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

Sherri flmom2006 at gmail.com
Mon Dec 6 22:15:34 UTC 2010


I am totally mechanically uninclined. I admire people who can do household 
replacement and fix-it jobs. It would be nice to learn how.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cindy Handel" <cindy425 at verizon.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 4:54 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] [NFB-talk] Here We Go Again: Home 
Makeover -blindcouple in OH


> Well, I'm not saying the bar code reader wouldn't be helpful.  I'm just
> saying I have done without one and don't really see a need for one, for 
> me.
> Now, maybe, if someone gave me one, I'd find that it's such a useful tool
> that I couldn't live without it.  But, the point I wanted to make is, 
> there
> are other ways to do things and these people have apparently not learned
> about them, yet and just want to allow technology to save them from
> themselves.
>
> Cindy
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Constance Canode" <satin-bear at sbcglobal.net>
> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 3:33 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] [NFB-talk] Here We Go Again: Home
> Makeover -blindcouple in OH
>
>
> 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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>> >
>> >
>> >
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>>
>>
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