Checking out the clothes

I have to admit that checking out the clothes in a crowded store is not always one of my favorite activities and it all depends on certain things.

It all has to do with how congested and/or crowded the store is.  How friendly or persistent the sales staff is.  How well are the racks laid out and whether or not I am really in need of something to buy.

I believe that my mom is probably one of the most patient shoppers and how I wish that I could be more like her.  When I had functional vision I used to enjoy it much more but now that I am unable to see anything, then there goes my ability to enjoy more.

Nevertheless, I do my best to enjoy and I have to admit that on many occasions  I do have fun with Mom.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit  jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author
There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
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When the cab driver did not know

This is always one of my greatest fears!  Whenever I find myself in a situation with a cab driver who does not know where to drop me off despite my giving him directions and then he sits there unwilling to try and find out.

It has not happened very often but it will surely be a nightmare if it were to occur on an occasion when I would be on my own.

It did happen in the summer of 2015 and on this occasion my mom was with me. The stubborn cab driver refused to seek help from his dispatcher and instead he sat there telling us that we had to find our own way.

I was upset and very unhappy and reported him to his cab company.  Mom and I did manage to find our way but just think if I were alone on this occasion! What would I have done?  Most likely I would have told him to take me back home!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit  jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author
There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
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Gayle and I with my Navage device

It is not one of my favorite activities whenever I need to learn a new device and then there is no manual in a format that I can read.

As a blind person, I still need to face the challenges of having to ask someone to help me navigate or read a manual whenever said manual is not in an electronic format; text, RTF, or Word.

This was the case when I bought a nasal cleaning device in 2015 and I had to ask my sister-in-law, Gayle, to help and as always she came quickly to my rescue.

Patient as always she took the time to read the manual and then to show me how to use the device.  Once I had been shown how to use it the rest was easy but I so hope that with time more manufacturers will realize that the technological landscape is changing and that they, too, need to change.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit  jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author
There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
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Mom and I with the green coffee

Yet another adventure for me to remember.  I always have so much fun any time Mom and I go shopping for something new, and this time it was the green coffee.

So off we went to try and locate it in Toronto, after having found it on one of our vacations.  We did not have the box so we had to depend on Mom's memory of it in order to describe it to the sales person.

I must say that Mom did a very good job in describing it to them and so much so that we did not have much difficulty finding what we were looking for.

We were both very delighted when the sales person brought it to us and it was just another day in the lives of Mom and me going shopping.  Yes, that's my marvelous Mom!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit  jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author
There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Returning to tennis

After a somewhat lengthy layoff, I returned to resume my weekly blind tennis sessions in late 2015 and I must say that it was not as difficult as I had first thought.

I had to reacquaint myself with the sound of the ball, how it bounced as it came towards me, and I had to readjust my swing and timing.

I cannot see the ball so I have to depend solely on sound.  This means that I have to give all of my attention to the sound of the ball as it is coming towards me and then I have to use my skill to know when to swing and how hard.

Blind tennis is a lot of fun for me.  It all comes down to me facing off against the person tossing the ball to me and I have to make sure that when I swing that it is enough to send the ball back over the net to the person tossing to me.

The balls are made of sponge and they are filled with bells so that they jingle as they move.  They are very light in weight, of course, so this is another thing that I have to get used to.

For whereas the sighted person depends mostly on their vision to get them through their game, a blind person needs to use their sense of hearing to do the same.

We use junior-sized rackets to hit the balls and the nets are at the regular heights.  We play our tennis in a huge basement of a church.

Lots of fun and great exercise for me.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit  jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author
There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Gayle and I with my exercise bike

A few months ago my sister-in-law, Gayle, came to my rescue when she willingly agreed to help me label some of the options in the programs on my exercise bicycle.

Like so many other pieces of equipment, access to the various programs for a blind person is nonexistent.  That is, a blind person is unable to program stuff for themselves because they are unable to access the touch screens and this is all due to the fact that there is no way for a blind person to know where to touch on the screen.

In addition, these touch screens do not come equipped with any sort of talking facilities. That is, there is no speech output to enable a blind person to be able to navigate for themselves.  Accordingly, a blind person needs to depend on sighted assistance to do it.

Gayle set up the options within the programs for me.  She asked me what I wished to have labeled after she had read the options to me and then she labeled the screen for me using dymo tape.

After all was said and done, all I had to do was to locate the various labels on the screen, press them, and then choose whichever option I desired based on the number of beeps emitted.

It turned out fine for me, and Gayle had helped me to gain access to the programs on my exercise bicycle.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit  jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author
There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

On a cruise with Sherry

In 2004 my friend, Sherry, and I took the plunge and went on a cruise to the Bahamas.  Looking back now I must say that it was quite an experience for me, and why?  Because we were accompanied by Carol and Judy, 2 lovely ladies with whom we had never traveled before.  Carol was a travel agent and Judy was her friend.

Our accommodations were what I expected: a small, compact cabin with all of the amenities.  People were very nice to us and the servers in the dining room were very helpful and always willing to be of assistance.

Accessibility in those days was just starting to come into its own so a lot of the time we had to go out of our way to teach others how to help us and to help them understand what we needed and required.

Carol and Judy were great guides.  They described things to us, gave us appropriate assistance, and their sighted-guide techniques were very good. It sure helped that we had taken the time to plan this trip carefully before embarking on it.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit  jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author
There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

My parents and I in a carnival band

This memory is still so very clear in my mind.  It is as if it only happened but yesterday, and after all of these years the memory appears like magic in my mind whenever I recall it.

I was probably about no more than six years at the time and Mom and Dad had taken me into a carnival band on a warm February evening to join other revelers.  Dad had me in his arms and Mom was walking beside us.  Dad was chatting with others around him and Mom was laughing with my brothers and aunt who were also in the band with us.

The air was pungent with the fragrances of baby powder and other types of perfume.  There was no breeze or hardly any and the revelers were loud but very merry.  One minute I was in Dad's arms and the next he had handed me over to another man who held me very tightly in his arms and began dancing with me.

For some reason I was not afraid because I knew that Dad was very close by and Mom was within hailing distance.  The stranger was very kind to me.  He asked me my name and then asked if I was enjoying myself.  Then he gently placed me on the road beside my parents, gave me a huge hug, and was off on his way.

I went home that night a very happy little girl, and why?  Because I got dance in the air without having touched the ground!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit  jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author
There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Remembering the mango

This is probably one of my favorite fruits and one that practically accompanied me through my childhood until now.

The mango was there when I took my first bite of a fruit.  It was always there as a mid morning snack and as something delicious to eat at the beach and it continues to be my constant companion whenever I can get to eat it.

I can no longer see its form but I sure remember what it looks like.  A healthy combination of green and yellow skin with a yellow inside.  Its smell is like a breeze in a bottle, wafting all around me and so distinguishable.

I can detect that old favorite smell anywhere!  It catches my sense of smell wherever it is and I automatically go looking for it.  Ah yes!  Remembering the mango!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit  jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author
There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan