Myth: You shouldn’t speak to a person who is blind in terms of color or use words like see, watch, or look at. Truth: We use colors all the time and want to speak that way when in conversation with friends, family, and people we don’t know. We do speak in terms of watching, TV or looking at a museum’s paintings when in a crowd being guided around a museum. Yes, we watch a ballgame see friends who come over to hang out with us.

In this week’s podcast episode, we also look at the reasons why we who are blind do care about colors, making eye contact with others as best we can, and keeping up a good appearance when matching clothes.

So check out the podcast here.

Would you pet a dog that’s not yours if you see him in public without asking? Would you talk to a dog instead of its owner? How about letting that dog into your cab or Uber or onto your bus? Guide dogs are in their mobile office when clad in harness, leash, and often the accompanying harness sign. They are at work getting those who use them from one place to another.

Here’s a very helpful video from Guide Dogs for the Blind giving a few tips for anyone who sees a guide dog in public, especially to those who provide transportation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QIP0mozfgk

In the meantime, check out these common messages that harness signs say:

“I’m working.”

“Ask my owner before petting me.”

“Please look but don’t touch.”

And one of my favorites:

“Don’t feed or flirt with me.”

The readings for the Second Sunday Of Easter are Acts 5:12-20 (21-32), Rev. 1:4-18, and John 20:19-31.

This week’s readings call us to courageously confess Christ as both Lord and God. For He has risen from death, showing by His own nail prints, through the testimony of His apostles, and the ongoing trust created in all who come to believe in Him. That’s the central focus of why the Scriptures have been written for us, that we who believe may have life in Jesus’ name.

It’s the most popular sport in the world. It’s growing in teen participation around the United States. And whole families are getting involved, let alone communities rallying around their youth programs. I’m talking about soccer and we who are blind can play it provided the adaptations are made.

According to the United States Association of Blind Athletes, blind soccer has been played in paraOlympic competition since 2004 and teams from sixty countries compete against each other.

As the USABA’s site describes: “Blind soccer teams are made up of four outfield players and one goalkeeper.  Outfield players are visually impaired which means they are completely blind, have very low visual acuity, and/or no light perception, whilst the goalkeeper must be sighted or partially sighted.

To ensure fair competition, all outfield players must wear eyeshades. Teams can also have off-field guides to assist them. The ball makes a noise due to a sound system located inside that helps players orient themselves. Before attempting to tackle, players must shout the word ‘voy’ so that the person they are attempting to tackle is aware. This is designed to prevent injuries wherever possible. Players committing five fouls during one game are disqualified from the game. Spectators must remain silent while watching the game until a goal is scored.

Blind soccer is played on a rectangular field that measures 40m long and 20m wide. The whole length of the pitch is covered by kickboards to prevent the ball from going out of play. The goals are 3.66m wide and 2.14m high.

The duration of the match is 40 minutes, divided into two 20-minute halves plus 10 minutes for half-time. Each team can request a one-minute timeout during each half.  During the last two minutes of both halves, and in case of extra time, the timekeeper must stop the clock for a free-kick, kick-in, goal kick, and corner kick.”

You can read more about the history of this awesome sport here and watch some competition videos here. The USABA has a series of seventeen YouTube instructional videos here.

As someone who attended junior high and high school in Noblesville, Indiana, I knew a lot of classmates and friends who played a lot of regular soccer. We were and the school still is one of the best programs in the State. So, from a personal standpoint, it’s exciting to see this adapted form of soccer in action. I hope you can appreciate it, too. If you are a parent, encourage your growing blind or visually impaired athlete to consider playing blind soccer.

For those of you who missed listening to the original airing of the “We’re With You” benefit concert for the Ukrainian blindness community, ACB Media is rebroadcasting it this Sunday at 11:00 AM Eastern. Of course, you don’t have to be a member of the American Council of the Blind to catch this historic gathering of a hundred, ten blind musicians that lasted eleven hours. So, tune in for all or part of the concert, enjoy good music, and donate to support your people who are blind and suffering under the Russian occupation.

The American Council of the Blind and the ACB Media Network are proud to announce the re-broadcast of the We’re With U Benefit Concert for Ukraine on Sunday April 24, 2022 on ACB Media 4 at 11 AM Eastern (8 AM Pacific). This special concert is a benefit for those who are blind and impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. Hear over 110 blind artists from around the world during this nearly 11 and a half hour event.

 You can also donate to the disaster relief fund which the ACB is contributing through the World Blind Union. Go to https://acb.org/ukraine and hit the  Donate Link.

To listen again or for the first time to this incredible concert, go to https://www.acbmedia.org/home/streams/media4/ and hit the Play button.

While Thursdays are our normal time for thanking professionals in the blindness community, a recent San Francisco Lighthouse Newsletter prompted me to say “thank you” to those who volunteer their time for making organizations helping our segment in society thrive. By supporting those of us in the blindness community, you reach  a hand out to ameliorate the lives of those who are equals, whose abilities and gifts are on a par with anyone else in society .

In fact, a key component of why people can and do volunteer is to gain an awareness of our capabilities. Through volunteering at a camp for people who are physically disabled, you learn that many of us are not angry with our circumstances but eager to participate in exploring trails, archery, crafting, computer games, and other leisure activities. By being a dog walker or when donating supplies to one of our guide dog training schools, you meet people of all abilities in the blindness community from the stay-at-home mom to the burgeoning professional while joining in their life’s journey. When helping at an outreach center’s meal of the month, you not only get to set up tables or cook or clean, you get to share experiences with the blind or visually impaired attendees. When volunteering to run with a blind athlete, you get to share not only in good physical fitness yourself; you get to prepare that new acquaintance or friend for the next 5K, empower him for para-Olympic competition or help him maintain an eagerness for good health.

