A different experience: Sue's different car

I always seem to know when Sue has pulled up at my driveway in her car.  For some reason her car makes a unique noise when it arrives and I am right there to hear it.

However, on this particular day she fooled me when she arrived in her mom’s car.  I had to smile to myself when she called out to me when she arrived and she was so quick to see the surprised expression on my face. 

I smiled to myself as I walked towards her.  Such a funny experience.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advisor wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
www.donnajodhan.com.

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 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Such happy memories: Remembering the Starlight Drive-In

This was always a treat for me, whenever my parents took us kids and Granny to the Starlight Drive-In.  These were regular Sunday events and Mom and Granny would provide such sumptuous sandwiches and drinks for us.

Then off to the Starlight we would go and Dad would park the car in a good spot so that everyone could see and hear the movie.  Of course, I could not see enough in those days to know what was happening on the screen but with Mom and Dad as describers, I could not want for more.

Most times I sat between my parents in the front seat and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Sometimes I fell asleep and sometimes I allowed myself to enjoy the fresh air that wafted in through the windows of the family's car, as the Starlight was an open air drive-in.

Truth be told, I loved to enjoy the smells of food around me coming from other parked cars, the fragrant perfumes and colognes of those sitting in those cars, and oh yes!  Listening to the crickets in the night.

Such wonderful memories forever.

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
www.donnajodhan.com.

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 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Cherished memories: Driving Jeffrey's cars around our home

I really enjoyed those childhood days whenever I got the chance to play with my brother Jeffrey's cars, trading in my dolls and tea sets for another type of fun.

We used to tie bits of string to these cars and then proceed to race each other around the house.  There was the police  car, the patrol car, the lumbering bus, the old timer car, and oh, yes, my favorite!  The Ferrari!

These activities usually took place on weekends, mainly on Sundays.  Our dogs were spectators but they made very sure to do their spectating from afar choosing to stay back as we raced by. 

Our parents did not seem to object or at least I never thought that they did.  Granny stayed in her room reading her newspapers and my mom and dad sat around looking on. 

Oh yes!  Those were such happy days, never to return! However, the memories remain forever.

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
http://www.donnajodhan.com

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 minute 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 memory from the past, thank you Ken: When I drove Ken's car

At that time we were both working at IBM Canada and I had told my coworker, Ken, that one of my dreams as a vision-impaired person was to drive a car. Believe it or not, he made it happen! 

On a cool day in the early fall, Ken invited me to sit in the driver's seat of his car and then he took his place beside me in the passenger seat and from there it was nothing but a dream come true for me.

Ken was calm and cool.  He spoke to me in a very easy tone, instructing me how to drive.  We made several turns around the IBM parking lot, maneuvering among parked cars.  Then he instructed me how to back up, how to move forward, and after about 10 minutes we parked his car. 

After we had disembarked, Ken told me how nervous  he had been but I can tell you that he never showed it while we were on our driving expedition.

Thank you, Ken Debono, for having helped me to realize one of my obscure dreams.

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
http://www.donnajodhan.com

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 minute 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

Looking back: Playing with Jeffrey's toys

I can easily say that as a child I certainly had the best of two worlds. That is, I was able to play with my girl's toys, either on my own or with my girl cousins, and then, on the other hand, with my brother Jeffrey's toys.

I looked upon this as having been able to enjoy two different worlds. Jeffrey is my twin brother so there was no age barrier.  I played with his toy cars and toy soldiers.   I simply loved to drive them around on the carpet, and then there were his little trucks, vans, and buses.

One of my favorites was his space ship and another was his Mix Master cement mixer.  He always used to let me play with them for hours on end.

Then he would help me tie bits of string around his larger cars and pull them around our home.  There was his police car, the patrol car, the large bus, and the old-timer car!  And oh, yes!  The Ferrari race car, which was one of my favorites.

Sometimes I tried out his pop guns but I was always afraid of the noise that they made.  The one thing that I stayed away from, however, was his model planes because I knew how much he treasured them. I was always afraid that I would break them if I touched them too hard.  However, my parents would let me touch them once in a while so that I could get an idea of their shape.

