Sometimes seemingly routine circumstances create connections we hadn't envisioned establishing. Prior to driving for Metro, I had minimal contact with disabled people.
Because public transit provides mobility for a diverse segment of our community, including those with special needs, I now have a lot of contact with this particular population. In fact, this unique relationship between transit operators and people with disabilities has provided me an opportunity to meet many interesting passengers, including my friend Jim.
Donning his hip sunglasses, this tall, lean man with well-groomed jet-black hair maintains an intriguing presence. Jim listens with an intensity rarely experienced in today's world of trite platitudes, and he speaks with knowledge and insight that belies that of a 20-something-year-old.
With his optic nerves damaged beyond repair, Jim was rendered blind at birth. Born and raised in the Texas border city of El Paso, Jim and his younger sister grew up without their father while their young mom worked long hours to support her two children.
Jim's Spanish speaking grandparents provided most of the childcare for him and his sister. His family valued education and believed Jim would have more opportunities in a sighted academic environment as opposed to a separate school for blind children. As a result, Jim was mainstreamed in the public school system where, for most of his classes, he sat alongside sighted students.
With love, encouragement and high expectations from his family, Jim endured the trials of blindness and worked hard to excel academically in school. This overachiever played clarinet in the school band, participated in drama, and even graduated with honors. Jim was rewarded with an academic scholarship to the University of Texas, El Paso. Two years later he transferred to the larger and more rigorous University of Texas in Austin where he graduated with a degree in English and a minor in education.
After college Jim left academia's isolation to enter the unfamiliar work world as a customer service employee for MCI. Although Jim was a conscientious and diligent employee he quickly realized sitting in a cubicle talking on the phone for eight hours did not satisfy him.
So, as Jim likes to say for "grins," he applied for a rehabilitation counselor position in Omaha, Neb., teaching daily life skills to blind senior citizens. To Jim's surprise he received the job, and with trepidation he relocated to Nebraska from his beloved state of Texas. Here Jim found his new position not only challenging and rewarding but he also discovered his calling was helping others embrace their blindness
Again, for "grins," Jim applied for, and received, a technology teaching position for sight challenged adults here in Columbia City. For the past three years Jim has taught practical technology skills to the sight-challenged and has led a seminar class addressing the psychological impacts of blindness.
From Jim's personal and professional experience, he strongly believes overcoming low self-esteem enables blind people to effectively deal with their disability and attain a sense of well being.
"Mastering skills is the easy part," says Jim. "Getting people to believe in themselves is the real challenge."
This talented young man practices what he preaches to his students about challenging themselves, seizing opportunities and venturing out of their comfort zones. In addition to his academic credentials and technology expertise, Jim is bilingual, an avid reader and writer, a 90-plus words-per-minute typist, self-taught guitar player and a regular open mike performer. One might expect Jim's accomplishments would inflate his ego. On the contrary, this humble optimist is popular with his students, respected by his peers and a favorite among the regular route 48 bus line passengers.
Jim's world revolves around trust. Whether the bus arrives on time or the grocery clerk provides the correct product, Jim often depends on the "sighted world." His life reminds me of an exercise at an employee retreat I attended where each participant fell over backwards "trusting" that their partner would catch them. In Jim's case, his life is one gigantic leap of faith.
This relates to Jim's advice for sighted people: it is important for blind individuals to feel independent. Even though they appreciate offerings of assistance, many prefer attempting tasks by themselves and accept help only when needed.
For "grins" I closed my eyes, pretending I was in "Jim's world," and tried performing routine household tasks. Within a short time, the bumps and mishaps from my lame experiment demonstrated the challenge blind people endure in a sighted world. This trite simulation also highlighted my life's petty difficulties in comparison to what most blind people encounter on a daily basis.
Spending time with Jim has "opened my eyes" and provided me with a glimpse of "Jim's world." I have an admiration for unassuming individuals, like Jim, who quietly go about their lives performing amazing feats, sight unseen.
Have a thought or two you'd like to share with Joe? Write him at the address below or via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.
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