Good story.

This will seem off topic at first, but bear with me it isn't really.

I run a radio reading service which offers a program on cars.  I have been
hassled more than once by other staff who don't see the point of offering a
show on cars for blind people.

I used to do my own body work and often did touch up painting on my old car
after work.  I often worked long and hard, not realizing that it had become
totally dark outside.  People going to their cars in the very dark parking
lot of  my apartment gave me a wide birth. "Who is this nut trying to paint
in the dark anyway?"

Of course what is one person's weakness can be another's strength.  This
ability to work in the dark has a number of advantages.  Recently our IT
people had to trouble shoot a problem with a staffer's sound card,
speakers, and other external connections.  The computer in question was
mounted up under one of those old fashioned computer desks which tuck away
the CPU, but make it totally inaccessible.  They strained and sweated
because they couldn't see behind the CPU to disconnect it, and couldn't
pull it out far enough to get their heads behind it to look.  I watched
them, a bit amused, for perhaps five minutes during which I heard a lot of
language I hadn't heard since my locker room days.  Finally, I asked if I
might assist.  They looked at me doubtfully, and said, "no we can handle
this."  So they went off to find tools, and lights, or perhaps just hoping
the computer user would forget.  (I've noticed that some IT people when
stumped kind of forget to come back.)  While they were gone, I reached
behind the machine, easily disconnected the cables, pulled it out, found
the broken connector, got a spare, re-connected the whole thing, and it
took me maybe 10 minutes.  They did come back, prepared to disassemble the
entire office to get to the computer.  They have been a bit more respectful
of late.

Bill
At 08:54 AM 4/2/05 -0500, Peter Mikochik wrote:
>dear blind handyman listers
>
>anyone here who knows me, knows that i am truly a do-it
>yourselfer.  this means that i work alone.  being totally blind,
>this sometimes presents problems, but overcoming these are a
>large part of the satisfaction i get when i finish a project.
>
>sure, i have a sighted wife who is excellent at many things and
>would crawl under the house with a rope in her teeth if i asked,
>but she is not of a mechanical nature and i do not wish to
>endanger her health or good looks to assist me in my hare-brained
>schemes.
>
>i live in a beach resort community, so the local handyman are too
>busy working on the millionaire estates to bother with small fish
>like me or they are the town drunks and i really do not need
>their aggravation.
>
>so i work alone, which means that i engineer many fantastic ways
>of doing things, not just because of being blind, but also that i
>only have 2 hands and many times i need at least 3 or 4.
>
>anyway, i digress.  yesterday my wife said, "get rid of those euh
>bushes".  "no problem," my usual reply.  i have cut down many a
>mighty tree so i thought this would be a simple task and i would
>be finished by lunchtime.
>by 1:30 i was soaked with sweat.  the limbs cut off easily, but
>the roots.  i dug and hacked and sawed but nothing. i was working
>by the roadside and a passing woman said, "you got to chain it to
>the car and pull it  out".
>
>"hmm" i thought.  my methods so far were so ineffective that i
>considered this.  there is an old mini van in my backyard,
>recently taken off the road, which i use as a giant tool box and
>fort.  the radio and cigarette lighter still work so i haven't
>had the heart to call the wreckers.
>
>anyway, i digress again.  my problem is to get the van from the
>back yard to the site of the tug of war.
>i went around the side of the garage and found an 18 foot 2 by 6.
>i carried it over and laid it parallel to the van, on the drivers
>side. i got in, fired that mother up and rolled down the window.
>with my cane i could feel the 2 by 6 on the ground just fine, so
>i dropped her into reverse and backed up.  feeling with my cane,
>i was veering way off course. i put it in park and got out and
>looked at the front tires and saw they were pointing the wrong
>way.  i turned the steering wheel and felt the tire again until
>it was straight. i then looked at the orientation of the steering
>wheel so i could get a better idea of how much it turns.
>i got in, stuck my cane back out and  successfully backed up for
>the length of the board. when i got to the end, i got out and
>slid the board back along my way and repeted this until i got
>close to the bush.
>being a beach town, it is pretty quiet around here this time of
>year so not so many cars passed and i'll never know who saw me
>doing this, but no one stopped to criticize or assist.
>
>
>   with the car in position, i wrapped a thick strong rope around
>the root and to the trailer hitch.
>i repositioned my 2 by 6, checked the tire orientation, snapped
>my seat belt to keep my front teeth in my mouth instead of
>decorating the steering wheel when the bush gave way and through
>her into low.
>pulling and straining the car went nowhere. i switched to a foot
>on each pedal as i reved the old engine and slowly released the
>break. not a inch did i budge alone the 2 by 6. more power raised
>my concern that when the bush let loose i would careen into the
>side of my house and my wife would notice the car in the living
>room when she got home.
>i took the van out of gear and it rolled back a foot the stubborn
>bush not at all loosened.
>again i tried adding more power until the rope broke and i shot
>forward. luckily the seat belt held as my foot slammed the brake
>causing the contents of junk in the back to rush towards me.
>
>i undid the broken rope and maneuvered the van back to the back.
>tomorrow i'll go  to the hardware store and get a 16
>foot length of chain and when no one is looking, try again.
>
>
>
>pete
>
>
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