Note the change of my blog URL to blindtravel.net. Actually, it’s a full-feature WordPress site that I suspect will take on its own identity over time. I’m just glad I’ve gotten everything working!
I actually finished this book a week ago, but never got around to writing about it. As one who is stimulated by the idea of traveling and learning about the scenery though, I knew I wanted to read it ever since I heard the National Library Service narrator Jill Scott talking about it at the last convention of the American Counsel of the Blind.
The full title is Wild, from lost to found on the Pacific Coast Trail, by Cheryl Strayed. Even her last name, Strayed, was no happenstance. She says she chose it to reflect her wandering spirit and the attempts to find herself that were obviously a big reason why she took this trip.
The story starts with tales of life on a farm in Minnesota, getting used to a stepfather and trying to get along with her brother and sister. It progresses with she and her mother deciding to enroll in college together, though vowing to allow each other the space to develop freely, and then with her mother becoming inexplicably sick and discovering that she has advanced cancer. The conclusion of that revelation is fairly obvious, but I won’t give it away.
After these events unfolded, she felt that the only way she could get herself back together would be to take a long hike along the Pacific Crest Trail from about midway through California, up through Oregon, and ending at the Bridge of the Gods, which spans the Columbia River and connects Oregon to Washington. Along the way, she encounters a series of characters that challenged her thinking, resulted in new friendships, and on a couple of unfortunate occasions, caused her to fear for her safety.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and particularly the descriptions of what it took to trek through the snow, attempts to survive blistering walks through the sun, and other experiences the likes of which I can only imagine. I think she probably went a bit overboard with some things though, exposing the reader constantly to thoughts of sexual desire and other off-color things. However, I guess these were pretty central in her mind during that time, being alone for large stretches and having been quite a bit unprepared for the rigors this journey would exact on her body.
One of the ways she especially soothed herself was through music. I liked her talk of a “mixtape in my head,” as I definitely use this to get through most of my workdays. Some of the songs she mentioned were Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Box of Rain by Grateful Dead, and one called Red River Valley which I guess is some sort of folk song. I listened to all of these titles via YouTube, bringing the story a bit more to life for me.
I think this story has inspired me to someday attempt hiking our version of that trail, the Appalachian Trail. This runs from Georgia to somewhere in Maine I think, and I’d be interested in perhaps taking in at least a bit of it. I’m not sure how much of an outdoors person I am, but think that every type of travel in which I could engage could be beneficial. She definitely showed me that a lot of thought and preparation need to go into that sort of venture if one wants it to go as smoothly as possible. Heck, I suppose I’d be lucky not to be eaten by a bear.
Aside from the somewhat overboard talk of sex I mentioned earlier, there is also a pretty intense scene involving her and her brother’s attempts to put down their old horse. I’d say if you have a particularly hard time reading about harm to animals, just be aware of that. They do explain why this needed to be done though, regretting somewhat the exact course of action that was taken.
I’d still say I can recommend this book as a way to get out of the normal pattern of modern life. Do check it out.
Author Archives: John
Next Steps
Hello! I think I’ve been quiet too long, mainly because I’m trying to survive one of the craziest winters I can remember. Snow, ice, single-digit temperatures; you name it, we’ve seen it! Thankfully, this coming week has the promise of 70-degree readings, even if they are accompanied by rain.
Naturally all of this cold has left me with plenty of time to think about what I’m trying to do and where I want to go. I still can’t say that I’m certain, but I think I’ve almost come all the way back around to where I was at this time 10 years ago, in that I’m considering a degree in Journalism.
Now though, I have an idea of what I’d be doing with it and am perusing the accompanying job descriptions. It looks like many of them only require a Bachelor’s Degree, and so hopefully in the next few weeks I’ll be discussing with some who know whether that is a good idea or of I’ll need to pursue a Master’s level.
In any event, I’m guessing I won’t get started till Fall of 2015. I have a lot of preparation to complete to improve my odds of success, starting with making sure I know the requisite writing style and have an idea of how things will be made accessible.
I am continuing my preparation from a technological, web design standpoint. I’m now taking a second CAVI course, this one in WordPress. I think the first class of that semester is tomorrow, and we’ll learn how to work with the WordPress content management system. I gather that this can also be used on web sites, in addition to their blogging platform. I certainly admit to not knowing a whole lot about that yet, but this is why I’m working to make sure I learn. I think I’ve talked before about how I haven’t actually figured out a particularly accessible way to post entries to this blog, other than to email them to myself and upload them via the iPhone app. Look forward therefore to pretty big improvements to the look and feel of this thing as I master them throughout class.
I actually had a fair amount of fun with the website I created for the HTML class, a sort of fake travel agency I called Travel Trails who’s aim it was to work with travelers with disabilities to get what they needed to make a trip accessible. It wasn’t perfect, in that I’d made the headings twice as usual and probably had a coule of other visual issues. I don’t think it was half bad though for one who was starting largely from scratch in terms of building a site.
