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Reader Urges Greater
Sensitivity, Judgment
I was just reading the Summer 2005 issue of the BVA Bulletin and must comment on two of the articles. In “Amazing Generosity in Central Louisiana,” you used the word “confined” when referring to individuals who are “users” of wheelchairs. “Confined” is no longer an accepted adjective in this context. We all have our handicaps, whether external or internal, but we are not defined exclusively by them. Please be more compassionate when you write or edit a piece.
In “VA Disability Claims, Part II,” Dr. Ordway encourages the applicant to submit service medical records, other medical records, dependency documents, and Military Discharge/DD Form 214 (Copy 4—Member Copy). Under no circumstances should a veteran submit original documents of any kind to the Department of Veterans Affairs when applying for VA compensation or pension. If a veteran is in possession of these originals or certified copies, he/she should copy whatever must be submitted with VA Form 21-526. Too many veterans have had their documents lost, leaving them in the position of having to write to receive copies from the Military. At best, they lose time in filing and, at worst, they may even be told that such records have been lost or destroyed.
Geraldine R. McDonnell
Garden City, New York
More Promising Research
I am not a vet, nor am I blind (yet). But, in honor of my own family’s deceased blind veterans, I recently offered to cooperate and collaborate with the Naval Research Laboratory’s remarkable efforts to help the blind.
NRL sparked my research 25 years ago and it has continued the fight since that time. Capitalism will no doubt trump altruism and all of the good intentions of the 15-plus nonprofit foundations fighting blindness.
As soon as I test and prove the safety of our noninvasive, alternative sight “bandaid” on my own forehead, we will be needing volunteers for beta trials. Our initial feasibility tests were harmless. With the recent celebration of veterans on November 11, let me salute and say thanks.
John J. Stapleton, President
Sparkle Technologies, Inc.
East Brunswick, New Jersey
732-238-5314
61st Convention
Carrots
BVA members and their families might like to consider attending the BVA 61st National Convention in Buffalo, New York, August 15-19, 2006. The temperatures in Buffalo at that time range from the mid-70s to 80s during the day and from the mid-50s to the 70s at night.
One other interesting fact about Buffalo is that the greatest 19th century tightrope walker, Jean Francois Gravelet, alias Charles Blondin (1824-1897) of France, made the earliest crossing of Niagara Falls on a three-inch hemp rope 1,100 feet long and 160 feet above the Falls. This occurred on June 30, 1859. He achieved this stunt utilizing a long balancing pole. Blondin made each successive crossing of the Falls in a different manner: blindfolded, trundling a wheelbarrow, on stilts, in the dark with Roman candles flaring from his pole tips, and sitting down halfway to make an omelette. On September 15, 1860, he even made a crossing while carrying his manager, Harry Colcord, on his back.
Dennis O’Connell and Richard Buscemi
Co-Chairmen
BVA 61st National Convention
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