Griffin Ezekiah Thames is my name.  I am 11 years old.  I live in Fond-du-Lac, Wisconsin, with my momma and poppa, and my older sisters Gertie and Wihelmina, who are thirteen and seventeen.  I'm the youngest.

I'm also blind.  Been this way since I was four, when Gertie accidentally stabbed me in the eye with some scissors; the other one got infected, and I lost my sight.  So there you have it.  I've seen nothing but grey shadows ever since.

I do pretty well, all things considering.  I have my guide dog, "Tornado", to help me get around, plus I have my cane; that helps too.  I am very good at getting around and relying on my remaining senses.

People think I should be mad at Gertie.  Not so.  It was only an accident, but I know Gertie feels bad for injuring me.  I tell her I have forgiven her, but I can still hear the pain in her voice whenever she brings it up in conversation, or when kids ask her how her brother (me) became blind.

Even though I am blind, I can still do a lot of things.  I read and write (Braille), play baseball on a team for kids with disabilities/special needs, go on walks and enjoy the sounds/smells of nature, ride horses, ski, swim, even dance and sing, and play music. (I play the harpsichord, as well as the organ and piano.)

I also love going to church.  I sing in the children's choir every Sunday.  We are nondominational Christians.  We go to a Pentecostal church, but we welcome people of all faiths to come and worshp with us. 

People sometimes ask me why I don't go up for prayer for healing.  I tell them that it's all in God's time.  If he wants to heal me on earth, that would be so great, but the damage to my eyesight has been done, and nothing can really be done to fix it.  I'm blind for life.  I will, however, get healed when I go to Heaven, so that is something I am definitely looking forward to.  It makes me sad sometimes, but I try not to dwell on it.  I have such a busy life, I really don't have time to dwell on the fact that I am blind.

I think being blind is a good thing in a way.  That way, I don't have to see all the uglies that's descended upon our world.  I do miss seeing the puffy clouds in an azure-blue sky, the fat red cardinals or blue blue jays singing in the trees or on the wires above our heads as we walk, or miss seeing the bright reds, greens, yellows, oranges, golds, and purples of autumn time.  That part is the worst about being blind.  I also can't see the faces of people or know what they look like until I run my hands over their faces, so I can memorize their features.

People sometimes feel uncomfortable using the word "See" around me.  That's understandable.  I'm blind.  I cannot see.  Still, it doesn't bother me any.  I always say "See"; I have no issues with it, so other people shouldn't either.  Whenever a friend leaves or I go out somewhere, I always say: "See ya!" 

Well, I am going to go play some baseball with my friends, so I will run along now. I will talk to you again some day; until then, this is Griffin Ezekiah Thames saying so long! God bless you always!

~Love, your new friend in Wisconsin, Griffin Ezekiah.  :)