The Mind of Brian Charlson

I don’t know if I have mentioned in one or more of the posts here that my wife, Kim Charlson, is the Director of the Braille and Talking Book Library at the Perkins School for the Blind. Well, she is and because of that, I get a heads-up on any event that her library is holding. Recently, the BTBL at Perkins held an authors event featuring authors who have written books about the Red Sox. In addition to hearing two authors talk about their books, I got to meat Carl Beane, the voice of Fenway Park and Johnny Pesky, a former member of the Red Sox whose number 6 was just retired during the last game of the 2008 season.
Carl volunteers at the Library reading books on sports for inclusion in the BTBL’s collection and Johnny was there because he was co-author of one of the books.
In addition to all of the talk about books, my friend Rick and I got to talk about the Seeing Eye Single Tour and Rick pulled together a wonderful sound track of baseball songs that were played over the sound system before and during the event. The crowd sang along with Take Me Out to the Ball Game and Sweet Caroline.
Before the event got started, I got to have my picture taken with Johnny. It turns out that both of us are originally from Oregon and we both are big fans of Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Elsberry, another Oregon boy. As you can see in the picture, my mouth is a little open. That is because Johnny was asking my advice on women. After losing his wife a couple of years ago, he is courting a woman, again from Oregon, who he dated before he was called up to the majors.
All of those who attended the event were able to get their picture taken with the 2004 and 2007 World Series trophies. I had to take a moment to look them over by touch before I allowed the photographer to snap the shot. I ask you, how many times are you going to have that chance? The trophies themselves are about two-feet tall and a foot and a half across. The base is a cross-section of a baseball surrounded by a series of flag poles crowned with triangular pennants. The polls in the front are shorter than those in the back creating a kind of open arch effect.
After the event, but before everyone left, I got a chance to take a look see at a World Series ring. Carl Beane let me hold his 2007 ring and explained all of the stones and their arrangement. He tells me that he now keeps his 2004 ring in a lock box at the bank but brings it out from time to time because he says that like your first child, your first World Series ring is special.
Now I have a couple of new books to read, a couple of new friends in Carl and Johnny and a few new stories to tell my friends and family over the years.

One of the many things Rick and I wanted to accomplish during our Seeing Eye Single Tour was to make contact with the public about what we were doing. To this end, Rick sent out hundreds of copies of a press announcement about the tour.
The first person to bring the tour to the public’s attention was Joe Castiglione, the voice of the Red Sox on WRKO and WEEI. He went through the press release during the eighth inning of a game between the Red Sox and the Royals. We tried to get the attention of the home team broadcasters at all of the parks we went to, but none of the others returned our email messages or mentioned us during the games we attended. I did get a short mention on the local station in Pawtucket Rohde Island during the Paw Sox game I and a number of my buddies attended before the tour, but that was about it.
We did have a lot of success when it came to internet radio and podcasts in the disability arena. Paul Edwards interviewed us for ACB Radio’s Tuesday Topics, Marcia Dresser interviewed us for Council Connection, the Bay State Council of the Blind show for their Radio Reading Service and ACB Radio program, we were interviewed for the Talking Information Service in Massachusetts, Robert Acosta had me on as a guest on his Sports Talk program on Access World and Larry Wanger interviewed us for his podcast, Disability Nation.
Only one time were Rick and I in the same place during one of these interviews. The interview for Disability Nation took place over the telephone with Rick at his home and me at mine and our interviewer at his New York studio. The interview with the Talking Information Center was live and took place over the telephone from our hotel room in Washington D.C. and our interviews on Tuesday Topics and Bob Acosta’s Sports Talk took place over Brian’s lap top using TC Conference from Talking Communities. The interview for Disability Nation took place before the tour and the rest took place after the tour. All-in-all we were kept pretty busy.
I can’t explain why the mainstream press didn’t pick up on what we were doing; they certainly had time to write about many other things that had little or no social significance. I guess I remain disillusioned with the fourth estate.
For now, I hope that you enjoy listening to our interviews and that you continue to check out what these internet broadcasters are doing. I have added all of them to my personal listening list.

