A frustration: When some waiters do not get it

This is what happened to me a few months ago when I had dinner at a restaurant in a well-known hotel in Gatineau, Quebec.  I will say that the food was simply out of this world but it was all ruined when the waiter failed to pay attention to the fact that I was vision impaired and needed help to have the menu read to me.

Even after I told him that I was, indeed, vision impaired, he simply placed the menu in front of me and walked away. When we managed to catch his attention through the kind help of a fellow diner, he still did not get it. What did he do?  He came to the table, opened up the menu, and then proceeded to point to the various categories.

He did the same thing with the wine list and at the end of it all, I was simply too tired to order dessert.

Finally, he placed the bill in front of me and I had to ask him twice to read it to me and after paying, he simply walked away not listening to my request for him to help me to the door.

An almost perfect evening was ruined by a waiter that did not pay attention.

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.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minutes mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

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

What a pleasure: Meeting Mary-Jane for the first time

As I always say to anyone: I am always surprised whenever I try to match a voice to the person as I meet them for the first time.  In fact, I have given up trying to do this as I have come to enjoy it.

This was the case when I met Mary-Jane for the first time a few months ago. I deliberately tried not to form any preconceived images of her and it worked.

I had no difficulty identifying her by her voice and her handshake was very warm and welcoming and this is where it ended.

Not being able to see what Mary-Jane looked like did not matter to me. Just the sound of her voice and her handshake were more than enough for me.

I know that the world, as a whole, places a lot of emphasis and importance on what people look like and I guess that when I had good vision it was probably the same for me. But now I am in a different orbit and this does not matter.

It's all about one's voice, their handshake, and any other audio cues that I can gather.

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.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minutes mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

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

A shaky experience: When I misplaced my jade ring

I never missed it until well into the afternoon and when I discovered it missing I almost had a heart attack!

When I arrived the evening before at the hotel, I had taken it off and had placed it on the night table and then I had gone off to dinner with a friend.  Upon my return I had gotten ready for bed and then that was it for the day.

The next morning I thought that I had gathered up everything but I was definitely not on the money this day.

Yes, I thought that I had everything in my possession, everything that I had arrived with, but I was wrong.

After lunch, as I sat listening to the parade of speakers, I sort of allowed my mind to wander and then suddenly there it was!  My treasured jade ring was missing.

I started to search frantically through my purse and the more I looked the more frantic I became.  The nice lady sitting next to me even tried to help me but without any success.

Then, after the meeting was over, I had to scurry to another meeting and after that I managed to meet someone that I knew. After explaining my predicament to him he readily took me to the reception desk.

Success!  I explained my missing ring to the receptionist and she told me that someone had brought it to the desk.  It was mine, my beloved jade ring!

The thing here is that it does not matter whether or not a person is blind, this could definitely happen to anyone.  For me, I need to be that much more careful when placing things on surfaces and then remembering where I placed them.

For a sighted person it is always easier to see things, but for me it comes down to remembering.

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.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minutes mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

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

A new experience: Meeting Janet at the luggage carousel

Talk about a really funny experience. Here I was on June 19, 2016, preparing to meet someone that I had never met before and it was the same for her.

I had traveled to Ottawa for a meeting and Janet was going to meet me at the luggage carousel.  I had to give her a description of what I was wearing but in addition I had to let her know that I would be walking with my cane.

This strategy worked out very well as Janet had no difficulty identifying me and as soon as she came up beside me and spoke to me I knew that she was, indeed, Janet.  So, no need to worry if I am going to meet someone that I have never met before, even if I am unable to see them.

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.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minutes mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

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 insight: Doing the cheques with Mom

We now have this down to a simple but very effective strategy.  Whenever I need to have my cheques made out, and if Mom is around, she and I work as a well-oiled team to get things done.  This is how we do it.

I go to my computer and type out my info in either a word or text document.  Name of person to whom the cheque is to be made out, date, and amount in dollars (figures and words).

Next I print this out and then I go to Mom who is patiently waiting to do her part.  She sits down at our kitchen table and writes out the cheque, and voila!  It is done and all I need to do now is to sign it.

I give her my signature guide and she gently places it on the line and hands me her pen.  I sign my name and it is all over.  The cheque has been made out.

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.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minutes mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

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

An interesting experience: Shredding documents with Mom

One of the necessary annual tasks for me is to shred old income tax documents and in 2016 I was sure glad to have Mom on hand to help out.

On a quiet Saturday evening in early June, we both sat on our dining room carpet and painstakingly and methodically shredded a ton of old income tax documents.

We lined up the documents; Mom passed them to me and I put them through the shredder.  Each time the container became full, Mom took it and emptied it into a rapidly-filling garbage bag and as she did so she had to keep picking up the pieces of shredded paper from the carpet.

It was slow, tedious, and quite a chore, but after an hour or so our work was finally done.

The carpet was clean and void of bits of paper; the garbage bag was filled to the brim but securely tied, and all ended well.  Nothing for me to be concerned about when it came to not having bits of stray paper floating around my condo.  This is what a pair of eyes does 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.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minutes mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

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

A funny experience: Picking up the wrong shoe

I have to tell you that this was probably one of the funniest experiences for me.  It happened a few months ago and thank God that Mom was there to save the day for me!  Or else I am not sure what would have ended up happening.

There were about four pairs of shoes lined up close to my front door and two of these pairs belonged to me.  One pair was black and the other was brown.

Now then, as I can no longer see enough to decipher colors I always try to ensure that I know which color I am wearing, but on this day I had a lapse and placed both pairs right next to each other.  Then, when I went to put them away, I quickly learned before catastrophe could strike, I had inadvertently picked up the left side that was black and the right side which was brown.

I was just about to put them away and then return for the other pair when Mom happened to be walking by and she halted me in my tracks.  She told me what I had done and after that we both had a great laugh.

Ah, yes!  All in the day of someone who is vision impaired.

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.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minutes mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

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