Self-doubt has always been an issue in my life, and I expect it is in many of you. From an early age I just didn’t think I was capable of doing anything worthwhile. I know now, that was a problem because of my much later discovery of my Autism. I basically saw the world as a different place than most around me. Continue reading About Self-Doubt…
One thing that is critical to a satisfying life is to have dreams. Without dreams, we would certainly never hope to find our true place in this world. For most of us, the path to our destination in life is … Continue reading The Path To Your Destination…
One of the most difficult things about living in retirement, especially for us elder orphans living in a retirement community, is “time drift“. I don’t know if I invented that phrase, but it certainly applies to me at this time in my life. I can count on one hand the number of people who have come into my apartment for a visit in the last three years. That, and the fact that I am mostly inept at things socially, means that I live my life almost totally on my own. Days just seem to drift into weeks, and weeks into … Continue reading RetComLife – Time Drift
I have always wondered what would have happened if I had gone deaf without any support. I am beginning to discover that now. I went deaf two years after I was married in 1986. My now departed somewhat new bride … Continue reading For The First Time…
I don’t know if the people who invented it knows how valuable text messaging is for the deaf. It is a Godsend. It eliminates the need for that 100-year-old technology that the TDD provided. The problem is that very few … Continue reading There Is A Tool, But…
Sadly, there are many Vietnam vets who are stuck inside their war experiences throughout their life. I’m not one of those, as I flunked my draft physical due to hearing loss and therefore avoided that tragic consequence. Where I am … Continue reading I’m Stuck In the 1960’s and 70’s
Sometimes I cling to the margins with my fingernails, and sometimes I stomp on them with both feet. I haven’t been in the mainstream for so long I don’t even realize what it is anymore. I have been deaf for … Continue reading Deaf People Cling To The Margins
One of the biggest complaints I hear about the pandemic is the isolation that many people feel because they are off by themselves. When you live on the margins having more time alone is most often just a fact of … Continue reading Being on the Margins Makes Isolation More Tolerable
For this post, I give you a piece of wall art. I mean that literally “wall art”. I need to give you a little background before I tell you more about it. I went deaf in 1988. It was not … Continue reading Wall Art
This post is a continuation of a couple of weeks ago where I tell you about the labels I have put on myself during my life. Some were beneficial and some were not. If you missed the first post click … Continue reading Labels We Attach To Ourselves – Part 2
I thought I would use this Saturday’s post as a little lesson in deafness, mine at least… 🙄 When I started my engineering life in 1970 I had at least some functional hearing in my right ear. It was enough … Continue reading Deafness = Sounds of Silence… Nah
I have come to realize that a significant portion of my viewers come through the WordPress Reader and therefore have never seen my About pages. Knowing where I have come from is pretty important to understanding my daily posts. So, … Continue reading About Me…
I am a list maker and planner, that is who I am, and due to my Aspie traits I put logical thinking above most emotions. In that regard, I realize that I will very likely outlive my wife by possibly … Continue reading Considering My Options For Future Living
No, I am not saying that in general police brutality is the norm across the country. I am sure that 95% of those on a police force are doing their job of serving and protecting. It is that 5% who … Continue reading Police Brutality – It Just Makes Sense
Ok, I will admit that this post is really not about fake news, but it is about untruths that seem to be so prevalent in the world today. That is what this post is about.
Continue reading “FAKE NEWS!!”
The myth in the title above is surprisingly not that uncommon among our population. I have come across it many times in my life. But this particular myth is not limited to just those who can’t hear. That is what this post is all about.
