To access the Free Phone conference number, use 1-605-468-8020 access code 969009# Programs are tentative and can change due to availability of guest speakers.

FEBRUARY

1st: Maria Trujillo Tucson AARP, Learn all the benefits of AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) and AARP Advocacy

8th: Barbara Macpherson “Blind Dining Tips and Travel Tips”

11th: Board Meeting at 10:15 AM

15th: Jim Lutein “Communicating with the Hearing Impaired”

15th: Lesson with Manny on the iPhone on Zoom 6:30 – 8:30 PM

18th: Field Trip to Saguaro Park East. Ranger Perri will present an hour-long hands-on presentation and afterwards we will eat lunch at the ramada. Cost $5 for a submarine sandwich lunch, chips, and cookies, strawberries. Barb will arrange transportation. Please let Barb know by February 8th if you want to go on this field trip.

22nd: Van will talk about Doc Holliday and the filming of the movie Tombstone.

 

MARCH

1st: Vivian Har – “Improving Your Self Esteem”

8th: Gary Wonder, Editor of the Braille Monitor (National Federation of the Blind)

11th: TSB Board Meeting 10:15 AM, Biscuit Country Café 7026 E. Broadway

15th: (TBA)

15th: Lesson with Manny on iPhone on Zoom, 6:30 – 8:30 PM

22nd: Denice Brown – Leader of NFB Blind Women Discussion Group

29th: (Meetings return to church)

29th: Dr. Byrd will appear as a Revolutionary soldier and will bring a musket, cannonball, and vintage doctor’s tools. Get ready to hear about leeches and other scary medical procedures

APRIL

5th: Janet Dylla (Desert Low Vision) will talk about the latest technology and have many low-vision and blind items to purchase.

8th: TSB Board Meeting 10:15 AM

12th: Roxanna Baker, accordionist, plays Western tunes, polka, and the Chicken Dance

19th: Sandy Reigh will present “Experiencing Nature Through the Senses.” Sandy, from the Arizona State Fish & Game Department, will bring items to touch such as skulls, furs, eggs, and other items.

19th: Lesson with Manny on the iPhone on Zoom, 6:30 – 8:30 PM

26th: Movie time meeting “Becoming Helen Keller,” Watch 90 minutes movie documentary, complete with popcorn and pizza, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

President’s Message by Barbara Macpherson

Happy February and March! My favorite holiday in February is Tucson Rodeo Days on February 24 and February 25. I love getting dressed up with my cowboy hat, Western shirt, and jeans. Of course, I have to listen to Western music as well. You will find cowboy jokes and quotes by Will Rogers at the end of this newsletter.

A decision was made by TSB members to remain on the phone during the month of February. TSB will also be continuing to meet on the phone in March, because Christ Presbyterian Church is having their giant rummage sale from March 17 through March 19. The church will use our meeting room to sell items.

Thank you very much to all the members who have paid their dues and to others who gave us a donation. All of the generous giving will help us achieve our vision of helping Tucson Visually impaired individuals.

 

Eye Talk by Annie Schlesinger – “Ideas During an Emergency”

An emergency is not a time of clear thinking. My zippered and labeled tote bag is packed for an immediate trip to the emergency room and possibly for admission to the hospital. I know an emergency room is cold; I will need a fleece jacket and socks even though they will provide a blanket to wrap around me

In the bag are chargers for my phone and tablet; the tablet always has a number of books downloaded. I have dots to mark bed controls. I have an “I am blind” sign to tape over the bed. I made an ID tag on a lanyard to wear around my neck which states my name and that I am blind. A container for hearing aids and extra batteries are there. I shade my eyes so I have a sun visor in the bag.

I have an updated list of medications in the bag and on the refrigerator for paramedics and hospital staff. I want a fanny pack for my phone and tablet on me as I go out the door if circumstances permit. A fanny pack keeps the phone on me and prevents it being misplaced. As I go out the door, I hope to remember to grab my cane.

Later on, I may request family or friend to bring in the following: headphones, robe, gown, auxiliary battery, sunglasses, and Wilson or other tape recorder.

The above ideas are what I hope to do during an emergency. I realize I may not be able to do anything more than call for help and I hope I can do that. Technology can help with this and I need to have plans. The bag and other items can be brought to me later. The need for immediate care takes first place! Think about how paramedics can get into the house if I can’t get to the door.

Best to plan ahead! In an emergency, time is precious!

 

CVS Spoken RX Prescription Reader

New Spoken Rx™ feature in the CVS Pharmacy app is the result of a collaboration with the American Council of the Blind

Woonsocket, Rhode Island (July 8, 2020) – CVS Pharmacy announced that it has developed Spoken Rx™, a new feature of the CVS Pharmacy app that can read a specific type of label for patients with visual impairments and those who cannot read standard print labels. Spoken Rx is the first in-app prescription reader application to be developed by a national retail pharmacy.

By the end of 2020, 1,500 CVS Pharmacy locations will be equipped to affix special RFID labels to prescription vials. When the RFID labels are scanned by Spoken Rx in the CVS Pharmacy app, which can be accessed by users using Siri or Google Assistant on their phones, prescription label information will be spoken out loud. This information, which is important for patient safety and adherence, currently includes patient name, medication name, dosage and directions and will be enhanced to include additional information over the months to come. Spoken Rx will be available in all CVS Pharmacy locations by the end of 2021.

