By Seymour Clearly, (as told to Patrick A. Barrett)

I was adopted by the Boise County School District in Idaho when I was two years old.  I first met Pat Barrett in 5th grade.  His itinerant teacher, (vision teacher is in vogue today), was Elsie Geddes.  She was teaching Pat Typing and Braille.  No offense meant to Catholic readers, but she could have rapped knuckles with the best of nuns armed with rulers.

Elsie insisted that Pat wear me when learning these important communication media.  It helped that the typewriter keys were capped so Pat couldn’t cheat and look underneath me.  Today, he uses the computer keyboard daily at work, and when writing articles for essay contests.  He does 50-60 words per minute.

Braille was more challenging for Ms. Geddes, Pat, and his parents.  Pat would get stuck on touching a letter, then try to see it beige-on-beige.  I would get shoved up above his nose so he could put it closer to the paper.  I lost some weight through these push-up workouts.  Pat got a tongue-lashing and knuckle rapping from Elsie.  Pat’s parents weren’t sure how far to push him:  he could still read large print,

In 1975, I teamed up with Pat again at the Idaho Commission for the Blind (ICB).  His Braille teacher, Lorin Schmitt, was blind.  Lorin and the other great instructors, blind and sighted, saw my importance to be trusted as a learning tool.  Pat’s braille reading was improving, and I got flabbier from less up-and-down exercise.  I got dusty in shop, sweaty from boiling spaghetti, and pensive in Philosophy on Blindness.

Why did Pat’s attitude and skills improve?  Pat’s mom and dad, (and probably Elsie) had not met the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) back in the ‘60s.  The NFB’s basic beliefs in blindfolds and blind people built great training centers like the ICB in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, and Blindness: Learning In New Dimensions (BLIND), Inc. in the ‘80s.

Eighteen years later, after so many wearings, washings and dryings, I retired.  My daughter, Faith, continued in my Eyelids.  Pat had not taken the opportunity back in the summers of ’75 and ’76 to get the full, comprehensive sleep shade training.  At BLIND, Inc., Jon Benson (with State Services for the Blind), and Joyce Scanlan, then Executive Director of BLIND, Incorporated, (Joyce liked “incorporated” written out because there’s no such thing as “blind ink”), gave Pat a second chance. 

He honed his hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching senses through faithful use of his sleep shades.

The training in alternative techniques of blindness over the next nine months gave Pat increased confidence and tapped into a greater wealth of self-esteem.  Sleep shades, used daily for nine months, were like a prescription for the pursuit of happiness.  Benefits included (1) faster Braille reading and writing, (2) increased confidence in cane travel, (3) enjoyment of cooking and grilling, and (4) better job options due to increased computer skills.

To those of you who are either thinking about or currently taking blindness skills training, sleep shades work!  Have faith in them as a cheap but invaluable learning tool. 

As I wrap around, (you would say “wrap up”), I would like to share one of Pat’s favorite lyrics from the band Earth, Wind, and Fire’s song “Shining Star”;

“You’re a shining star,

No matter who you are.

Shining bright to see

What you can truly be;

What you can truly be.”

Blind people have spent so many years learning from others what they cannot do.  Relying on me, many months of hard work, and having faith in themselves, are their re-education.  Do you want to see more clearly?