Lisbon Couple Overcomes Blindness To Run
Successful New Age Business
By Robert Westervelt
Day Staff Writer

Note from the editor: This article is reprinted with permission from the publisher and originally appeared January 13, 2003 in The New London Day.

Tammy Robbins and Jim McCollum move slowly and deliberately around their new store. The husband and wife sweep their hands to the left and right, careful not to damage any merchandise.

The store owners were struck with diseases that left them blind at birth. Tammy lives a life in darkness, while Jim can see only shapes highlighted by varying hues of light and color. Their disabilities have not stopped them from achieving a longtime dream.

"Mainstream jobs just didn't cut it for us," Robbins said. "We wanted to be our own bosses and make a business work."

It took more than two years to convince an advisory panel at the state Board of Education and Services for the Blind that their New Age business plan was legitimate. They told the board they wanted to open a business that offers massage therapy sessions and psychic and tarot card readings. The agency asked Robbins whether she was a witch or a member of a cult.

Robbins, born and baptized a Catholic, and McCollum, raised a Presbyterian, each say they discovered natural healing methods and alternative therapies while searching for meaning in their lives.

"We're not active proponents of any specific religion," McCollum said.

The couple began receiving the first part of nearly $30,000 in assistance late last year to start the business, called Healing Paths. Located in Lisbon on Route 12, the store has been open since November and has built a customer base interested in alternative methods to relieve stress and anxiety, Robbin said.

"We tried to make it clear to the board that this is a growing trend," she said. "Because of what happened on Sept. 11, it's leaving more people to question their lives and their values."

Robbins, 35, was born and raised in Montville. She was blind at birth after contracting the German measles from her mother. She underwent dozens of unsuccessful surgeries in an attempt to repair the damage wrought by the measles.

"Going through school, kids did not understand all the time," she said. "Some students were wonderful, but others did not handle my condition very well."

McCollum, 38, was born and raised in Texas. He was struck with what he believes is Leber's disease at birth, which distorts the images transferred in the retina. After graduating from high school, McCollum went to the Lions World Services for the Blind in Arkansas where he met Robbins.

The couple lived for several years in Chicago, where McCollum worked as a taxpayer service representative for the Internal Revenue Service. The couple moved back to the area and McCollum took a job as a directory assistance operator with Southern New England Telephone.

Robbins was a stay-at-home mother to their child, Aaron, now 9 years old and fully sighted.

The couple came up with the idea for the store after trying to find information about meditation and New Age healing methods, Robbins said. The store is designed to serve beginners and the learned, she said.

Robbins slides bills through a special money counter machine and an electronic voice announces each bill handed to her. A talking cash register ensures that she punches in the right numbers and gives customers the correct change.

Putting together a budget is more time consuming for the couple, but Robbins uses a speech-enabled computer to track sales and conduct inventory. Tags on items in the store are printed in braille so the couple can answer customers' questions.

There are rooms for massage therapy, hypnotherapy and psychic and tarot card readings.

A variety of items are on display in cases along the walls of the small store. Spirit bottles, horoscope pendants, rings and earrings are in one case. Prices vary from $6 to about $100.

In a crystal and stone display, tumbled stones, smooth and shiny, are on display with a description of their possible healing powers. Pink calcite worn around the neck is suggested to help sooth emotions and build love energy. Aquamarine is offered to help with communication. A black onyx stone is used for protection. The stones are for sale at $1 each.

Robbins wears a pink calcite stone around her neck. She claims it helps keep her calm and reduces her stress.

Robbins and McCollum also have a small compact disc and video collection with soothing music used for meditation. Instructional videos tout the wonders of tai chi and Buddhism. The videos and music sell at about $15 each.

For more information, E-mail us at: info@nfbct.org