Continue reading “Myth – Deaf People Have No Intellectual Capacity”
From looking at my post counts here at RJsCorner I see that I am pretty much ignoring my number five pillar, breaking down myths. I need to pay more attention to that topic so this post will be about a … Continue reading Breaking Down Myths – Most Deaf People Can Read Lips
I want to continue on from my 10 Pillars post of last week with a personal story about the second pillar which is “You are not alone”. As I have mentioned before I want deaf in 1988 at the age of forty-two, but I had been hearing impaired for years before that. I lost hearing in one ear during my early college years in the 1960s. Since I had no insurance and I couldn’t afford to pay doctor bills and college tuition at the same time, it would be a few years later when I discovered the cause of my … Continue reading Coping With Deafness And My 10 Pillars
I know I have been more stressed out in the last 22 months than I probably have any time in my life. It is stressful to see the possible annihilation of our democracy unfold before your eyes. It is pitiful to see the Oval Office occupied by a compulsive liar, cyberbullier, and narcissist. I couldn’t have imagined that possibility just a few years ago. I just can’t seem to be able to do much about my stress except to boycott every new source. I have for the past couple months limited my contact to the political world to ten minutes … Continue reading Listening To Your Favourite Music…
I like old cars and I am kinda proud of passing on some of my experiences in life here on RJsCorner. Yeah, there are things, actually quite a few, that I would like to have been different but even the undesired things are an important part of my life’s experiences, that looking back have made me who I am. If I hadn’t been deaf I wouldn’t have the level of empathy that I do. If I had not grown up in a single very stoic parent household I wouldn’t have the understanding of such things as I do. As another … Continue reading Turning Back the Odometer…
On my post a while ago entitled “Life’s Lesson” I said there were ten things that I have learned in my life that I aim to put forward for your consumption here on RJsCorner. It is important to me and I kinda think it should be important to each of us that when we come across myths about living, we should do what we can to dispel the ones that are false. The three primary myths I have encountered that demand my personal attention are related to are deafness, autism, and old age. Of course, I am intimately familiar with … Continue reading Breaking Down The Myths About Deafness
Because I am deaf I have a game I play quite often when I am around people, especially those I don’t know. In my early years of deafness before closed-captioned TV was widely available is when this thing started. Since there was no sound to what I was seeing I made up my own storyline. It would have been interesting to discover how closely my story matched up with the writer’s version but of course, I never was able to discover that. Getting slightly off the subject for just a little while, I never used to think that I was a … Continue reading Imagining Their Stories…
Yesterday’s post was all about spin and how we too often try to reimage something because makes us uncomfortable. It was primarily about the fact that we need to dispell the myth instead of just re-naming the condition. Today I want to talk about why this topic is so important to me. As I have often said, being deaf is a major part of my life but it is not what I am about. I almost never say I am a deaf man but instead say I am a man who is deaf. There is a critical difference between the two. If … Continue reading Dispelling Myths vs Reimaging
Too many times we simply don’t like the name for something and to fix that we give it a new often indistinguishable name. Don’t like the word retirement, give it a new name. Give it a more positive spin. Call … Continue reading Reimaging, Spin, Spin, Spin
We went to Disney World in the Spring of 2016 for our 30th wedding anniversary. At least for me, it was a very memorable experience. My wife took the idea that Disney World was for kids and was therefore determined … Continue reading Circle Of Life…
I know one of the reasons that we have the current incompetent in the White House is that too many white men are afraid of becoming a minority. They are afraid of what will happen when their say is no longer the dominant one but instead one of many. For the most part white men have been dismissing minorities for decades and don’t want that to happen to them. They are afraid of many things but this is probably one of the major ones. If none of the clues on RJsCorner have given you a hint then I will bluntly … Continue reading What’s It Feel Like For a White Man To Be A Minority??