And that’s basically all I have for today. I’m sure I’ll come alive more as we finally begin to thaw out. We shall see what awaits.
A Durham/LC Year, and Spreadin’ The News!
What a way to end a year of life in Durham, and as an employee of LC Industries. I think, hope! well kind of? that Mother Nature has decided to celebrate this milestone with a party of her own. Cold confetti!
That’s right, it’s supposed to start snowing at any moment. At the time of this writing, my iPhone indicates that no such moisture has begun. It says that there is 100% chance of it beginning during the 4:00 hour, so if it does not I will no longer believe! I’m just wanting a day off, and we all know it doesn’t take too entirely much in the South to make that happen.
This day actually reminds me of the one on which I arrived in the Bull City, back at about this time in 2013. That was less fun though, as it was encapsulated in a yucky ice storm! I was surprised and very appreciative of the fact that my parents still opted to venture out in that and get me to my new apartment so I could get set up for the job that started the Monday of that next week. It was a moment that really demonstrated dedication to helping their kids out, and I was just glad that we all got to our destinations safely.
Then that nerve-racking Monday arrived, January 28th. My first aboard the Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA) bus, meaning I’d be exploring as I went. But this seems to be the only way I know how to do things, as it replicated my experience upon arriving at UNC for graduate school in August of 2009. Fortunately, I’d had enough time to find things as I didn’t need to arrive at work until 8 for orientation, but the next day’s events showed me that I should’ve paid more attention to the snafus that did occur involving finding the right streets and stops.
That Tuesday was my first go at making it by 7, and it didn’t really go as it should have. I wish I still had the blog post I wrote on that day, but basically I’d been told I could wait at a place right next to my apartment. I stood there from 5:45 till nearly 8, feeling sick to my stomach at the idea that I would be late to my first full day of work. I found someone who showed me again where the correct bus stop was though and eventually got to the plant. I think my supervisor was understanding.
He, the supervisor, the other employees, and my neighbors have really made this place home for e. An example of help from the neighbors can be seen in the follow-up to my ear wax horror story.
I’ve told this on most of my social media platforms, but not on the blog. The pain I experienced did continue to go away, but then I noticed that my hearing was again decreasing. Still thinking not much of it and ignoring the protestations of friends to go and visit Urgent Care to see what was up, I just kind of laid around for much of that Saturday afternoon.
I emerged from a nap, plugged the aids back in, and could hear… nothing! Nada! Well ok maybe if you got right up in my face and screamed, but that was about it. I was frightened.
I somehow managed to communicate what was going on to my neighbor, the sweet older lady about whom I’ve talked a lot on here. She called my favorite cabbie, because she can’t drive once it’s dark out, and the cabbie came to whisk me away.
I think we got about halfway through the intake forms at Urgent Care before they decided they didn’t have enough lung power to read them to me and went ahead and took me on back. The doctor then slowly flushed my left ear out with hot water.
“I can’t even see your eardrum,” she said.
The greatest pain happened as she penetrated that wall of fluid that had built up inside. It turns out that I had a pretty nasty ear infection, and was lucky to have given into having it treated when I did. In my defense though, I guess, I’d not really encountered such things and hadn’t realized that it was that serious until I couldn’t in fact hear anything. I’ll be quicker to the punch, if that happens again. I was just glad I had enough resources to quickly mobilize and manage the situation.
Fortunately, life on the whole hasn’t been that bad. Technologically speaking, one of the reasons this has been so is my beloved iPhone. On that subject, I recently participated in a promotional story with a local news reporter about the Tap Tap See iPhone app about which I have talked a few times before. You can actually view it by clicking on the “story” link above.
This experience was cool to me, because I got to watch some of how the reporter and her cameraman worked to put the story together. I also found it cool how she could slip into and out of the “News” voice.
It took her a few takes to really get the wrap-up the way she wanted. This was good for me to see as well, perfectionist that I am, because it demonstrated that even a seasoned reporter knows that just because things don’t go as wanted the first time doesn’t mean that one can’t go back and do it again and again until the desired result is achieved. I definitely just enjoyed talking to them as well.
So yeah, definitely an event-filled finish to my first year here. One never really knows what the next year holds, but it may well involve some great chances to volunteer and continue to grow for me. I shall go into those more as they fully unfold.
For those in the path of this predicted snow storm, stay warm and dry! I got off work early, and amd crossing my fingers that, ahem, I might get to sleep in tomorrow? If so, maybe I’ll write again too. Till then, from the Winter Wonderland, out!
Book Review: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
As we take the time to celebrate and honor a man who displayed such great power to change lives through words, I thought I would note the flip side of that. Well perhaps not so much a flip side, as a display of how words can be, and often have been, used to get people to do very bad things as well.
I recently completed The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, my first full read of 2014. Set against the backdrop of World-War-Two era Germany, it is a story about a family that tried to buck the odds and paid dearly for it.
On beginning the book, it quickly becomes clear that Death is the story’s narrator and a pretty central character to the tale. Another central character is Liesel, a 9-year-old kid who has experienced monumental tragedy that causes her to leave her biological family and move in with an adoptive one.
As Liesel ages, from the late 30’s till the mid 40’s, she encounters a boy of her own age whom she befriends. They grow together, experiencing the Hitler Youth, life on the poorer side of a Munich suburb, and eventually, scary air raids that they and their families must work to survive.
Somewhat accidentally, Liesel discovers that a good way to keep herself sane is to sink into the pages of a story. More, as the novel’s title suggests, she ends up stealing quite a few books from a number of places. This activity bonds her both to her adoptive father, as he works to help her learn to read during the long nights after her bad dreams, and to the mayor’s wife, who has experienced her share of tragedy and soon comes to enjoy allowing Liesel to partake of her library.
The most interesting part of the tale begins when a Jew with ties to Liesel’s new family calls in a favor in order to be hidden from the Germans. He takes up residence in the basement, where he teaches her and them many lessons about life and how fleeting it can be.
I found this to be a good read. It is organized and titled as a children’s book might be, with a lot of illustrations to accompany the text, which help to give depth to the words contained therein. I wouldn’t say that it is for younger children though, as there is a bit of strong language, and certainly the concepts can be heavy.
But it can really serve as an initial demonstration to someone old enough to handle its content of the good and ugly of human nature. For it shows, much as Dr. King’s life has, that it is more important to live a life of character than of length: to be willing to stand up for what one believes even when doing so can have dire consequences. That was my biggest takeaway from this book. Highly recommended.
Hear It: My Challenging Wax-cleaning
I should open by saying that I am trying as best I can not to come across as overly critical of anyone. I do not think for a minute that the medical professional who saw me intended for my experience to be as it was, and there are things I could have done to make it less likely to have gone that way as well.
That said, I have a disorder called Norrie Disease that renders some unable to communicate what they are feeling or thinking, due to moderate to severe intellectual disability, autism, or some other developmental challenge. So, I take seriously the idea that I can attempt to be a voice for others, of course not having gone through exactly what they are but still being able to give some idea as to what it may be like.
So an audiologist with whom I worked looked at my ears on my last visit to have the aids cleaned. This happened right before the phrenetic events of my Christmas vacation, and in many respects if the aids had to die on me again, I am highly fortunate that they didn’t wait past December 20th to do so. I can’t imagine the displeasure of trying to get by with only one working ear in large family gatherings. Even with both working, functioning in such gatherings takes work.
Anyway, she determined that my right ear in particular was packed to the gills with wax and should be dealt with immediately. She’d wanted to schedule an appointment for that day, but not surprisingly this wasn’t available. So, she had me booked to go in today.
For this appointment, I had to go to UNC Hospital, which is practically on the UNC campus. I managed to get to the Audiology department in time for my 9:45 appointment and settled in the lobby where they were watching some sort of weird cartoon. I also heard kids scampering around, probably burning off energy as their parents tried in vain to keep up.
Soon, I went in to see the nurses and have my initial forms filled out. They weighed me, I’m up to 141 pounds which may be the highest number this skinny person has ever recorded. Then, they started asking me all sorts of scary questions about disease, family history, etc. Standard stuff I know, but nevertheless it makes me nervous.
After a short wait in a doctor’s office, thankfully not too cold, and just as I pulled out the iPhone figuring that it might take longer for him to arrive, the doctor showed up.
“Ok, what are we doing here today?” he asked.
“I’m here to have my wax cleaned out,” I replied. “My audiologist says it’s starting to be a real problem.”
“Ok then, hop on up here,” (I was ushered to a somewhat reclined chair where my head was then placed firmly against its back at an angle), “and take out the aids, one at a time so you can still hear me and will know what to expect.”
Into my right ear went the air machine. I actually don’t really know what it is called, except that it made a fair bit of noise. I could immediately feel it sucking, and thought to myself “ok, maybe this won’t be so bad after all.”
And then, oh but then. He gradually amped up, commenting: “man this stuff is really packed in. That’s common for hearing aid wearers though.”
If I had remembered my last attempt at having this done, I would have suggested that we go ahead and stop there, just letting him prescribe me the eardrops he eventually did recommend I get. You administer them to each ear approximately three times a week for a month, and they’re supposed to loosen up the wax so that it will come out more easily. I’d done this a year or so ago, but then we never went forward with the larger-scale wax removal.
Unfortunately for me, this thought didn’t occur to me. As the machine pulled harder and harder in my ear, first tears began rolling down my eyes.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
“Yeah, this sort of thing just makes my eyes water,” I replied. I’m not crying! I thought to myself.
Within the next few seconds, I practically was crying. I kicked the table, screamed “ouch!” and all but forced him to stop. Oo man! I don’t think I’ve ever experienced pain like that. Oddly, the only thing I could think was “I wonder how on earth women go through with childbirth?”
“I’m about to pass out!” I instructed him once the machine had ceased operating and I’d removed both aids. “Would you happen to have any water available?”
