Reflections from a sighted guy at a blind convention

Reflections from a sighted guy at a blind convention.
And other stuff.

Although it is merely the arena in which this all takes place, I HAVE to start with the hotel. The Marriott Renaissance in Detroit. Right on the river. Breathtaking view. And a staff that hasn’t learned about attitude or cynical or nasty. A couple of examples:

My first night here, I went to the bar and just to make conversation, I asked the bartender if they had Applejack. A cousin was a Laird (family name, not Scottish title) and Laird’s Appplejack was the premier brand of applejack. (Well, for all I know, might be the only brand of applejack – certainly the only brand I ever saw.) The bartender had never heard of it – fair enough, I was ready to move on to something else. After all, most places I go, they have never heard of applejack. But this guy goes and asks one of the managers, and oh yes, he knows applejack, they use it in the kitchen in place of Calvados. I said fine, but nothing would do but he went and got a bottle and left it at the bar. Of course, now I am obliged to drink some it. Which is not a hardship.

The next morning I called the desk and asked if they had a sewing kit, because I needed to re-attach a button on a pair of pants. (The story of how I lost the button will be told when I figure out how to put an age barrier on the blog, sort of an adults only thing.) Oh yes, they had a sewing kit. I said I would stop by the desk and pick it up. Later in the morning, I went down and asked about the sewing kit – and the woman couldn’t find one. She was most embarrassed, went all over, finally said she would send one up. Not to worry, says I, I’ll come by again later today. And I did. And they still couldn’t find it, so they offered to send it up and I said sure. Went upstairs to my room – and there were three sewing kits on my desk. And as I marveled at this multiplication of mending stuff, there was a knock on the door and a young lady was standing outside – with ANOTHER three sewing kits. (I only had one button. Something of overkill.)

The whole hotel has obviously gone through training on dealing with blind people. They know how to give directions, they know how to offer an arm to guide, there is braille everywhere. This is a great hotel. They charge outrageously for internet in the room, but there is free WiFi in the lobby. And several free computers for those who did not bring theirs. (Although badly set up and really slow.) There is a food court with cheaper food – good food at the hotel spots – even a couple of grocery/convenience stores where you can get cheaper food and drink and cigars. (Although they sell soda more dearly than you can buy it in a machine. Go figure.)

Now let’s use our imaginations. Imagine 3,000 people in a hotel where the major design feature is that the building is circular. And most of these people are blind. So in addition to learning new geography, the geography doesn’t have corners. Some have canes, some have dogs. Think traffic jam where most of the people can’t see. Half the elevators are “high rise” (floors 40 and above) and half are “low rise” (floors 40 and below). When the bell rings to announce an elevator, a blind person doesn’t know if it is high or low – and there are usually MANY people crowding into the elevator lobby to find a ride up. Or down, since the lobby of the hotel is on the 3rd floor. There are four levels between the 3rd floor and the ground floor (interesting arithmetic, eh?) and no straight line way to get from three down. People who work here aren’t always sure how to get to some places.) People with sight get lost – and how the blind fare is one of the more amazing dimensions of this gathering. Because they do – with grace and with great humor and with a degree of patience I will probably never possess, they find their way into meeting rooms and they find seats, the find rest rooms and food courts, and order where there are no Braille menus or directions, and all somehow on schedule. On Monday there is going to be a March for Independence (independence for the visually impaired, of course, which is one of the foundation principles of the NFB).

My room is comfortable – wide screen tv, two beds (so I can use one for organizing papers and other things), a desk and a comfortable arm chair, a closet, bathroom, and one wall that is nothing but window looking out over downtown Detroit and the river. I can see the riverboat at its mooring from my window. An iron and ironing board – although at a convention for the blind, crisp creases is not one of the priorities.

THE FIRST DAY
Went to the first session on Jaws 11 and Microsoft Windows 7 and how they interface and some tricks that Jaws can do (including a remote feature that is built in) and a look at a new magnifier that is coming out later this summer and a look at a bunch of technical stuff. Fascinating. I went into the lobby during the break to make some phone calls and maybe get a muffin and ended up buying 15 shirts from the Michigan Federation of the Blind Chapter – gifts for the staff. Met a guy from Nigeria. Went to a session about DAISY and using DAISY on your own computer. DIASY is program that lets you insert comments and notes and bookmarks into oral text. Technical but for someone who is blind, really important.

Went to another session about the knfb reader, which is a mobile device with which you take a picture of a document, and then the gadget reads you what you just shot. So a blind person can deal with a menu, a note, a boarding pass – without asking assistance from anyone else. Talk about mobility and accessibility. Not cheap but what price freedom?

In the first meeting, the presenter (sighted) walked up and down, and was able to see raised hands from people who wanted to ask a question. In the second, the presenters were blind, and so people simply spoke up when they wanted to ask something. When a presenter asks a question like how many people use a certain program, rather than raising hands (a sighted response) people applaud or make a verbal response. In the first session there were sighted people from the company to help late comers find a seat – and one guy who had to leave the meeting a couple of times was NEVER able to return to his seat without help – he always thought the row was farther back than it was and he ALWAYS had to have help.

I took a break at lunch time (not eating lunch) and went out to the outside area to smoke a cigar and enjoy the outside. Chatted with some folks – enjoyed the view and the weather. Walked around the complex and helped some folks who were getting lost – some blind and some sighted. I tell you, it’s a confusing place. Went and sat by the river for a little, skimmed the Wall Street Journal, and then off to the last formal session, talking about mobile readers, including a new program for the Blackberry that will be introduced later this year that essentially turns the Blackberry into a reader.

And later in the evening there the “Rookie Roundup” an orientation session for first time convention attenders. When the national president made his opening remarks, he mentioned me by name, that I was involved with the Reading Rights coalition and of course, the Xavier Society for the Blind. I skipped going to the karaoke and went instead to have – you guessed it – or maybe you didn’t – an applejack and 7-Up. And it was really good, out on the porch overlooking the river. Almost went to get a cigar but it was just chilly enough to be discouraging.

And thus – with my window wall overlooking the city with its lights shining and the amusement park next to Caesar’s glowing in the summer night – endeth the first day. And I looked back on all that had happened and I saw that it was good.