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This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate.
The original article can be found on SFGate.com here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/04/16/DDMR1CNC5T.DTL
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Friday, April 16, 2010 (SF Chronicle)
Courtney Mazzola: blind community ambassador
Meredith May, Chronicle Staff Writer
Courtney Mazzola, 28, already has more on her resume than most people do
at the end of their careers.
The San Francisco massage therapist has a growing somatic psychology
practice, has visited 10 countries, volunteers at San Quentin Prison and
is also an accomplished horse jumper, jujitsu fighter and spokesmodel.
Her drive stems from what others could consider a setback: Mazzola was
born legally blind.
"There's a definite assumption by sighted people that I'd want to have my
sight," said Mazzola, who works with her seeing-eye dog, a 12-year-old
golden retriever named Tess.
"I don't feel I need to be fixed, and, in fact, I wonder what I'd be doing
if I hadn't been born legally blind."
Mazzola's message is on point, honed after years of being the face of the
blind community. Before she was 2, she literally was the poster child for
RP International, a blind research center in Southern California where she
grew up. She attended telethons and news conferences with her parents and,
as a preteen, performed in rock videos to generate funds to study her
particular form of blindness - retinitis pigmentosa - which causes blind
spots on the retina.
Mazzola sees objects as if they were shadows through a frosted shower
door. By definition, because she needs to be 20 feet or closer to see
objects others can see from 200 feet away, she is considered legally
blind. Spotlight
The RP gig was bittersweet; it took a toll to be in the spotlight so long,
but it also impressed on her that she had no limitations.
By 14, she was state-ranked in English horse jumping, learning to aim the
horse by her trainer's verbal cues. A scout for the U.S. Paralympic Team
invited her to try out for the 2000 Olympic Games in Australia, but she
turned it down to go to high school and be a "regular kid" for a while.
But regular was hard to do - during high school, she was tapped by an
agent to appear on a pilot for a Discovery show about amazing teens, and
by the time she had graduated, she had become a certified masseuse by
taking courses at Cal State Northridge.
While earning her bachelor's degree in psychology at Northridge, she
learned to surf and outrigger in Hawaii but still regrets skipping cliff
diving because she couldn't persuade her friends to go with her.
By graduate school, Mazzola had fallen in love with traveling and
discovered a British company, Traveleyes, that pairs sighted guides with
blind travelers.
"The way sighted people have to describe things to blind people, they
learn to take things in differently and notice more so they can
communicate," Mazzola said.
Most recently, Mazzola traveled to Egypt, where she crawled through
tunnels in pyramids and was given special permission to touch the
hieroglyphics.
"Some were chiseled in, some popped out. I felt part of a foot and a leg.
The guard took my hand and ran it over the ancient writing and gave me the
names of the gods I was feeling," she said. Travel writing dreams
One day Mazzola hopes to add travel writer to her resume. She envisions a
book of stories about how she sees the world, based on her trips to
Mexico, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Italy, Guatemala, Canada, London and
the Dominican Republic.
As soon as she finds the time. She just finished an internship as a
somatic psychotherapist at the Center for Somatic Psychotherapy, a
low-cost clinic in San Francisco.
Nights, she waits tables at Opaque, a San Francisco restaurant completely
shrouded in darkness. She leads customers to their tables by having them
put their hands on her shoulders.
"In the restaurant, my being blind becomes relevant. Sighted people look
to me for help," she said.
It's also relevant to the inmates at San Quentin, who meet with her weekly
to talk about being different, overcoming shame and staying positive.
"A lot of people come in here and attempt to talk to us, but they don't
have a problem in the world, so prisoners are not going to open up," said
Troy Williams, who is serving a sentence of seven years to life for a
kidnapping and robbery conviction. "Courtney is real. She may have a
disability, but we have a disability of being incarcerated. In that, we
can relate."
Mazzola never asked to be an ambassador for the blind community, but she's
often the first blind person most people meet.
"This is the role I fall into," she says, "so it's important I live my
life full tilt."
E-mail Meredith May at mmay@sfchronicle.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2010 SF Chronicle
Monday, April 26, 2010
An article from www.miamiherald.com
ms kathy has sent you the following story:
Posted on Friday, Apr. 16, 2010
Gov. Charlie Crist vetoes Florida teacher pay bill; what happens next?
By HANNAH SAMPSON AND CRISTINA SILVA
Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday killed the bill that prompted sickouts, sit-ins, street protests and a flood of opposition throughout the state as Republican lawmakers vowed to try again next year -- if not sooner.
Calling it ``significantly flawed,'' Crist decried the bill -- which would link teacher pay to student test scores and eliminate tenure for all new hires -- as both overreaching and too vague.