The following is an article from a New Jersey news paper about a friend of mine. She, like me, is a graduate of the Seeing Eye guide dog school. It appears that we also share a love of baseball and enjoy not only the sport, but the adventure of going to the ball park. I think she gets the importance of being independent and being an adventurer. What do you think?

Morris Plains fan’s every visit a result of teamwork
By Steve Politi, The Star-Ledger,
September 14, 2008

NEW YORK — The doors to the D Train open at 161st and River Avenue and they step onto the platform, one unlikely Yankees fan guiding another through the dense game-day crowd.
Laramie leads the way. Jane Lang follows at his side. They walk up a stairwell to the street and past the vendors lined up alongside the famous ballpark. They circle around to Gate 4, where Laramie stops in front of his favorite tree. He has earned a quick bathroom break.
“Isn’t this place something?” Lang asks when they finally make their way to her seats behind home plate. This is a spot that gives her an ideal view of the old ballpark, from the famous facade that looms in the outfield to the infield grass that is always a perfect shade of green.
Except she has never seen Yankee Stadium — at least not in the way most fans have. Jane Lang is blind. Laramie, a golden retriever, is her guide dog. For the past eight years, they have made the trip from their home in Morris Plains to the Bronx too many times to count.
And one week from today, along with 55,000 other fortunate fans, they will make it for the final time. “I am very sad about it. I love it here,” Lang said. She is wearing a light-blue Derek Jeter T-shirt and dangly Yankees earrings, and Laramie has curled up on a Yankees beach towel spread at her feet. “The minute I step into Yankee Stadium, I feel safe. “I feel home.”
Yankee Stadium means something different to every fan who has walked through its gates since 1923. The first time Lang made this trip, she gripped the metal bar in front of her seat, heard those familiar sounds of batting practice and beer vendors, and couldn’t stop her tears.
“What are you crying for?” the usher asked her. “We haven’t even lost the game yet!” “I’m crying,” Jane Lang said, “because I got here on my own.”
That first journey was not without an unintentional detour. She had filled her pockets with eight pieces of candy, one for each stop the D Train would make, and popped one into her mouth every time the doors opened.
But she must have dropped one piece along the way, because she got off one stop too soon. It didn’t take long to figure out that something was wrong, though. Laramie wouldn’t budge until she got back on the train.
He leads her around puddles in the street and past careless teenagers talking on their cell phones as they walk. He makes sure she stops on every corner and waits for the light to turn green.
He walks like a typical New Yorker, never hesitant to bump his way through a slow-moving crowd. Lang follows at his right side, whispering “good boy” when he stops at the subway stairs or near the edge of a ramp.
It is a two-hour trip that could test the nerves of a person with 20/20
vision. Lang, 65, makes it about 25 times a year, sometimes with her husband Pete to help, but often just with Laramie. “You can’t be afraid,” Lang said, “because if you’re afraid, you can’t do anything.”
She has experienced Yankee Stadium in a way unlike any of the millions of
people who have come here. She has listened to the radio broadcast of the game in one ear and the reaction from the crowd in the other. If the other fans get angry about a call, she joins them. “Hey, ump!” she’ll yell from her seat. “Are you watching the same game I’m watching?”
Pete planned a special surprise for their 41st wedding anniversary, leading her onto the field before a game and into the Yankees dugout where Jorge Posada was waiting for her. She reached up and felt his face. He has such a great smile, he really does,” she said. “And he hit a home run that day!”
She was sitting next to Harlan Chamberlain the night his famous son, Joba, made his much-anticipated first start for the Yankees. Harlan, who uses a wheelchair, held her hand so tight she thought it would break, and when she touched his cheek, she felt the tears.
The Yankees have become her family. Maybe the fans around her are furious with the team for its struggles on the field this season, but Lang is grateful that they put a fresh patch of sod outside for Laramie if he needs to make a bathroom break. She kisses the concessionaire and sends Christmas cards to the ushers.
She wishes she could meet owner George Steinbrenner some day, because she
knows exactly what she would tell him. “You know what I would do? ”she said. “I would touch his face and give him a big hug and say, ‘Thanks for
giving me so much joy over the years.’ “
Lang hopes she can still visit the new Yankee Stadium next year, but Laramie, now 10, won’t come back after the final trip to the old ballpark next Sunday. The team even put his picture on the scoreboard screen last month, congratulating him on his upcoming retirement.
That day after the game, as the two walked down the steps to the D Train, fans spotted the golden retriever.

