The other night there was a full moon, the temperature was 55 degrees, and the fire pit was roaring. A group of us had just sat down to enjoy this fall tradition, a fireside chat. You can imagine the scene, it was pretty cool. That is until someone asked me a question. That's when I experienced a smack down! I could not respond! When you are speechless, have no voice, are not able to talk, you get the picture, being in the dark stops you cold! It is too dark to write a note and see it, too awkward to have my portable computer with a key board. It was discouraging and a reminder of my "limitations" of not being able to talk. I was not going to let that define me again. How was I going to shoehorn myself back into the main stream of life and participate in the conversation around a campfire, or any where else when I want to talk and it is dark?
Here are three solutions to think about. First, have a pen light to illuminate the note pad to show what was written. A simple and inexpensive way to once again be involved in the conversation. Pen lights are cheap, so buy several and pass them around to others around the "pit" having a pow-wow. What happens is you connect immediately. Here are the events that follow your note. The first person reads the note and they respond. They laugh, agree, rebut, and make a follow-up comment. Now others want to know what was written. Their curiosity and desire to be a part of the conversation come into affect. They want "in" on what is being said. They are engaged, inquiring, and paying attention. Curious about what YOU are saying!
This next tool will surprise you and is my favorite. It gives you the ability to be creative, talk with a flair, be artistic, to add color and imagination to your words. Here is the best part, people will be clamoring to see what you wrote, therefore, what you have to say. It supersedes anything that has come from the brain and out of the mouth because you now have the power of the pen. What is this marvelous tool? Anything this powerful must be expensive and hard to find. What could possibly position you in the center of the conversation, and you are the one that has no voice to express thoughts. This new tool is the Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board! Yep, that is it. The new tool you have to go to toys R us to buy. Actually, I bought mine at Target for $ 19.99. It is handy, has a wide variety of color markers depending on your mood. It is glowing and can be passed around for easy reading. You can even write in 3-D if you are in a conversation with "depth". To make it work, you do need 3 double A batteries. Glow man glow!
The third option is a hand held computer by iPaq loaded with Gus Inc. software that gives you an on screen keyboard and audio that will repeat what you have typed. It is portable, compact and a great tool. It comes with external speakers for more volume should you need it. There are other applications that are better for the X-51 that I will discuss later.
There you go. Three options you have to stay in the loop when you need to communicate in the dark. Two of the tools are inexpensive, fun to use and allow you to be creative when engaged in a conversation. Join a community of like minded people that are pro active in dealing with personal challenges. Until I see you again, keep talking !!
