Volume 82, Number 3

Quarterly Publication of the

National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, Inc.

100 East 22nd Street

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404

Voice:  (612) 872-9363

Website:  www.nfbmn.org

Tom Scanlan, Editor

E-mail tom.scanlan@earthlink.net

WE ARE CHANGING

WHAT IT MEANS

TO BE BLIND

Many people are involved in getting this issue to you.  The writers can write and the editor can edit, but until the material is printed, brailled, recorded, and distributed, it is just a computer file.  Therefore, we owe great thanks to the following people for the work they do in producing this publication.

The purpose of the National Federation of the Blind is two-fold — to help blind persons achieve self-confidence and self-respect and to act as a vehicle for collective self-expression by the blind.  By providing public education about blindness, information and referral services, scholarships, literature and publications about blindness, aids and appliances and other adaptive equipment for the blind, advocacy services and protection of civil rights, development and evaluation of technology, and support for blind persons and their families, members of the NFB strive to educate the publi

At Large Chapter — Statewide consisting of those who live outside a chapter area and/or cannot attend a meeting in person; meets by conference call on the third Sunday of every month; contact Dave Andrews at 612-730-7931 or dandrews@visi.com for meeting details

Central Minnesota Chapter — St. Cloud area; meets at 12:00 on the second Saturday of every month at the VFW in St. Cloud

Exciting times are coming in NFB conventions.  Keep these in mind as you plan your activities throughout the coming year.

The Semiannual NFB of Minnesota Convention will be in May 2016 at the NFB of Minnesota building in Minneapolis.  Members will receive a letter with details, and the letter will be on our website at www.nfbmn.org.

By Larry Lorenzo

(Editor’s Note:  The following article is reprinted from Que Pasa, the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico.)

By Judy Sanders

(Editor’s Note:  Judy is an active member of our Metro Chapter and the immediate past secretary of the NFB of Minnesota.)

Who would have thought that there could be so many decisions to make when using transit to get from one place to another for a blind person?  Let’s begin with trains.  I have the least amount of experience with them.

By Dave Walle

(Editor’s Note:   Dave is an active member of our Rochester Chapter.)

By James Oliver Smith Jr

(Editor’s Note:  James is an active member of our Metro Chapter.)

By Jan Bailey

(Editor’s Note:  Jan is a retired counselor for State Services for the Blind.  She serves as our Rochester Chapter president and a member of the NFB of Minnesota board of directors.)

There is a plethora of technology in our world today, and it is certainly important in helping blind people to become employed, but often the simple low-tech solutions are never thought of.