European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 7, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Jean Shiner tar left photo reads a Sra is children s Book to 5-year-old daughter either in Center photo the helps make a Sandwich Tor Judy 3 Franklin and Jean Shiner who Are both Blind go Tor a walk together with Judy and their guide dog Seltzer. I tied Frank Shiner has already strapped on his Backpack and set Oil lot Montpelier s Lone supermarket a 2-mile round trip he makes every other Day. Jean likes to Cook and has a Well stocked Freezer with a braille map on a Normal Day Esther and Judy would be outdoors by now. Riding bikes blowing bubbles or playing with other kids. Lunch is a prelude to Quiel Lime followed by outings to the Pool or the Library with seller the guide dog in the Lead. Jean grips Seltzer s harness and Esther pushes Judy s stroller a formation perfected Over time Esther will help me report stores As we walk downtown if i go past where i wanted to says Jean. 36, a slender woman with Youthful Good looks and a Friendly confident manner. Other animals tend to be Seltzer s downfall and Esther has Learned to spol them a Block away. Shell yell i see a dog i see a cat probably 10 years from now i la look Back and say How did i do it " for the Lime being however Jean would much rather to called Ordinary than As in in t she amazing she can walk Down the Street with her kids and her dog Esther and Judy find Jean and Frank every bit As Ordinary As most Small children regard their parents morny is Blind and she can t see and daddy is Blind and he can see a Esther explains in the slightly exasperated voice of big Sisters everywhere. The interview ends abruptly As the subject loses interest and wanders Back to sesame a reef Esther immaculate in Oshkosh overalls is the studious one with thoughtful dark eyes a neat Cap of Brown hair and dimples like her mothers Judy s a dishevelled escape artist Hazel eyed round faced and rambunctious. Both girls report each other s mischief except in cases of conspiracy As when in the interest of science they sneaked a Little extra baking powder into their Mother s cookie dough. They were really Yucky Jean says cheerfully. We ale them anyway " in the Wing room the sound of crunching cheese pulls stops abruptly and Esther pipes up right on Cue. Judy s stuffing her Cheeks. Don t stuff your Cheeks Jean relies on a combination of intuition and hearing to Tell her when her kids Are up to something like most mothers she s Seldom wrong. They get sat in the chair when i think they re doing the most common chair sitting offence at the moment looking out the window at neighbors who Don t go to bed when they Esther wanders into the Kitchen scrunching a Brown paper bag. Sometimes i do this to bags she says solemnly then dissolves into giggles As her Mother swoops Down and scoops her up in a hug. Sometimes i do this to Little girls Jean tells her time to color. Esther and Judy sit at the table while Jean Letches their colouring books and crayons stored along with puzzles games and cards in separate bags in her bedroom closet. The kids clothes Are neatly folded in their dressers. Jean pins the shirts and pants together before she washes them to keep her girls color coordinated. As the girls grow so does the shiners Library. I spend Hall my Lime figuring put How to get Jean says. I m really envious of mothers in the Library who can just pick up any Book and read it to their she also envies parents who can follow the puppet shows Finger plays and Craft demonstrations at play groups and Story hours group situations Are real hard. Everyone can look at the teacher and i can Jean uses a Leash to keep track of Judy in the Pool during swimming lessons. Esther is More compliant but we talk to Judy a lot about boundaries. She d wind up in East Calais if we did plans for a new Fence in the Back Yard attest to the wanderlust of the youngest Shiner. Lunchtime. Jean fixes tuna sandwiches scraping carrots to serve on the Side. Everything has its place in her Kitchen pots pans utensils. Temperature settings on her oven dials Are specially marked As Are the microwave and egg timer. Spices Are labelled in braille. Joining hands Lor Grace is a Shiner ritual. So is the Story hour that follows the meal. The girls cuddle next to Jean on the Sola. Seltzer s Tail humps the carpet As she curls up at their feel. A guide dog is like another child says Jean who rises Early to put Shepherd through her paces her training is very intensive and i have to keep up with boredom is an occupational Hazard for a dog trained in big City traffic then assigned to Vermont. Jean is skilled at using a Cane but a Cano is an Extension of your hand. For half the year in Vermont All your landmarks Are covered up. A dog is a living at the Shiner she s also a pet. For the next half hour. Jean reads Bible stories to Judy. Esther has her own copy of the Book and follows along mouthing the words her fingers brushing the print As her Mother s skim Over the braille. Frank returns from the Market Laden with provisions. I m putting the girls shampoo under Iho he Calls. Where s lunch on the counter to the right of the the Story continues followed by a Token attempt at a Nap. Finally Jean relents the girls May play quietly in the Yard. Raising two children without Benefit of one s sight might seem overwhelming to some people but Jean says it never really fazed her much. We worried some but we tend to lace problems As they come up. One Day at a time one stage at a time. If i could see i d have to figure out from scratch How to be a sighted person. I m used to listening to using my other senses. If i could see for a Day i d like to see what colors look like what a Sunset looks like. Then i would give it Jean s blindness was caused much oxygen Given her and her twin sister Joan following their premature birth. Some of Joan s sight was saved since she was slightly bigger and was removed irom the isolette first Jean suffered optic and sees Only darkness. Nevertheless As a child growing up in Framingham mass., Jean did t miss out on anything says her Mother Helen Harbberts. If Joan got a colouring Book and crayons Jean got a colouring Book and crayons. When Joan got a two Wheeler Jeannie did Dorothy Shiner. Frank s Mother thinks the Anli nausea Medicine she took during pregnancy May have caused her son s blindness two months alter his birth her sighted husband abandoned the family. Mrs. Shiner who also is Blind earned a living managing a snack bar in a Vermont state Ollice building. Mainstreaming had not yet been envisioned bul Frank was allowed to do whatever the other kids did. I brought him up to be it never occurred to Jean and Frank not to have children though Jean waited until she was pregnant to Tell her Mother both families shared the new parents Joy and Rehel when Esther and Judy were born fully sighted. Jean quit her Job counselling disabled people to be .1 Lull time Mother and Frank took paternity leave from his Job producing a radio show for the governor s committee on employment of the handicapped. A Public health nurse supervised Esther s Lisl Bath and feeding but then the shiners were on their own. Despite All the baby books Jean studied during pregnancy. I discovered that i did t know anything about raising a child before i had one and neither did a lot of sighted for All its Joys parenthood is also a time of great vulnerability for the shiners. Because they walk everywhere they go Jean keeps the girls indoors when the temperature drops below Zero. But otherwise. To Are out there visible whatever the weather Frank says. Most people ride by in their cars and their kid is in a car seat strapped into the Back with the door locked and the window rolled despite his communications degree and experience steady work in radio has eluded Frank during the 10 years since the stale stopped funding his show. In the past. I be sold myself Short working just to say i have a the shiners get by on disability benefits and Frank keeps Busy with various disability rights organizations bul he struggles with the loll joblessness has taken on his Confidence. Rather then take another survival Job he s chosen to help raise his daughters until satisfying work comes along. I read with them i take time with them. I try to make the most of it. It s an Opportunity a lot of Guys Don t for Jean acceptance by other mothers is an ongoing struggle. They can put their kid in someone s car but they think twice about letting me pick up their child. I m always having to earn their Trust to remind people i m Blind but i m a person just like the stars and stripes Page 15
