[nagdu] Working Third Shift; Ot: Having borderline vision

[Chaim B. Segal]

Hi All:

Barb, I'm sorry to say that I agree with most others here on the list. It sounds like what you want is a Guard! "g u a r d", and not a GUIDE, "g u i d e" dog. As far as I know, dogs who are specially trained to guard are only supposed to be handled by police or very highly trained personnel. A major reason for so much needless dog phobia out there is because a number of average people insist on owning dogs for protection which they do not know how to handle.

My last job was that of being a Communications Assistant (Operator) for Ohio Relay. As deaf people, like the rest of us use the phone 28ours a day, our center was open 24-7. Even during the day, there were electronic locks on the door which only employees could open with special electronic card keys. You say the building in question is a big one. If you are the only person inside, why don't they just lock the damn place, and show you where the nearest exit is so that you can get out in an emergency? And, if you are afraid of people coming in, maybe it's time for management to install some type of motion sensor orsecurity device. I believe you said it was a health club. That being said, I know there are some health clubs which are 24-hour places. However, the assumption is that others are there at night also.

On another half-related subject, I feel I must say this. I'm sorry to sound insulting but I'm speaking about your group as a whole. Through the years, I have found it extremely hard to get along with many individuals like yourself who have just enough vision to be considered legally blind. They come to functions where a greater number of us have much less vision, and seem to feel out of place. That being said however, one of my best buddies from high school is in this category. I find that many in this category seem to be extremely anti Braille, and anti computer speech. Even my good friend hates it when he hears me check the time on a talking watch. And, even though he uses speech on his Mac, he cannot tell me what he is doing to produce the same result. A few of them have made it clear to me that they do not consider themselves blind in any way. One of my colleagues at my current job is in this category, and has tried with all her might not to allow anybody to find out that she has a vision problem. 

Believe it or not, I've found that some folks like this seem to be more afraid of me (and other more profoundly blind people), than most sighted people.

In your situation, I feel there are other issues which you are grappling with which do not have to do with your vision. 

I'm sorry to sound condescending. 

Chaim       

Chaim B. Segal
Customer Service Rep
Sinclair Community College
Dayton, Ohio