Fall 2006
Newsletter of
The East Bay Center for the Blind, Inc.
2928 Adeline St.
Berkeley, CA 94703
Phone: 510-843-6935
Fax: 510-843-6006
E-Mail: ebcb@pacbell.net
Web site: www.eastbaycenterfortheblind.org
By Daveed Mandell
Welcome to the Fall 2006 issue of the Center's newsletter. It is unbelievable that 2007 is already fast approaching!
As most of you know, Center elections take place next January. Therefore, during our October quarterly business meeting (see Upcoming Events), we will choose three members to serve on the Nominating Committee. Officers to be elected next year are President, Second Vice-President, Corresponding Secretary, and two two-year term Directors. Please attend this important meeting.
The Center bids a fond farewell and good luck to Masina, our current ceramics instructor, who is moving on to a new job beginning in November. The welcome mat is now out for Michelle, our new teacher.
Center Library Committee Chair Grace Rodriguez reports that the braille and audio library continues to thrive and has become quite popular. However, she says some members are not returning braille volumes. Grace reminds the membership that if some volumes of a book are missing, the book is no longer usable, and the Center must dispose of it. Please let Grace know which books you are borrowing, and the specific volume numbers you are taking. Grace adds that nonmembers are welcome to read books at the Center, but are not permitted to borrow them.
On behalf of the Center’s Board of Directors, here’s wishing our members and friends a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukah, and a healthy, productive and Happy New Year.
Business Meeting: The Center's next quarterly business meeting will be held on Saturday, October 28, from 1 to 4 PM. We will elect three members of the Nominating Committee, which will choose a slate of officers for next January's elections. Lunch costs $8 for members and $9 for guests. We will serve enchiladas, beans, rice, salad and dessert. Please reserve your plate no later than Wednesday, October 25.
Harvest Festival: The Center's annual Harvest Festival will take place on Saturday, November 18, from 12 to 4 PM. We will be selling holiday craft items and baked goods. Please call the Center if you plan to bring your favorite hand-made ornaments or other wares to sell. Please also let us know if you wish to contribute your most tempting taste treats to be purchased by members and friends of the Center. Our chorus will regale us with songs and poems. A $6 lunch plate will be available for those who order it no later than Wednesday, November 15.
Holiday Party: Our annual Holiday Party will occur on Saturday, December 16, from 12 to 4 PM. It is sure to be one of the most delicious gatherings we've enjoyed in a long time. That will be largely due to the yoeman efforts of Nancy Nash, chef extraordinaire and daughter of Center Boardmember Patty Nash, who has graciously and generously offered to prepare for us a traditional Holiday dinner with all the trimmings! We will sell craft items, and our chorus will entertain us with songs and readings. Our Holiday dinner is free for all those people who pay their $5 dues before, or on the day of the party. Please reserve your dinner no later than Wednesday, December 13.
The Center has just received its shipment of pocket- or purse-size 2007 braille calendars. The next time you come to the Center, please feel free to ask for one.
Center member Rose Harter has been seriously ill for the past four months. Since last July, she has been very ill due to a staph infection from a metal rod inserted in her leg last year after she was hit by a car. She was unconscious for several weeks. Rumors circulated that she was near death. Rose’s troubles were compounded when she suffered a hospital infection from an intravenous line. Because she was having serious breathing problems, doctors performed a tracheotomy on her. Rose has not been able to talk for many weeks; nor, until recently, has she been able to eat or drink, but had to be fed intravenously. In addition, Rose was unable to sit up for more than five or ten minutes at a time. Her son Sam Turner tells us that she now is getting physical therapy, drinking liquids through a feeding tube, learning how to talk again, and sitting up for about two hours a day. This is indeed encouraging news.
Rose began her hospital stay last July at Highland Hospital in Oakland. She is now at Kindred Hospital in San Leandro. The Center is collecting money to help her and Sam. All donations are welcome; please make checks payable to the Center We wish Rose Harter well.
Submitted by Dorothy Vallerga
Preparation Time: 5 minutes.
Makes about 4 cups.
Ingredients:
Method:
The Center’s cookbook, in either braille or large print editions, makes a splendid Holiday gift. Our Favorite Recipes costs only $20, and can be ordered by calling the Center.
Submitted by Jewel McGinnis
Three old pilots are walking on the ramp. First one says, "Windy, isn't it?" Second one says, "No it's Thursday!" Third one says, "So am I. Let's go get a beer." An elderly gent was invited to his old friends' home for dinner one evening. He was impressed by the way his buddy preceded every request to his wife with endearing terms: Honey, My Love, Darling, Sweetheart, Pumpkin, etc... The couple had been married almost 70 years, and clearly, they were still very much in love. While the wife was in the kitchen, the man leaned over and said to his host, "I think it's wonderful that, after all these years, you still call your wife those loving pet names." The old man hung his head. "I have to tell you the truth," he said, "I forgot her name about 10 years ago."
The Center will be closed for Thanksgiving from Wednesday, November 22, through Friday, November 24, and will re-open for business on Monday, November 27. The Center will also be closed for the Holiday Season from Monday, December 18, through Monday, January 1. It will re-open for business on Tuesday, January 2.
"We do not need pity, nor do we need to be reminded that we are vulnerable. We must be treated as equals, -- and communication is the way we can bring this about."
--Louis Braille