Taking pictures for the first time

My memories of taking pictures for the first time in my life so many years ago are still so very fresh in my mind. Ah yes! I had just received vision from my first cornea transplant and learning to take pictures was one of the first things that I wanted to do.

I still remember that very sunny summer day when my friend Gunther had come by with his cameras, very determined to show me what a camera was all about and how I could take pictures with no fear of doing any damage to his precious cameras. What an experience this was and I shall always remember this for as long as I live. Then Elaine and I had crossed the border into the United States and we had gone to New York. There she helped me pick out a very simple camera and she had then shown me how to take pictures.

My first pictures were naturally off center but that soon changed and then I was off and running, so to speak. In the years to follow I found myself taking so many pictures with that precious little camera and then I graduated to a much more sophisticated one and I kept it until I lost my vision. I was not too bad after all and one of my final pictures was that of my beloved almond tree in my mom's yard.

That was then and this is now and with practically no vision to speak of at this time, I can only keep on remembering.

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

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"Each time we raise our voice at someone else we are engaging in bullying! Each time we raise our hands to slap or punch someone else we are also engaging in bullying and each time we engage in actions to either manipulate or force someone else to do what we want we are also engaging in bullying!

There is no room in this world for bullying and each day we fail to take action against bullying it is another day that we allow others to bully us and our kids. Our heros and role models are the ones who have made us proud, those brave young men and women who gave their lives for us in past wars and those who continue to do so. They are not the ones who choose to be racists and those who believe that their bad behaviour in public is acceptable.

I write and record audio mysteries that are being used at such events as murder mystery evenings as well as at public awareness and team building events. I promote understanding, tolerance, and problem solving and my audio mysteries continue to be broadcasted around the world and you can listen to them anywhere! On the plane or train! In the car or right there in your home! On your i device or computer!

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The Unreadable US Dollar

As a Canadian, I am very fortunate to be able to decipher our dollar notes. We use coins for one-dollar and two-dollar bills. Known as the Loonie and Twoonie respectively, they feel different to the touch and are different in size as well. Our notes are gaily displayed in different colors, and for those of us who have difficulty seeing the colors there is a bank note reader that has been developed to take care of that problem.

When I was able to see the colors of the notes, it was not a problem for me, but for the last five years I have had to depend on this wonderful little gadget to help me. The Bank Note Reader was developed by the bank of Canada and it emits audible messages in both official languages of Canada; English and French. In addition, it caters to those persons who are deaf/blind by emitting certain distinguishable vibrations to the deaf/blind person.

I recently received an email from someone living in Australia telling me how accessible their currency is. He told me that their currency notes are distinguishable through their size. Each note is of a different size.

For the US greenback however, it is not quite the same. All notes are of the same color and size and this makes it very difficult for blind and visually-impaired Americans to be able to decipher them. There have been attempts and efforts over the past years to legislate for changes so that the greenback could become more readable and accessible to Americans with vision problems.

On a recent visit to Los Angeles, I ran into this problem and had to depend on my sighted friend to help me decipher the US dollar. I felt very uncomfortable; not being able to decipher my own currency drove home the problem that blind and visually-impaired Americans face on a daily basis. I am sure that most mainstream Americans have never really given thought to this problem, but a problem it is and thanks to the National Federation for the Blind, this may soon change.

The NFB as they are often referred to is lobbying strenuously to have Congress pass legislation that would somehow change the greenback in appearance so that it could become more readable to blind and visually-impaired Americans. You can read more about the efforts of the NFB by visiting http://www.nfb.org.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your accessibility and special-needs business consultant wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and help the NFB to lobby for a more readable and accessible greenback.