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From: Gary.Peterson@p0.f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Gary Peterson)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Computers Blindsided, part 1
Message-ID: <16149@handicap.news>
Date: 18 Jun 91 16:14:39 GMT
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Index Number: 16149

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Computers Blindsided

                                             by Gary Peterson

I have never been a great lover of Braille.  Oh, I can read it
all right.  However, due to cerebral palsy, it's difficult for me
to hold my place on a page.

As a result, the one page of Braille that would take the average
reader five minutes or less to read, could sometimes take me as
much as a half hour.  In spite of these limitations, I still hold
Braille very near and dear to my heart, but only if I'm going to
be stuck on an elevator or in the men's room for no less than
two months.

Up to the time I got my first computer, the idea of even getting
near, much less having my own, was just too Orwellian for me.  I
mean after all, the ATM machine was constantly eating my bank
card.  Then there was the computer at the Social Security office
that, no matter how nice I was, always told me I was a bad boy.
Add to this the phone bill that came every month in my name
(which I know had to belong to someone else) and I had just about
all the computers I could stand!

One day over lunch, a friend told me that she had begun to look
into the medium of adaptive speech technology.  I felt a cold
chill start up and down my back.  "You mean talking computers?" I
asked, squinting my face in a knot and darn near squirming out of
my wheelchair, trying all the while not to show the fear in my
voice.

As we left the restaurant, I thought, "I'll just stick to talking
books, thank you."

It was just my luck that everything I read from then on had
something to do with computers.  Even the nightly news was full
of it!   Or maybe I've been comatose for the last decade, and
they've burned all the books.  All except those having to do
with computers, of course.

At the same time, I'm sure it was just coincidence that I ran
into my friend at least once every other week.  All she could
talk about was the latest thing she had heard or read about "you
know what."  When I saw her after she had gone to a local college
and played with one of the damn things, oh brother!

It is my firm belief that most things happen to us for a reason.
However, up to now I could see absolutely no reason for the
sudden wave of computer literature into my life!

I found myself wishing more and more that I could be just like my
friend Rip Van Winkle.  You remember old Rip.  If I could just
fall asleep and take a good long nap just like he did, when I
woke up life would be back to normal.  The only problem with this
was that I didn't have 100 years to sleep on it.

One day as my attendant was leisurely pushing me down the street,
who should we run into but my computer comrade.  After greeting
each other, she started telling me all about a class she was
taking.  Right away I knew I was in trouble.  As she stood on the
sidewalk, singing the praises of Big Brother and his competitor
Big Sister, I thought, "That does it."

It was time to face my enemy right there and then...or have a
nervous breakdown on the spot.

After confessing all my fears and reservations of the last
several months, I was amazed at how much better I felt.  I no
longer had a violent headache nor did the sound of the word
"computer" make me want to run and hide.  In my mind, at least, I
was ready to take the plunge.

--
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