238 Keep your friends

The Columbus Dispatch columnist Mike Harden featured a touching and inspiring story yesterday (Feb. 24) about Georgia Griffith, a woman who was born blind, developed all her hearing talents to become a degreed musician, and then lost her hearing at age 38. My grandmother was blind and I know that in her 80s as she began losing her hearing, she believed being deaf was a greater handicap than being blind because it interferred with communication.

Georgia is so busy at her computer helping others and making friends, she hardly has time to sleep. Many years ago she became a proof reader of Braille music for the Library of Congress. Later she was hired by Compuserv to develop a handicapped users' database and to facilitate Internet forums. She routinely trades e-mail with 200 friends world wide.

About the ubiquitous spam she says: You'll never guess what they want me to do now!" About friendship she says: "If I was given the opportunity to exchange my friends for the gift of sight, I would keep my friends."

The free link to this article is through the Sacramento Bee.