Rick, I just knew you were lurking out there. Sorry, but there's no
traffic
tonight. Maybe John wanted to tell us he'll be off list for awhile.
marilyn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Moderator" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2010 9:54 PM
Subject: Re: [Blind-Computing] WE'RE FINALLY READY!
: Hi John,
: And this is related to computing, how?
: I understand your fustration, but,
: This is not the place for this particular message.
:
: Richard Q. Justice-list moderator
: [email protected]
: [email protected]
:
: ----- Original Message -----
: From: "John_Justice" <[email protected]>
: To: "BLIND COMPUTING" <[email protected]>
: Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2010 10:29 PM
: Subject: [Blind-Computing] WE'RE FINALLY READY!
:
:
: Hey group,
: I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Linda and I are both totally
blind.
: We just finished packing up our personal belongings in preparation for
the
: painting contractors and carpeting people who will be arriving next
week.
: The thing is, we have accumulated a lot of stuff in living here for the
past
: twenty-four years. When a painter comes in, they have to move
everything
: and that means record cabinets, stereo equipment, books, VCR tapes,
: cassettes, all of our heavy coats, etc. etc. it took us quite a while
to
do
: it all.
: Even now, after two full weekends of filling cartons, I still have our
sound
: system to disassemble. That will mean labeling every single cable so
that
I
: know how to put it back when they're finished.
: Not every room in the house is being painted this time. Our kitchen,
: hallway and hall closet, living room and upper hallway are being done.
This
: house is so old that the corners of the walls are starting to crack and
some
: pieces of plaster are falling down. It isn't as awful as it sounds. On
the
: corners of walls made of sheetrock, the builders usually use something
: called a corner bead. It's a metal plate which extends from the floor
to
: the ceiling and protects the edges of the sheetrock from being damaged.
But
: as a house gets older, it settles and the thin layer of wet plaster
which
: covers that beading, dries out and cracks. Almost every single corner
in
: this entire house has the same problem but the ones on the main floor
are
: the worst. We live in a hillside home. that means the house is built
with
: an additional floor at the rear. Yu can come in the front door through
our
: main entrance and the kitchen will be on your left. On your right, is
an
: alcove which holds the stairs going up to the second floor. if you walk
: straight ahead, you come into our living room/dining room area and
there's
a
: door on your right which leads to a second set of steps going down.
This
is
: a relatively modern home so both flights of steps are right above each
: other. if you go down this second set of steps, you are on our lower
floor.
: there's a half bath down there, a laundry room and a big family room
where
: I'm now sitting. At the end of the family room is a double glass door
which
: leads out onto the patio at the rear of the house.
: The front of this floor, where the stairs come down, is actually under
: ground. If you look at the back of our house, you'll see the patio,
then
: two more floors above that. From the front, there's only one additional
: floor.
: There are a lot of hillside houses in Pennsylvania because the area is
so
: hilly.
:
: Now back to the renovation. We had to fight the landlord tooth and nail
to
: get this work done. We ended up filing a complaint with the Human
Relations
: Commission stating that they were treating us differently because of our
: blindness. they were, there's no doubt about that. We are blind so
they
: didn't figure we'd need new paint or carpeting and they refused to do
any
: renovations. On top of that, they tried to imply that we had refused
the
: work. It was an awful mess! We had to bring in our own contractors to
do
: the work. But in the settlement, we got them to agree to spend up to
: twenty-five hundred dollars on repairs, painting and carpeting. We got
: smart there and used people who had worked for the landlord's agent. In
: that way, we could be sure that the work would be done right. The
: contractors would have us to deal with and, if they messed up, the
: landlord's agent is a really nasty character. I have had several fights
: with him in the past. It doesn't take much for this guy to go to four
: letter words, yelling screaming and threatening.
:
: We had an old gas stove that was about ready to blow up. The pilots
were
so
: badly corroded that they wouldn't stay lit and the oven changed
temperature
: as much as ninety degrees at any given time. They sent in some
so-called
: gas appliance expert who claimed that the stove was fine. So we brought
in
: our own licensed professional and he condemned the stove in writing.
The
: township building inspector sited the landlord and gave him ten days to
: replace the stove. We got a new one but it's the cheapest one they
could
: find. At least it's a new one and it has those electronic lighters, not
the
: old fashioned open pilot type we used to have.
:
: The same thing happened with the refrigerator and they tried to give us
an
: apartment sized one instead of the standard nineteen cubic foot model we
: had. I forcefully reminded the landlord that we were entitled to the
same
: equipment we had before and that right was protected by law. That sent
him
: off into another one of his famous screaming fits.
: We did get the right refrigerator.
:
: But the biggest joke of all was our driveway. When it was installed
thirty
: years ago, the contractor had done a terrible job. As it got older, the
: center of the asphalt sank until there was a huge hole in the middle of
the
: pavement which measured about eight inches deep in places. We begged
and
: pleaded to have that driveway repaired and they refused. But the
building
: inspector wrote them a letter informing the owner that if one of us was
: injured by falling, the owner would be liable for all kinds of damages.
: The driveway was resurfaced about two weeks later.
:
:
: As you can imagine, the relationship we have had with the landlord
hasn't
: been all tea and roses. but we can't afford to move. If we could, we'd
be
: out of here. Those two flights of steps are hell for my wife. Her knee
: surgery didn't work well and she has to climb up and down those stairs.
It
: causes her a lot of unnecessary pain. We like the house but we could do
: without those blasted stairs.
: I wanted to have a stair climber installed but Linda won't hear of it.
: they aren't very safe for blind people anyway.
:
: Well, that's our story my blind friends. It has been one hell of a ride
up
: till now.
: I hope that those contractors get in and out of here with the least
possible
: trouble.
:
: . John and Linda Justice
: With guide dogs Jake and Zachary
: PERSONAL E-MAIL: [email protected]
: John and Linda Justice
: With guide dogs Jake and Zachary
: PERSONAL E-MAIL: [email protected]
: For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit:
: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
:
:
: For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit:
: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit:
http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
