[optacon-l] An Interesting Message,
- From: "Brian Procter" <brian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Optacon List" <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:04:29 -0000
Good Morning,
I was interested in Catherine's question about how an Optacon user in the
United Kingdom could get the idea that the Optacon was nothing but a memory.
The message did not surprise me. I do not know Mr. Payne personally, but
his name has been mentioned by British pen friends I have been in contact
with over the years. I know of the list because of my interest in reading
American Braille magazines. I read a letter from Catherine a few years ago
which appeared in an American magazine for deaf-blind people called Good
Cheer.
Communication does not seem to be a strong point amongst the British, or so
I have thought for several decades. I exchanged letters with Dr. James
Bliss in the mid 1970's because we thought that the Optacon was not
receiving the publicity it deserved. I now believe that the major charities
serving blind Britons were apprehensive about the Optacon if demand for it
became too great. Helping clients to purchase Optacons would have required
much of their financial resources, added to that would have been the cost of
employing instructors and maintenance engineers. Charities like to spend
their money in a way which benefits their clients collectively, not
individually. I presume this is why Mr. Payne created the charity,
Electronic Aids for The Blind. I expect most Optacon users in Britain, like
myself, bought their Optacons despite the negative attitude of the blind
establishment. I taught myself to use the Optacon - I had been a good print
reader before I went blind in 1957 - and the training sounded so slow and
difficult that I considered it would be a waste of money, especially as it
would have involved staying in London for some time.
Is this an original use for an Optacon? My bank recently sent me a new
cheque book. At the front of the book are pages for noting cheques made out
so I had to find the last of these pages and fold it over to separate that
section from the cheques. At the back of the book are paying-in slips so I
had to find the first of these , fold it over to separate them from the
cheques. About five cheques from the end is a coupon for obtaining a new
cheque book if one is not received automatically. I have to remove the
coupon or I would put it into my typewriter like any other cheque. I did
not buy a typewriter attachment for my Optacon although I remember being
sent an advertisement for it attached to a Smith Corona electric portable
typewriter. I have never used an electric typewriter. I have devised my
own method of typing cheques based on the principle that if you do the same
thing the same way, 99.9 per cent of the time you will get the same result.
Best wishes for the new year and if anyone would like to discuss anything I
have said in this message, my e-mail address it:-
Brian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yours sincerely,
Brian Procter.
to view the list archives, go to:
www.freelists.org/archives/optacon-l
To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to:
optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the
quotes) in the message subject.
Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a message to:
optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes)
in the message subject.
Other related posts:
