March 2008 Issue

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From Larry Johnson, San Antonio, TX:

After a year of communication and negotiation, I am pleased to report that Guaranty Bank in Texas and California will now provide monthly bank statements in braille for blind customers who specifically request them. I was motivated and encouraged by the successes of attorneys Lainey Feingold and Linda Dadarian on behalf of ACB members and affiliates across the country to make services of banking institutions fully accessible to customers who are blind or visually impaired. I decided to ask my bank, Guaranty Bank, which has more than 150 offices throughout Texas and California, to begin providing me with my monthly statement in braille. They balked. They talked. They offered to designate a person in their office to read my statement to me over the phone. My response was that designating an individual at Guaranty Bank to be the assigned reader of all print materials I may receive would limit my access to such information. Having other duties, this person obviously could not be conveniently available to read to me whenever I might choose to call. Also, designating multiple individuals to have this assignment would be a serious infringement of my privacy. We are fortunate that here in San Antonio we have a fully equipped and professionally staffed braille production department within the Education Service Center of Region 20. Early on, I recommended that Guaranty Bank contact this resource for assistance. However, they chose to ignore my suggestion and instead contacted the state agency for the blind and Duxbury Inc. Why is it that sighted folks frequently discount the advice and suggestions of people who are blind? Finally, after months of more delay, bank officials relented and followed my suggestion. Vivian Seki, head of the braille production department at Region 20, quickly handled the request and prepared a sample braille statement. It came out great. Now I am independently able to reconcile activity on my accounts. I appreciate Guaranty Bank's positive, albeit rather slow, response to my request. I am happy that Guaranty Bank now joins Bank of America, Bank One, Citibank, LaSalle, Sovereign, Union Bank, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo and a growing number of banking institutions who recognize their responsibility under the law to offer appropriate accessible alternatives to customers with visual impairments. Patience and persistence do pay off. If you are a braille user and would love the privacy of being able to receive your monthly statements in braille, ask your bank to do so. It's not a special favor. It's the law.

From James Aldrich, Billings, MT:

While checking out the Matilda Ziegler Magazine online in December, I discovered an mp3 file of the current issue. I immediately downloaded this file, since I was on the System Access Mobile Network, which gives me a choice to stream or download the file. I had it in my PC in a matter of a few short minutes. I then copied it to an SD card. By the time I could read it, it was early morning. I placed the SD card in my Voice Sense, put my earbud in and started listening to the magazine. I didn't have to worry about a motor noise keeping my wife awake or about the sounds of the tape in motion. I didn't have to worry about keys clicking as I would forward or rewind a tape. I didn't even have to turn a cassette over. I simply took my place in bed next to my wife and listened. For an instant I had vivid memories of me as a small boy listening to my crystal set. I was hearing the readers as I never heard them before. Their voices were so clear. There was no background, white noise, dropouts or anything. They were reading just to me--or so it seemed. I was truly amazed. What a pleasure this listening experience was! As for our paratransit system, we must notify them a week in advance as to where we need to go. The drivers are great, but management or administration of that program leaves much to be desired at times. I haven't been able to use that system until recently. Buses aren't very regular here, so this is another reason why I'm using special transportation.

From Edward Zolotarevsky, Bedminster, NJ:

I have a comment to make about paratransit. I had trouble with one paratransit agency that did not ask exactly where to get me. They assumed they were getting me at home instead of at work, so they kept going to the wrong address to pick me up. That was a problem--not verifying my address before they came.

From Marilyn Klein, Philadelphia, PA:

Here are my main problems with paratransit, which is called CCT Connect in Philadelphia. They do not know how to schedule correctly. For example, I was coming from a suburb called Upper Darby. I went from one end of the city to the other before I got home more than an hour later. When this has happened before, customer service states that they have twice the amount of time to get me there as with the bus. While I know there is a shared-ride mandate, and I do not disagree, sometimes there can be three to six people going in the same direction. Yet I am made to take the long ride. Sometimes I get a driver who takes advantage of me and takes me on a sight-seeing tour, deliberately riding me around to waste time. When I called customer service, they did not think of this as a complaint. They still said they have twice the amount of time to take me as the fixed-route system. I do not go to the meetings because of work.

From Michele Anne Jaquays, Mohawk, NY:

There was a comment in January's Ziegler Magazine that I felt was wrong. Rob Rehfeld stated that there are people who are not really blind but are pretending to be by walking across streets without help. He said these people did a disservice to the truly blind. I am a blind person who walks across streets without help. That doesn't mean I am not blind--it simply means I listen and then walk across the street. I listen to television-- not watch it. Don't tell me what I can or cannot see just because I do these things.

From Mike Lantz, Miami Beach, FL:

I am totally blind and unfortunately I happen to be hard-of-hearing. I have been independent since 1985 and live on my own with my 12-year-old guide dog Lexis, otherwise known as Lexy. I would like to thank my employer for giving me something special Saturday night, Dec. 8. I was a monitor for the Florida International University football team heard on WKAT 1360, and this is what I did: I would listen to the games to make sure there wasn't any dead air or any type of difficulty with the transmission. If there was, I would call the announcers and tell them what was going on. Well, to make a long story short, they liked my work. They paid me and gave a party at a local sports bar in my honor. Plus, they gave me a $50 gift certificate to a restaurant. In return, I gave them a nice trophy with a boy and a football, which they did not expect to receive. They were very happy to receive it, and want me back next year to perform the same task.

I agree with Antoine McCracken's comments in January that if a blind person has a goal, stick with it. You can do almost anything. All you need is the right people to work with. You need people to motivate the blind person to know that they can be successful.

I'm trying to get back into the broadcasting industry. I was wondering what frequency is WTJZ, the station where Mr. McCracken was the announcer.

