“Just got an email from Karen confirming our meeting,” I called out to my husband. “Isn't it amazing that she can read my emails? How does she do it?”
“Well, today you will find out,” he said.
Karen walked into Ariston Flowers and Café on Charlie’s arm and we found a table outside. Her husband settled her at the table, I placed a cup of Cappuccino in front of her and sat down with my Americano, waving goodbye to Charlie.
Karen, you were born blind. You have light perception, but that is the extent of it. How then are you able to read my emails?
Your emails speak to me. It's synthetic speech.
Do you mean the whole nine yards, as in From, To, Date, Time, Subject, and Content?
“The whole nine yards.”
Is the voice robotic?
Yes, but not quite. She doesn’t sound like Sabeeha.
[Chuckles].
When you write back to me, do you use Voice Recognition?
No. I type.
Karen is looking at me, making eye contact as though she sees me. I am sure she sees me like no one else and knows me like no other. Curly grey hair, blue eyes, she has placed her walking stick, folded, on the floor beside her and her cross-body bag on the table. She reaches out for her cappuccino, grabs the handle of the cup, and takes a sip.
As a child, did your parents talk to you about your condition?
My parents never used the word ‘condition.’
[I felt myself blush.]
They used the word ‘see’, but not overly.
Did you have siblings? How did they respond to their sister being blind?
I had an older sister. She figured it out and would stand by me whenever any kid tried to bully me. Kids would say mean things to me. When I said ‘We watch TV,’ this girl said, ‘You never see anything.’
I first met Karen and Charlie when we found ourselves in interfaith spaces at Marble Church. I learned that she taught computer literacy to blind students at Baruch. I was struck by the ease with which she navigated the physical space, taking her place at the table, engaging with the participants by turning to look at whoever asked the question and facilitating the sessions. We started meeting for lunch, the four of us. Then last week I picked up the courage. “Karen, may I interview you for my blog?”
Karen agreed. As we were leaving, she turned to me, “If you are here in June, let’s meet.”
And now she was opening her life to me.
As a child, what games did you play?
I played Scramble and Ghost at the dinner table, and Scrabble at other times.
How about Hide & Seek? Ring-a-Ring-Roses?
Yes, we played those too, and Mother May I?
Did you have friends?
I did and they treated me like any friend would treat another. They were my friends.
You teach computer literacy to blind students. How did you get to mastering the course and learning to teach it?
I had a hybrid education. My parents were worried as to how will I find my way around. One day when I was a year old, the phone rang, and I went crawling to the phone. That is when my mother realized that I could learn. My parents looked for resources and found the Lighthouse, a program for the blind, both children and adults. I got enrolled in nursery school and the teacher, Mrs. Mann would also come to our house. “Karen, come to my voice,” she would say to me. I learned to follow a sound.
What activities did you have in nursery school?
We went outdoors; played on the rooftop, on swings, and went to the Bronx Zoo.
How did you experience the zoo?
The sounds, the touch—we got to pet some animals—and the smells.
Did you go to a special elementary school?
I was mainstreamed. I skipped Kindergarten and went straight to Grade 1. We lived in Queens. I learned Braille. We read children's books, but these books were different from the books other children read.
I had no idea! But come to think of it, that makes perfect sense. I suppose they were different in that they did not include content that was driven by the ability to see?
Exactly. But the objectives of the curriculum were the same.
How did you learn to write?
When I was in Grade 3, we moved to Connecticut. The teachers knew Braille and taught me to write using a Braille typewriter.
Did you do the math on a Braille typewriter?
Yes. I also developed an interest in music, learned it by ear, and began to sing. I messed with the piano a bit and played the ukulele and the guitar. When I was in Grade 7, my father was transferred to Philadelphia, and we had to move. I hated moving. It makes me sad to this day. I still write to my classmates.
What led you to become a computer teacher?
When I was in high school, my teacher noted that I had leadership skills. On days when she was out, she would make me a ‘teacher for a day.’ It was my teachers who taught me to find my way and make my way. When I went away to Girl Scouts camp for the blind, I became a music counselor. At Oberlin College, I was a music and psychology major. By the time I was a Senior in college, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher, so I pursued a master's at NYU in teaching English. My first job was teaching high school students in California.
Before we get to computer teaching, tell me: how did you get around the college campus? I mean, did you know how to find the cafeteria, get through the quadrangle, the stairs up to the main building, hallways leading to the classroom?
You learn it. I navigated the stairs with the help of my cane. I knew where the stairs started, and how to grab onto a handrail, and I could tell when the stairs ended. I just memorized my way around campus. You have to work at it. It wasn’t until I was a senior that I got a seeing dog.
Did you ever fall?
Once in four years.
Back to being a computer teacher.
I got accepted into the doctoral program at Columbia Teachers College. The program was geared towards teaching blind kids and teaching the teacher to teach blind kids. After getting my PhD, I took up a job at Baruch College to teach blind kids to use the computer, and I was hooked in a day. Hooked on the power of communication through the computer. I became the Director of the Computer Center for the Visually Impaired People. I taught the students typing and spelling skills. I worked there from 1983 to 2018 before retiring.