“Make way for Laramie!” they yelled, and the crowded parted to let them
through. He will lead her down those steps one last time next week, and Lang knows she’ll be crying when he does. But they’ll leave this place with a lifetime of memories from a ballpark she has seen in a way nobody else has.

I am deeply saddened by the closing of Yankee Stadium – as if losing an old friend. My memories of Yankee Stadium will be with me forever.
My first time at Yankee Stadium was for Game 5 of the Yankees – Diamondback World Series in 2001. That’s the series that was delayed because of 9/11 and it actually ran into November – causing some folks to call Derek Jeter, “Mr. November”.
I was in Los Angeles on 9/11—up at the crack of dawn to practice a
presentation I was scheduled to give at a wireless telecommunications Trade Show. I had CNN on in the background. I saw the pictures of the World Trade Center and saw the second plane hit the second tower live. I came totally unglued when I heard that AA Flight 11 was the first plane to hit. I flew AA 11 on 9/10. I was originally scheduled to be on AA 11 on 9/11 but flew out a day early because Ron Berger, the President of the consulting company of “Angelbeat” asked me to come a day early to present at the conference. What a fitting name for the company..
As you recall, flights were suspended for a few days after 9/11. I visited Disney’s American Adventure and the “Happiest Place on Earth” had never been so somber.
I flew home on American Airlines the day after flights were resumed. No one spoke. The flight attendants and crew all wore ribbons and were visibly grieving.
I was drawn to New York City. I took Amtrak the day before the WS game, and visited Ground Zero. I saw facades that were still dangling and everywhere the smell and grit. The site was still smoldering. Took lots of pictures. Had my camera stolen on the way home. I signed the Memorials that were outside the church that was the relief center for the workers. Saw many pictures of the people who were missing and read many messages that were left at the site. Several months later, I attended a trade show at Las Vegas where similar memorials had been placed along the fences around the New York / New York Hotel.
2001 World Series Game 5 was the one the Yankees won in extra innings from a Scott Brocious homerun. Ken Carter and I sat in Memorial Park for the game. The Color Guard assembled just outside where we were seated for the Star Spangled Banner. An American Bald Eagle was released at each game at the Stadium during that series during the pre-game ceremonies from Center Field.
That World Series was very important to help everyone heal and cope with the aftermath of 9/11. I will never forget the eruption of emotion upon Scotty’s walk-off homerun. That followed by a continuous loop of Sinatra singing New York / New York that seemed to last forever.
I was a Yankees fan that Series and so grateful that I had the opportunity to be at that Game.
When Brian and I visited Memorial Park, we saw a plaque that commemorated
9/11. At the top of the plaque was an American Bald Eagle flying above the twin towers. Also pictured was a fireman with his rescue dog.
We sat in Memorial Park for the last two Yankees – Red Sox games to be played at Yankee Stadium. I tiered up and had goose bumps when Ronan Tynan sang “God Bless America”.
People were wonderful to us everywhere in NYC. People in NYC changed after 9/11. My perceptions of New Yorkers also changed.
NYC is a warmer place.
Yogi Berra spoke at the beginning of the broadcast of the last game at Yankee Stadium. I don’t have his exact quote, but it was something like … “Yankee Stadium will never be gone as long as I have my memories”. Amen, Yogi.

Farewell Yankee Stadium.