I guess it had occurred to him that I might just need some water at some point, because a full styrofoam cup was in my hand a second later. I gulped it greedily, and just managed to stave off that unwanted episode.
After this, he decided to go ahead with the drops after all and have me return on February 13th for an attempt to complete the process. I was more than a little relieved to get out of there with my hearing in tact.
Except, when I plugged my right-side aid back in, all I heard was the faintest sound of its turn-on tone. “Oh no,” I thought in panic: “I may have lost a lot of my hearing in this ear!”
I muddled my way back on to a bus to Franklin Street to go to Walgreens and collect the prescription, then fired off an email to one of my audiologists to ask what she thought might be happening. I said “and if this loss is permanent, can I begin the process of getting a cochlear implant?”
She replied, correctly I now believe, that things would probably be ok in short order. My canals are kind of small, and thus it’s easy to get things like wax and such lodged in a place and way that it shouldn’t be. As the day has progressed, I’ve noticed more hearing returning as the pain lessens. All I can say to that is Thank God! I envisioned having to make radical changes to my navigation and independence, which I would have done if necessary. But I won’t lie, that sort of adjustment would be hard. I’ll probably have to make it at some point, I imagine.
So I guess the main reason I’m writing about this is to note the importance of really sitting down with the patient, doctor, and perhaps someone who can communicate on the patient’s behalf before treatment is initiated and generating a plan. The thing is, I know that doctors rarely have time to do this. If it doesn’t happen though, it could definitely have less-than-desirable consequences.
Also, it is important to listen to and be aware of the patient’s responses. I can say that he did suspend treatment once it became clear that I could no longer stand it. I’ve heard of cases where this hasn’t happened, and I’d bet it would be more likely if the patient was unable to speak for him or herself.
Just some stuff to think about. I hope all will be normal for me by the weekend, as I still feel some lingering pain but it is now more noticeably decreasing. A nap when I arrived home helped with this. I hope I don’t have any balance issues when returning to work tomorrow, but we shall see. More soon.
Welcome to 2014!
And, welcome to 2014. I’ll start by wishing you a happy New Year! This will, I think, be a relatively quick entry, who’s direction I’m not entirely sure of.
Looking back at 2013 though, I’d have to say that it was on balance a great year. I’ll probably do a more detailed retrospective on life in Durham when I celebrate that year mark on a little over three weeks. But, of course I have moved here.
I also got to visit the NPR headquarters in August. It already seems that I will visit another NPR property, as I have just won a contest to attend a live taping of Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me some time this year. I’m thinking it will be in March, but am awaiting word from the show’s host. How cool is that, though? The show is done in Chicago, and already it looks like I’d have a packed itinerary should I get to that city. I love the power of social media ad what it does to my ability to so extensively network.
And on the subject of connections, it was also a good year for really getting to talk to my cousin. Even though he just got married, I think I actually saw him more in 13 than I had in the last three years. And, it looks like other less common connections are starting to be re-established as well. I hope that sort of thing continues.
With regards to bad things that happened last year, I’m glad to say I can’t really think of any. I guess the only thing I could say would be that I had a few issues trying to keep these hearing aids functioning, but I think that’s going to always be a part of the territory sadly. It was easier dealing with that this time, having money in my pocket, than it had been in 2010.
I guess that the year was mostly vanilla, with me rolling to and from work and reading a lot. My reading increased once the BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) app came to the iPhone and I re-subscribed to Audible after reading Veronica Scott’s book. I didn’t keep up with all of my books in here as well as I should have, but let’s see if I can manage to list them all using the BARD and Audible histories.
List of Books Read in 2013
- And The Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini
- Blue Skies, by Robyn Carr
- Cruising Attitude, by Heather Poole
- Doctor Sleep, by Stephen King
- Desired to Death, by J. M. Maison
- Is This Tomorrow, by Caroline Leavitt
- Just Say No!, by Omar Tyree
- Run, By Ann Patchett
- The Aviator’s Wife, by Melanie Benjamin
- The Forgotten, by David Baldacci
- The Heart of Applebutter Hill, by Donna W. Hill
- The Hit, by David Baldacci
- The Pact, by Jodi Picoult
- The Second Opinion, by Michael Palmer
- The Twelve by Justin Cronin
- Water’s Blood, by Elaine Calloway
- White Fire, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
- Wreck of the Nebula Dream, by Veronica Scott
- WWW (Wake, by Robert J. Sawyer
- WWW Watch, by Robert J. Sawyer
- WWW Wonder) by Robert J. Sawyer
Ah, well I suppose according to prolific readers, I’ve probably not read much. I won’t know what the total is until I submit this entry, but I think I finished up 2011 with 30 reads. Not sure what the number was for 2012. And it should be considerably higher for 2014, as my “To Be Read” pile is building more quickly than I can finish each, and I even get in more at work lately.
A cursory perusal of my titles suggests, duh, that I like stuff about travel with a particular emphasis on aviation. We’ll see how much more of that sort of thing I get into this coming year.
