By Belo Miguel Cipriani
For some folks, packing for a trip is not a big deal, but for two blind guys and one guide dog, it’s a process.
My partner, James, my guide dog, Oslo, and I begin our packing routine by adding adhesive bumps and rubber bands to label bottles and boxes, charging or updating batteries on our adaptive tech, and meticulously placing things in our luggage a few days prior to our departure.
Although Oslo’s guide dog training didn’t involve packing a suitcase, he takes his bag stuffing very seriously. As soon as I place the luggage on the bed, I can hear his paws click with excitement over the hardwood floors. Sometimes, he is right on the money and throws his toy or blanket on top of my clothes. Other times, he is way off base — like the day he placed the TV remote next to my socks.
After I’m packed, I always zip my bags and roll them near the front door. This is when I often reflect on the place I’ll be visiting. Since our upcoming trip will be to the San Francisco Bay Area, I recently found myself reminiscing about the time I lost my wallet there.
A few years ago, I met up a group of friends in San Francisco’s North Beach District for lunch. One of them gave me a ride back home to my Oakland residence, and it wasn’t until Oslo and I walked through the door to our apartment that I noticed my wallet was not in my pants pocket.
“Crap!” I remember shouting, my heart beating.
Several phone calls later, I discovered my wallet wasn’t at the restaurant, the coffee house, or in my friend’s car. It was a Saturday afternoon, and I would have to wait until Monday to begin to straighten things out with my bank and the DMV.
Days later, I was fumbling with the DMV website using my screen reader when I heard a knock at the door. I was handed a large padded envelope, and I curiously tore it open. To my delight, it was my wallet — ID, bank cards, cash and all. I immediately asked the delivery man to read me my hero’s name off the return address; yet, there was none.
“No name,” he said. “It’s postmarked in San Francisco though.”
I’ve had a lot of anonymous supporters in my life. Like the many, often funny screen names that share and support my work on social media, or the people who open doors for me and whose names I never get.
To all of you who are reading this, whether I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you in person or not, I wanted to take this opportunity to say: Thank you for supporting me!
Now, I’m thrilled to announce another avenue of support we recently established through Springboard for the Arts for my publishing company, Oleb Books.
The mission of Oleb Books is to expand the representation of disability in literature by publishing disability stories by writers with disabilities.
Now, as Oleb Books moves into its second year of operation, we are gearing up for our fall fundraising.
So, as one of my supporters, I would like to take a moment to ask you to please consider making a $10 donation to Oleb Books this fall.
Your gift will help writers with disabilities get discovered by readers!
To donate, and to learn more about the impact of your donation, please click here.
In other Oleb Books news…
I’m happy to share that Oleb Books’ debut title, Firsts: Coming of Age Stories by People with Disabilities, has just received a gold medal in the Non-Fiction – Anthology category in the 2019 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards.
In support of the book, and along with contributing authors Caitlin Hernandez and David-Elijah Nahmod, I will be hosting several book talks around the San Francisco Bay Area this month, from Sept 25-30. Please check my events page for details. If you’re in the area, please come on out!
And, once again, that donation link is: https://olebbooks.com/donate.
Thank you (as always) for your support!
Oleb Books is a sponsored project of Springboard for the Arts, a nonprofit arts service organization.
Contributions on behalf of Oleb Books may be made payable to Springboard for the Arts and are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.