Archive for the “blindness” Category

Lindy

January 21, 20146 CommentsPosted in blindness, memoir writing, public speaking, Uncategorized

Just got word that my friend Lindy Bergman died. Lindy was a well-known art collector who found a way to continue living and loving her life after losing her sight. She was very smart and extremely charming, but you know what I liked best about Lindy? Her surprisingly wicked sense of humor. The frigid weather, […]

Continue Reading

A confession

January 19, 201410 CommentsPosted in blindness, guide dogs, questions kids ask, Seeing Eye dogs, Uncategorized, visiting schools, Writing for Children

The Kenilworth kindergartners squealed with delight when Whitney led me into their school wearing snow boots. “That‘s our special guest Mrs. Fink,” their teacher announced. “And that’s Hanni, the dog from the book, too!” We’d arrived late (our commuter train had been delayed in Chicago due to weather) and our opening assembly had to be […]

Continue Reading

Tomorrow, it's kindergartners

January 16, 201417 CommentsPosted in blindness, guide dogs, questions kids ask, Seeing Eye dogs, Uncategorized, visiting schools

Last Friday Whitney and I took a train to Deerfield, a suburb of Chicago, to talk with second graders at Kipling Elementary School. It was “Disability Awareness Week” at Kipling, and the kids asked a lot of questions during the Q & A part of the presentation. Some examples: Does Whitney like other dogs? How […]

Continue Reading

A day of magical thinking: Scenes of a school visit from Beth and Whitney

December 5, 201311 CommentsPosted in blindness, guest blog, public speaking, Seeing Eye dogs, Uncategorized, visiting schools

Last May my friend Lynn LaPlante Allaway, the principal violist with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, came to our apartment to perform a private concert to help me heal from open-heart surgery. Whitney and I tried to thank Lynn for her music therapy by visiting her kids at St. Petronille School, and gee whiz, now I have […]

Continue Reading