And that’s about all I have for the start of this year. I did find a nice place here in Durham to have my required New Year’s dinner: a local restaurant called Elmo’s Diner. And even though I’d basically decided what I wanted before entering, as I’d pulled up the place and its menu via Google Maps on the iPhone, I still appreciated that as soon as I was seated I was handed a Braille Menu. Many bigger establishments can’t even say they do that well, and especially without having being asked a million times. Of course, it is entirely possible that some previous blind patron there is the reason they’d complied, but if so that’s all good.
I thought I’d have the italian meatloaf with sides of skin-on mashed potatoes and black beans, as that sounded as close as I could get to my black-eyed peas as listed in the Square Meals Sides. However, my kind server informed me that those sides weren’t on offer at that time. Perhaps that place deliberately catered to New Year’s fare, as I instead got black-eyed peas, turnips, and cornbread.
The meatloaf was delicious. There was a choice of a somewhat tangy sauce or just plain gravy, and I took her recommendation of having the gravy.
“We’re not talking crazy spicy, are we?” I asked.
I can do some degree of spice, but too much and the stomach, ears, nose, every part of the body get unhappy.
Some seem to think so,” she answered: “but I think it’s delicious.”
I decided what the hey, and chanced it. It definitely enhanced the flavor.
The black-eyed peas, piping hot, felt good going down on this winter evening, and in combat with my cold. And the cornbread was as sweet as I’d have at home. The mac and cheese was a little less homely but definitely edible, while the turnips tasted kind of like paper. But then, I think I’d say that of any turnpis, so that’s not really a criticism of this particular place.
I don’t of course put much into the idea that somehow eating that stuff will make my year a lot better, but I can say that 2010, the one year I can remember not having consumed it, was not a pleasant one at all. So, we shall see. For myself, you, and all of humanity, I hope that 2014 goes above and beyond anything we’ve known. More later.
Christmas Vacation 3: Tampa Landing
I suppose that I am a creature of extreme routine. One of my other requirements when traveling, along with finding and listening to local radio stations, is to eat from a non-chain, local restaurant. Do you know how hard this is getting to be these days?
Saturday morning arrives, and we lazily slide into the day. We have already decided on a place the previous night: a Greek spot who’s name I unfortunately am not able to recall. The online menu indicates a delicious-sounding pita wrap called Chicken Showarma, with garlic sauce.
We step outside, and I am relieved that there is no rain. However, the sun still chooses not to appear. It just refused to show up while I was there.
We take the short cab ride, and arrive at an echoy building that seems to be pretty much otherwise unpeopled. I put my hearing aids into t-coil mode so that I will be able to understand what is being said without the acoustics getting in the way.
We are escorted to a table by a kind woman named Cynthia. I and the other guy order the chicken showarma, and she gets a veggie wrap, understandably preferring a healthier choice after Friday’s frivolity.
The sandwich is as good as I felt it would be. The bread has a rewarding crunch that compliments the meat’s softness. There are also some vegetables, peppers, and that sauce inside. I wash it down with a glass of good, strong lemonade.
I am impressed by this, and by the overall level of service we receive here. I don’t know if they offer dessert, but whatever the case we opt not to eat anything further. Cynthia tells us to wait inside while the cab comes, and lets us know when it arrives. There is a little aggravation as the cabbie assumes that Cynthia would know where we were going, but this matter seems to be quashed relatively quickly.
Once back at the apartments, I go in with her to meet a cat that she says she acquired because he kind of adopted her.
“I was outside, and I heard him meow,” she said. “He rubbed up against my leg and began to pur, and I had to take him in. I was gonna give him to the humane society,… but I got too attached to let him go after a while.”
He began to pur even as I stroked his fur. Very cute.
I finally get to sit outside in the nearly 80 degree day, no coat or sweater and a short-sleeve shirt, to take in more of my book. Is this what caused me to then catch a common cold once I got back home? Probably, but it was still worth it.
She has one of her friends come to take her to a Family Dollar that is within walking distance. I hadn’t realized that Family Dollar actually sells some light groceries, although I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, as an NPR story noted that nearly all stores are trying to be a little of everything to capture an increasingly fragmented audience.
They get me a delicious bag of smallish cookie-looking things that are covered in chocolate and pretty good! She also gets a box of cereal for Sunday morning and some soda to eat with what we have at night.
I give up on my quest for sunshine once she returns, going back to the guy’s apartment in which I was staying to catch the last of UNC’s bowl game, where they steamrolled the University of Cincinnati in Charlotte. I then just drift until dinner time, nibble on the leftover pizza from Thursday night, play a game of Farkle within the Dice World iPhone app with her, and bed down pretty early. This is because she has a headache, and he has come down with a stomach bug. I count myself fortunate that I don’t seem to have caught that yet.
Sunday morning departure comes pretty early, at 7:40 precisely. Before that though, my bag of toiletries grows legs and disappears. Given that none of us three has working eyes, I don’t even begin to try and relocate the darn things again. The Super Shuttle’s arrival windo had been 740-7:55, and they get there at the beginning of said. We bid adieu, and I am off.