``We must start over,'' he said.
Calling it ``significantly flawed,'' Crist decried the bill -- which would link teacher pay to student test scores and eliminate tenure for all new hires -- as both overreaching and too vague.
``We must start over,'' he said.
Deafblind People from all over US to Gather in Baltimore for Special Shabbaton
Deafblind People from All Over US to Gather in Baltimore for Special
Shabbaton, April 23-24
April 16, 2010
Although scattered throughout North America there are several
organizations which service Jewish deaf or Jewish blind, there are none
for Jewish Deafblind people. In an effort to reach out to this
overlooked community, Our Way , the outreach program for Jewish deaf of
the National Jewish Council for Disabilities, an agency of the Orthodox
Union, has received funding from the Center for Jewish Education in
Baltimore with a JEEP (Jewish Education Enhancement Project) grant to
make the first Deafblind Shabbaton Experience.
The Shabbaton will be held at the Pearlstone Retreat in Reisterstown, MD
on April 23 and 24. Deafblind people will be attending from Washington
State, California, Ohio, New York and the Greater Washington, DC and
Maryland area. Making this Shabbaton "Deafblind friendly" requires that
each participant have one or two SSPs (Support Service Provider). The
SSP is a person who provides a variety of support services, including
guiding, describing, personal assistance, and sometimes interpreting,
with the ultimate goal of enhancing independence. They use a variety of
methods to communicate with their individual consumers.
All materials will be in large print and Braille; and classes and
services will be led by deaf rabbis. These rabbis will be signing and
interpreters and SSPs will be relaying the information to their
individual consumers.
According to Rabbi Eliezer Lederfeind, Director of Our Way, "Everything
I have learned about programs for the deaf is completely irrelevant
here. Some of the Deafblind community are really amazing. It's the
challenge of being isolated even in a room of 500 people. The ability of
these people to overcome their disabilities shows the power of the
neshama – the soul. It shows how people can grow."
Rabbi Lederfeind noted that most of these people were originally sighted
but lost their vision through Usher's Syndrome. Usher's Syndrome is a
genetic condition in which the person is genetically deaf and has a gene
for Retinitis Pigmentosa, an eye condition that starts with night
blindness, then tunnel vision, and deteriorates to the degree that the
person may become completely blind. In addition, not everyone is
completely deaf or completely blind. "Email is a God-send for these
people," he said. "They get emails in very large print or in Braille."
Committee members for this event are Sheryl Cooper of Maryland, Leslie
Foxman of Maryland, Rabbi Fred Friedman of Maryland, Rabbi David Kastor
of Maryland, Rabbi Eliezer Lederfeind of New York, Sharon Siegel of
Nevada, Joyce Srour of Maryland, Bets Wohl of Washington DC, and Yael
Zelinger of Maryland.
For further information call voice/relay 212-613-8234 or email
ourway@ou.org.
Shabbaton, April 23-24
April 16, 2010
Although scattered throughout North America there are several
organizations which service Jewish deaf or Jewish blind, there are none
for Jewish Deafblind people. In an effort to reach out to this
overlooked community, Our Way , the outreach program for Jewish deaf of
the National Jewish Council for Disabilities, an agency of the Orthodox
Union, has received funding from the Center for Jewish Education in
Baltimore with a JEEP (Jewish Education Enhancement Project) grant to
make the first Deafblind Shabbaton Experience.
The Shabbaton will be held at the Pearlstone Retreat in Reisterstown, MD
on April 23 and 24. Deafblind people will be attending from Washington
State, California, Ohio, New York and the Greater Washington, DC and
Maryland area. Making this Shabbaton "Deafblind friendly" requires that
each participant have one or two SSPs (Support Service Provider). The
SSP is a person who provides a variety of support services, including
guiding, describing, personal assistance, and sometimes interpreting,
with the ultimate goal of enhancing independence. They use a variety of
methods to communicate with their individual consumers.
All materials will be in large print and Braille; and classes and
services will be led by deaf rabbis. These rabbis will be signing and
interpreters and SSPs will be relaying the information to their
individual consumers.
According to Rabbi Eliezer Lederfeind, Director of Our Way, "Everything
I have learned about programs for the deaf is completely irrelevant
here. Some of the Deafblind community are really amazing. It's the
challenge of being isolated even in a room of 500 people. The ability of
these people to overcome their disabilities shows the power of the
neshama – the soul. It shows how people can grow."
Rabbi Lederfeind noted that most of these people were originally sighted
but lost their vision through Usher's Syndrome. Usher's Syndrome is a
genetic condition in which the person is genetically deaf and has a gene
for Retinitis Pigmentosa, an eye condition that starts with night
blindness, then tunnel vision, and deteriorates to the degree that the
person may become completely blind. In addition, not everyone is
completely deaf or completely blind. "Email is a God-send for these
people," he said. "They get emails in very large print or in Braille."
