Special Post for My Hard of Hearing Friends (Or for those who also have hard of hearing friends)

I've totally come to terms with the fact that I can't hear, that I'm slightly different from everyone else, and I'm okay with that. But even though I say, "I can do everything you can do, except hear", I've had to admit there are some frustrations. One of them has always been the telephone.

Growing up, my mother would have to listen to my phone conversations on another line and cover the mouthpiece while she relayed what they were saying to me. Everyone was always asking me what that echo was... I was too ashamed to tell them the truth. It was just one more thing that made me different from everyone else...something else for them to make fun of.

As an adult, I used VCO (Voice Carry Over). The process went something like this: 

I called a 1-800 number, a relay operator. I would tell the relay operator what number I was calling. The operator dialed that person and connected us. The operator then proceeded to listen to our conversation and type out whatever the other person was saying. The words would appear on a screen. I would talk back. We had to remember to say "go ahead" every time we were done speaking so the operator would know to switch lines again.

The upside to this:

I could make my own phone calls without my mother having to drop everything and listen in.

The downside:

More often than not, folks would hang up on me. "I'm not buying anything. Sorry." Also, the process of explaining to everyone how it all worked and what they  needed to do...eh.

And I had a stranger listening to all the details of my personal life.

This was before text messaging.

Then text messaging came along and I thought I'd never need anything else...but you can't text the doctor and make an appointment. You can't text the groomer and get your dogs hooked up and so on...

So hubby became my secretary after a while. Poor guy.

But to make a long story short, there is now something for us. It's funny how this came about. I follow another deaf author named Dawn Colclasure. In her newsletter a few months ago, she mentioned yet another deaf author, Shanna Groves. Shanna and I connected and as I was heading her way (Kansas City), we agreed to meet in person. We met at the Deaf Cultural Center (more about that soon) and while there, my stepmum grabbed the latest edition of Hearing Loss Magazine.

In that magazine is an ad for CapTel with Sprint.

And tomorrow I am getting a new cell phone!!!!!!!!! That I will be able to talk on!!!! I will no longer have to text 15 messages to relay the latest drama in my life when crap goes down. I can just call my friend! Just like anyone else. And my hubby no longer has be my secretary.

How it works: You register with CapTel. *You must have an Android-powered cell phone, but this service is FREE. HOWEVER, there's also a home phone. I did not check into this though. I use the cell for everything.* Someone calls your CapTel number...and they just natter away and the program itself converts their words to text on your screen right before your very eyes. You natter back. And the program also works for voicemail!!!!

I'm very excited about this and as I learned from talking to Shanna last week, for some reason, people are not advertising that they have stuff for the hearing "impaired". You have to ask for it. And I'm not afraid to ask for it.

The people in the Sprint office hadn't even heard of this feature their own company is offering. It was a learning experience all the way around. I just want to share this...we need to spread the word about this awesome feature. I'm sure I'm not the only one who didn't know of it. I hope that this post reaches at least one Deaf/Hard of Hearing person who can utilize this feature.

Find out more about it here or here

My Mother's Story

Many years ago, my mother hand breast cancer. I will never forget seeing the words on my VCO phone and the fear that struck my heart. I remember telling myself to stay calm, to merely sound supportive, not panicked. That's what my mother needed, to know I would be okay. Because that's a mother's first concern: her child.

My mother survived and when the trauma and radiation was over and years went by, she told me her main worry was what I would do, how I would react, who would take care of me if she didn't make it. Even though we were miles apart, she supported me in so many ways.

And she told me how the relay operator said, "I'm so sorry" before relaying the message to my Voice Carry Over.

This touched me all over again and when I heard about anthologies seeking donations of stories about surviving cancer, I wrote Telling Tatiana. In a way, it's my mother's story. I changed names, but kept the basic story, the sister, the fish tank, the fear and thoughts she had. I also eliminated the VCO phone though as it required more explanation than I was willing to put in a short story, and this isn't about my hearing impairment, but my mother.

Anyway, I'm pleased to say the story in an anthology put together by Dawn Colclasure. You can download a copy here. Profits are being donated to an organization that helps children of cancer patients.

And here is an excerpt from my story:

“Ella, come on back here.” Dr. Smith’s voice was gentle as he waved me through the door. I looked back to my sister who slowly stood from the chair, wincing as the skin on her legs unglued itself from the plastic. All three of us filed down a long hallway with pictures of mountains and calming rivers and creeks adorning the walls. I was surprised when he led us not to an exam room, but an office with a cluttered desk and two chairs facing it. A fish tank full of exotic fish stood where most doctors would have a shelf of books.  

