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

Mon Dec 6 20:33:56 UTC 2010

I agree with you Cindy, except for the bar code reader.  I really 
love mine, but I bought and paid for it myself, no help from anyone else.

Connie Canode
At 01:25 PM 12/6/2010, you wrote:
>John,
>
>I have never tried to replace a toilet or sink and don't think I'd ever try.
>This isn't because I'm blind, but because I don't know how to do it and have
>no desire to learn.  But, when I know there is a problem with my toilet or
>sink, I know how to call the plumber and they know how to repair the
>problem.  So, although my house is more than 58 years old, it is in good
>repair and I have never had a sink fall off the wall or a toilet which turns
>from side to side.
>
>Yes, you're right; if someone is going to give me a lot of new technology, I
>have to demonstrate that I need it.  The problem is, although some of it
>would be nice, and even though I appreciate the technology I already have, I
>don't *need* every piece of technology that comes along.  I don't need a bar
>code reader to read the cans in my cupboard, and I certainly don't *need* a
>high tech cane which tells me where obstacles are, in front of me.  My long
>straight fiberglass cane does just fine and has ever since I started using a
>cane, more than 40 years ago.
>
>I wonder how much of this stuff would have been necessary if the couple had
>received proper training in blindness skills?  If they don't have these
>skills, what impressions are they passing along to the people they are
>counseling?
>
>I didn't see the show, last night, and haven't had the time to watch it,
>yet.  But, from Ms. Rovig's description, this couple does need help, but not
>the kind they received.
>
>Cindy
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "John Heim" <john at johnheim.net>
>To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 2:12 PM
>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] [NFB-talk] Here We Go Again: Home
>Makeover -blindcouple in OH
>
>
>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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