Overcoming a Life Without Sight
The audio story I tuned in for was a wonderful story about the three blind triplets Leo, Nick, and Steven Argel, who, along with their single mother, struggled greatly in the early years of their life due to their lack of vision. A man named Ollie Cantos, however, is a blind man who also lived in their community, and decided to take the children in and help them adapt to the real world. The majority of the audio story is told by Ollie, with some input from the triplets as well. He begins the story with a brief recollection of his early childhood and how hard it was for him to fit in with the rest of society. Ollie mentions how kids would make fun of him by holding up their fingers in front of Ollie’s face, asking Ollie “how many fingers am I holding up?” This is where Ollie brings in the triplets, as the same thing happened to them during their childhood.
This audio story is particularly interesting because we are all aware that being blind must been an incredible hardship to overcome. Anyone who can currently see cannot fathom what life must be like without sight. This is what keeps us listening through the whole story, among other aspects. Additionally, Ollie’s voice clearly has an upbeat vibe from the get-go, so it is obvious that the story being told is one of overcoming a negative burden. Ollie goes through multiple experiences he has had himself and with the boys, giving the audience plenty of concrete evidence about their lives. This piece also makes such a strong emotional appeal to the ties between community and family, and how they can blend into each so easily, especially for people like Ollie and the triplets.
You can listen to Ollie and the Argel triplets’ story here.
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This story seems really interesting and makes you want to tune in and listen to what it seems like such a bizarre story because like you said seeing people cannot possibly fathom what life is like as a blind person let alone what it’s like being a blind triplet. I like how you talked about how his voice is used is in the story as upbeat to show the how they are overcoming such a negative burden. It seems like “Ollie” plays a major part in the story, I’m curious to see how the triplets play in and if there are other perspectives in their story.