Airport sends me a Wonderful Letter Today regarding the Deaf Travelers

1:05 PM (6 hours ago) to me Hi Susana, We had the Managers' Meeting this a.m. with all our airlines and vendors. I brought up the issue of deaf travelers and got some interesting feedback. All of the airlines have on their websites "Special Service Request" info. If someone reads that section before traveling, she/he will receive advice on what actions to take to assure getting information needed. Some airlines notify their location that there will be a deaf traveler person on the flight. All airline asked that the person identify him/herself to the agent at the gate, so the agent is aware. Many will post boarding information on their screens behind their podium at the gate. I believe I already sent you the memo from TSA about what to do regarding TSA check-in. If you call the number listed, they make sure that the airport where you are traveling is aware of your flight...but of course, there can be delays, changes, etc, so again, TSA asked that the person identify to the screeners that he/she is deaf. Most airports have a "Special Assistance" lane to check-in, so that lane can be used to insure assistance. TSA does train some of its officers to use sign language. Because it's not a frequent request, they might be a little rusty, but you can surely ask. TSA will begin a new program shortly with Special Customer Assistance staff at many airports during peak times. My understanding is they will be wearing the same uniforms as the other TSA agents (!), but if you ask, someone should be able to let you know if there are any on duty. They will be there to assist folks who need it. The food service folks indicated that if there staff is made aware of a person's deafness, they will try to provide information accordingly. So we'll keep on keepin' on! ______________________________________ Bev Halligan Customer Service Superintendent

Bossy Guinea Pig, wait is that a video of me?

Petunia was always my favorite guinea pig, though I had to give her away. She acted like she owned the world. If someone was at the door, she would oink so loud, I had to tell to be quiet. She would start running back and forth and give me a startled look as if the house was on fire. It was easy to know when someone was knocking, Petunia put on a great act whenever she heard noises. She would run so fast and everything in the cage would go flying all over the floor. I didn't like that, because it just made a bigger mess and more for me to clean up, we should of gotten one of those glass cages. She loved to go outdoors, she would chew on the grass, and she liked it. She also loved carrots and salad, so I would give her those leftovers. Most of all, she loved to be held for hours, this is what made her so special. Then one day we decided to get a another guinea pig, name Twinky. We didn't know she was pregnant. Well, at first Petunia and Twinky got along very well. Petunia was always the boss and Twinky did whatever she was told. If I would pick up Twinky to hold her, Petunia got jealous, so I would end up holding both guinea pigs at the same time. As Petunia wanted to be held as much as possible, but Twinky didn't care. Twinky was kind of wild, and liked to be in the cage and not held as much. Then the day came when Twinky had little black babies, and oh boy, was Petunia extremely jealous. She decided she was in charge of all the guinea pigs. And she acted like she owned them. If we were to go and pick up Twinky or the babies, she would oink like crazy, saying no, pick me up, not them! And if they got picked up instead of her, she would give us a very annoying look, like, thanks a lot. She always acted as if she was the best of them all(well she was). Twinky wasn't that much fun, she would try to bite me if I so much as tried to pet her. Petunia would decide who gets to eat first and such. She was one special guinea pig, I won't forget. When I moved they didn't allow pets, so I had to give her away, and that was hard. I have good memories of her. :)

This is the sign for I Love You

Sometimes it's a daily struggle in life, to get others to understand how deaf I really am. It's especially hard being in a room with a group of people as in a classroom, when you're the only deaf person there. I am the one that has to make an effort to let others around me realize they need to face me when they speak. Most people think I am hearing because I speak normally, so they really can't tell I have a hearing loss. People have constantly told me that I can hear very well, well this isn't true, it's the opposite and I have have the facts. When they face me when they speak, I lipread them very well, therefore it appears I am picking up all the words. I am good at faking it and making people all around think I can hear, but I really can't. They think I am hearing the words, but no, I lipread the words. I could pass for a hearing person and you wouldn't know the difference. But I really don't want to do that and make things more difficult for me. It's best to tell the truth to others, when they don't know the facts. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Cat Named Red

When I used to live in an apartment I used to have this special cat named Red. He would let me know if someone was at the door or if the phone was ringing if I happened to be asleep. Whenever there was knocking on my door he would run to the door like a dog, look at it, then he would run back to me and tap me on the shoulder with his paw and it would wake me up. Then when he saw my eyes open he would look at me, then run back to the door to show me someone was there knocking. It was so cute. He thought he was a dog. I can't hear the knocking or the phone ringing when I am not wearing my hearing aids, so he was there to help. I've never had a cat like that before, he really made it easier for me for a while, till I had to give him away . He did the same thing if the phone rang, he would make sure I was up to answer it, by tapping me and running back and forth to the phone. That is one cat I will never forget, I didn't even have to train him.

Life N Canvas: Starting Anew ( If you have good faith in god you might like this blog)

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(Deaf Lady Can't Help But Read Articles Like this one) Speaking My Mind: Legacy - By Rum Punch Drunk, Guest Post #1

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Is it expensive for Airports to Provide More Services for the Deaf on Planes?

Is it expensive to provide services for the deaf in airports? They could give the deaf passengers an option to sign up for certain services before their flights. When they get their tickets, there could be a yes and no box with questions asking if they want closed captioning services on their flights and an interpreter and so on. I understand there is no point in providing closed captioning services on every single plane if there aren't any deaf passengers on some of them. So, maybe they could have the deaf people sign in and register for a special flight service that has closed captioning. Then they could be put on that certain plane that has the services provided. This goes for the gates as well. They should send the deaf people to the gates that already have closed captioning on the overhead screens there. If there is a deaf passenger on a certain flight and there are no closed captioning screens at the gate, then they should change the gate to one where there is a closed captioning monitor. That is only fair for the deaf passengers, they need to feel comfortable as well as everyone else. I know there aren't that many deaf people on a plane at given times from experience. I have boarded a plane at least twice a year in the past 40 years. And I have not seen any deaf people on any of my flights. But the airports could make arrangements to install a closed captioning monitor in every plane, in at least two seats for the deaf passengers. That way everyone is happy with the deaf passengers included.

Matt Maher - Turn Around