I realized that it has been quite some time since I put out a post primarily about deafness. But the title of “chapter 92” is kind of made up. :) This particular chapter is the result of an episode on the CBS News – Sunday Morning about being in an anechoic chamber. First off the program mentioned is not really about “news” but more of like On the Road with Charles Kuralt but with Indiana’s own Jane Pauley. Now I know I am dating myself with this reference but for those of you who don’t know about “On The Road..” check it out … Continue reading About Deafness — Chapter 92
The title above may seem strange coming from a deaf man but I really do think we have to stop using sign language interpreters for public announcements. Its time to move on to better ways. Way better ways… The facts show us that the ASL interpreters who are often behind a public official announcing something is understood by less that 20% of the people who are deaf and less than 2% of those who have hearing impairments. But there is a technology that is understood by probably 90%+ of that population. That technology is captioning. It is cheap, it is … Continue reading Stop Using Sign Language Interpreters…
This post is part of my continuing study of the Autism spectrum and particularly Asperger’s Syndrome. I am stuck between two worlds in my life. I am a deaf man who lives almost exclusively in the hearing world but neither the hearing world or the deaf world considers me a homeboy. I am seldom around other deaf people so I can’t speak for them but since almost 80% of us deafies are like me in that they went deaf later in life ways maybe I do. One of my goals via this blog and a few other forums, is to help the … Continue reading Caught Between Two Worlds….
I wanted to pen a post on a topic most of your are probably unfamiliar with and that is closed captioning. I’m pretty sure most of you have at least a basic idea of what that is but for those of us who are deaf it is a lifeblood of keeping up with keeping up with the world. Without CC our world would be a quite different place. If you want to get an idea of what that means I would suggest that for the next few days when you turn on your TV to hit the mute button and … Continue reading About Closed Captioning (CC)…
I seem to be ignoring my creative side lately in favor of other things. I promised myself I would not do that so I will make an effort in the coming days to bring it back. I believe that variety is the spice of life, no I don’t mean that in a sexual sense, but I also believe that creativity is a big part of living a fulfilling life. I have recently taken on a project to put together a catalog of songs from my past that gave me insight into life or just gave me joy. For some reason it struck … Continue reading My Creative Side…
I want to forewarn you that this post is going to include some ranting and will probably offend some people. I am sorry if that offends you but I need to speak my mind on this topic. People who don’t come here often probably don’t know that I am deaf. I went deaf about thirty years ago from a congenital disease. Before you ask, no a cochlear implant is not a possibility for me. When I started going deaf I was first exposed to the “Deaf” community (with a capital D”. To them being deaf is something to be celebrated! Most … Continue reading Celebrating Our Disabilities and Our Personal Failures…
They say that deafness is a hidden handicap in that it is not an obvious affliction. Maybe I should wear a sign :) . Sometimes when I tell people I am deaf it doesn’t seem to get through to them. What many do is to apparently just speak louder. For those who I have difficulty reading their lips,and that seem like most people, I hand them a pencil and notepad and ask them to write they just don’t seem to understand. I know that a common misconception is that deaf people aren’t able to talk. That is often true of … Continue reading Maybe I Should Wear A Sign…
In fact, Raven tells Oprah that she rejects the notion of labels completely in all areas of her life. “I’m tired of being labeled,” she says. “I’m an American. I’m not an African-American; I’m an American. “The remark seems to catch Oprah off guard. “Oh, girl,” Oprah says, shifting in her chair. “Don’t set up the Twitter on fire… Oh, my lord. What did you just say?” “I mean, I don’t know where my roots go to,” Raven explains. “I don’t know how far back they go… I don’t know what country in Africa I’m from, but I do know … Continue reading Don’t Label Me …
The white majority in the U.S. will be outnumbered by Americans of other races by 2042, eight years sooner than previously projected by the Census Bureau. SOURCE: U.S. White Population Will Be Minority by 2042, Government Says – Bloomberg. The year 2042 strikes abject fear into some of us. Particularly those who are associated with groups with three letters in the title. That is the year that people of color will outnumber whites in the United States. Why is it that so many are so afraid of being a minority? For twenty-five years now I have been in a pretty … Continue reading Afraid Of Being A Minority…
Apparently, the new iPhone 6 will incorporate a more advanced vibration motor that could offer better tactile feedback to users, depending on the app they’re using or the area they tap on the screen. SOURCE: Secret iPhone 6 feature uncovered? – Yahoo News. I have had my iPhone 4 for about three years now and am for the most part very pleased with its operation. But one areas that needs improvement for me is the vibrate mode. Since I am deaf I rely exclusively on vibrate to let me know when text messages come in. The current vibrate mode is … Continue reading Secret iPhone 6 feature uncovered?
