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                            BRIDGING THE GAP
      Emily's Guide for Sighted People to Better Understand The Blind
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MEETING ARLENE SILVESTRI
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Blind people are often like a big family.  They communicate very well 
with each other all the time.  I made my first blind friend in about 1983.
Her name is Arlene Silvestri.  We were both sitting at the counter of a 
restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri.  I think she asked for 
something.....like the sugar or something.  So she bridged the gap.  Then 
I commented that her guide dog was really quiet.  And that's all it 
takes....just a few words to bridge the gap.  We talked and talked that 
day and she told me about braille and gave me a slip of paper with my 
name in braille on it and the braille alphabet.  

We became friends and she later on introduced me to a friend of hers in 
California.  I went to visit him and during the course of my visit 
another blind friend of his came to visit.  I met Jim Fettgather, became 
his friend and now we have been together for about 10 years.
Now almost all of my close friends are blind.

As the days go on I'll write more about life with a blind person and 
perhaps it will bring about more understanding between the sighted and 
the blind.

                                  Emily
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