[nfb-talk] [NFB-talk] Here We Go Again: Home Makeover - blindcouple in OH

Ray Foret Jr rforetjr at att.net
Mon Dec 6 20:03:56 UTC 2010


The answer, John, is yes.  that's a substantive answer and I refuse to be drawn in to a useless argument with you or anybody else about whether or not a blind person can do this or that.  The plain fact of the matter is this.  That show was about as bad as it could be; and, to speak frankly, I wonder how it could be worse.

I sure don't see how myself.


Sincerely, 
The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!

Now A Very Proud and very happy Mac user!!!

Skype Name:
barefootedray

On Dec 6, 2010, at 1:12 PM, John Heim wrote:

> One thing that really bothers me about the conversation on this list is that people are complaining about ABC depicting this couple as helpless.  But can anyone on this list replace a toilet or a bathroom sink? I've done things like replace garbage disposals, light fixtures, and electrical outlets. But I don't think I'd try replacing a toilet. I might replace a sink though. Assuming the standard hookups are already there, you can do that.  But I'm not sure that even most sighted people would try that either.
> 
> I guess the question is whether ABC's depiction of blind people was inaccurate. Are these people more helpess than a typical blind couple?
> 
> The one thing that puzzled me was the problem the woman had with cans of food. I don't know what's in our kitchen cupboard but that's because my wife does the cooking and shopping. When I did my own cooking and shopping, I put magnetic braille labels on the cans. But, I suppose, its nicer to have the bar code scanner. The woman might have played up the problem in order to make it look good. I mean, ABC isn't going to want to show the woman dealing with her canned food with braille and then give her a scanner anyway.
> 
> When you think about it, if you've got a TV show about giving people new shirts, you have to make their old shirts look crummy. It would be lame to give someone a new shirt if the person already has a closet full of really nice shirts. In fact, aren't all gifts kind of an insult? Say you buy somebody a shirt. Does that say their old shirts are crummy? Couldn't you always say, "Well, if you didn't think I needed a new shirt, why did you give me a new shirt? "
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cindy Handel" <cindy425 at verizon.net>
> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 11:16 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] [NFB-talk] Here We Go Again: Home Makeover - blindcouple in OH
> 
> 
>> Oh My!  This is just terrible.  It's not the first one Extreme Home Makeover
>> has done about blind people.  I hope something can be done so it's the last.
>> It's so destructive.
>> 
>> Cindy
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rovig, Lorraine" <LRovig at nfb.org>
>> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 12:01 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] [NFB-talk] Here We Go Again: Home Makeover -
>> blindcouple in OH
>> 
>> 
>> Here We Go Again: Home Makeover Extreme Edition - blind couple in OH
>> 
>> Well, I watched it. It was pretty bad and it could have been worse. It
>> could have been a lot better too.
>> 
>> Their original bathroom -- a sink fell off the wall once when Jasmine
>> washed her hands so they had no bathroom sink; the old toilet would
>> swivel left and right about 20 degrees either way if your toe pushed it.
>> Other parts of the old home and front porch were dangerous.  The part of
>> the old house facing the street appeared to be two-rooms wide, small
>> rooms, and I do not remember if it was two-story.  They were given a
>> two-story, large, modern home with all new appliances in the kitchen,
>> laundry room, every other room, and etcetera.
>> 
>> This is an African-American family, the Andersons of Maple Heights, Ohio
>> (near Cleveland). I do not know if either one has a job; both appear to
>> be in their early 40s.  The mother, Jasmine, states she is visually
>> impaired. She uses a folding cane with a fat white tip that I think is a
>> marshmallow tip.  Husband, Andre, pronounced the French way, is totally
>> blind and uses a guide dog named Valentine. The show gave the dog a
>> heart-shaped bed.
>> 
>> Jasmine gave a tiny monologue stating she lost enough sight to be
>> visually impaired and was depressed for awhile but then she became
>> "courageous" like she is now. They never charge for their [untrained]
>> counseling and encouragement of other people with disabilities. They
>> give lots of speeches to educate the community how to make life easier
>> for blind people and people with other disabilities.
>> 
>> The couple told us they are in danger every time they cross a street and
>> the camera mike was held close to trucks and cars as vehicles zoomed by
>> on a city street. Jasmine said she was hit in the shoulder by a moving
>> car one time. Ty Pennington, the shows' big-hearted hero,
>> furniture-designer and designer of his own line of linens and other
>> goods for the home, excellent carpenter and TV show leader, went on
>> about how dangerous it is for blind people every day when they are
>> outside the home. He got installed for the Andersons a fancy talking
