Editor’s Note: Richie travels to Baltimore a few times a year with up to ten Blind Youth from Texas, to attend the Youth Leadership Academy at the Jernigan Institute.  The following is a speech he delivered at the December 2011 Academy to 10 teachers of the Teacher’s of Tomorrow Program, and twenty-five students from across this country.: 

The popular holiday story of the Christmas Carol depicts a man named Scrooge, who despises the holiday season, cheer, giving nature, being Mary and such. Scrooge receives some late night ghostly visitors who show him how his past, present, and future can be heavily affected if one doesn’t take part in happiness, meaningful relationships, and community involvement.  In comparison to my own 30-years of personal experience with blindness this concept rings true as well.  Take note on the following examples of how my Blindness past, Present, and Future have played a significant role in where I am today.

My Blindness past consisted of: cancer in the retinas at 2, loss of total vision at 3, and hurray Braille and canes at 4! In elementary school I learned abacus in the 80’s, Braille N Speaks, Lite’s, Key-Note Goals, Perkins Braille and Print gadgets, and my favorite the clunky Apple2 E, that even had some blind kid video games on it.  This game called Space Invaders was quite annoying for an adult, but I was the kid at the time, so I’m sure I began at a young age providing headaches for my Teacher of the Visually Handicapped as it was referred to then.  I had it pretty good in Elementary school; I was literate, social, the only blind kid in a small town, so a bit of a celebrity, and pretty full of myself.  Blessed with a supportive family, good teachers, and a network of school friends, I at times would pretty much forget that I was blind. Images of my blindness past are: rollerblading with friends, playing football in the back yard with the neighborhood boys, hunting with my dad, first kiss at 12, and doing well in all my classes through the sixth grade.  Middle school brought a new direction in my blindness path.

I was 13, first week at Kenith White Junior High, when my blindness was first ever presented to me which caused me to be embarrassed.  I learned from a friend of mine, that on my street, there were two signs that read: “caution blind child area.”  A young guy interested in remaining cool, and not being singled out as the blind person, I had my friend show me these signs, and without his help took them down, and put them in the family garage.  I found out later that the signs were some local politician’s idea that had approached my loving parents who were just “caring about their energetic and daring blind son’s safety.”  This was an argument that my parents decided to agree to disagree with me, all though the signs stayed down.  “Caution blind child area,” meant people needed to act differently because of me, and I was embarrassed about that.  The dramatic social change in adolescence was in full gear.  I no longer could realistically compete in tackle football. In fact I played the last 3 games when the whole B team failed and the Kenith White Junior High Hawks didn’t even have enough kids to field a team.  Math and Science were no longer solvable with an abacus, I lost my Teacher of the Blind to retirement, and I was struggling with a Teacher’s Aid who was hired to learn Braille who originally wanted to work with the deaf.  Fortunately, I still had some friends, although, my friends began heading down the wrong paths also.

I recall talking one of my classmates who graded my Math homework, in to giving me consistent 85s, whether I deserved them or not.  We got caught, and spent a few days in the in school suspension room together, and that was the last time I ever talked with Rigo.  Who wants to be friends with the blind cheater?  I also had this neat idea that walking without a cane hid my blindness, and therefore people wouldn’t realize I was the only blind person in the room.  That worked up to the point, when at a choir concert I walked off the back risers, twisted an ankle, had some snickers from my peers, and played sick for the next few days.  I would try everything and anything to be cool: which got me in to trouble with my mobility as a blind person, education, and parents.  Walking with the wrong crowd, without a cane, neglecting my studies and holding low expectations for myself and meeting others low expectations of me.  As President of the 8^th grade class, we were responsible for decorating the cafeteria for the Valentine’s dance, and I recall being told by the Student council Sponsor that I was the supervisor, and that I didn’t have to help.  Popular enough to be president, but blind enough to do nothing.  Surely I could have hung balloons, streamers, colored in or cut out hearts.  No one had ever seen a blind person do those types of things, and so the expectations were that I couldn’t.  I accepted this trend of doing nothing, not advocating for myself, getting passed over in education, and equal participation in activities with my peers.  I began to feel sorry for myself. 

I owe all of my success to my blindness present situation.  An awesome mom, who is a teacher herself, who cared, supported, and invested in my education with her heart and love.  She wanted me to be a participant and so talked me in to joining the Future Farmers of America, where I learned to care for a 200 pound lamb, to bulk up for harvesting.  I learned a lot from this experience: responsibility feeding and exercising an animal twice a day, I was able to work with my hands, be outside, and make a new network of friends.  My family also supported my education as a blind teenager, by against my will, recommending that I take Algebra and Geometry over again at the School for the Blind.  Being uprooted and transplanted in to a world of blindness was quite overwhelming at first.  Going from being the only blind person to now having to make friends with blind class and even roommates was quite the experience.  The school for the blind proved to be the answer to many of my educational concerns.  Mainly, because I was able to be guided by a counselor toward applying for scholarships for college, in which I was fortunate to be granted by the NFB of Texas.

If one wins a scholarship from the NFB, it is required that you attend their convention to accept it.  I remember having to miss my School for the Blind prom, to attend a convention in Temple Texas.  Little did I know that I would find the best dance partner of all time at this event?  I got to meet so many successful blind people.  Blind people with real jobs, blind parents, businessmen, pretty girls who danced circles around me with their canes, and and over all presence of confidence, independence, and a positive blind culture.  I found out that many of the cool people I had the pleasure of meeting that weekend all had this boot camp blindness training in nearby Louisiana under this Drill Sergeant named Joanne Wilson.    The very first adult meaningful decision I ever made upon completing High School, was to challenge myself in blindness at this center.  For the first time I had to: cross the interstate, walk from one town to the next, get $100 of groceries home without any car transportation, take a college class, read amd write faster Braille, make a meal for 40 people, build a checker board with my two hands, do something productive with a computer, and have weekly conversations about my opinions, frustrations, and beliefs about blindness with the Sergeant.  You see I may have missed the prom, but I gained a life dance partner with the NFB.  My heavenly ghosts of Blindness Present, or blind guardian angels; Joanne Wilson and her Queen’s Guard.  I recall while in training having to make a pizza for a small group who I wasn’t particularly fond of, and having to clean up someone else’s mess because center instructor rosy Caranza thought it would be a good training opportunity for me.  I promise you Rosy, I now can make a mean pizza from scratch, entertain the four walls around me, and own a pair of these cool shoe looking things that are actual mops to clean and cook at the same time.  Rosy networked me with Jason Ewell who a few years after our training, we traveled the country together building chapters of the NFb, uniting our talents to share the awesome opportunities of the federation.  Because of the NFB, I now had positive blind role models, colleagues, and friends. 

Its meaningful relationships such as the ones I have with the people I just mentioned that assisted me through undergrad and graduate college, and now as a young professional.  Jason use to walk me through college math problems over the phone, rosy always had a listening ear to my daily issues, and Joanne always kept the high expectation that she demands that we succeed.  We cannot buy faith and hope such as that, and for that I am thankful.  For that, I look forward to my Blindness future.  I look forward to continuing to be a loving husband to my lovely wife.  I look forward to advancing my career utilizing my degrees and relative experiences.  I look forward to working with Blind Youth in Texas and across the country with the NFb.  I look forward to being the best friend I can be to others.  I look forward to spending more time with all of you, and getting to know your accomplishments.