My Father’s Legacy
(Originally published in Matilda Ziegler Magazine)
For several decades before his passing in 1996, my father was working on his own brand of trivia, which he incorporated into a game. He ran tournaments in local taverns, homes, and anywhere else people wanted to play. I was so impressed with his game that I made several attempts to market it, but with no success at all.
Recently, I decided to take my father’s trivia idea in another direction. Given that it was too difficult to market his game for many reasons, such as expenses and outdated questions, I decided to form my own Braille trivia library in order to provide this service in my community.
As of this writing, I have contacted senior centers, housing complexes, day programs, and nursing homes to find out if their activities directors would be receptive to my service. So far, their reactions have been favorable, to the point where most of these directors are offering payment.
Last week, I entertained 25 clients in a local day program. Most likely, they will have me back on a monthly basis. For the past three months, I have run similar trivia contests on a popular chat line once a week.
The categories I use include Potluck, American History, English Grammar, Science, and Geography. I hope to develop more categories in Braille as time goes by, which will help the project tremendously.
Although I don’t use my father’s invention, I’m sure he would be pleased to know that in some way I am continuing what he started, but in a different and more accessible way because of my blindness.
This article was taken from my book, “Weighing Things Up: Essays on Trends, Technology and Present-Day Society.” For more information about this and my other selfpublished work, go to www.dldbooks.com/robertbranco/
