"When a Bright Light Shines in Our Lives"

It dropped! The news story about Kathy winning the Helen Keller Achievement Award went live yesterday and so now I can not only show the video itself, but pictures from the interview.

Adjusting her mic and ready to go. We laughed that Kathy and Rachel twinned it. Not me; I was wearing green.

After interviewing her, Rachel wanted some shots of Kathy doing her everyday things such as making herself some coffee.

Rachel is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, hence the horseshoe tattoo.

I was interviewed next, not the first time Kathy has invited me to be interviewed with her. Once she and I were interviewed by reporters from e-BUSAN FM Radio in Korea who had flown over to the United States to talk to her.

We then moved into Kathy's office which is decorated with dolphins. Early in her teaching career, Kathy wrote a grant and spent a summer in Florida, studying (and diving with) dolphins. There is no end to what this woman can do!

Her old Braille machine is on the left, and her new, high tech one is just to the right of her chair. Rachel asked if she would demonstrate writing in Braille and Kathy suggested she use the old machine because you could actually see it working. 

I've watched her type in Braille in person and I've watched it several times in the video, but I still don't understand how she can make so many different symbols with so few keys. (There is a close up in the news story of the Braille that she typed.)

Last of all, Rachel wanted to film some footage of Tate and Kathy working together. 

They made several clips of the pair doing what they do so well together.

I filmed the filmer filming the filmees. Hah!

A big kiss from Tate when Kathy thanked him for his work. 

Here is the video in its final form. It's about two and a half minutes long.

Kathy left this morning for New York. Tonight she is seeing a Broadway show as a guest of the musical director for it, a former student of hers. She gets backstage access and will get to meet the cast and crew, too.

Then, tomorrow is the gala. Typical Kathy, five teenagers from the Indiana School for the Blind are her guests at the gala. She wants those kids to see what is possible and that blindness and vision loss don't mean that they can't make their own contributions in life.

It is because of that attitude of leading and giving back that Kathy has accomplished so much in her own life. As she said in the interview, 

"When bright light shines in our lives, it is not about us. It is about what we can do with that light in order to help others."

And that is Kathy's heart, right there. 

Well done and congratulations, dear friend.