It has been too long since our last Tuesday Topics program appeared for your delectation. However, we are back. My producers Rick Morin and Larry Gassmann are ready to go and my new co-host and i can hardly wait to once more foster good conversation and the exchange of ideas. I am overjoyed to let everyone know that, from now on, Brian Charlson is my co-host for TT. We were partners in the past and I am delighted to be partners again!

Of course, we are going to talk about the convention. I had actually thought that we might not but Brian convinced me that, in spite of the fact that some of you may be conventioned out by the time we get to Tuesday, there would still be value in what we plan to do. We have discussed the convention and we think that our approach will lead us to look at some elephants that may be in the room and some ways of making sure they don't step all over our next convention. Did ACB do enough with regard to Covid? How can we improve the debate process? Is there a better way to handle resolutions? How different is debate in person and only on Zoom? These are just some of the questions we will explore. There will be lots of opportunities for your input.

We do not intend to bash the convention! We want to focus on the pluses and minuses surrounding it! Truly, a hybrid convention is quite an accomplishment!

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This is, of course, not the only time the committee will meet. Open meetings will happen on Tuesdays and Thursdays and those resolutions up for discussion will be described. On this show we will deal with a situation on the Resolutions Committee that I have never seen before. By the way, I am saying "we" because I am a member of the committee. What I have not seen before are two resolutions asking for precisely the opposite outcome. I will not give the resolutions away because they may change but there is a resolution that asks that people do a very simple thing submitted by one affiliate for good reasons. There is another resolution submitted by another affiliate that asks ACB to support exactly the opposite action. The debate should be interesting! I don't think that the Resolutions Committee can send both forward. I suppose the committee could decide to let the members decide and send both on. I hope that doesn't happen but we will see. There may also be a couple of additional resolutions for the committee to look at if the first few go well. Tune in or join the debate as Tuesday Topics and the Resolutions Committee join forces on May 17. Remember to join us tonight for a chance to be involved with the resolutions committee as the tackle three resolutions. They will also describe the process which will be used this year to give our members the opportunity to vote on resolutions.

Tuesday Topics will, as usual, happen between 7 and 9 PM on May 17. ACB is having a hybrid convention and Tuesday Topics is sort of having a hybrid show. We have invited a cast of thousands to join us. That means the Resolutions Committee. We will talk about the resolutions process but will actually invite the Resolutions Committee to do their thing during the show. So we will actually read resolutions, accept them, make sure we are happy with the wording and invite members of the audience to tell us what they think. It's kind of a cool process.

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I am honored to have as my guest Michael Faire who has just released the second edition of his huge, free book that begins to be about the iphone but turns out to be about so many other things. We will talk about why he wrote the book in the first place. We will explore what is new about the second edition and, of course, we will talk about accessible games. Michael edited the magazine of accessible gaming for years and probably knows as much about the history of accessible gaming as does anyone around today.

Seldom has one person played such a pivotal role as Michael Faire played in the area of accessible games. He has lots to share.

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Tech Tips on Tuesday Topics.

For the last few Tuesday Topics we have dealt with some fairly heavy topics. I thought it might be fun to share new things on this next show. How I spend my days as someone who is retired involves the use of a variety of technologies. I spend a good deal of time with baseball, lots of time with music, some time with podcasts, some time watching TV

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For the last six decades there has been debate about whether there is such a thing as "disability culture". There has also, by extension, been a serious question as to whether such a thing as blindness culture exists. Most people would accept that there is "deaf culture". Many would accept that there is such a thing as "black culture", "women's culture" and "lgbtq culture". However, those who have spent time identifying and exploring culture are opposed by those who argue that  the interrelationships that operate are insufficient to be called "culture" when applied to people who are blind or have low vision.

Are there characteristics that we can identify that would justify saying there is a "blindness culture"? Does this culture apply to all people who are blind? How does it impact us if it is real? Is it a good thing? Should we be proud of it? Should we do things to promote it?

It is not my intention to make this discussion a sterile, erudite exploration of carefully articulated notions. Instead, I am interested in exploring with you whether there is an identity that operates for those of us who are blind that is strong enough to be measured and noticed. Finally, there is an elephant lurking in the room. Are there factors that are making blindness culture go away? There are lots of "cultures" that were widespread in our country in the past that are far less influential and pervasive than they used to be. Is "blindness culture" in that category? Does it matter? Help us define and perhaps validate "blindness culture". It could be more important than it might seem.

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How ought one to choose a person with whom you wish to have a long-term relationship? We have lots of instances of partnerships between people who are blind and people who are fully sighted. We also have partnerships between two folks who are blind. Is there a difference? Does a relationship between two people who are blind work better? Does a relationship between blind and sighted people work best? Is that the right question? What are the factors which make the two kinds of relationships different from each other? What are the strengths of each? Share what has and has not worked for you.

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Tuesday Topics will continue a tradition we began last year. We explored last year just how ACB was going to vote during a totally digital convention. This year we are dealing with a different animal in that our convention in Omaha Nebraska will be a "hybrid convention". In other words, we have to meet the needs of those folks who are at home and do not choose to attend our ACB meetings in person and the requirements of those who have decided they want to be at our conference in person!

How does this change how we will handle votes! How will we handle amendments to our governing documents if there are any? What if we don't finish everything by the time of our last in-person meeting. The Voting Task Force has at least some of the answers to these questions and will also discuss how a one week convention has suddenly grown and why!

I am not sure just who will be a part of the task force group but I think we can expect to hear from Patrick Sheehan, Ray Campbell, John McCann and Koni Sims. We may have some others but I know we will have an exciting discussion that I hope many of you will join in. We plan to allow for lots of questions during our time together.

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We will discuss how moving affects people who are blind; advantages people who are born blind have over those who lose their vision later in life; April Fool’s Day tricks; and Easter traditions.

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Last week I completed the sale of my house in Miami. This was sort of traumatic for me and it has led me to ask how well those of us who are blind deal with change. I know I have found relocating to Jacksonville somewhat difficult. How is it for other people who are blind? Call in and tell us. What can we do to make it easier? What is hardest about leaving an environment you have grown accustomed to and friends you have had for many years?

Another area I have been thinking about lately is how we perceive folks who lose their vision later in life. Many people think that those of us who were born blind have it easier and are better adjusted to our disability. Is this actually true? Do people who have vision for much of their lives actually know more about what society expects and have a better attitude to work and inclusion in society which people born blind lack? What are the pros and cons for those who are congenitally blind (born that way) and those who are adventitiously blind (get that way later)? I have two other topics I thought we might get to later in the program. Can you tell me about an April Fool's experience that was pretty amazing? I hope so. I remember one person who managed to get me every year while he did it! Do you remember who that "his It started in the early eighties or maybe even in the seventies!

What kind of Easter traditions do you have? I suspect that many of us have family habits that others might enjoy hearing about! Call in and share some of them! Do you dye real eggs and hide them? Do you have Easter egg hunts that are designed to be more accessible to people who are blind? If you use plastic eggs, what is inside them? Enquiring minds want to know about your Easter!

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Perhaps the most valuable awards offered by the American Council of the Blind, at least in monetary terms, are the Durward K. McDaniel award and the Morgan-Chase Leadership Fellows award. Tuesday Topics this week will hear from members of the committee that oversees these awards. We will hear from some of the winners and what they have been up to since winning the awards and, along the way, we will hear from folks who remember Durward McDaniel. We will learn why he has this and another award named after him and some of those who knew him will tell us more about his accomplishments, his life and the work he did to make ACB the organization it is today!

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