To the editor:

My father has macular degeneration and we join a small support group once a month which meets at Babcock Place and is sponsored by our Senior Center. We often have help come from the Kansas Area Blind Services.

This month we had a good time with Braille 101: Lesson 1.

We were provided with half an egg carton, six large rocks and a card with Braille bumps on it.

The left hand side of the egg carton, from top to bottom, is numbered: 1, 2, 3 (in our heads). And the right hand side is: 4, 5, 6. This is a Braille cell.

We put one rock in the upper left and then we found one bump all alone on the card. This represents the small letter “a” or the number “1.”

Before the hour was over, we learned that the bumps for the character “#” is rocks or bumps 3, 4, 5, 6. Thus, bumps 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 mean “#1” and on an elevator for example, with Braille, we can find the first floor.

The complete Braille alphabet requires two cells or 12 bumps.

This is a free service. They will come visit anyone or any group of those with poor vision. It is best if a sighted person attends to help their loved one continue afterward by reading and teaching more.

Esther P. Lerner,

Lawrence