Oh, yes!  How much I enjoyed playing with Jeffrey's toys!  Those tiny cars and toy soldiers will forever be in my mind, and yes!  Playing with the sailboats in our large, plastic swimming pool.

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
http://www.donnajodhan.com

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 minute 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 beloved Tragarete Rd.

This is where I spent my early childhood years, living on Tragarete Rd. with my family, and they were some of the happiest days for me. Whenever I want to dip into my memory bank for childhood memories, this is the one that often pops up for me.

The sights, sounds, and smells will always remain with me until I travel to the next world. Standing on my balcony and looking down at the passing cars. Taking in the sweet odors around me, and listening to people chatting among themselves as they walked by.

I can still remember the yummy smell of baking bread, popcorn popping, food cooking, and the fragrant combinations of perfumes wafting up at me from those walking by on the sidewalks. I can still hear the sounds of laughter, whistling, chatter, and music coming out of passing cars.

Then there were the barking dogs, the occasional cussing and swearing, and the drunken man going slowly home late at night. Then there were the revelers coming out of clubs at around midnight. At carnival time there were the sweet sounds of the steel pans as they provided music for masqueraders.

Christmas times on Tragarete Rd. were always very special for me. Kids running along the sidewalks, popping fire crackers and racing each other with their toy cars and trucks. Carol singers filling the air with their Christmas songs and shoppers greeting each other. Then there were the inviting smells of Christmas cake and cookies wafting out of the bakeries.

The activity would start at around 3 a.m. with the garbage truck going by collecting garbage along the road and I could hear the workers hosing down the sidewalks. Then at around 4 a.m. the birds would wake up and start to enchant me with their sweet melodious voices. They would start softly but soon enough they were singing at the top of their voices.

By 5 a.m. Tragarete Rd. would be fully awake with people traveling to work and soon enough it would be time for me to rise and get ready for school. The bakeries along Tragarete Rd. would soon start to wake up and begin their daily chores, filling the air with their yummy smells.

Then, at the day's end as I would lie in bed having done my homework and said my prayers, I would listen to Tragarete Rd. getting ready to settle down for the night and by 9 p.m. things would start to quiet down. Tragarete Rd. would indeed go very quiet with the occasional car driving by and the occasional person walking along the sidewalk. All would now be still for the night until at around 3 a.m. the next day.

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

Follow me on twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan.
Visit our online store to either purchase or subscribe for unlimited access to our library at www.donnajodhan.com/store.html
and you can even take advantage of our free downloads!
Or subscribe to our free monthly newsletter at www.donnajodhan.com

This is a personal message from author Donna Jodhan
"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 heroes 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!

Please join my campaign against bullying (CAB) by supporting my efforts to keep on writing and recording!
If you truly care then you will certainly dare!"

Watching the cars go by

When I was just but a wee one, I used to enjoy standing on our front balcony and looking down at the cars going by. This was probably one of my favorite things to do at night while the family watched TV.

Some of the time my brother Jeffrey would be standing beside me doing the same thing and some of the time our cousins would join us. Then there were the times when I would be alone. These were the best times for me, when I could just stand there by myself and allow my imagination to roam as I looked down at the cars driving by.

In those days I had just enough vision to make out the colors and sizes of the cars driving by and I could distinguish them without much difficulty from the trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, and buses.

I truly enjoyed watching them go by and I would make up little games in my head such as: To see which color car was the most popular, which type of vehicle drove by the most, plus more.

My limited sight did not allow me to see much more than this but I was always so happy to just stand there and watch. I was never sure how long I would stand there but my parents never seemed to mind me doing it. The air was fresh and cool, the smell of the road was so enjoyable, and the passersby never seemed to care that someone may have been looking down on them.

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

Follow me on twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan.
Visit our online store to either purchase or subscribe for unlimited access to our library at www.donnajodhan.com/store.html
and you can even take advantage of our free downloads!
Or subscribe to our free monthly newsletter at www.donnajodhan.com.

This is a personal message from author Donna Jodhan
"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 heroes 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!

Please join my campaign against bullying (CAB) by supporting my efforts to keep on writing and recording!
If you truly care then you will certainly dare!"