Prosecutors had accused the two officers, who approached Thomas near a bus depot in July 2011 to question him about reports of vandalized cars, of turning a routine police encounter into an unnecessary and savage beating that cost the unarmed homeless man his life. Attorneys for Ramos and Cicinelli argued that Thomas was dangerous and that the officers responded according to their training. Defense lawyers also said Thomas suffered from a weakened heart brought on by drug abuse. “These peace officers were doing their jobs, operating as they were trained,” said John Barnett, who represented Ramos. “There was no malice … Continue reading Policemen acquitted in beating death of homeless man
Baby, I’m yours And I’ll be yours until the stars fall from the sky, Yours, until the rivers all run dry In other words, until I die Baby, I’m yours And I’ll be yours until the sun no longer shines, Yours, until the poets run out of rhyme In other words, until the end of time I’m gonna stay right here by your side, Do my best to keep you satisfied Nothin’ in the world could drive me away ‘Cause every day, you’ll hear me say Baby, I’m yours And I’ll be yours until two and two is three, Yours, … Continue reading Baby I’m Yours……
For this post I thought I would focus on a cultural topic. Let’s face it none of us are totally comfortable with change. Some of us see it as a nuisance, some as a threat, and fortunately many of us see it as an opportunity. Since we live in an ever-changing world how we face change often determines the root level of happiness in our lives. When we get too comfortable with our current situations we leave ourselves open to complacency and that often leads to stagnation. When I went deaf over twenty-five years ago a lot of things changed … Continue reading Getting Shocked Out Of Your Comfort Zone.
Anyone who has watched movies, and that surely is almost all of us, know that when certain scenes come up there is always very dramatic music in the background. One of the strange things about me being deaf for more than 25 years now it that my brain just doesn’t remember what music sounds like. Even though I don’t remember the sounds the fact that it was dramatic music still remains. When the soldiers landed on Normandy the dramatic music boomed. Whenever there was a seemingly life changing event on the silver screen there was always dramatic music in … Continue reading Life’s Dramas…….
A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid…. When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit.“You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” Mark 9:17 – 18, There are many places in the Bible that talk about unclean spirits in people’s bodies. Are we … Continue reading Unclean Spirits….
Source: DO NOT OPEN « creativetidalwave. Working in a deaf school for many years I learned the value of incidental learning. So many students lacked a lot of common knowledge often taken for granted. We are constantly learning from events and situations that are going on around us though we are often not aware or participating in them directly. Being deaf cuts one-off from a more experiences than most are aware. They are often clueless of what is happening around them because they are not alert to turn to observe due to a lack of being able to hear to know something … Continue reading Being Deaf….
I am thankful to all those who said NO to me. It’s because of them I did it myself. –Albert Einstein After collecting a number of Einstein quotes he is becoming one of my favorites and this is one of the best ones. I know in my life I have always asked “Why is this like ….” I often get the equivalent of “no” as a reply or maybe more accurately “this is the way we have always done it…” or some such as that. Those refusals to take seriously my “why” has made me stronger over the years. It … Continue reading No…..
I have had some questions and some search engine links to my blog about a “late deafened culture” so I want to talk a little about that here. As I mentioned on other posts I have been deaf for the last twenty-five years or so. Anyone who went deaf after acquiring the ability to speak is considered late deafened so I am obviously one. We make up about 1.5% of the current population in the U.S. The other deaf group is the pre-lingually deaf. They typically have been deaf since birth or at a very early stage. They make up … Continue reading Late Deafened Culture??
Source: The Body Odd – Cracking the code: Why yuor barin can raed tihs. For emaxlpe, it deson’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod aepapr, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pcale. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit pobelrm. It is funny how we can read this above sort of thing. It is even funnier how I can read my own handwriting a day or more after I have written it. We use context to pre-activate the areas of our brains … Continue reading Cracking the code: Why yuor barin can raed tihs