Committee members for this event are Sheryl Cooper of Maryland, Leslie
Foxman of Maryland, Rabbi Fred Friedman of Maryland, Rabbi David Kastor
of Maryland, Rabbi Eliezer Lederfeind of New York, Sharon Siegel of
Nevada, Joyce Srour of Maryland, Bets Wohl of Washington DC, and Yael
Zelinger of Maryland.
For further information call voice/relay 212-613-8234 or email
ourway@ou.org.
[Nick's Walk] Living with a Mountain Top Attitude
We love the mountain top. We love the feeling, the sense of God's presence, the high. God can bring us to the mountain any time He chooses. He can surprise us with a mountain when we really need it.
I like to make regular planned trips to the mountain. The mountain, for me, is the place where I know I will see God work and know he will speak to me. For me that is Kairos.
But we've been taught that we can't live on the mountain tops. We are told we have to live in the valleys. The mountain tops are not "real life." These thoughts may be true to some extent. But we can bring the mountain top with us back into the valley.
We must bring our everyday life up to the standard revealed to us on the mountaintop when we were there. Moses spent time with God on the mountain. He came down alone but he brought the glow and the law of God down with him. On the mountain He teaches us, by His word and by His presence. Hold on to that glow and word. It will help you through the
valley times. When I'm in my valley, I remember that God does move. When I feel put upon by life, I remember those who serve God in prison with joy even knowing they will likely die there.
Never allow a feeling that was awakened in you on the mountaintop to evaporate. We tend to think feelings are not spiritual. But we are complete beings including our feelings. Hang on to the feeling of the mountaintop. Warm the cold valley days with the warm memory of how it "felt" to be with Him on top. My memories of Kairos weekends are vivid.
I can dial them up and the feelings are almost as fresh and real as whenthey happened. The tears will return to my face as I recall the joy of men feeling the love of God for the first time. With that feeling I can make it when all around seem to have no idea how blessed they are.
Act immediately— do something, even if your only reason to act is that you would rather not. Because we think that the mountain top isn't real life, we tend to discount the ideas that are born there. God speaks to us like He did to Moses on the mountain. Trust His word and ACT. Some of my best decisions have been made on the mountain. The direction from Him has been the clearest in those times. The air on the mountain is clean and unpolluted. It's a great place to think clearly and strike out in new spiritual directions.
Be sure to make your decisions in the light of what you saw and learned on the mountain. If we live the practical life of the valley, we lose so much of the Extraordinary life that He intends for us. Let the Heaven-like atmosphere of the mountain motivate you. On a Kairos weekend there is great vulnerability and honesty. I learn that I am not alone with my struggles. There is visible change in the lives of participants.
God does not always seem as real in the valley and valley dwellers don't know the extraordinary lives we are meant to live. For me it's important to live knowing the mountain is real and the valley can lie.
The mountain tops are for blessing; not just for the mountain, but for all of our existence. If you don't have a mountain get one. You may be surprised where you find it. Look for places where there is darkness, because that's where His light shines. Be prepared to work not just sit
and listen. To give and not just take. To be a blessing and not just be blessed.
Cherish the mountain and
Be blessed.
Nick
--
Posted By Nick Sigur to Nick's Walk at 4/16/2010 06:47:00 AM
Thanks Brother Nick! ~KM
I like to make regular planned trips to the mountain. The mountain, for me, is the place where I know I will see God work and know he will speak to me. For me that is Kairos.
But we've been taught that we can't live on the mountain tops. We are told we have to live in the valleys. The mountain tops are not "real life." These thoughts may be true to some extent. But we can bring the mountain top with us back into the valley.
We must bring our everyday life up to the standard revealed to us on the mountaintop when we were there. Moses spent time with God on the mountain. He came down alone but he brought the glow and the law of God down with him. On the mountain He teaches us, by His word and by His presence. Hold on to that glow and word. It will help you through the
valley times. When I'm in my valley, I remember that God does move. When I feel put upon by life, I remember those who serve God in prison with joy even knowing they will likely die there.
Never allow a feeling that was awakened in you on the mountaintop to evaporate. We tend to think feelings are not spiritual. But we are complete beings including our feelings. Hang on to the feeling of the mountaintop. Warm the cold valley days with the warm memory of how it "felt" to be with Him on top. My memories of Kairos weekends are vivid.
I can dial them up and the feelings are almost as fresh and real as whenthey happened. The tears will return to my face as I recall the joy of men feeling the love of God for the first time. With that feeling I can make it when all around seem to have no idea how blessed they are.
