Stories that Change our Lives

#15 – TO JEANINE, MY MOST AMAZING, MAGICAL CHILDHOOD FRIEND

How can one small 13-year-old be full of so much wisdom, compassion, curiosity, radiance, and love? Her name was Jeanine. Her time on this earth was so very short, but she left it, and all who knew her, in a better place because she lived among us. Because of our friendship, I am still, and always will be, a child at heart. I miss her still. Find out more at https://stories-that-change-our-lives.pinecast.co [https://stories-that-change-our-lives.pinecast.co]

#14 – "HELP" IS A TWO WAY STREET

When I was growing up, the absence of today's technology made it necessary for me to be more dependent on other people for many things. That gave me an insight into dependence that I never expected to discover. In short, many of my friends and acquaintances had similar problems, and they were not blind. Enjoy. Find out more at https://stories-that-change-our-lives.pinecast.co [https://stories-that-change-our-lives.pinecast.co]

#13 – COLLEGE TWO

When I enrolled in college, I was studying to be a minister. This is the story of that journey and how a very special gift of love gave me the freedom to think more open-mindedly about the very narrow path I was on. That gift also allowed me to respect the varied paths taken by others that caused them, and eventually me, to understand and accept the fact that we may not all end up in the same place, and yet...

#12 – COLLEGE ONE

Here are some stories about my early college experience as the only blind student on campus. This was quite a jump from my life at the school for the blind. Given my fear of what I might find at a very good undergraduate college, was this a jump from the frying pan into the fire? It's also a story of an everlasting friendship with the very first student I met when I arrived, as well as a story of a teacher who changed my college experience and my life forever. Find out more at https://stories-that-change-our-lives.pinecast.co [https://stories-that-change-our-lives.pinecast.co]

MY YEARS AT THE VIRGINIA SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND

My parents knew that no school in our area could teach a child who was blind. They also knew they couldn't educate me themselves. So, they had to do the unthinkable. They had to send me away to school before I turned 5 years old. For me, spending my first 4 years as an only child, and then suddenly being placed in a dorm with about 80 other students of all ages, was not a life I was expecting. Back then, I didn't know what coping skills were. I had a lot to learn. Fortunately, my parents had taught me how to do exactly that. The question was, could I do it? The school didn't give me a great academic education. There were people there, however, who taught me much about who I was on the inside. This episode touches on some of the failures and triumphs I experienced along the way. Find out more at https://stories-that-change-our-lives.pinecast.co [https://stories-that-change-our-lives.pinecast.co]