            Shit. This can’t be good. I borrowed some of my sister’s vocabulary as I sat down in one of the chairs. Bethany sat next to me and mumbled something about wearing shorts to doctor’s offices. I gripped the sides of my own chair and offered Dr. Smith a weak smile.

            “Ella,” he adjusted his tie nervously, “Dr. Cole called today regarding the spot on your mammogram.” I felt Bethany’s hand over my own. I felt a tightening in my chest and had a sudden shortness of breath. I’m going to die of a heart attack only to find out the spot was nothing. Sorry, Tatiana.

            I nodded at the doctor to continue, struggling to appear calm. My hands were not shaking here either. He cleared his throat and his blue eyes met my own. “It’s cancer.”

            The world went black. I couldn’t breathe. Bethany gasped. I heard an “oh no!” but I’m unsure if it came from me or from her. How do I tell Tatiana?


Thank you for your time. Is there someone in your life who has survived? Give them a hug today. Seriously.

Totally Scared: The Complete Book on Haunted Houses by Dawn Colclasure and Martha Jette

This book had me totally scared. No joke. One night as I was reading this in bed, I got to the pictures of ghostly orbs and began reading about Dan Guthrie's demon ghost and I got scared. I had to set the book aside for fear that it would give me nightmares..

Orbs in Rob Rapiti's haunted Hamilton, Ontario home. When the picture is sideways like this,
one can see a face.. see it?? In the center.... Click on it...blow it up. Trust me. Are you scared yet? 

Two words come to mind as I attempt to describe this book. Spine-tingling and informative. Don't believe me? Ask my husband. The entire time I was reading this book, I was turning to him and either telling him about the Winchester Mansion or making spooky ghost noises or repeating the Lizzie Borden chant and adding my own evil laughter.

Obviously, I really enjoyed it...

A quick summary: It's a book about haunted houses. It talks about different haunted houses, buying a haunted house, dealing with ghosts, getting rid of ghosts, movies about haunted houses, and more.

I am going to recap some of the things that fascinated me.

There is a haunted painting of an octagonal house. Bought in an antique shop, a woman named Meena Svara took it home (a previous buyer freaked out so bad he had returned it to the store packaged in layers and layers of covering) and the painting would move from from horizontal to sideways (unaided) and scared Meena's cat. It also had a "cloud-like black shadow" pass across it and envelope it entirely before disappearing. Meena also swears she seen figures moving back and forth across the windows in the painting. Her cats even pawed at the windows. "She has also seen faces at the windows and changes to the house and grounds." There's much more about this painting and I was intrigued by all the data about it.

A girl named Pamela was accidentally pushed by her father down the stairs of a house in 1930, Ontario. She died. Her ghost began to haunt recent inhabitants of the home and an Ouija Board got some answers. She led the current residents and ghost investigators to the attic where they found a locket with her parents' pictures in it wrapped in a newspaper from 1930. With the locket returned to her, the nine year old agreed to move on to the next world.

Hamilton Paranormal took this photograph of the first landing of the stairway where Pamela tumbled to her death in 1930. Her image showed up in the upper half of the landing’s window and looks like she might be holding a doll."

Reading about LaLaurie House in New Orleans had me gasping with shock. The atrocities committed there on slaves were appalling. In 1834, it was discovered that the mistress of the house was keeping slaves chained to a wall and committing "medical experiements" on them. "One woman, for example, had both arms and legs cut off with patches of skin in a circular motion dotting her body.. Another had her mouth sewed shut with animal feces inside."

I could go on but it's really pretty gruesome. It's no wonder that place is said to be haunted.

Winchester Mansion in San Jose, CA was built by the widowed Sarah Winchester. Her husband was the son of Oliver Winchester, owner of Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Sarah was supposedly haunted by spirits who had been killed by Winchester rifles. When he husband died, leaving her 50% ownership of the company and an income of $1000 dollars a day (in 1880!!!), she used it to build a home for 38 consecutive years straight. A medium told her to build a house for the spirits and as long as she continued building, she would never die. The house stands today with 60 rooms, 47 fireplaces, 10,000 windowpanes, and three elevators. There's more to this too..

Even the younger George Bush has seen a ghost! In the White House!

In the Hollywood section, I was surprised to learn that George Clooney hired a psychic to help him contact his deceased but very loved 300 pound pot belly pig. 

Nevertheless, there's no end to the interesting or spooky stuff in this book. I'm glad one of the authors, Dawn Colclasure, contacted me about reading this and sent me a copy. I never would have heard of it otherwise and I was on the edge of my seat throughout the reading of it.

Highly recommended, but not before bed! 5 stars.