KABVI NEWS - Volume 47, Spring 2004

NOTIONS

By Nancy Johnson, Editor

Knowing the deadline was near, I began compiling KABVI NEWS on New Years Day. I have a few reminders before I share my thoughts. Every effort is being made to get the NEWS to everyone who wishes to receive it. Occasionally we miss someone because they’ve moved or changed an e-mail address. These folks aren’t seeing this. Those of you who are: Please tell your friends who say they aren’t getting KABVI NEWS to contact us. Or you can contact us on their behalf. Whichever works - we need and appreciate your help!

We are trying very hard to minimize expenses for KABVI NEWS. Braille is the most expensive medium to produce. Then the print. Because the Library for the Blind produces our tapes, there’s no cost there. Disks are relatively inexpensive. And we have no cost for e-mail. If you’re not getting your preferred medium; if you’re by chance getting it in 2 media; or, if you have (or know of someone who has) concerns about KABVI NEWS, please contact the editor.

Now: Back to the beginning – of the year, that is. I neither make New Years resolutions nor recommend that anyone else do so. I don’t believe in making promises I can’t keep – and a resolution is a promise. What I do believe in is maintaining a healthy body and a healthy mind by fostering a positive attitude.

KABVI’s stated mission is, "To make every blind Kansan a self-sufficient citizen." Self-sufficiency implies the ability to do for oneself. If we individuals with severe vision impairments or blindness don’t develop and maintain positive attitudes, how can we expect others to have positive attitudes toward us? What applies to us as individuals also applies to us collectively as KABVI. This doesn’t happen without some effort on our parts. Life’s often tough – but we’re tougher! Here’s some advice by which we might be guided.

Cherish Our health: If it’s good, preserve it; If it’s unstable, work to improve it; If it’s beyond what we can improve, get help. KABVI’s reasonably healthy, but the organization can get stronger.

The body was made to be used. We must exercise it regularly in ways we enjoy. Individual members form the body of the organization. Each has a part in the function of the whole.

Keep learning. Never let the brain idle. It, too, was made to be used. KABVI’s members are the “brains” of the organization. Each member’s contribution aids in the growth of the organization as a whole.

Make friends of cheerful folks - people with positive attitudes. Negative attitudes weaken us. Collaboration with others who are working for the same positive results as we are makes us stronger. Collaboration with the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) to present the Mary T. Adams Educational Seminar is an example of such a positive association.

Look for reasons to laugh often, long and loud. It’s relaxing and good for both mind and body. That’s why, at its annual meetings, KABVI tries to incorporate some fun.

Tears happen. We must endure, grieve, and then move on. Individually and collectively, we cried tears over the loss of Kansas Industries for the Blind (KIB). But we have moved on with continued efforts to see that Kansans who are blind and visually impaired are able to receive the high quality services they need to become self-sufficient. House Bill 2388 could go a long way to helping that happen.

Try often to do something good for other folks. Good deeds come back to haunt us. KABVI NEWS, the annual Mary T. Adams educational seminars, and the Get REAL scholarship program are KABVI’s major attempts to meet this objective.

No doubt it’s difficult to think positively when we’re surrounded by others who think negatively. No doubt it’s difficult to believe in ourselves when we seem to be surrounded by others who apparently don’t believe in us. No doubt it’s difficult to deal with discrimination when we can find it wherever we look. No doubt it’s difficult to overcome the barriers society places in our paths (particularly when most are attitudinal). Together we are KABVI – and KABVI has more than 80 years’ experience that proves, working together, we can surmount the barriers. KABVI has the right attitude – and attitude is everything!