Enrollment in the program is seamless and can be done either over the phone or in store where a pharmacist can ensure the patient’s app is appropriately set up for the service. Spoken Rx is free to CVS Pharmacy patients and the app will read prescription labels.

 

Accessible Pharmacy – Especially for Blind and Visually-Impaired – Accessible info@accessiblepharmacy.com 215-799-9900. Free shipping and home delivery; sells over the counter prescriptions, vitamin supplements, and talking medical products. They will set up pill boxes. Contact your doctor and pharmacy for prescriptions.

Command Hooks
Command Hooks are a wonderful way to get organized. These hooks stick to the wall and are easily removed. You can hang up clothes on the hooks. The command hooks will hold different weights and are available at Walmart.

Clutter is not Your Friend
If you haven’t worn it, used it, or read it within 12 months…then…get rid of it! Donate it or give it away!

Accessing Sun Sounds Radio Reading Service
If you are visually-impaired, you can get a free radio or an Amazon Echo Dot Smart Speaker, by contacting Sun Sounds 520-296-2400. You will need the internet to use the Echo Dot. If you already have an Echo Dot, simply say “Alexa enable Sun Sounds of Arizona,” and then say “Tucson.”

You can find the daily schedule by going to the website, www.sunsounds.org. Go to Broadcast, under Programs, to Listen Now, to listen to podcast audio described movies, and the daily schedule. You can also listen to Sun Sounds on the free simple radio app on your iPhone.

About Sun Sounds of Arizona
Sun Sounds is a reading service where human narrators read the Arizona Daily Star starting at noon until 1:00 PM. The volunteers read many different items from the Wall Street newspaper to books and poems. On special days, such as Martin Luther King and Valentine’s Day, Sun Sounds has special programming.

On Fridays at 6:00 PM, Sun Sounds has audio-described movies. (Audio-described movies includes the dialog track and a narrator talking between the dialogue to tell you what is happening.) Here is their schedule:

It’s all romance February❤❤❤❤
• Friday, February 4 at 6:00 PM: Groundhog Day – Bill Murray is a weatherman assigned to cover Groundhog Day…and it is the day that he has to relive over and over. Bill Murray, Andie McDowell, and Chris Elliot.

• Saturday, February 5 at 8:00 PM (First Saturday DVS Movie) – Casablanca: When an old lover shows up with her husband in Rick’s Café in French Morocco seeking illegal documents helping them escape the Nazis, Rick must make some tough decisions. Humphry Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claud Rains, Peter Lorre

• Friday, February 11 at 6:00 PM – The Notebook – A young man and woman fall in love in the 1930s but the difference of their social classes stands in their way. They reunite after the war while she is getting ready to be married. James Gardner, Gena Rowlands, Rachel McAdams, and Ryan Gosling.

• Friday February 18 at 6:00 PM – Splash – A young man falls in love with a mermaid who saved him from drowning as a young boy. Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, John Candy, Eugene Levy.

• Friday, February 25 at 6:00 PM – Princess Bride – A young boy’s grandfather reads him the story of a farm boy-turned-pirate who is on a quest to be reunited with his true love despite obstacles, enemies and allies. Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon, Cary Elwes. Happy Listening!

 

COWBOY JOKES

• What Do You Call A Happy Cowboy? A jolly rancher
• What Do You Call Someone Who Wears Cowboy Clothes? Ranch dressin’
• How Did The Cowboy Ride Into Town on Friday and Ride Away Three Days Later on Friday? The horse’s name was Friday!
• What Did The Cowboy Say When His Dog Left? Doggone!
• Why Did the Bowlegged Cowboy Get Fired? Because he couldn’t keep his calves together!
• Why Did The Cowboy Take Hay To Bed? To feed his nightmares.
• What Sickness Did The Cowboy Get From Riding A Wild Horse? Bronc-itis
• Why Did the Cowboy Die With His Boots On? Because he didn’t want to stub his toe when he kicked the bucket!
• Why Can’t the Bankrupt Cowboy Complain? He’s got no beef!
• Why Did the Cowboy Ride His Horse? Because he was too heavy to carry.
• Why Did the Cowboy Get A Lot Of Laughs? Because he’s always horsing around!
• What Do You Call a Cowboy With Bad Gas? Darn Tootin’
• What Did the Cowboy Say to The Pencil? Draw, partner.
• Where Do Cowboys Cook Their Meals? On the range.

Will Rogers Quotes

• “Always drink upstream from the herd.”
• “Common sense ain’t common.”
• “Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘nice doggie’ until you can find a rock.”
• “Do the best you can, and don’t take life too seriously.”
• “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.”
• “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
• “Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.”
• “I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.”
• “I never met a man that I didn’t like.”
• “If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of Congress?”
• “If stupidity got us in this mess, how come it can’t get us out.”
• “Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.”
• “Lord, the money we do spend on Government, and it’s not one bit better than the government we got for one-third the money twenty years ago.”
• “Never miss a good chance to shut up.”
• “Rumor travels faster, but it don’t stay put as long as truth.”
• “There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn by readin’. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.”
• “There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither works.”
• “We can’t all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.”
• “When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging.”

I’ve Learned that….

• I’ve learned that just when I get my room the way I like it, Mom makes me clean it up again.
• I’ve learned that our dog doesn’t want to eat my broccoli either.
• I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on and it will be better tomorrow.
• I’ve learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.
• I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.
• I’ve learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice.
• I’ve learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you, but if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.