You may not have noticed that I didn’t bring Bethel with me to the last game in the Seeing Eye Single Tour. Why not? Fenway only allows a guide dog user to purchase a wheel chair area seat, the only place where a guide dog can fit, 72 to 24 hours before a game. This is the result of an old out-of-court settlement between the Red Sox and the wheel chair using community where no consideration was made for the needs of a guide dog user.
I have been able to exchange my ticket once and purchase a ticket directly once to seat in one of the wheel chair area seats. The first time it was for the game between the Red Sox and the Yankees when Boston got four back-to-back home runs. It was a wonderful game but very cold up in the back of the grandstand section where the wheel chair seating was. The wind was very, very cold.
The next time I got to sit in the wheel chair area seating was just a couple of weeks ago. My friend Rick and I wanted to see the Red Sox play the Rays. Rick got the tickets and they were terrific!
Our seats were just 100 feet from Gate E and up a easy-to-navigate switch-back ramp. We were half way between third base and the left field fowl poll, about twenty rows back. To my left was the Green Monster and to my right was the infield. It was a night game and there was a little rain but no rain delay.
As much as I loved the seats because I was able to bring Bethel to the park, Rick loved the seats because of the uninterrupted field of view. Even when the fans in front of us stood up to cheer, Rick could still see the game. He hates the seats I usually get behind home plate about 27 rows because there is an isle right in front of us and the fans keep standing between him and the game. No problem like that where we sat to see the Red Sox and Rays.
We lost the game but had a lot of fun. Bethel was a real charmer, making friends with the other fans, Rick loved seeing the balls hit the Green Monster and I loved hearing the voice of the announcer over the sound system and the balls as they bounced off the wall.
If you ever get a chance to sit in the wheel chair seating area, I would encourage you to do so. Bring along your guide dog and a low vision friend. These are not seats for those with 20 20 vision or those who can walk around the park. For those who do need them, they make all of the difference in the world.

Listen to Brian, Kim and Vicki as they tour the Baseball As America exhibit

You would think that after attending eight ball games in eight days, I would have had my fill of baseball. Not so! My wife, Kim, arranged for me to attend the Baseball As America exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science only two days after I got back from my trip. I had intended to go see it prior to the trip but things just didn’t work out.
The exhibit consisted of many glass cases containing balls, bats, gloves, photos and memorabilia. I was lucky to have my friend Vicki along to read many of the descriptive labels and signs We even came across a gentleman who shared some of his own knowledge about baseball.
Some of my favorite items included seats from some of the baseball parks over the past 70 years. It is true that Fenway has the narrowest seats at 15 inches. I also enjoyed the pitching exhibits where I got to learn how pitchers hold the ball for each pitch and even got to throw a pitch or two of my own. I couldn’t get it up over 50 miles per hour. How in the world do they get it over 90?
We saw bats and gloves as they changed over the years and heard recordings of important moments in the sport. My wife is still chuckling over my excitement over the Bugs Bunny “wham, wham, wham” sound bite.
It was impressive how Americans have used baseball to bring them back from depression. President Roosevelt asked that baseball continue after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and baseball also helped us keep going after September 11. They still sing “God Bless America” during the seventh inning stretch at all MLB games in memory of September 11.
The saddest part of the exhibit was the area where they showed how poorly we treated none-white players. It wasn’t only those who were black, but native Americans and Hispanics as well.
We finished our tour in the gift shop where I purchased a Boston Red Sox tie tack and a Christmas ornament in the shape of a baseball player. We got a book on Fenway that I may share with all of you from time-to-time. It is those heart-warming stories and all of those stats that make baseball the great American pastime.

One of the things I try to do between work and family is to read. On an average year I read about 100 books. Most of them are fiction, but I set myself the goal of reading at least one non-fiction for every 9 fiction. Most of the time this comes in the way of cookbooks or books on history of some kind.

This year I have started to read books on baseball as part of getting ready for my Seeing Eye Single Tour of 6 baseball parks in the Northeast. I must say that it takes a little getting used to a conversational style of writing to get through most of these books. In the Big Popi book, he must have said “Dude” a thousand times.

Because I am blind I have to turn to a very few sources to locate braille, audio or e-text books. Here is a web site I used after a friend of mine, Judi Cannon of Watertown, Massachusetts pulled this list together for her employer the Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library Accessible Books on the Red Sox and Baseball. It not only lists books that have been produced for the Library of Congress, National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, but those recorded at the Perkins Library itself. She also mentions a video about baseball that is audio described.