In short, when volunteering for various organizations and services that better our livelihood, someone will reach out, not down. And what about the benefit that you may receive? Besides the felt satisfaction of giving of your own time and care, you may make new friends and expand your world as well.

So it’s a real joy this week to thank you who give of their time, financial resources, and effort when volunteering at our events and organizations. As you help us navigate life’s contours, we help raise awareness for you of how we contribute to everyday society as we bridge the acceptance gap for the good of all.

In short, when volunteering for various organizations and services that better our livelihood, someone will reach out, not down. And what about the benefit that you may receive? Besides the felt satisfaction of giving of your own time and care, you may make new friends and expand your world as well.

Whether we are facing a transition from fully sighted to having some degree of vision loss or if we go through stages of life blind from birth, we may feel dropped into a tailspin. Maybe, we’ve gone from a career that’s kept us active and on the go and now we are experiencing days on end of being more sedentary. Sometimes, surgeries leave us rehabilitating muscles we use during athletic competition; now hours with seemingly less to do stretch out ahead.

Life changes. That’s why today’s tip encourages us to find  a hobby and make it our own.I’ve got two big ones outside of writing-physical fitness chess. No matter what curve balls that family circumstances or health or career paths have tossed my way, those two aspects of life have always been there.

You may or may not share in the same hobbies. Perhaps, you’re a reader of sci-fi novels. Staying on top of the latest releases gets you revved up for the day. If you’re a singer, even practicing for hours each day gives you that sense of accomplishment and an outlet where you can pack away the stresses of coping with your new normal for some time.

So finding that hobby helps you in several ways:

It gives you something constant to do while many changes affect you.

A hobby gives you an out where you can step away from many of the stresses that otherwise affect your livelihood.

Through having a hobby, you can gain a needed sense of accomplishment, whether that’s completing a series of novels or cross-stitching projects for your friends.

Then there are those hobbies that may lead you to some new venture in life for supporting yourself or your family. Maybe, doing some form of art gives you a platform for selling your work at a show or community bazaar. Perhaps, you’ve written poetry and friends have encouraged you to publish it for a profit.

One way you may be able to get involved with others in your town or neighborhood who have common interests is finding a Meet Up group. www.meetup.com Your local library will have plenty of groups where you can join others in reading and discussing a book in common.

If going to a new activity with mostly sighted folks makes you uncertain at first, check out your local Center for Independent living. Where I live in Fort Wayne, the League for the Blind offers group support activities and Turnstone gathers like-minded athletes who are physically disabled.

So here’s to you finding or maintaining your hobby or hobbies while boldly navigating life’s contours.

It’s a real privilege , necessity, and joy to support the citizens of Ukraine as they are still under attack from Russia. As both the American Council of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind have noted, a sizeable population of refugees are blind and visually impaired. Hence, musicians around the world, including many who are themselves blind, held a benefit concert to raise money for support.

I received this encouraging update, an article from Dots And Dashes, in my inbox this evening and am sharing it here. After all, what happens in the worldwide blindness community does have a bearing on our lives here in the United States.

“Special Thanks Following Ukrainian Benefit Concert

ACB thanks all those who joined in and donated for the April 16th “We’re With You” benefit concert for Ukrainians who are blind and impacted by the current conflict. Over 111 blind musicians and their allies performed for the event, which ran over 11 hours. The event has raised over $92k to date, including over $6k raised through the www.acb.org/ukraine website. The event will be rebroadcast on ACB Media. So stay tuned for information on how you can listen again to this historic event!”

It’s Myth Busting Monday and this time we take up the topic of guide dogs. Do they really notice when an intersection’s light changes from red to green to yellow? Do they know automatically where their owners want to go just by a single command? And do they bond with their owners at first sight? Take a listen to the third episode of the Boldly Blind Podcast here and find out.

Picture losing your sight just as you hit junior high. Sports? You’re involved in them all from baseball to basketball, from football to cross country. Then you can’t see the ball coming your way, the baseline, the hoop, or goal. But thanks to the prevalence of blind sports like goalball and beep baseball, athletes losing their sight need not take much time on the sidelines.

Zach Buhler from Huntington, Indiana is one of those athletes who didn’t stay on the sidelines long after going blind. Most recently, WANE TV, channel 15 here in Fort Wayne, IN featured Zach’s story and ambitions. You can also catch an earlier article at the United States Association of Blind Athletes’ website here.

We often feature goalball on Boldly Blind and for good reason. Besides being a great sport for those of us who are blind, it’s a fantastic display of athleticism that anyone who’s a sports fanatic would appreciate. So, to help promote its intrigue and popularity, here’s a look at the upcoming calendar of events over the next few months. Regional tournaments are in full swing from Washington to Georgia. If you’re in the area where these tournaments go on, I encourage you to stop in to watch athletes like Zach Buhler, Tyler Merren, Daryl Walker, and others in action. In addition to the calendar of events mentioned here, Chicago will be the site for the Midwest regionals and Philadelphia will welcome teams for the Mid-Atlantic event!

Of course, I won’t be able to make the regional tournaments in person, but being the gym rat I am, you can bet I’ll be checking out the USABA goalball championships to be held here in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After all, Turnstone, a fitness center designed for athletes with all kinds of physical disabilities, will be the host site. I hope a bunch of other fans will turn out  for what will prove to be some exciting play.

As I hear about links to audiovisual broadcasting or coverage, I’ll be sure to post that on the blog as well. Let’s support our blind athletes individually and athletics for people who are blind as featured at www.usaba.org. After all, we need not wait for every fourth year for the Para-Olympics to follow the competition.