Standing O For Diane Tirado, My Zero Hero

by Kevin Burton    At work you shouldn’t expect pay for, and at school you shouldn’t expect credit for, work you didn’t do.    I give you that conclusion up front, lest it be lost in this strange little tale. There is weirdness in this story, I warn you.    The first strange thing is …

The Abacus Is Still A Low-Tech Wonder

by Kevin Burton    Do you remember any of the gifts you received in fourth grade? Do you have any of them still? Are they in working order?    I have one.    In fourth grade our teachers at the Ohio State School for the Blind sat us down and introduced us to Mrs. Davidow.  …

Blind BBC Reporter Gets Best Of Mugger

by Kevin Burton    A blind BBC reporter, retrieved his cell phone from a mugger and restrained the assailant until help arrived, multiple sources reported in late December.    “Wrong blind person, wrong day,” said Sean Dilley, a blind news reporter and project lead for the BBC’s Reframing Disability program.    Dilley was taking a …

Don’t Be A Dunce, Learn This Trivia

by Kevin Burton    Read into this what you will, but the American election day today, coincides with National Dunce Day.    That’s from the mouth of the National Day Calendar to your ears, through me, a humble reporter.    “National Dunce Day is celebrated on Nov. 8 each year. The day commemorates the death …

Lifelong Learning, Exercise For The Mind

by Kevin Burton    Had some fun last week speculating about new hobbies that could take the place of fantasy football, should that pastime drive me too crazy.    I was picking from a list of 50 hobbies for seniors on the website 55places.com. A few of the hobbies, such as axe throwing, were laughable …

Of OSSB And A Bright Sunshiny Day

by Kevin Burton    How do you get to 50 years? It starts with a day, or a night.    Then, you turn your heart toward the sunrise, again and again.    There was a night when my parents put me into the family Delta 88 and drove me from our home in Yellow Springs …

Studying Social Interactions Of The Blind

by Kevin Burton    A North Carolina State University research study offers tips for blind people on how to make social interactions less awkward.    I found the story by NC State’s Matt Shipman on http://www.medicalxpress.com.    “A recent study highlights the range of uncomfortable situations people living with blindness or visual impairment encounter due …

A Week To Show Appreciation To Teachers

by Kevin Burton    One of the things I said I would never do, is teach. I thought there might be some payback coming.    I reasoned that if I got back anything close to my just desserts after tormenting my teachers for so long, I’d be in serious trouble.      May 2-5 is National Teacher …

Enough With The Jokes, I’m Not That Big

by Ronnie Burton    (Guest blogger Veronica “Ronnie” Burton is a six-year-old American house cat from rural South Central Kansas.)    I’m writing this as an exercise in writing cause I know it will never get used.    It’s offered to Kevin Burton for Page 7, but I’m going to fly a little too close …

Let’s See If I Really Know My ABCs

by Kevin Burton    One day my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Wolf asked me, “Kevin, do you know your ABCs?”    “My good woman,” I replied, “if you are referring to the English aaal-phabet, then yes, I suppose I do know my A-B-Cs. May I be of some assistance to you in this matter?”    It …