I first met Greg Benavidez 25 years ago, when we were both students at the Braille Institute in Santa Barbara. The Braille Institute was like a second home to us. Greg went on to have a long career there as a computer instructor. I learned to read and write Braille, which I taught for 10 years as a volunteer.
When you first lose your sight, the slightest tasks, like pouring yourself a glass of water, seem insurmountable. You can’t imagine you will ever cross the street alone again, much less use an iPhone or look up something on the internet.
But Greg was determined to live an independent life. He took a lot of classes in computers for the blind, and he had a phenomenal photographic memory. He became so proficient that he was able to take a computer apart and put it back together again as if he were a sighted person.