A five-year old child watched helplessly as his
younger brother drowned. In that same year,
glaucoma began to darken his world, and his
family was too poor to afford medical help that
might have saved his sight. Both o f his parents
died during his teens. Eventually he was sent to
a state institution for the blind. Because he was
African-American, he was not permitted access
to many activities, including music. Given
the obstacles he faced, one could not have predicted
that he would someday become a worldrenowned
musician. His name is Ray Charles.
(Brooks & Goldstein, 2003, p. ix)