“This morning, when I woke up, I felt good because the sun was shining. I felt good because I was a frog. And I felt good because I have you as a friend.”

Arnold Lobel, “Days with Frog and Toad”

We used to do tours of the hotel rooms we stayed in as a family, as kids, and now we’re going to give you a tour of the inn we were invited to this summer, in Mount Vernon, Maine, for an artist retreat.

This week on Outlook we’re taking you along on our trip with us, from back in July, as we made new friends, connections, relationships formed with friends we’ve never met and those we’ve known virtually for a while.

This episode is part one of two parts, an audio scrapbook of sorts, our guest book entry for our experience at Drama Club Camp.

Through interviews we did with the other participants, to a tour of the 100-year-old inn we were hosted at, to the boat rides on the pond/lake, we were there to create something from a blindness lived perspective, with others from the blindness community, disability cross solidarity community, and the broader community of those who’ve experienced feeling like they didn’t fit in - we’re exploring the bonds of friendship and the art made when we’re given the room to explore our imaginations and feel accepted by others.

From the hugging area to the community kitchen, we’re hearing from the others in attendance as to what the week ended up meaning to them and sharing what it meant to us too.

The themes from the “Frog and Toad” books kept coming up during the week, plus much much more, all of which will be showcased in this two-parter special Outlook.

This episode features interviews with Dr. H. May, Dr. M. Leona Godin, Matthew Shifrin, John, and Scott Ihrig.

Check out our friend Matthew Shifrin’s Bricks for the Blind:

https://bricksfortheblind.org

And learn more about Scott and Shannon at:

https://www.dramaclubproductions.com