I am semi-retired from a professional career in the field of blindness and visual impairment spanning more than 45 years. I am also a “retired” athlete (wrestler and long distance runner). I love movies, sports, reading, writing, and music, including dabbling in guitar. My current work interest is the development of blindness professionals. I am a recipient of the American Foundation for the Blind’s Steven Garff Marriott Award for lifetime achievement. I have written three books, a memoir, a sci-fi novella, and an essay collection.
In my memoir, Stand Up Or Sit Out: Memories and Musings of a Blind Wrestler, Runner, and All-around Regular Guy, I traverse a lifetime of challenges. Some of these are accidents of birth like my poor eyesight and slow trek to blindness and some are of my own making like choosing to compete as a scholar-athlete.
In my dystopian novella, Vision Dreams: A Parable, I, a self-described “Trekor” and “secular humanist”, show the extremes to which societies (and individuals) will go if sufficiently frightened (especially if science and technology permit it) in order to achieve, if not happiness, then at least relief from tyranny.
Over the years, I have published short pieces in various organizational newsletters and magazines as well as several professional articles in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. My recent (2024) essay collection, What Should Not Remain Silent, contains over 100 essays on a wide variety of themes including disability, diversity and inclusion, epistemology, human relations, sports, war, peace and politics, and more.