No, I wasn't advocating saying, "I listened to TV" or "I felt a braille letter
from my sister". I was advocating describing the actual experience you were
having which, I said I thought was a warm, lovely holiday family gathering with
children and grandchildren whom you love. I just thought that expressing that
in purely visual terms, wasn't accurate or necessary. If I were to talk about
my Thanksgiving experience, I'd talk about how my daughters and son-in-law all
worked together to prepare the meal and how difficult that was to do in the
kitchen in the house where I'm living for a variety of reasons, and how the
fact that my daughter and son-in-law are having their kitchen remodeled right
now which has disrupted their household, complicated things for everyone. But
they all worked hard to make things as pleasant as possible while I sat there,
remembering the days when I could move around and function and I was the person
preparing the meal. I also remembered Thanksgiving Days from my childhood, and
from when Debbie was a toddler at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, terrified of the
clowns who tried to relate to the children who lined the street, and Melanie's
first Thanksgiving in the US.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2019 7:32 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: a quick wish for a better tomorrow
Yes. I do deal in dreams. And after more than 55 years, I still dream
visually and in color. A bit faded and blurred, but actual colors. Besides,
when I say, "I saw..." i'm using the language most of us use. I never say, "I
listen to TV", nor do I say "I felt a sweet Braille letter from my good
friend". Conveying the intent is far more important to me than explaining the
exact manner in which information is exchanged.
In writing short stories I always speak in the language of the majority. I'm
conveying a feeling, and I don't want to have my readers distracted by strange
wording.
Anyway, we've done it again. We had 16 family and spouses Thanksgiving Day,
and 16 more today.
I have always loved family gatherings. And never have we had a family feud,
even among those outspoken members who try to promote their particular views.
Not even my dear old grandpa who tried selling some sort of insurance policy.
Nor to my aunt who could never get over Thomas Dewey's loss to Harry
Truman...which she was certain came about due to Communists. We just hugged
her and said"Is Dewey still running?"
Well, they're serving the pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream, and I want to
be certain to get my mouth on my share.
Best to all,
Carl Jarvis
On 11/29/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Carl deals in dreams and fantasy. I mean, here is this blind man
writing about his Thanksgiving experience, saying, "As I gaze around
me..." and talking about his "good looking children". I think he means
that he loves his family and is happy to have them altogether in his
home. But to express his feelings to an email list filled with blind
people all in visual terms seems a bit strange. It's the kind of thing
that you do if yoou're blind and you're communicating with a bunch of sighted
people. So it gives me pause.
Family gatherings at holiday times are supposed to be warm, loving,
and joyful. Sometimes, they are. Often, longstanding family conflicts
raise their ugly heads or unexpected tensions arise. Mostly, holiday
gatherings are a mixed bag.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2019 2:49 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] a quick wish for a better tomorrow
For the Jarvises this is a time for family. The entire long weekend
starting with last Wednesday. In all, 23 family members will break
Turkey with us. It's a wonderful time, but getting a bit difficult
for a couple of grandparents to pull off. But how can we turn away
such a fine group of people, like our children and their families?
As I gaze about me, all I can say to Cathy is, "Boy did we do a good
job of raising up such a good looking group of perfect children."
Carl Jarvis