Going To Carolina, Not in My Mind Audio
The flight leaves at 10:10 AM, and this time I am boarded first. I believe that is because I have the preboarding sleeve, whereas I’d had my new friend print the pass at the check-in kiosk back at RDU. I forgot to mention that that involved a harrowing search through my endless plastic cards for my ID, which I finally, happily, located.
I choose the second seat back from the first row of coach, and settle in. A couple sits beside me, the woman right next to me telling me that they are bound to see their grandkids in smalltown Wake County. They will return the next night. I get coffee this time, and am surprised that it is hot and tastes fresh.
This flight has WiFi for $8, which I feel isn’t worth it for an hour and a half flight, and free TV offered by the Dish satellite company. You are supposed to be able to watch this programming on a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet, but I can’t actually get the TV to work. The woman beside me finds it hard on her iPad as well, but she hadn’t initially realized that if airplane mode is on, she’d have to enable WiFi to access the Internet. We do enjoy viewing the flight tracker, which tells us how high we are, quickly we’re going, and much time remains. It even gives the current heading. It kind of feels like having GPS.
She tells me that she works for the largest clinic on the west coast of Florida, supporting, I think, 125 doctors. She and her husband also have a nice place right on the water.
Yeah, I don’t do cold weather,” she says on one of the reasons their stay in North Carolina will be so short.
“Where are you from originally,” I ask.
“Connecticut.”
Her husband keeps insisting that he wasn’t looking forward to it either, leading her to try and convince him to just suck it up it for a bit.
And Now We Land (Audio)
This is the first flight I’ve taken since the regulations regarding when electronic equipment can be used, and so I decide to capture what to me are interesting sounds of the coming in and going out. I wish I had left it rolling a bit longer when we touch down, so that perhaps I could have captured the welcome message from the flight attendant. My seatmate says there is a fairly steady rain falling as we make contact with the runway.
By the time I get off though, the rain has largely ended. A perky agent assists me to baggage claim, where it takes a minute to gather my things. Once I do though, we make our way towards the sliding doors, and I slide into the waiting cab with my driver. How convenient that is. She’s the kind of person to whom I only need to occasionally say “uh-huh,” and she’ll keep chatter rolling along. That’s fine with me.
And that largely ends my trip to Tampa Florida. I think this trip showed me that I’ve gained some ability to network, and am a bit better at getting myself where I want to be. Without a doubt, my iPhone certainly has done a lot to improve that. As we make our way into 2014, I think I may have another trip already taking shape. I’ll be back with more on that though once it fully develops.
Christmas Vacation 2: Tampa Takeoff
It seemed for most of it that this year would be one in which I remained grounded. No air travel. If that had happened, it would’ve been the first time since 2011 and only the second since prior to August of 2004. I can’t really say what it is about air travel that I find so evocative and desirable, but I suppose it has to do with the likelyhood of meeting new and fascinating people. Plus, that initial feeling of flight is matched by few other things.
One thing I have done frequently this year is ride the rails. I made round trip Amtrak trips to Charlotte in March, late June, late July, mid September, and Thanksgiving. On the Thursday following Christmas, I make my way onboard the packed Charlotte/Raleigh run for the last time in 2013, so that I can get back to Raleigh/Durham International Airport for my flight to Tampa Florida.
I do meet someone on this trip. I at first think she is a kid, but as I listen to her voice, I am actually not able to determine her age. She says she’s knitting a sweater that will be her own.
She first tells me that she generally likes to stay quiet, and then that she is going to sleep. I get the hint, though she’d said that I hadn’t been bugging her when first chatting, and pull out my phone to read and tweet for the duration of the trip.
In Durham, after debating with myself for a time, I opt to have my taxi driver to take me home so that I can swap out the giant bag of clothes I’d taken to Charlotte for a leaner set more suitable to warm climates. I also take out bulky items from my carry-on, so that it can slide comfortably under the seat in front of me.
My driver and I have agreed on a departure time to the airport of 4:15, as I have a 7:30 flight and she doesn’t wish to battle rush hour traffic in trying to get me there. I am not surprised though that she is already sitting outside at 4. She doesn’t play around when it comes to time, and works hard to make sure that her loyal customers get to where they need to be when they need to be. She kind of canned someone that had been working under her, because that person opted to take someone else home from the megabus when she was to take me after my DC trip. I really do respect that and her.
At the airport, the driver pairs me with another passenger so that she can skidaddle back to her cab before she is ticketed. I enjoy conversing with this passenger, who is going to Chicago, as we inch our way through the line toward the check-in kiosk. She says that she runs her own business, and suggests that people like her do have a need for folks who are learning to build websites, as I am. I’m always relieved to hear this. We exchange contact info and part ways before reaching the security line.
At the line, I make the mistake while attempting to take off my shoes of leaning against the pole that brackets the scanner, setting it off. I probably nearly cause a security breech, but all ends well. I am through and to the departures lounge fairly quickly after this.
