Goodbye, Fred Gissoni, The Fred of Fred’s Head.

Last Updated on: 5th October 2014, 12:34 pm

I saw this 2 weeks ago, but didn’t have the ability to write it up. This. A short goodbye post to someone. Yes, blame Captain Nameless Illness.

I think most blind people know of the “Fred’s Head” website. If you don’t, google something blindness and technology-related, and you’ll likely find it. It had everything about various programs, complete with detailed instructions on how to do lots of tasks. But what I didn’t realize was who Fred was. Now I do, but sadly, the reason I know who Fred is is because Fred is no more.

I stare at that post and realize how much I owe to Fred. Without him, there likely would be no Braille ‘n’ Speak, which got me through a zillion years of school notetaking. Wow. And maybe, if I’d taken the Fred course on the abacus, I might have used the thing for more than a visual display of what my head had calculated up as an answer to my arithmetic question. But sorry, Fred, although I understand the principle of why you love the slate and stylus, no. I am not talented enough to use that thing and come out with good notes. No, no, no. Funnily enough, the BNS (Braille ‘n’ Speak) was what made me shriek with joy, “This means I won’t have to take notes with a slate and stylus in high school!”

Although Fred sounded a bit like an odd duck, he was a talented and brilliant odd duck, one to which I owe a lot. Sorry I never knew your name.

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