I also read books from Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic and Book Share. These are both not-for-profit organizations; RFB&D uses volunteer readers to record both pleasure and text books, and Book Share where volunteers and members scan books and then place the results online for members to download and read.

Let me know if you have any additional locations I might get books on baseball from. What are your recommendations for titles and do you have any ideas on locations for additional information on baseball. For now, enjoy these books and enjoy the sport of baseball.

Please see below a complaint Rick and I sent off after our visit to Orioles Park in Baltimore. We offer this to all of you as an example of how a complaint can be lodged in a way that compliments those aspects of a stadium visit worth praise and outlining those aspects that are in need of change and how that change can take place.
Have you ever sent off such a complaint and did you ever receive a response, positive or otherwise? Share your experiences and opinions.

•* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hi Monica,
Please forward this formal complaint to the appropriate business folks at the Orioles. We hope this complaint is viewed constructively and as a business matter.
Brian Charlson, who is blind, his Guide Dog Bethel and I attended the August 24 and 25 games at Camden Yard. I have low vision and use a white cane and low vision devices. We purchased our tickets through the box office soon after the on-sale began for single game tickets.
We requested that our seats 1.) be as close to the playing field as possible, 2.) be protected from foul balls and broken bats, 3.) have space to accommodate Brian’s Guide Dog and 4.) have sight lines above standing spectators so that I can effectively use my low vision devices.
We were sold tickets in the wheelchair seats of Section 70 for the August 24 game and Section 64 WC seats for the August 25 game. Please explain why these seats were offered to us. We trusted that the seats sold would meet the criteria above, especially considering how early they were purchased, The seats were not close to the playing field and did not have sight lines above standing spectators. There was ample space for the Guide Dog and we were so far from home plate that presumably that is how we were protected from foul balls.
I visited Fan Assistance to request info on how to file a complaint and was greeted by Colleen and Janet who handled the situation superbly. We were
relocated to seats behind home plate for the August 24 game.
The seats originally sold to us were inappropriate to meet our needs that we clearly articulated. I have a hard time believing that these were the best seats available when we bought our tickets. The August 25 date was far from sold-out and many more appropriate seats remained unoccupied at game time.
It is not true that all of those who are blind or with low vision can sit anywhere in the stadium.
We belong to the American Council of the Blind and are developing Model Ticket Policies to assist venues like Camden Yard to properly accommodate those who are blind and with low vision. I am the chair of the Task Force that is developing these Model Policies.
We request answers to the following questions:
1.) what policies are in place with regards to selling tickets to the blind and those with low vision?
2.) Can we meet face to face to discuss our Model Ticket Policies and explore how the Orioles and ACB can collaborate to refine and implement these ticket policies?
3.) Why were we sold the tickets we were?
Also, most who are blind and with low vision listen to the commercial radio broadcast of the play by play while in-stadium. The radio broadcast was
unnecessarily delayed approximately 5 seconds making it very difficult to track the action. Please advise who we should contact to file a formal complaint about the radio delay?
Again, the assistance we received from day of game personnel, particularly Colleen and Janet was superb and extremely professional and much
appreciated.
We look forward to a formal response to all the questions listed above. We believe the model ticket policies we are drafting to be extremely pragmatic
and reasonable. We hope that we can meet to discuss them with the Orioles during the off-season, particularly in light of our experience and this complaint.
We look forward to hearing back from you regarding this complaint.

Sincerely,
Rick E Morin
Brian Charlson

Listen to a four-year-old sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game at Fenway Park
Rick, Kim and Brian at Fenway Park

The last game in our tour had to be at Fenway. Red Sox VS White Sox and a win for the home team. Kim and Vicki joined Rick and me this time out but we didn’t bring either Bethel or Jubilee. The seats are just too small!
We won 8 to 2 and saw a number of very good defensive plays. Dice-K Matsucaka threw his best game this year.
On the hitting side, Dustin Pedroia hit four out of four times. And Jacoby Ellsbury got a triple, double and single.
We are now 4.5 games behind the Rays and 7 games in front of the Yankees. We still have 26 games to go so anything is possible.

>Listen to a Fenway Park 8th Inning Strech with Sweet Caroline