I had already decided that I would purchase something to eat, in what I now call the price-gouging area. For a not-so-big cheese burger and perhaps 15 fries, I pay an insane $10! But, it does hold me for a little while.
After a slight delay, about which I learned through the Southwest Airlines iPhone app, we begin the somewhat chaotic boarding process. I thought before doing this that I wouldn’t like the idea of not having assigned seats, but actually it is nice as I can then choose the exact configuration I prefer: a right-side window seat. This optimizes the chances that I will be able to hear the passenger sitting next to me.
Prepare for Takeoff: Audio
A man chooses to sit beside me, not saying much other than to alert me that the flight attendant has arrived for beverage service. I get some sprite, often a bad idea but not too punishing to the bladder this time. I just recline a bit and disappear into my story until we arrive.
Once on the ground in Tampa, I have an agent escort me to the Super Shuttle counter, where I have reserved my ride to my friend’s apartment via their very usable iPhone app. I am informed that my wait for a van will be 30 minutes, but in actuality it’s about 5-7. I certainly wouldn’t have minded anyway.
As usual, I play with Ariadne GPS as we bounce through town, myself and a female and male passenger. Everyone else is quiet. My friend resides in the Northeastern corner of the city, not far from the University of South Florida, and the airport is in the Southwest. So, it’s about a 20-minute ride.
I meet my friend, actually they are also a male and female, in the guy’s place. They stay within walking distance with each other, and so visit quite often. They hook me up with a couple of slices of pizza hut’s Stuffed Crust, and we chat deep into the night about any and everything. This is my second time visiting them, as I had also done so while they resided in Flint, Michigan. They are fun.
Friday finds me rested on a couch bed, again after a night of odd dreams. I think I dream oddly whenever I’m not in my own bed. I awake a little after 8 to listen to local radio and some of NPR’s Weekend Edition on Tampa’s NPR affiliate, WUSF.
I shower, and then we venture out into the rainy day to acquire some food. We choose to go to Steak and Shake (Audio), because it is relatively close by. In addition to the mentioned chili cheese dog and fries, I also have a big, strawberry and banana milk shake. She chooses a brownie shake on recommendation of our server, and he opts not to have a shake at all. I think he polishes hers off, though.
I can’t come to Florida without spending some time outside. I try to on Friday, playing with the phone for about 45 minutes, but eventually give in to the gloom. While it is definitely warmer than in North Carolina, the lack of sunshine means that it is still a bit on the cool side. So, I spend the rest of that day inside, listening to Bowl games and having more food, this time a sausage pepper trio sub from Domino’s. I am fine with this, as I wanted mostly to unwind and unburden myself.
I will wrap up my Tampa trip in a subsequent entry. And then, hopefully, I’ll wrap up 2013! I guess that’ll likely happen on New Year’s Day, but we shall see.
Christmas Vacation 1: The Party
Well, this has been as good a vacation from work and holiday season as I could have expected. I am sad that there remain only three more whole days before I must return to the routine that has defined my existence for the better part of a year, but hopefully I will feel revived for having this experience.
During this last week plus, I’ve ridden in several cars, a Greyhound bus, an Amtrak train, and a Southwest Airlines plane. Now that’s the kind of travel I long for nearly all the time. Since everything preceeding my Tampa trip, which happened from this Thursday till Sunday, is basically standard; I’ll give a quick sumary of that. Then I’ll cover the trip in greater detail, perhaps in more than one entry.
Last Saturday, the 21st of December, gives me kind of a Florida preview weatherwise. In fact, it probably ends up being a better weather day than I even saw once traveling down south.
After making a fairly short journey to Fayetteville by bus, (Audio from aboard, I arrive and am taken to a small town near Lumberton to celebrate the second straight Christmas party with one of my good friends. Before leaving the Ville, we stroll along and do some window shopping, where I and the individual who has come to get me acquire trinkets for the gift exchange.
Because I am hungry, I opt to get two burrito supremes from Taco Bell as we make our way toward the country. Then, I sit outside chattering with my cousin and a couple of other folks around a stone picnic table at our host’s house while many others go back out to do some quick shopping. We marvel at the openness of that area, and how it doesn’t really block the incessant winds as a place with more buildings would.<
We stay out there till the rest of the party returns, then make our way inside where we remain for the rest of the day. Other than participating in the affore mentioned gift exchange, I eat a meal of spaghetti with meat, meatballs, and sausage balls. I also enjoy some homemade peanut butter type cookies from the host.
At the wrap of that evening, we took a couple of fun photos of us all, some being silly and some just sitting in neat rows on the couches and chairs. I think you should be able to see the one I posted on Facebook there. I enjo myself at this gathering, mostly just catching up with people who are becoming and some who had already been firm friends.
Sunday is another early riser, though I have managed to sleep well on the couch after having weird dreas. This time, my cousin, his wife, and I head to another rural town of Pinebluff, where my mom, next eldest sister, and some of my nieces and nephews reside.
