Accessed Dreams

John Harris (L) and Laurie Witherow (R) are friends and coworkers. They recorded a StoryCorps interview at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN.

Middle Tennessee State University commemorated its centennial by hosting StoryCorps in Murfreesboro, TN, during homecoming. John Harris and Laurie Witherow, friends and coworkers at MTSU, recorded an interview during our visit.

John was born blind and still has limited sensitivity to light. Growing up in Munford, TN, near Memphis, his family did not know of a school for children who were blind. So, John spent most of his early childhood and pre-adolescent days playing in the front yard with his grandfather. They listened to Brooklyn Dodgers games over the radio together, and John followed the sportscaster’s descriptions while he pitched rocks to himself, swinging at them with a broomstick. When it connected with the rock, John finished out the play and took bases along with the Dodger hitters on the broadcast.

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