Act immediately— do something, even if your only reason to act is that you would rather not. Because we think that the mountain top isn't real life, we tend to discount the ideas that are born there. God speaks to us like He did to Moses on the mountain. Trust His word and ACT. Some of my best decisions have been made on the mountain. The direction from Him has been the clearest in those times. The air on the mountain is clean and unpolluted. It's a great place to think clearly and strike out in new spiritual directions.
Be sure to make your decisions in the light of what you saw and learned on the mountain. If we live the practical life of the valley, we lose so much of the Extraordinary life that He intends for us. Let the Heaven-like atmosphere of the mountain motivate you. On a Kairos weekend there is great vulnerability and honesty. I learn that I am not alone with my struggles. There is visible change in the lives of participants.
God does not always seem as real in the valley and valley dwellers don't know the extraordinary lives we are meant to live. For me it's important to live knowing the mountain is real and the valley can lie.
The mountain tops are for blessing; not just for the mountain, but for all of our existence. If you don't have a mountain get one. You may be surprised where you find it. Look for places where there is darkness, because that's where His light shines. Be prepared to work not just sit
and listen. To give and not just take. To be a blessing and not just be blessed.
Cherish the mountain and
Be blessed.
Nick
--
Posted By Nick Sigur to Nick's Walk at 4/16/2010 06:47:00 AM
Thanks Brother Nick! ~KM
House for Sale
Thanks to Brother Nick for this one. http://www.kathyskids.org Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/ --- On Fri, 4/23/10, Nick Sigur wrote:
|
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
You Need to Share This Fast!!!
After you pay your $139.49 (inflation is a bugger) to FB, take your receipt, to Applebee's and demand that $5,000 they owe you for forwarding that other email 50 times. You coulda had a V-8!
I hear that missing girl, Penny, whose photo from 1986 is still being forwarded, works at Applebee's and has 4 kids. The youngest has cancer. AOL and Bill Gates will donate 50 cents to help Penny's baby each time you forward this message.
"50 Cent" will not like this arrangement and will try to knock you out by making you smell the perfume on his business card which is actually laced with ether. When you awake,you'll be in a tub of ice and your kidney will be missing.
Your kidney could possibly end up in Barack Obama's home country of Morocco because the reason why he ran for president of the USA was to get American kidneys for the Muslims people of his actual country of birth where there seems to be a severe shortage of kidneys. That is how he and his kidney-stealing people will take over the world, leaving no tea drinking, mooseburger-eating white people behind. It's a bi-racial conspiracy. It's in the Bible as predicted by Nostradamus. Turn to page 426.
Speaking of the Bible--you need to share this fast, because God is depending on YOU! I don't care how much you have prayed for the kidnapping babies (they have miniature OOzies) crying outside your window, He's not hearing prayers by bedside anymore. He only reads emails. He likes emails in large quantities. Want your blessings? Share this "Ms. Kathy (AKA Franceeen) Moment" with your friends--about 100 of them, tell them to do the same and you will be blessed. Don't send it and the devil will know about it and you will be cursed. A man in Michigan did not forward this, and now he has hammer toes and hemmorrhoids. Really. It's in the Bible. Now get to work!
I hear that missing girl, Penny, whose photo from 1986 is still being forwarded, works at Applebee's and has 4 kids. The youngest has cancer. AOL and Bill Gates will donate 50 cents to help Penny's baby each time you forward this message.
"50 Cent" will not like this arrangement and will try to knock you out by making you smell the perfume on his business card which is actually laced with ether. When you awake,you'll be in a tub of ice and your kidney will be missing.
Your kidney could possibly end up in Barack Obama's home country of Morocco because the reason why he ran for president of the USA was to get American kidneys for the Muslims people of his actual country of birth where there seems to be a severe shortage of kidneys. That is how he and his kidney-stealing people will take over the world, leaving no tea drinking, mooseburger-eating white people behind. It's a bi-racial conspiracy. It's in the Bible as predicted by Nostradamus. Turn to page 426.
Speaking of the Bible--you need to share this fast, because God is depending on YOU! I don't care how much you have prayed for the kidnapping babies (they have miniature OOzies) crying outside your window, He's not hearing prayers by bedside anymore. He only reads emails. He likes emails in large quantities. Want your blessings? Share this "Ms. Kathy (AKA Franceeen) Moment" with your friends--about 100 of them, tell them to do the same and you will be blessed. Don't send it and the devil will know about it and you will be cursed. A man in Michigan did not forward this, and now he has hammer toes and hemmorrhoids. Really. It's in the Bible. Now get to work!
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