Michael Hingson speaks at IDB

On Friday, Sept. 17, Michael Hingson, a survivor of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks, came to speak at the Iowa Department for the Blind.

Hingson, who spent time at the IDB in the late '70s promoting the first Kurzweil text-reading machine, was pleased to be back in Iowa discussing positive attitudes toward blindness and his gripping story about escaping the North Tower of the World Trade Center that day.

In his talk, Hingson recalled the events in his life leading up to that day, how he moved to New York with his wife and eventually took a job as a regional manager for a technical sales company with offices on the 78th floor of the North Tower.

He talked about his guide dog, Roselle, who helped lead him out of the building before it collapsed, and he talked about how his blindness served him as an asset during crucial moments of the attack.

If you missed the talk, you can stream an audio version here.

You may also check out video coverage from WHO-TV Channel 13 here, or read about the talk on their website.