Swimming Blind and Free

By Bill Henderson | From BayLines Express, May, 2021 I love to swim and have been doing this regularly all my life. When it is cold, I swim indoors in pools. When it is warm, I prefer to venture outside in the ocean and lakes. Losing my vision in my 40s posed some swimming challenges. … Read more

It’s a growing feeling: How to garden as a blind person

By Helen Kobek | From BayLines Express, April, 2021 Is anything (besides chocolate) more satisfying than chowing down on a hearty, healthy, fresh salad? Yes! How about chowing down on a salad made of just-picked vegetables from your own garden? Whether it’s grown in your community garden plot or in space around your house, it’s … Read more

Larkwire, The App that Changed My Life

By Jerry Berrier | From BayLines Express, March, 2021 I am an Access Technology Director at the Perkins School for the Blind. I have been an ACB member since 1982. I have been learning, and often re-learning bird sounds since I was 19 years old. I have used professionally recorded training guides, lists of mnemonics … Read more

Tips for Traveling Internationally Despite Legal Blindness

By Emily Luz | From BayLines Express, February, 2021 I am a missionary, professional artist/writer and technology expert. I have been an advocate for the blind for the past thirty-four years. I was born with optic nerve gliomas, rendering me legally blind in both eyes with a vision of about 20/800. I was mainstreamed in … Read more

Rowing on the River – do you know any blind rowers?

By Barbara Black | From BayLines Express, January, 2021 I live in western Massachusetts. A retired early childhood educator and public school administrator, I am totally un-athletic, and something of a wimp. Also, I have Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and haven’t had any usable vision for at least 25 years. So, why am I writing about … Read more

What a Year We Have Had

By Brian Charlson, President, Bay State Council of the Blind | From BayLines Express, December, 2020 2020, a year that should have been all about literal vision, became a year filled with everything but that. Racial inequality, economic imbalance, health care shortcomings and frightening trends in our weather have all taken front stage, leaving very … Read more