[Nfb-seniors] Attracting seniors

[Everett Gavel]

Hi George, and all,

Ah, George, only by the grace of God have I "belonged" 
to this "club" for awhile.  I only lost my sight about 
14 years ago.  I thankfully found some people in my 
community that were handling their blindness far better 
than I'd thought imaginable.  They turned out to be NFB 
members, and so I was introduced to the organization, 
and more importantly, its life-changing, life-enhancing 
philosophy.

Now, if one was in a boat with only people in the same 
situation, how would they learn those tricks to be able 
to share with eachother?  Seems to me that if we truly 
want to get out of the boat we may be in, and handle 
life better, we just need to deal with the good, the 
bad, and the ugly, as it passes us.  Grab the bits we 
need and want, and try not to be so sensitive as to run 
away if we don't agree with something that is said. 
That's life, my friend.  And yes, I call you my friend 
though I have no real clue who you are yet--and 
vice-versa.  I call you friend simply because I, as 
with most if not all here, want only to help where and 
when we can, if the help is needed (though it's not 
always wanted, understandably).

To define things to such a narrow "boat" as to have 
only one kind of blind senior, for example, hurts more 
than truly helps.  I think one would benefit far more 
from joining a few other "blindness" focused lists on 
varying subjects.  Just grab what you care to from 
each, and ignore and delete the rest.  It's the 
quickest way to learning what we need and want, from 
those who *have* been there, and those who are going 
through exactly what we are on some level, all at the 
same time.  And for those not sure, there are a huge 
amount of categorized lists such as this one, at 
www.nfbnet.org.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that if we define a 
list such as by what you say below, there'd be far more 
people on the list hoping for answers and helpful 
suggestions, than answers or help.  (smile)

Besides, everything I've ever read on "success" and 
self-improvement has always said, "hang around with 
those who are where you want to be one day, not with 
those who are in the same boat as you."  Meaning, if 
you want to be the next Bill Gates, for example, start 
hanging around with and gleaning things from those who 
are already running successful businesses.  Not with 
those who are still dreaming of it, or who are content 
working a 9-5 job making others rich, you know?

God bless your efforts, George.  I'm glad to hear from 
you here,
and hope you stick around, and speak up more. These 
lists, and the organization, is held together by the 
common factor of blindness.  Other than that, we're 
people from every aspect of life.  We're an 
organization of varied people, all who just happen to 
be blind. With various people always come various 
opinions.  AARP is not one group of like-minded 
individuals.  Neither is the Lion's Club, as examples. 
But they try to, and so does this organization, work 
together for the betterment of all in the category they 
fit in.  In this instance, blindness of course. (smile)

Now, you can easily just ignore me.  Not only do I 
often say things that one who may at times be a bit too 
sensitive might get offended at, but I also am not yet 
a senior myself.  I am closer to 40 than 30, however. 
My interest in seniors and this list is because my 
target market for my upcoming business is helping 
seniors who are losing their vision.  Boomers, you 
know?

Anyway, if you ever have questions, this would be a 
great place to ask for feedback.  And as always, just 
take what you deem helpful and disregard the rest. 
E-mail discussion lists are wonderful tools.  They're a 
great way of getting useful input on a wide-basis, 
quickly.

God bless your efforts, George, and all who are here 
and may be hesitant to ask questions.  Please, ask! 
(smile)


To A Fulfilling Life!
Everett (Who will always help if and when I can)
www.everettgavel.com






----- Original Message ----- 
> It's not easy joining a club to which most, if not 
> all of the members have
> already belonged for a long time, if not a lifetime. 
> Then add to this the
> fact that the existing members are going to tell you 
> that you are most
> welcome to join, but that you must be of the same 
> mindset ("Blindness is
> just an inconvenience" and "You must learn Braille if 
> you want to be able to
> tell which is the aspirin bottle") as those who are 
> already members,
> regardless of your particular circumstances, and you 
> begin to see the
> problem with the newly blind seniors not wishing to 
> participate in any
> organization of the blind.
>
> Now, if there was an organization for seniors, that 
> just happened to have a
> recently blinded division, then that may be a 
> different story, as that's
> something they could relate to, and everyone else in 
> that group would, so to
> speak, be in the same boat, able to share tips, 
> tricks and suggestions on
> how to cope with their blindness.
>
> Just a thought from someone adrift in that same boat.
>
> -- George
>
>
>
>