[nfb-db] nfb-db Digest, Vol 43, Issue 18

[Catherine Miler]

Great reading. Thanks for sharing, Marsha. Scott, keep u the good fight, brother. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 29, 2012, at 12:00 PM, nfb-db-request at nfbnet.org wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
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>   1. Fwd: Coming Together without Sight and Sound (Marsha Drenth)
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> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 20:57:28 -0400
> From: Marsha Drenth <marsha.drenth at gmail.com>
> To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [nfb-db] Fwd: Coming Together without Sight and Sound
> Message-ID: <DD96E908-915E-4BCA-B105-9962B8FA7F2E at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
> 
> All, This was the DB picnic I went to the last weekend. It was a lot of fun and great people. Some of the folks have even volunteered to teach my husband I ASL. 
> 
> Happy reading!
>> Coming Together without Sight and Sound
>> By Scott Stoffel
>> 
>>     When I was forced to retire way too soon from Systems Engineering with the Federal Aviation Administration a few years ago, I had no idea what I would do with the deluge of spare time. An ugly divorce last year only made things look more bleak. I don?t watch television. Tennis isn?t an option. Go for a drive in the car? The local police might have an issue with that.
>>     Organizing social events for deaf-blind people wasn?t something I?d planned on doing. What?s that? You don?t know what DB people are? They?re folks with both hearing and vision deficiencies. No, I don?t mean like the people in Congress. I mean DB folks literally have hearing and vision disabilities at the same time. That?s not to say total loss to either or both senses, just a significant loss to each. Yeah, that?s hard to imagine, isn?t it?
>>     Sure, you?ve seen that old movie about Helen Keller. She?s just amazing and all that. I?ve got to organize social activities for a whole group of Helens. Who says the Hellenic Period ended thousands of years ago? Mine just got started! Now you?re wondering what the heck DB people do for a good time. Hey, you just said Helen was so amazing and all that. DB people have to do things besides be amazing, you know.
>>     So what do they do when they get together for a little rec and roll? On August 25, the DB group of Eastern PA came over to my place in Lansdale for our second annual pool party. Sound easy to pull that off? I mean, what?s tough about throwing a pool party? Trust me, it?s right up there with gorilla wrestling on the scale of ease.
>>     You tell me: How do I get the DB folks to the event site? They?re spread out. We have Andy way out in Mountville, and Marsha up in Chalfont. A few live in the Philadelphia area. DB people can?t hop in cars and drive here, and I?m pretty sure helicopters are out. I?d hire a cab, but my wallet doesn?t contain gold bricks. So my first big task is recruiting volunteers to help with the transportation dilemma. My pal Susan helps with this, but it?s still a tough job. We frequently can?t get enough drivers to help. This time, I didn?t have anyone to zip out to Langhorne and get Alvah, so he missed the event, despite wanting to be there.
>>     Angie flew out here all the way from Kent, Ohio, just to be with friends and take part in the weekend event. Try to imagine being dropped at an airport and left at the mercy of airport personnel when you have zero vision and can?t hear spoken words. Pretty stressful situation to put yourself in. And to make matters worse, airport security confiscated her hairspray?I mean, nothing is more dangerous than a DB woman with neat hair. People kept telling Angie how ?brave? she was for doing it. She said, ?It isn?t courage; it?s just living.? You either keep on living or you lock yourself in a closet and wait for the end. Some people, like Angie, would rather live. It?s sad, though, that just trying to have a life is so difficult and stressful for DB people.
>>     Once I get the DB folks together, communication becomes the second issue to address. The DB folks are not all the same in terms of how they communicate. When I talk to Carol, for instance, I speak into her hearing system microphone. But when I talk to Jay, I use American Sign Language up close. And when I talk to Andy, I let him feel my hands while I sign?that?s called tactile sign language. Very diverse group. They can?t always communicate with each other because of the different methods, so I need plenty of volunteers who can serve as interpreters. Sometimes they sign; sometimes they use slow, loud oral speech. These folks are the bridges to cross that daunting communication barrier.
>>     How about just moving around the pool? We don?t want any nasty falls on that rough concrete. Handling the buffet tables can be a challenge when you can?t see. Ever tried to tell a can of Coke apart from a can of Sprite with your eyes closed? Not too easy. These are all things our sighted volunteers help with?guiding, identifying what?s on the buffet, finding the right drink. Without those helpers, this party would have been messier than a battle royal in a mud pit. They make an enormous difference.
>>     So why do I keep using the term ?volunteer?? Don?t they have a Support Service Provider (SSP) program in this state? Nope, sure don?t. The government here doesn?t spend a penny on providing this kind of badly needed assistance for the deaf-blind community. If you want a state-funded SSP service, you move to Minnesota. In Pennsylvania, all you get is a crisp middle finger.
>>     That?s why I hooked up with Bill Lockard and the nonprofit group DeafCAN! based in West Chester. They?ve been working hard at trying to gather enough donations to build an SSP service for the DB community. We have hopes of achieving that goal someday, but for now, we are forced to rely solely on volunteers. You really have to admire those folks who give their time and energy to help without pay, especially during a time of weak economy. Those folks are worth more than their weight in gold in my book. If only we had more of them.
>>     Well, the party is on! Carol?s guide dog is having a fit, while she?s taking a swim. It?s the dog?s job to make sure Carol gets around safely, and the pool seems to have thrown a doggie wrench into the equation. Edith is going for a ride with a volunteer on a two-seat trike. Her hearing dog seems okay with that, but I?ll check just to make sure. Chari and Marsha are new to the group and are talking up a storm. Jay?s having a literal blast in the Jacuzzi. Egad! I bought four pizzas, and they?ve become gone. But there?s more beef briquette, and you?ve got to try the butter cake. Gretchen?s dog isn?t a service animal, but he does swim. There?s 20 pounds of water-borne Westie, and he?s driving the service dogs nuts. It?s hard for Joe to move around, so people are taking turns stopping by for a chat with him. He has severe neuropathy in his legs, and it?s started to affect his hands, also, but that doesn?t stop him from living. All he needs is a little patience from people signing into his hands.
>>     You might be wondering how I got this crazy volunteer job of organizing social events for the DB community. That makes two of us! But I truly love it. People forget just how important socializing and recreation are to a human spirit. Unfortunately, Vocational Rehabilitation services couldn?t care less about the social side of life for anyone with disabilities, and with no SSP services here, the DB folks don?t have a lot of options. It?s like the saying goes: If something needs to be done, break a leg, baby!
>>     Oh, and did I mention I?m DB, too?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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> End of nfb-db Digest, Vol 43, Issue 18
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