Don --it was a Blind Handyman e-mail that somebody sent to the List in response
to your e-mail with the article.
New topic - I also sent an e-mail to the newspaper asking that they forward the
Blind Handyman website to Ernie Berry.
--
Larry Martin
Woodworking for the Blind
--joining the world of blind wood workers
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Don" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Hello Larry, I'm not following you, did the message come across the list,
> are
> too you. How about your deleted items folder?? Don
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2007 9:03 AM
> Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Home renovation not hindered by blindness
>
>
> Don -- I just mistakenly deleted someone's response to this e-mail from you
> before I read it. Is there any chance of getting that re-sent to me?
>
> --
> Larry Martin
> Woodworking for the Blind
> --joining the world of blind wood workers
>
> -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: "Don" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > If any one on list lives around this area, are knows of this guy, we
> would
> like
> > to talk with this guy on the show. text follows. Don
> > Home renovation not hindered by blindness
> > By Heather Riedel
> >
> > "This house was one of the worst properties in the east side of Toledo and
> > I'm going to take it to the best property," Ernie Berry said.
> >
> > Berry talks about the house he purchased last June as he stumbles around
> > boards and scraps. He uses a cane because he doesn't want his guide dog,
> > Calypso,
> > to step on a nail or a sharp piece of wood.
> >
> > "When I'm by myself, I don't mind if I fall down," Berry said after
> catching
> > his footing.
> >
> > Berry, who was born blind, is fixing up the 5,000-square-foot pale yellow
> > house on Oswald Street, which was built in 1896. He said it used to be a
> > "crack
> > house with
> >
> > 22 people living in it at one time."
> >
> > Berry has never let his blindness deter him from hard work. He has two
> > degrees from UT, is working toward a master's degree, was an intern in
> > Washington,
> > D.C., and has twice ran for political office.
> >
> > "I was born blind and no one knows why," the 22-year-old said. "The
> doctors
> > never knew why. It's just one of those things."
> >
> > In addition to not being able to see what he's doing or where he's going,
> > Berry has to walk with a cane, the aftermath of a neurological attack when
> > he
> > was 16.
> >
> > "I don't see anything as being difficult for me," he said. "I just have to
> > do it. Giving up is not an option."
> >
> > The most difficult task while working on refurbishing the house was the
> > demolition part, he said. It took nearly five months to clear the inside
> of
> > the
> > house. He said the work went faster because he did it himself.
> >
> > "I wasn't afraid of things falling on me because I couldn't have seen them
> > anyway," Berry said. "If they hit me, they hit me."
> >
> > The house was in horrible shape when he bought it, he said.
> >
> > "It was foul-smelling and there were condoms and crack paraphernalia
> > everywhere," he said.
> >
> > Now, the house is gutted and the only things in it are spider webs draped
> > around wooden beams and some scraps on the floor. It is dark and drafty,
> > because
> > the heat has not been installed yet.
> >
> > Berry laughed as he recalled knocking down walls and clearing out the
> house,
> > working well after the sun went down when the property would be dark
> inside.
> > He remembers passing neighbors saying, "Hey Ernie, don't you want a light
> on
> > in there?" or, "It's pretty dark in there."
> >
> > "What do I need a light for?" Berry said.
> >
> > The house will be a twin-plex that will emulate an Old West End style
> home,
> > Berry said.
> >
> > "We're not stopping just because of the weather," Berry said. "We're a
> month
> > ahead of schedule, but no corners will be cut. It's going to be a new home
> > in an old building."
> >
> > Not busy enough
> > Berry said he bought the house because he "needed something else" to work
> on
> > and he wasn't busy enough.
> >
> > The project, to which he estimates he has devoted at least 1,500 hours of
> > labor since June, is a hobby, he said, and it won't cut into the time he
> > spends
> > with other commitments during the week.
> >
> > One of those commitments is chess. Berry began playing chess at age 5 and
> > won the Northwest Ohio Regional Chess Championship in 1998.
> >
> > "Everything in life, no matter what it is, is a chess game. You have to
> > think ahead," he said while relating his metaphor to the house. "I can see
> > the
> > finished project and if I can get to the checkmate ahead of schedule, I
> > will."
> >
> > Along with chess, weight lifting has become an important hobby. After he
> > suffered from spastic paraplegia neuropathy, which caused his legs to
> spasm
> > and
> > confined him to a wheelchair, he worked to rehabilitate himself and was
> able
> > to walk again. He said he was encouraged to lift weights to strengthen his
> > body, but he didn't stop there. His motivation and competitive nature sent
> > him to the National Bench Press Competition in Cleveland, where he placed
> > fourth.
> >
> > Berry also mentors neighborhood children, ages kindergarten through high
> > school, teaching them to play chess and training them in weight lifting.
> >
> > "I don't want to sacrifice the time I spend with mentoring these kids
> every
> > week," Berry said. "I think one of the most important things is to be a
> role
> > model to someone who looks up to you."
> >
> > Along with these hobbies, Berry works full time as the ADA coordinator for
> > the City of Toledo, and is attending UT for his master's degree in public
> > administration.
> >
> > "I love Toledo," Berry said. "Toledo is my home. People haven't said
> they'd
> > entrust me with making governmental decision yet, but that doesn't stop me
> > from fixing up Toledo one house at a time."
> >
> > Berry credits his parents, Pete and Becky, for his perseverance in his
> life
> > and his love for his hometown.
> >
> > "We're proud of our city and we're going to try to take care of it," Pete
> > Berry said. He has given some advice to Ernie about the refurbishing of
> the
> > house,
> > but said it's his son's project. "The neighbors are all glad because it
> was
> > an eyesore, but now they see progress."
> >
> > "There are always two outlooks on life," Becky Berry said. "You have to
> find
> > the good side and stay positive because the good seems to overtake. We
> live
> > in this neighborhood and we want to keep it nice." Becky Berry said she is
> > proud of her son for all his accomplishments and for trying to make his
> > neighborhood
> > a better place to live.
> >
> > Pete Berry added that when people ask him if he is proud of his son he
> says,
> > 'I'm not proud of him, I'm inspired by him.'"
> >
> > With a supportive family behind him, Berry said, "There isn't anything I
> > can't handle because I've proven to myself and others that I'm determined
> to
> > do
> > what I can for the city given my current situation.
> >
> > "I think to myself that even though people think it [the house] is,
> > physically, too much for me, I have that motivation and it feels good
> going
> > to sleep
> > after a hard day's work."
> >
> > Toledo Free Press Staff Writer
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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