Hello again, folks,
Before I introduce Bella Scribner this weekend, I thought I would share my reasons for becoming an AT Trainer. I figure if you’re going to rely on somebody for advice, you ought to know what motivates that person. So, here is a little story which I hope will explain.
I was born blind, and when I was growing up the only way I could get information was to listen to the TV or the radio, listen as others read newspapers or books, read some few braille books, and listen to talking books. I never got personal correspondence that I could read myself. I can count on one hand the number of letters in braille I received from friends. I was a prisoner in a cage, unable to access much information except for a few things which were given to me. I couldn’t access information myself.
It wasn’t till 1988 that I got my first computer. It was a revelation! I was able to access my own typed material. I was able to access other peoples correspondence to me and write back to them. As the years went on, I gained access to more and more information. In 1997, I purchased Phil Scovell’s etext library which he had compiled from books in the public domain which he had culled from the Net. I spent $125.00 for one hundred floppy disks. I didn’t know what I was buying, really, but I love books. My parents loved books, and I wanted books to read. So, I purchased this library thinking that if I had one hundred books that would be wonderful! I figured purchasing a bunch of classics for $1.26 a piece seemed like a good thing.
Well, the floppies arrived in a huge box, and I opened it up. There they were, my hundred floppies! I plunked the first floppy into the drive and found out that there was a list of the books I had purchased. I opened the file in my editor and started reading. Friends, I had purchased seven hundred and forty books! I couldn’t believe it! I had to stop the computer because I was sobbing, yes, sobbing outright. I had purchased: The Bible, The Koran, all the classic Greek playwrights, Shakespeare, Milton, all the eighteenth century philosophers, Dickens, Twain, Melville, lots of Burrows and Andrew Lang,and a host of others.
There are many more books now, and newspapers and magazines and blogs and podcasts, but the thrill of that day in 1997 has staid with me and is the tangible memory I take with me when I see a new student who wants to learn to access their computer. It is the inspiration for my business’ name, Portal Tutoring. In short, folks, I want others to have the same thrill I got that day way back in 1997 when I opened the door to access for the first time! the heady feeling of freedom is the same now when I read my local newspaper online as it was when I opened that file and discovered that I had seven hundred and forty books at my fingertips!
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