This is a true story that depicts the life of a 26 years old blind guy who struggles to have a normal life.
Tom Sullivan was inborn blind. However, he believes that he somehow had seen the light right after he was out of the womb of his mother. Tommy was born premature. Babies who are premature in their time were incubated in an unhighly developed incubator. This was the cause of the deprivation of sight of most premature babies before. Unluckily, he was one of them. However, he was still fortunate to have a loving and supportive family Sullivan. He has a father Porky Sullivan, a mother, Mrs. Sullivan, and sisters, Jean and Peggy.
He describes first four years as the emptiest, if not the unhappiest time of his life and friendlessness. Tom usually stays in their yard swinging alone. He only have
fun when Fritzie, a paper boy, drops by and play with him for a few minutes.
At the age of 4, he was entered to school. When children see him, some shun or touches his eyes which made him feel like a strange animal that had wandered from a zoo. Herein, he realized that he was completely different from other children.
There was a time in their school that he joined the stampede which made himself bumped into a post and had a bleeding nose. His mother blamed himself of what had happened and decided to not to go to school again.
Again, he was back to the yard and felt it was like a sentence to life of imprisonment. His dad gave him a radio that came out to be his friend and companion such as Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. Listening to stories has expanded his imagination.
The day came when he noticed that he could climb up the fence. Because of the excitement for freedom, he adventured himself alone down the road hearing the noise of the traffic. He even again bumped into garbage and found a doughnut and ate it. He was lost for 2 hours then and was searched by the police. Yet he was found by his friend Fritzie.
Obviously, Tom was scolded and had stomach ache because of the spoiled doughnut he found.
But his first lone adventure was a road leading to boyhood. He said “Blind though I was, nothing was going to stop my being a boy”.
His 5th year in life was the start of his happiest days of his young life. It was summer when he met his father’s friends especially Tom McDonagh. Once they both had an expedition where a sudden fog came. McDonagh explained to the little boy the danger of sailing home. But he insisted to go home and suggested to follow the direction of the lighthouse.
“I can’t see the light”, said McDonagh.
“But you can hear it”, he replied, referring to the foghorn. Blind person has special ability of “radar” like bats. So all the way, he guided their way home.
Such time, he was amaze of being aware that he can do something useful and special, something that others couldn’t do.
It was summer when he met his first friends the same his age. They gained their friendship with a bargain, his air gun exchanged into a rubber horseshoe which he describes as a bad as any made in an oriental bazaar. Yet he never regrets it. His friends were the twins John and David Turnball and later on made friends with the kids on the block. What he appreciates the most is that his friends forget that he’s blind. That’s why when they were playing on the beach or in the park, he suddenly finds himself alone and couldn’t find his way home.
He was enrolled in Perkins School for Blind when he reached 6 of his age and was found out to be genius after taking the standard IQ test.
He met his new friend Billy Nicholson who was his bedmate and was able to form a group called “rebellious trio”, Jerry, Ernie and he, the leader they supposed. Because of naughtiness, his group was suspended for 2 weeks and went home.
Tom was thought to have a good and complete family, but not until his father and mother had problems. His father whom he admired so much admitted of having an affair named Shiela. Tom raised his anger against his father and even attempted to kill him with a blade. His father was living already with his lush mistress.
At fourteen, he was the youngest member of the Perkins upper-school team. He must have not become a good wrestler if not with his first coach Dick Kamus. He gained a record that led him to U.S national title and an invitation to Olympic trials. He has a dream not only a mere wrestler, but a champion. He wanted to show everyone that in legitimate international sport that do not favor the handicapped can also win.
When he reached 15, every upper-school student will be given a voice test. Therein he was identified to have a potential in singing. Music became his passion and teamed up with three black boys at the school, Paul, Earl, and Ellis.
He was 17 when he names someone which he don’t know yet, but remembers the smell. He names this person as Channel No. 5. Until he met this woman in an incident that herself reprimanded when he and Ernie of being late and playful. This Channel No. 5 was a faculty staff with a name Hope and they had good friendship which ended up into intimate relationship. But still, they part ways when the school knew there situation.
3 months later, Tom Sullivan graduated from Perkins and won scholarships from both Harvard and Yale and fresh wrestling titles. In this moment he has lost the desire for the meaning of life which led his mother to consult to a priest that he doesn’t like. To get rid of him, he agreed to be on a summer job as a councilor to unpreviliged boys at Camp Cathedral. Here he met Bill Burns, a friar that has became his guide and inspiration to go to Providence College. The summer camp was the reason in his new-found faith that there was “Someone out there”.
His first day in school has impact him with frustrations and hopeless of being alone and friendlessness until his friend Bill came to visit him and encouraged him to go on and show everybody what a blind person got. Good for him he met this guy named Tom Sly who was always making fun of him yet they have strong comradeship. After 2 years, there came the day that they parted. Tom Sly had decided to study for a year in Europe and he to go on Harvard.
Harvard was for him a disaster in his mind and marked to be the number one among the major errors in his life. However, if not for Harvard he might not have met Patricia.
Summer time it was that he met Patty (Patricia). At first, Tom thinks that Patty can destroy his summer which must only be full of wine and girls. He was really very disturbed of what he was feeling for her. He tried to keep a distance from her yet he is still yearning of her company with him. When he remembers Patty, he deliberately sought out other girls and started drinking more. Patty was often often at these parties who was always ready to drive him to beach, held her hand to him when he needed it. Tom knows that he loves the girl yet he insisted to ignore her because Patty was a truly Catholic and he thinks he doesn’t fit for her. He rejected Patty though they already have mutual understanding.
One day, a girl named Greta came into him and confessed that she’s pregnant. Though emotionally empty for the woman, he still asked her to marry him. But the girl forsake for she knows that she was not loved by Tom.
Tom was already decided to marry the girl so he called up to Patty and tells her that his going to marry Greta. It was very hurtful for both of them.
Greta told him that she was going to have an abortion and threatened for suicide if he didn’t help. Because of confusion, he asked for helped from Bill. The friar lend him money and Tom gave it to Greta. Bill drove him to shore where Tom will meet Patty and confessed everything to her. Though he can feel her anguish, she has forgiven him and saw her love towards him.
Patty went back to Arizona to continue her studies and they had a first lover’s quarrel through telephone wire. She knew that Tom has other girls than him. Yet he wanted to know that Patty is the one he truly loves. Patty for him is his eyes. And not long enough, they married and had their first daughter “Blythe”. He contemplated into the future of his daughter. These thoughts crystallized into a song “today’s children: tomorrow’s earth. No sooner he had a Seeing Eye Dog Heidi. She was tall, slim and loves to play and run along the shore. Blyhte was followed by Tom Sullivan III.
Furthermore, they have found the house which will they call home.
The song “if you could see what I hear” that Tom Sullivan composed was played on the radio.
The thought that overwhelmed his mind then, however was of small boy understanding for the first time that he had battle his way through life with what some believed was the hardest handicap of all. He had proved to himself and to others that he can compete and excel and can have a normal life like anybody has.
zensuites