As one of us who is himself almost legally blind, due to my mother's retinitis
pigmentosa gene) and somewhat hard of hearing (due to Her Majesty's Royal
Regiment of Canadian Artillery), I used to get very upset at instances of
insensitivity to us handicapped folk, as in the case when I bumped into someone
on the sidewalk and, in apologizing, explained that I couldn't see very well.
His snarled response, "Then get the hell off the sidewalk!" upset me more than
most things I have heard in my life, especially as it was only a few hours
after I'd been told that I would likely become completely blind in time.

I don't get as upset these days, but concentrate on doing what little I can to
make things easier for the handicapped in a museum that is not at all kind to
people such as I.

Also, at this special time of year, I really wonder whether the nastiness of
the posts I have seen the past week on the list becomes any of us as
professionals.

Harry Needham
Canadian War Museum