Well actually, we first go to First Missionary Baptist Church in Southern Pines to attend service there. As they often do, our pastor opts for a fairly short, uplifting Christmas cermon. He mainly talks about the idea that we should find ways to cheer ourselves up during the holiday season, even if it involves bouncing around to some jazzy Christmas music. I am all for that, mainly feeling pleased that I have found ways to avoid the loneliness that often does plague me at this time of year.
I spend the following week in Charlotte, mainly because I need the transportation flexibility to ensure that I’ll be able to get to my flight on Thursday afternoon.
On Monday, my cousin and I watch bowl games and commiserate about life for most of it. My cousin then accompanies his wife on Tuesday to her parents’ house for a party. During this time, I decide to try and catch a differet movie from one I’d ever seen, taken from a rather comprehensive collection of described content. I pick The Book of Eli, but eventually shelf it as there seems to be endless violence and I am unable to understand the point. It’s a post-apocalyptic thriller in which someone is trying to hunt down and recover some important text that will save humanity.
Tuesday night is given to going to another party, this one a dinner breakfast that another of our longtime friends usually hosts. I post Audio of me unwrapping a gift I got from this party, which I now believe is a set of handcuffs. I can’t say I know what the meaning behind that is, but it gives us a good laugh.
Wednesday, Christmas, is a simple affair. We all have breakfast around the table, then head into the living room in my Aunt and cousin’s place for the gifting gathering. My youngest male cousin gets some nice stuff from his parents and girlfriend. I think my older cousin and his wife get something for nearly everyone, hooking me up with an iTunes and an Amazon gift card. And yes, I will do something for them. My aunt and uncle also help me with some dough to help with trip expenses. I, on the other hand, give to the charity that has helped me a lot in getting from that failed graduate school experience to where I am now, the Community Empowerment Fund. Their primary mission is to assist people who have become or are in danger of experiencing homelessness. I dig this. And I think I should promote the nonprofit organization that is doing research and working to strengthen support for those with my disorder, the Norrie Disease Association, to whom I shall give also. Being a board member of myself, I am well aware of the work we are trying to do.
I go with my Aunt to dinner at some other family members’ house, where I again eat only to capacity as I had on Thanksgiving. Then I just sit and take in the NBA games amidst the swirling mass of humanity.
And that’s about all for this entry. I will chronicle the happenings of my nice, relaxing Tampa vacation in an upcoming post.
Museum Musings: on improved access for blind folks
This post inspired by the many references I’ve gotten to the article Philadelphia Museum Allows Visitors to Touch Ancient Artifacts . I’d first heard of this via the Serotalk Podcast, and a few followers have tweeted it to me since.
Before reading it, I thought that this museum would only let folks maybe put their hands on things with a pair of latex gloves on, and then only for a second. Such has been my experience when allowed tactile access to an exhibit. I was presented with an object, able to just graze it, and didn’t even get enough time to discern details. Not to mention that the people who were letting us do this practically yelled at us the whole time, definitely making one and all sufficiently uncomfortable as to limit enjoyment. In fact, the sighted individual with whom I had been partnered while walking through decided she would let me get an extra, bare-handed feel, and she and I were reprimanded for so doing.
Now, I do understand that much of this stuff can’t really be touched, for all sorts of reasons from transmission of bodily and other fluids onto the objects that may weaken their ability to be preserved, to the possibility of breaking or otherwise mishandling valuable works of art and the like. But truthfully, standing in a hall while listening to someone attempt to render something into description is just not the same. So, I am glad that this particular institution is taking such an approach, and with things that might actually be interesting to grasp and, I think, changeable with time.
Of course, a “museum” doesn’t have to be what typically comes to mind when one thinks of the word, anyway. Some of the most interesting installations I’ve encountered have been of old homes with rickety floorboards that once housed historical leaders. They really demonstrate the utility of hands-on education, and perhaps transmit a bit of the power to me that most get by looking at things. It’s just a sense of encountering the environments that brought to bear national treasures like Martin Luther King, and also finding out that some locals lived in and were influenced by unusual, often difficult circumstances to move for change.
Speaking of entering an environment that changes one, I think the most moving museum to which I have ever been is the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I went here during my formative college years, and along with my blind cousin, was given a specialized tour of the building with an individual who said she was a descendant of some who were effected by this sad time in human history. They really built the building in such a way that it would try and represent the horrors of that experience, using materials taken straight from concentration camps, Jewish ghettos, and the like. We could not only touch, but also hear sounds from this era and examine a specific record of an individual who had been taken to a camp. I was truly shaken to the core by these encounters, and learned far more than I ever could have in a textbook.
And this is why I agree that it is important to come up with unique, tactile ways to expose people who are blind to the artifacts contained within the walls that are designed to preserve information on the changing human condition: so that we can grasp the significance of archeological finds, feel the presence of past visionaries, and understand and contemplate some of humankind’s darkest hours. In my small way, I may actually be doing something soon that continues to expand this kind of access to information for all. Stay tuned.