I'm also looking for the voice of Greece. For those of you who bought an Eton e5 radio, Tim Hendel did an excellent job on reading its instructions.

When the local TV stations go off the air in 2009, what will become of the local TV screen? What will people be able to pick up on TV, and what will the frequencies be used for? I don't understand why they are doing this.

From Eric Calhoun, Inglewood, CA:

I would like to respond to Marcia Harrison's January letter harshly criticizing companies that do not proofread their braille. It's very important not to bad-mouth people about their braille. Do it individually--not in a public magazine. If you are not satisfied, speak to the supervisor, and keep speaking to supervisors until you get the proper information.

Let's try and send letters of forgiveness to our pen pals who have wronged us or to those we have wronged. It is our responsibility to forgive, even if we don't want to. For example, you may believe that, as a Christian, it's wrong to do something. Instead of criticizing somebody who practices such behavior, you need to pray for them--not stop being their pen pal for something that is un- Christian. This would make you a pious Christian. Forgive and make up--that's a New Year's resolution worth keeping.

From Marcy Scott, Vero Beach, FL:

Thanks so much for the great articles in each issue of the Ziegler. I was especially moved by the issue from March 2007 that contained so much historical information and so many interesting articles published at that time about the then-new magazine.

The article in December about Christmas giving tendencies was really thought-provoking, and, for me, a bit disturbing. I'd always been encouraged that a holiday gift was meant to be more symbolic of general love and friendship and a small expression of a desire to please or surprise a particular person rather than something that has to have monetary value. For many years, any gifts between members of my family have been chosen on the basis of their practicality and usefulness rather than on the basis of value or status. One of the possible reasons for so many to have started the practice of regifting is many people's inability or unwillingness to find out enough about the recipient. That can be difficult, especially when the person to whom we wish to give something isn't too forthcoming about wants, needs or wishes.

Also, regarding Marvin Price's thoughts in December on the uses of the term visually impaired: From my observation of how the term has been used, especially when it has come to its use in education, the term seems to have taken the place of the old designation, "partially sighted." This was used to describe those with varying amounts of usable vision, whether the visual condition was congenital or from recent vision loss. I, for one, prefer to be designated, if and when a designation is necessary or appropriate, as "blind" rather than visually impaired or "sightless," another designation that has been used by some people.

From John Harris, Toronto, Canada:

On reading the January issue of the Ziegler, I realized that I was guilty of sending false information about a telephone recording of AudioVision's catalogue. At the end of my Readers Forum letter about final approval for Canada's The Accessible Channel was a mention of a telephone number to access a recording of our catalogue. That recording was set up by our friend and fan Joybubbles, who passed away in August 2007. Since then, the number has been disconnected. My deepest apologies for inadvertently sending outdated information that may have confused Ziegler readers. I will soon meet with my production team at AudioVision to discuss projects for 2008, and one of my hopes is restoring a toll-free telephone recording of the catalogue in North America. In the meantime, visit www.audiovisioncanada.com/accfmx/stores/2/ downloadcatalog.cfm, where you can download a text version of our catalogue of described movies or hear an audio version.

From Franek Kozorowski, Hartlepool, England:

I have been prompted to write in response to some of the items in the November issue. I was deeply moved by Senator Dole's words about veterans. I feel strongly that those who have fought for freedom should never be forgotten.

We should also remember those who were wrenched from their native land. My father, like so many Poles, was shipped off to Siberia by the Soviets. Upon release, he fought alongside the British eighth army. My mother, at the age of 21, was taken to Germany, where she was forced to work in a munitions factory in Vitenburg. She always praised the kind American soldiers who liberated Vitenburg.

Readers might like to know that British money is easy for a blind person. Our bank notes are different sizes--likewise our coins.

From Marie Rudys, Sacramento, CA:

I wish to comment on the Pen Pals section of the Ziegler. In the November issue, I read an announcement from a man who asked to correspond with women in their 50's. I sent him an intro tape and received no answer, even though I included an envelope already addressed back to me. I do not like it when people who put ads in the magazine do not have the courtesy to respond. I wonder how many others have been disappointed. Why is it so hard to meet people in your area for your romance? Is it the lack of transportation, places to go, or what?

From Joan Ladeburg, Seattle, WA:

I received a portable satellite radio from my sister for Christmas, but even though I was able to get it activated, the signal fades in my condo. I have to go outside in order for it to work. The only good thing about it is that the channels speak as you're changing them. For example, the DJ's tell you that you are on Serious Gold, Moving Easy or The Roadhouse, my favorite classic country music channel. I like Johnny Cash and Tom T. Hall. Last week, I accidentally locked out Serious Love and The Roadhouse, and I had to have a sighted person bring them back for me because the other features don't speak. You have to look on the display screen to see that the radio is going into sleep mode or that the antenna is undetected. I can't see the screen. Just like cell phones, these portable satellite radios are not blind-friendly. I would like to know what Ziegler readers think of this. What should I do, send the radio back, or what? I don't want to hurt my sister's feelings.

From Kishia Mason, Aurora, CO:

I find it very astounding and disappointing that the use for braille has come into question. I have been reading braille since the age of 5 and find it to be just as valuable as print is to the sighted. Louis Braille did a marvelous thing when he invented his system of reading. He gave blind people all over the world the ability to read for ourselves. With braille, I have discovered the joys of reading books, magazines, music and poetry. I have also learned math, spelling, punctuation and grammar in a way that I never could have with cassettes. I am not discrediting books on cassette; I enjoy them. However, my primary form of literacy is braille, and I cannot conceive nor comprehend why people feel that it is no longer necessary. I wonder how sighted individuals would feel if all print material became obsolete. I hope that braille remains a choice of literacy for the blind for many more generations. I cannot imagine life without it.