>> device at the single crossing nearest to their home at their bus stop.
>> Jasmine told us "we're not the only blind people living here, you know"
>> and, she said, this will help people with other disabilities that live
>> in their neighborhood too.
>> 
>> The show gave her a CCTV rigged to a lady's dressing table so she can
>> see to put on her make-up and not have to ask her son if she did it
>> okay. She got choked up that she can see her nails now and can paint
>> them as she could not see to do before, and for the first time she
>> exclaims, as we watch her look at it, she can see the beautiful ring her
>> husband gave her.
>> 
>> In the old house, Jasmine shoved up the sleeves on her dress to show Ty
>> and us the many burns on her arms that she got from using her
>> conventional electric 4-burner stove and oven.  The show gave her
>> "induction heating" which does not give out any heat except to a metal
>> pot placed on the burner, and she got a wall oven so her oven is at a
>> better height for her to use. The house got a talking temperature gauge.
>> On the plus side, so the two wouldn't get lost, nothing odd was built
>> into the kitchen or the walls and floors.  Also on the plus side, except
>> for the induction oven, normal if fancy Sears's appliances were placed
>> in the home for the kitchen and the baths.
>> 
>> Both Andre and Jasmine got computers that I think had JAWS installed on
>> them. They got a home theatre room with one "Sound Dome" over both their
>> heads that directs the sound directly only to them, and lets them hear
>> the SAP channel along with the show. They have two very helpful,
>> respectful sons (one may be age 12 and the other is a young teenager).
>> Ty stated the older son got a vacation from verbalizing what is on
>> screen plus he got the SAP thing with words running below the screen
>> when folks talked (which he needed but I missed the part that said why
>> he did). The younger son is sure he wants to grow up to be an eye doctor
>> so he can cure blindness, beginning with his mother's visual impairment.
>> 
>> Both Jasmine and Andre got brand new, fat-bodied, folding canes that
>> have built-in sensors to inform them of obstacles by their head and at
>> their feet, and, said Ty, "these aren't even on the market yet." Andre
>> expressed their gratitude.
>> 
>> They got a huge main room that runs from a living room grouping through
>> an empty space of floor to a dining room grouping to a kitchen with no
>> barriers or changes in floor, so they do not have to worry anymore about
>> running into posts or walls, as they did run into in their cramped
>> original home.  I noticed they are both bulky overweight people and the
>> original house doorways were older and appeared smallish, plus a post
>> was inconveniently placed, especially for any overweight people trying
>> to get past it to the bedrooms and bathroom.
>> 
>> The mortgage company paid off and tore up their mortgage; the local
>> branch of the state college gave them 2 college scholarships for the
>> boys; Sears gave the four of them enough clothes and shoes to fill some
>> of their new closets; the local basketball team called The Cavaliers,
>> gave the teen-aged son a closet-full of their clothes plus 3-shelves of
>> their basketballs with its metal rack. The building company gave them
>> $50,000 to a fund to handle their home maintenance.
>> 
>> Braille got a "shout out" as the modern lingo has it. Ty added palm-size
>> wooden "dots" to their bed's headboard to spell out in grade one, "Love
>> is Blind."  Large print got a "shout out" too, with their top bed quilt
>> decorated with "Love is Blind" sewn on as stuffed, raised-up
>> hand-writing.
>> 
>> (For me, I keep wondering how they and other Ty Pennington-show
>> homeowners can afford their new taxes on their giant gifts of money,
>> goods, and a huge new home.)
>> 
>> The Andersons were so very grateful for all they received from Ty and
>> Sears Company and ABC. Tears all around.
>> 
>> You can view the entire episode on the Anderson Family via computer,
>> here:
>> http://abc.go.com/shows/extreme-makeover-home-edition
>> Anderson Family
>> | Full Episode
>> A visually impaired couple devoted to helping the community receives a
>> home makeover, complete with technologies that help people with
>> disabilities;
>> EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION - "Anderson Family" - Andre and Jasmine
>> Anderson have never allowed their visual impairment to slow them down,
>> but rather have faced it head on, and established the Disability
>> Awareness Center in Maple Heights, Ohio, to help others who are
>> struggling with sight loss. The couple and their sons learned they would
>> be recipients of a home makeover while aboard the public bus that they
>> ride every day. The "EM: HE" team surprised them on the bus and revealed
>> plans to give them a new "smart" home, equipped with technologies that
>> support people with disabilities. This episode of "Extreme Makeover:
>> Home Edition" airs SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC
>> Television Network. (ABC/MIKE CROUCH) ANDERSON FAMILY HOME - AFTER -
>> BEDROOM
>> 
>> 
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