tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post4085990506255765467..comments2024-03-28T06:20:48.661-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: Living as a Blind Person in 1889, a guest post by Edith MaxwellJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-52632742239751426562019-09-14T08:32:57.913-04:002019-09-14T08:32:57.913-04:00Congratualtions to Helen D., to Edith for her wond...Congratualtions to Helen D., to Edith for her wonderful book, and Edith, you do have a copy for everyone -- it's for sale! (Just had to add that)Claire A Murrayhttps://www.facebook.com/ClaireMurraywritesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-53620808143501006402019-09-12T08:45:48.641-04:002019-09-12T08:45:48.641-04:00Helen D is the winner of the copy of Judge Thee No...Helen D is the winner of the copy of Judge Thee Not! Helen, please email me at edith@edithmaxwell.com. Congratulations, and thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences. I wish I had a copy for each of you!Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-51017327881415431392019-09-12T08:44:53.070-04:002019-09-12T08:44:53.070-04:00Helen, you are the winner of the copy of Judge The...Helen, you are the winner of the copy of Judge Thee Not! Please email me at edith@edithmaxwell.com. Congratulations!Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-18635183198611156772019-09-11T10:02:17.276-04:002019-09-11T10:02:17.276-04:00Edith, thank you. I remember when I was a kid, my...Edith, thank you. I remember when I was a kid, my Dad created a globe out of leather and designed the globe for blind people so they could locate the continents with their fingers.<br /><br />DianaBibliophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07764234701385787238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-43296415094562721682019-09-11T06:16:45.915-04:002019-09-11T06:16:45.915-04:00Then certainly!Then certainly!Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-23201621543439573802019-09-11T01:20:52.384-04:002019-09-11T01:20:52.384-04:00Definitely yes! I am an elementary school special...Definitely yes! I am an elementary school special education teacher! lindaherold999(at)gmail(dot)comLinda Heroldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09988385643154235201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-85360740215566864052019-09-10T21:04:13.460-04:002019-09-10T21:04:13.460-04:00I'm sure there is much you notice that people ...I'm sure there is much you notice that people with hearing don't, Diana. Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58588406281669528792019-09-10T21:02:04.925-04:002019-09-10T21:02:04.925-04:00That must have been so very hard for all of you, K...That must have been so very hard for all of you, Kara.Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-77338576494894484672019-09-10T19:06:26.104-04:002019-09-10T19:06:26.104-04:00Edith, welcome to Jungle Reds! I just finished yo...Edith, welcome to Jungle Reds! I just finished your Quaker midwife mystery CHARITY'S BURDEN today. I borrowed the library copy of the book, which is New at the library. What Jeanne said about sight and hearing resonated with me. I remember someone asked me if my deafness made me better at seeing. I think Jeanne said it very well. I think because I could not hear, the sounds did Not distract me from noticing things. Deaf people often notice things that hearing people overlook. Whether the deaf person grows up mouth speaking like hearing people or speaking with their hands, both groups rely on visuality more than hearing. Sometimes hearing aid works for a deaf person, depending on the degree of hearing loss or the type of hearing loss. My hearing loss was due to nerve damage from a high fever (meningitis). The cochlear implants helped a lot and I could tell the difference between the sounds. Yet I did not get the CI until I was an adult.<br /><br />And Helen Keller was also Deaf. I remember reading about Helen Keller when I was about seven years old. I remember that she was also blind. I focused on her deafness since I also was deaf. Her teacher, Annie Sullivan, went to Perkins School. <br /><br />DianaBibliophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07764234701385787238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-48421717638099223762019-09-10T18:15:34.037-04:002019-09-10T18:15:34.037-04:00Forgot: legallyblonde1961@yahoo.comForgot: legallyblonde1961@yahoo.comKara Markshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06197443742376616711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-13516148864073789832019-09-10T18:14:24.532-04:002019-09-10T18:14:24.532-04:00My mom went blind with her last brain tumor. (She ...My mom went blind with her last brain tumor. (She previously had 2 benign brain tumors before dying of a malignant brain tumor at age 45, leaving behind twin 23 y o daughters, and two younger ones 17 and 18–I was 18.) I learned patience and not to feel sorry for oneself. She accepted her illnesses with grace, and she worked hard to do all she could, but accepted help when necessary. Kara Markshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06197443742376616711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-38065328424719755622019-09-10T17:45:08.754-04:002019-09-10T17:45:08.754-04:00That must have been so scary, Karen. I'm glad ...That must have been so scary, Karen. I'm glad it leveled out - and Lasik! I've always been impressed by what my friend Jeanne has done. I recently saw a picture of her and a friend on Jeanne's tandem bike when she was a teenager.Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-63233969480776690102019-09-10T17:41:50.217-04:002019-09-10T17:41:50.217-04:00Places like that are so important, Dianne.Places like that are so important, Dianne.Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-43647211014747335572019-09-10T17:12:26.476-04:002019-09-10T17:12:26.476-04:00What an interesting topic to tackle in that time p...What an interesting topic to tackle in that time period. Being blind has to be challenging now, much less in the 1880's. I have a friend who was legally blind and I always admired how she was as always so perfectly put together and beautifully dressed. When I first met her I had no idea she was legally blind. She went to The Chicago Lighthouse For The Blind when she first lost her sight and it helped her adapt.diannekchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01001841784219212036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-59940698288157409582019-09-10T16:09:05.046-04:002019-09-10T16:09:05.046-04:00Let's hear it for bilinguals!Let's hear it for bilinguals!Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-50054505896866105972019-09-10T16:07:51.325-04:002019-09-10T16:07:51.325-04:00I've been trying all day to comment, but it...I've been trying all day to comment, but it's been busy here! <br /><br />When I was a kid I had terrible, and rapidly deteriorating, eyesight. Blindness was one of my most morbid terrors, so I was grimly determined to be prepared in case things kept going the way it seemed they were. Heidi's blind grandfather, and the Rudyard Kipling character who became blind from reading in dim light and licking lead painted objects (dumb kid) gave me clues about how I might adapt if the worst scenario came to pass. <br /><br />Then my sight leveled out, although it was still really bad (20/1100 in one eye; 20/950 with astigmatism in the other). Thank goodness for LASIK surgery that corrected it to 20/25 in both eyes. <br /><br />My book club, which I've mentioned before, had at one point two blind members. The younger of the two was Deborah Kendrick, who wrote a column in the Cincinnati Enquirer for several years on various types of in-abilities, including blindness. Deborah was very generous in sharing her own experiences, and since she was not born blind, she could remember some things, like colors, from before she lost her sight in middle school. <br /><br />Deborah was amazing. She had two daughters, and she sewed their clothing, and her own, when they were growing up. She made her own wedding gown! I wish I'd known her when I was a worried kid, fearful of losing that precious ability to see. <br /><br />It's heartening to see how much has been developed so that the blind can maneuver more gracefully through life. Computers, in particular, are such a boon, including the tiny ones we call cell phones. And the aids for the hearing impaired are equally astonishing. When I taught sewing in the 90's I had a student whose mother and father were both born deaf. Laurie and her brother had no hearing loss, and they helped their parents a lot, but their entire house was set up so that the alarm clocks, the doorbells, and the telephones were rigged to lights that flashed to alert them. The clunky phone relay situation of the time--where a third party would translate from text to speech and back--has been replaced by so many far more elegant systems of communication.<br /><br />It would be a far different world in Rose's time, for sure. Karen in Ohiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13846039203123720312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-67214321959088738712019-09-10T16:07:40.492-04:002019-09-10T16:07:40.492-04:00Thanks, Pat. Great stories!Thanks, Pat. Great stories!Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-52773919014634674362019-09-10T15:00:28.077-04:002019-09-10T15:00:28.077-04:00I'm really looking forward to this book! Hav...I'm really looking forward to this book! Haven't known a lot of blind people, but we have lots of deafness in the family. My cousin who's deaf (because her mother caught the measles during the pregnancy) married a deaf man and raised three wonderful accomplished hearing children who grew up bilingual in English and ASL.Debbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476407014245266410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-34931282418682137572019-09-10T13:45:43.891-04:002019-09-10T13:45:43.891-04:00Congratulations Edith on your latest book! When I ...Congratulations Edith on your latest book! When I attended the U. of Texas in Austin I was in awe of the blind students who I saw daily, striding confidently across campus. Absolutely in awe. One of our friends is legally blind. She runs marathons, travels, operates several businesses and is in constant motion. She is something else!Pat Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12732230586783432052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-90447447751433461802019-09-10T13:30:02.782-04:002019-09-10T13:30:02.782-04:00I am in similar awe, Kathy, and I know if you have...I am in similar awe, Kathy, and I know if you have to face a diminution of your sight you will do so with grace and persistence.<br /><br />Thank you for your kind words about my writing!Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-21672043247122297572019-09-10T12:58:38.038-04:002019-09-10T12:58:38.038-04:00I am in such awe of blind people who navigate thei...I am in such awe of blind people who navigate their world with seeming ease and success. The things that many blind people achieve put many sighted people to shame. Of course, I'm always amazed at those who don't let their disabilities stop them from living their dreams and being successful. I hang my head in embarrassment at the petty complaints and excuses I use to defer a goal. While I so respect the blind in their achievements, I fear that I may one day have to suffer the disability. My mother had macular degeneration, and it's something that hangs over my head as a daunting prospect. I'm such a visual learner and reader. It would be an enormous adjustment, and, yet, I see people making it with an approach of bravery and determination. I do have an ophthalmologist who keeps a yearly check on my eyes.<br /><br />Edith, your research and the result of it brings readers such wonderful stories in all you write. This Quaker Midwife series is so interesting. Rose is a great character. I'm behind in the series, as I'm behind in so much these days, but I may have to skip ahead and read this new one and then go back. Congratulations on the new book. Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58617136931072974032019-09-10T12:42:06.363-04:002019-09-10T12:42:06.363-04:00Agree, Libby!Agree, Libby!Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-38377458088524745562019-09-10T12:34:26.515-04:002019-09-10T12:34:26.515-04:00That is an insightful comment that we hearing peop...That is an insightful comment that we hearing people tend to be distracted from really listening. How true!Libby Doddnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-12877118470388536262019-09-10T12:09:31.815-04:002019-09-10T12:09:31.815-04:00An insightful therapist, Jennifer.An insightful therapist, Jennifer.Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-3096047399096280752019-09-10T11:52:34.977-04:002019-09-10T11:52:34.977-04:00Ooohhh, yeah!
And add to that that just because so...Ooohhh, yeah!<br />And add to that that just because someone doesn't talk does not mean she can't.Jennifer Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14115866986637597240noreply@blogger.com