poetry. This poem is much more serious than the poems I usually include and you may need to read it a time or two before you really get the impact of it. It was sent to me by Barbara Borgmeyer, a member of the St. Charles County affiliate. It was written by a friend of hers, Verne Sanford, who is a retired professor of Mathematics and a poet. This poem was originally printed in the 1998 Edition of Skylark, the literary magazine of Purdue University. Like many poems written these days, it doesn't rhyme and it doesn't make for easy reading. But I found it to be a very moving piece of writing by someone watching the deterioration of a friend. I hope you will like it, too.

Degeneration harvested its plunder

of his mind, his memories.

And now a nursing home conceals my failing friend,

its lighted haunted hallways dimly echo

sounds of countless wheelchairs, rolling, stopping,

reversing, slowly turning,

then repeatedly, relentlessly,

retracing well-worn ways.

Doorways repose on either side,

and nameplates introduce each resident,

Leonard Zakton, Annie Wilson,

Mildred Schweitzer, Jerry White,

some wheelchairs parked and motionless.

The dining hall is brightly lit,

its window panes and ceiling lights

reflected

in the magnificent screen of a single overburdened television set.

A silvery, steaming coffee pot beckons its readiness

to nearby tabletops in geometric shapes.

The flat, smooth carpet hears less sound

than a hunter's cautious step.

One day we met in here

and softly spoke of earlier times,

his uncle's farm, depression days and rationing,

the long, long war he bravely fought,

the cars he drove, his high school friends,

when suddenly

he slowly pivoted his chair

and slipped inaudibly away.

He did not know my name today.

He lived just two doors down across

our black macadam street,

smooth pavement meant to dim the sounds

of countless tires tracing

and retracing well-worn ways.

Huge trees repose on every boulevard,

overspreading aging sidewalks stretched

long and thin like ribbons lying motionless.

A craftsman once with lathe and scroll

he helped me cut and shape my wood.

We worked and joked and laughed a lot,

and met for breakfast now and then.

In wintertime when new-fallen snow

snuggled intimately down on walks and drives,

we often shoveled,

he and I, across our street,

then lazily leaned on shovel handles

just to pass the time of day.

I sadly watched him slowly,

silently, steadily deteriorate

like fog accumulates

across a deathly-quiet pond,

his laughter strained, his dulling memory,

his shovel resting partly hidden where it lay.

And soon, too soon, he went away.

I walk alone and shovel snow

yet not alone,

for many neighbors still abound

along our street.

Some may not know that he is gone.

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The "Good Ole" Days

Here's something fun for those of you who like to look back on the "good Ole days" when life was so much simpler than it is today. How many of the things on this list do you remember? I won't tell you how many I remember, but there are quite a few. Maybe some of you would like to send lists of your own.

1. Candy cigarettes

2. Wax coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside.

3. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles.

4. Coffee shops with tableside juke boxes

5. Blackjack, Clove and Teaberry chewing gum

6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles, with Cardboard stoppers.

7. Party lines.

8. Newsreels before the movie.

9. P. F. Flyers

10. Butch wax

11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix '''(Drexel-5505)

12. Peashooters.

13. Howdy Doody

14. 45 RPM (or 78 RPM) Records

15. Green Stamps

16. Hi-fi's

17. Metal ice cube trays with levers

18. Mimeograph paper

19. Blue flash Bulbs

20. Beanie and Cecil

21. roller skate keys

22. Cork pop guns

23. Drive-ins

24. Studebakers

25. Wash tub wringers

26. The Fuller Brush man

27. Reel-to-reel tape recorders

28. Tinkertoys

29. The Erector Set

30. The Fort Apache Playset

31. Lincoln Logs

32. 15 cent McDonald hamburgers

33. 5 cent packs of baseball cards with that awful pink slab of bubblegum

34. Penny candy

35. 35 cent-a-gallon gasoline

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