How I Spent My Birthday
Braille MonitorMay 2022
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How I Spent My Birthday
by Ed McDonald
From the Editor: Ed McDonald is a long-time member of the Federation whose active service has included time as the president of the National Federation of the Blind of West Virginia. Ed and his wife Karen both love radio, celebrating, and taking stock of the good things that have come into their lives. They believe in the true integration of blind people, and what Ed did on his birthday shows how he makes it real in his life. Here’s what he has to say about how he celebrated another year of living:
Turning sixty-eight is not one of those landmark birthdays like forty or fifty, sixty-five or seventy-five, so it really doesn't lend itself to a big party or other special celebration. On the other hand, this birthday has turned out to be an interesting snapshot of the life of a blind guy growing older and "living the life he wants" in a small // ]]>
town.The day began with a reminder that birthdays are indeed about growing older. Karen and I rode the local senior citizens' van to the doctor's office for the semiannual bloodletting which precedes next week's fall physical check-ups. Since the blood work required overnight fasting, the driver agreed on the way home to drop us at Denny's for a leisurely birthday breakfast. When the server brought the first plate to the "lady," Karen declared that she should have served me first because it was my birthday. The server, in turn, asked to look at my ID card which determined me to be eligible for a free birthday meal. This was not what we had in mind when we decided to go out for breakfast, but it was an unexpected nice
touch.Back home safely, we caught up on the morning's mail, messages, and phone calls. Then it was off to downtown Keyser for a visit to the bank—one of the few remaining businesses that I can still walk to. I deposited checks, withdrew cash, ordered new checks, and signed some financial paperwork for our local historical
society.Earlier in the day I had decided to make a bold public statement on the condition of society by wearing an old, old sweatshirt which displays the question I ask for, and it even bliss, why aren't more people happy?" Well, the only person left me with these few thoughts to share with my "Federation Family."Thanks again for the good wishes. Number sixty-eight has indeed been a fine birthday.
Media SharetwtTitle = twtTitle.substr(0, (maxLength - 3)) + '...';document.write('');and pastries. Then came an afternoon of domestic chores and a little studio work. A week or so ago we decided to try stocking up on wintertime provisions by ordering from Amazon, rather than dragging home soap, shampoo, toothpaste, napkins, and chicken broth across my chest, "If ignorance is the waitress at Denny's, and by the time I walked home from the bakery, the shirt was a little too warm for a seventy-degree October day.Back home once
again, we enjoyed lunch of pepperoni rolls little vacuum cleaner in hand and swept up the path from the back door to the studio. Over the next few days we have a few people scheduled to come to the from the local Wal-Mart. Well, several of those items arrived that day, so I actually had birthday packages
to open. I also had to look for space in the basement to store the stuff.Speaking of the basement, I took the it to digital files to play on the radio. That called for using some recently-acquired production and editing skills.
By then it was supper time. Often we walk to the nearby Candlewyck for birthday dinners, but this time who noticed was studio to record spots for the radio station, and I wanted the place to be reasonably presentable.The studio work involved taking an old LP (remember those big records with the little holes?) by West Virginia musician Billy Edd Wheeler and converting the turnips and roasted them with a little olive oil, sea salt, and ground pepper. Needless to say, it was a hardy and enjoyable dinner.
You ask how I spent my birthday—well, there you have it! What more could we decided to stay home and enjoy a wholesome meal of black-eyed peas which Karen prepared in
the crockpot. While we were away earlier in the day, a friend left at our front
door a bag
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full of homegrown
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turnips and homemade
rolls. I cut up
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