How do you navigate getting around New York City?
I have a seeing dog. You have to get a lay of the land.
Do you use the subway?
I do. The dog trainer trained my dog.
How do you get through the turnstile? How do you know which way to swipe your metro card?
The Metro Card has a cut corner. That is how I know which way to swipe it.
Of course. I never thought of that. And the yellow lines at the edge of the platform warn you to go no further? [I almost choked on my ill-chosen words] I mean the tactile tiles.
We had to fight for it. We had to fight for elevators in the subways and we are still fighting. We fought for accessible pedestrian signals.
You mean the ‘walk’ signals.
You push the button on the pole. It makes this sound [Karen made the sound]. That means ‘don’t walk.’ Then when it makes this sound [she made a sound], that is the ‘walk’ signal.
May I ask, how old you are?
75. How old are you?
71.
Tell me about your marriage. How did you meet Charlie?
We were in a Bible Study. He was teaching it and he did music and I sang. He asked for my help in music, and then we started seeing each other. It was a long time in getting to know each other. We have been married 30 years.
Did you consider having children?
No. I was 45 when I married and didn’t want to have children.
Are you into Social Media?
I hate how it is affecting kids and teenagers. I don’t do it.
What is the day in the life of Karen Gourgey?
I sleep in late. After breakfast, I listen to NPR, WQXR music and BBC radio, and do some chores. Sometimes I go out for a walk or meet up with a friend. I am part of the choir and the Women’s Ministry Team at Marvel.
Do you cook? Make coffee? I mean, how do you manage the flame on the stove, or know when the water has boiled? Or how to find items in the fridge, or measure the coffee?
I cook. I chop vegetables. I manage the stove and can tell the degree of the flame; I know the timing for cooking. Of course, I have set popcorn on fire on occasion.
So have I.
We put the stuff in the fridge in the same place, and I can tell an onion from an apple. I put my finger in the coffee pot—washed finger—to size 8 oz and stick my finger in the water to tell if it is boiling. I plug in the coffee maker and know how to scoop out the right measure of coffee grinds. Same with milk. You have to figure it out.
[With that, Karen took a sip of her Cappuccino].
I assume you have figured out the dishwasher and know exactly where to place the dishes before and after.
I know the size of things and feel it out. I load, unload, and stack the dishes in the kitchen cabinets.
Do you listen to the TV? [I was careful not to say ‘watch.’]
Yes. I watch Law & Order, the news. I used to love Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote. I loved Masterpiece Theater, Disney Cartoons, and All in the Family.
[Sitting at the sidewalk café, Karen started singing, and I joined in:
Boy, the way Glenn Miller played
songs that made the hit parade
Guys like me we had it made
Those were the days
So when the TV is on, do you turn to Charlie and say, ‘What just happened?’
I don’t have to. The Descriptive Video describes the action.
The what?
It’s a voice-over that describes what is happening. It’s part of the TV package. We had to fight for that too.
I never heard of that. And you can distinguish the video sound from the voice-over?
Oh yes. Tom says ‘I am going to hit you;’ there is this whack sound and the voice-over says, ‘Tom hit Jerry.’
Do you like to read books? I mean, listen to books.
I listened to ‘Threading My Prayer Rug.’ I wish ‘It’s Not What You Think’ was in audio. I listen to the New York Times on audio, and magazines as well. Before we had audio, my sister would read to me. Did you know that the first talking books—that is what they called audio books then—were issued by the Library of Congress for the blind in 1930s.
Really! That far back!
[I sensed that Karen was getting tired].
Last question: What message would you have for parents of blind children, for blind people, and for the rest of us?
For parents: Know that there are resources and opportunities for education, friends, work, and play.
For blind people: Look for role models.
For you all: Advocate for blind people. Stand with them, and we will stand with you.
Karen, I can’t thank you enough for sharing your story.
Now, if you can walk with me to the corner of the street and help me cross 14th Street, I will then turn left and go my way and you can turn right and go to the Union Square station to take the Q.
I handed Karen her walking stick, helped her get her raincoat on, and she slipped her hand under my arm. We walked to the corner. I had never walked a blind person and I was the one who kept losing my balance. We stopped at the crossing.
When you are walking alone, how do you know if the Walk sign is on?
I listen to the traffic.
We crossed the street and said our goodbyes; Karen made a left and started walking home. I didn’t make a right. I just stood there watching, afraid to leave her. She swung her cane left and right on the sidewalk as pedestrians gave her the right of the way. I watched her approach the poles of the scaffolding and held my breath. Her cane hit the pole to her right, and she moved left and kept going. Pedestrians moved in blocking my view and I lost sight of her. When they cleared, Karen was no longer there. She had made her way home, her cane her only guide. And her keen senses.
********
I am deeply grateful to Karen for sharing her personal story with you all.
What an inspiration! What a role-model!
Please advocate for the rights of blind people:
American Council for the Blind (ACP)
(Karen served as a board member and is past president of the local chapter of ACP)
Lighthouse Guild
National Federation of the Blind
American Foundation for the Blind
and/or other advocacy organizations
