Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Category: Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implant
Old Pony
When it’s windy, I can’t hear. It doesn’t bother me. It’s like going home again. Being in my own head, seeing what I see, being with other people but like strangers on a train. No one expects you to talk to strangers on a… Continue Reading “Old Pony”
The Talk after the Talk
She had faded red curly hair and a sweetly joyful smile. I’d never met her before. She came up to me after I’d given a very brief talk about my experience with agism which turned out to be a tale about how the combination… Continue Reading “The Talk after the Talk”
The Week That Was
Let’s see. I wrapped up a project this week that involved working with a person who was the ‘other woman’ in a volatile relationship I had thirty-five years ago. I knew about her and she knew about me but I don’t know if she… Continue Reading “The Week That Was”
Deafness, Blindness, and Chef’s Salad
Today, I went to a meeting about the future of a major vision loss organization in town. I was there because I’d been interviewed as part of their strategic planning process and also, I think, because I’m on the local Commission on Aging. One… Continue Reading “Deafness, Blindness, and Chef’s Salad”
Deaf Nation is Everywhere
This hits close to home. One thing that most people don’t understand is that a lot of people they encounter have hearing loss. They don’t see the hearing loss – it doesn’t wear a cast or sit in a wheelchair – so it’s easy… Continue Reading “Deaf Nation is Everywhere”
Green Light
The blind lead the blind for a reason, I guess. They go where they need to go even if they can’t see where that is. In the time it took for the light to change from red to green, the slim woman with the… Continue Reading “Green Light”
The Lifeline of Social Media
For years, I couldn’t communicate the way other people communicate. I couldn’t talk on the phone, and I couldn’t navigate most conversations outside of those with my husband and a very small group of other people whose voice pitch and tone were discernible by… Continue Reading “The Lifeline of Social Media”
Wild Rice in the Hot Tub
Yesterday, in the hot tub at the local pool, my husband explained that I needed to make dinner because I hadn’t kept my promise to cook the wild rice the night before. He said this by soundlessly exaggerating his speech so I could lip… Continue Reading “Wild Rice in the Hot Tub”
All is Well: Mixed Metaphors and Other Racket
My second cochlear implant was activated this afternoon and is serving up scrambled eggs with hot peppers. Meanwhile my first implant is dropping cool jazz. It’s going to be that way for a while. Discordant. There are worse things. I like scrambled eggs. Hot… Continue Reading “All is Well: Mixed Metaphors and Other Racket”
All is Well: Tomorrow
There is a scab that runs down the back of my ear. It won’t be there much longer. I can wash my hair now in the shower and let the water rain down on my head. It is the best part of a shower,… Continue Reading “All is Well: Tomorrow”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
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