by Penny Moss
I retired on May 31, 2016. I returned to Birmingham, Ala., and moved back into my home. Retirement was a tremendous adjustment. I suddenly found myself lonely and isolated. I missed interacting with co-workers, along with helping clients. I suffered severe osteoarthritis in both knees, which impacted mobility. I grew depressed, wondering how I could still be useful to others as I waited for disability and Medicare. I was anxious to get my knees replaced, praying I would feel much better after that was done.
Then in December of that year, things began to change. I joined a nearby Baptist church where I was warmly accepted and treated like family. During a visit from the choir director, I showed him my computer and Braille printer, demonstrating how I could emboss choir lyrics for rehearsals. He thought the Braille printer was so cool, and told everyone in the choir about it. He arranged for me to get the order of worship for all the church services, so I’d know which hymns to bring from the braille Baptist hymnal. He made sure I had the lyrics to all the songs we rehearsed in choir. When I joined the choir, I felt like a fully participating member for the first time in my life. No longer did I have to struggle to memorize lyrics, write lyrics on the Braille writer, or record rehearsals using the tape recorder, none of which were effective. Now I had all the lyrics I needed under my fingertips. Choir rehearsals became enjoyable and uplifting.
Soon my Sunday school teacher learned I could obtain our Sunday school lessons on the computer. Before long, I was teaching Sunday school when she needed to be away. When I studied the lesson, I created an outline which I embossed so I could refer to it while teaching. During the summer of 2018, Ken Medema, the famous Christian blind musician who has performed many concerts for over half a century, came to our church. I surprised him with braille copies of the order of worship and the songs we would be singing. He was extremely impressed with the crisp braille my printer produced, and the way Duxbury translated the documents. Indeed, my church involvement was enriched through the use of Braille and assistive technology.
In early 2017, I was placed on Medicare, and my disability benefits began. I soon scheduled total knee replacements. By the fall of 2018, I had undergone both knee replacements and was recovering from the second one. My family along with my friends, church, wonderful doctors, and therapists nurtured me through this process. I was so much better and felt like I was really contributing to others.
During this time, I obtained more exciting new devices. I bought a 6-dot Braille Labeler from Logan Tech. This wonderful labeling device was built like a Braille writer, which had a compartment where a roll of Dymo tape could be inserted and threaded through the machine. After turning on the battery-operated device, you simply brailled the label using the braille writer keyboard. When the label was completed, the user only needed to press a button located above the space bar. When pressed, the tape was cut and the new label was ejected from the machine. All the user had to do was tear off the back of the label and place the new braille label on the object that needed this label. Although this device cost about $800, it was worth the expense. This method of labeling was so much easier than using the Dymo tape labeler or the slate and stylus for creating labels. Before long, I was labeling appliances and medicines.
In early 2017, my washer and dryer went out. In 2020, I had to replace my stove, microwave, and dishwasher, because of a flooded kitchen from a leak in the dishwasher. I had to obtain accessible appliances. I drove the people at the appliance store crazy as I searched for just the right appliances. After they were purchased, I was able to place Braille labels on all of them, so I could use them easily. Sometimes a label would come off, but it was extremely easy to replace it. In early 2018, I had to replace my heating and cooling system. The new system came with a Nest thermostat, which was paired with my Google Home device, which my sister had given me for Christmas earlier. Suddenly, I was able to control the thermostat in my house with my voice using Google Home. For the first time in my life, I could monitor the temperature in my home, which was absolutely wonderful! This certainly was effective in decreasing my utility bills.
Later, my sister gave me the Alexa device for Christmas in 2019, because I told her it could accomplish more tasks that were helpful to the blind community. I was able to pair it with the Nest thermostat. During this time, I obtained an accessible remote with braille instructions from Spectrum, which is my cable provider. For the first time ever, I could change channels and know which TV shows were playing on TV through speech. I could even get information about each program, some of which was complete with audio description. Then I learned how to record TV programs without difficulty. This greatly increased enjoyment of watching TV.
In 2020, the pandemic hit. Suddenly everything changed! By now, I was first vice president of our local ACB chapter. The restaurant where we had chapter meetings was closed. Lynn Hedl, our president, suggested we have Zoom meetings. I remember thinking: “What is that?,” and wondering how we could pull this off. Then tragically, two weeks later, she died unexpectedly! Her Celebration of Life was on Zoom, which was my first exposure to this platform. Soon I became president of our local ACB chapter. We started meeting on Zoom. Our attendance increased from six to 20 members. I attended community calls, including the BITS chat. I joined BITS in July of that year. This turned out to be a wonderful investment. I hosted and co-hosted chats, attended presentations, served on the BITS Board, and was secretary for a while. In 2022, I chaired the convention and membership committees.
I have learned so much by being involved with BITS. From the chats, for example, I learned how to determine which version of Windows I was running, and how to update it. I learned how to order food from DoorDash and Uber Eats, to my detriment. I found many of the presentations to be helpful and informative. One of them was life-changing. This presentation was given by Merv Keck, during which he discussed accessible TVs. He recommended the Toshiba Fire Smart TV. Within three months, I had replaced all my TVs with smart TVs, which were installed by the Geek Squad from Best Buy. I got assistance with pairing the TVs with Alexa and my iPhone, and was able to watch YouTube and Netflix from my easy chair. This took entertainment to the next level! I bought a new computer so I’d be able to run Windows 11. I got an E-Reader from our state library. I downloaded recipe books on it, which was extremely helpful. I also updated my Braille Sense to the Braille Sense 6. I bought a Sense Recorder, obtained the newest talking book machine this summer, and started using Alexa Plus. In 2024, I took the Microsoft 365 course. I learned so much about Windows, Microsoft Word, and Outlook, which increased my knowledge in these areas. Although I struggled with Excel, I did learn some new concepts, and hope to work on it later. This past summer I took the AI course via Zoom. Although I still have to review many of the concepts that were presented, I learned how to access and use Google Classroom. I also learned how to use the AI Companion in Zoom. This new skill helped me prepare minutes more quickly and easily. It certainly was much better than having to laboriously compare notes with tape recordings of these meetings. When I used the AI Companion in conjunction with my notes from the meetings I attended, I only needed to listen to the recordings to verify accuracy. I noticed it took less time to compile minutes, which were more professional, organized, and accurate.
I am 72 now. Although I am old, I still enjoy increasing knowledge in many areas, particularly technology. My life is fulfilling, active, and busy. I serve on the BITS publications committee, and am currently serving on the nominating committee for this year’s upcoming elections. I am still president of our local ACB chapter, and I am the state secretary for our ACB affiliate. Also, I am the exhibit coordinator for our upcoming state convention. As if I didn’t have enough to do, I serve as Co-Chair of the Consumer Advisory Committee for the Alabama Library for the Blind and Print Disabled. I am also on the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) Board, which is part of the United Way of Central Alabama. I still teach Sunday school at church when needed. I would not be able to perform all these activities without the help of Braille along with assistive technology.
It is fitting that this last article is part of the Thanksgiving issue of this newsletter. My heart overflows with gratitude. I thank the Lord for giving man the knowledge to invent and develop technology that has made living with blindness so much easier during my lifetime. I am thankful to BITS for providing so many opportunities for its members to increase their skills in using technology. Truly these opportunities contribute to making the blind community more employable and self-sufficient. I thank God for all the technology I have used that has enriched my life. In closing, I hope I have been successful in demonstrating how Braille, integrated with assistive technology, can be used to help us all become more independent.