FEBRUARY/MARCH 2024 NEWSY NOTES
TSB meets every Tuesday – 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Christ Presbyterian Church, 6565 E. Broadway
Come when you can and leave when you must. Bring a sack lunch.
or more information call Barbara at 520-298-2427 or Annie at 520-275-1675
It is the Mission of the Tucson Society of the Blind to enhance the quality of lives of the visually impaired through social, educational, and recreational programs
Meetings are on the phone March 5th through March 12th. Call 605-468-8020 access code 969009# (The first phone call meeting is on March 5th.)
www.tucsonsocietyoftheblind.org
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Calendar
FEBRUARY
6th: Dr. Jennifer Caywood, Low Vision Optometrist, will discuss “How to use magnification and the importance of contrast and good lighting.”
9th: Board Meeting: 10:15 AM Biscuit Country Café, 7026 E. Broadway
13th: Penny Rosenblum will share her life Journey with vision loss and how to maintain independence.
20th: Sharing Day: Bring a tip or device to share on how this helps you adjust to vision loss. There will be a pizza party, so plan on staying until 12:15 PM.
20th: Manny’s iPhone class on Zoom, 6:30 – 8:30 PM
27th: Field trip to Japanese Gardens, 2130 North Alvernon Way at 10:00 AM. Since the gardens are small, we are not taking members with walkers or those who cannot walk very far. Cost is $8.00. Patricia will tell us all about how she developed the Japanese Gardens and she will have hands-on items to touch while there. Afterwards around 11:30 AM we will go on to the Guilin restaurant, 4445 E. Broadway, for a Chinese food lunch. Let Barb know beforehand if you want to come.
MARCH
5th: (Meeting on the phone. Call 605-468-8020 access code 969009#) Marja Byers, Hull Park Sight Loss Instructor, “Making that first contact”
8th: Board Meeting 10:15 AM, Biscuit Country Café, 7026 E. Broadway
12th: (Meeting on the phone. Call 605-468-8020 access code 969009#) Carrie Muth, newly married Hull Park Sight Loss Instructor, will present “Living Life to the Fullest”
14th: Christ Presbyterian Church Rummage Sale
19th: Lunch at Chili’s Restaurant, 5150 E. Broadway, 11:15 AM -1:15 PM.
19th: Manny’s iPhone class on Zoom, 6:30 – 8:30 PM
26th: Bill Martin will perform the Oldies on his guitar at the church.
APRIL
2nd: “How to advocate in Medical Settings despite Vision Loss” and trivia questions presented by Barbara Macpherson and Nancy Lacock
President’s Message by Barbara Macpherson
Thank you for paying your dues and buying Jim Click Raffle tickets. One of the strengths of TSB is friendship. You have a whole TSB family to reach out to by phone. When you are feeling down, there is nothing better than talking to someone who understands. So, be sure to put TSB member’s contact info in your phone.
On March 5th and March 12th TSB members will be on the free phone conference line as the church has its giant rummage sale market and uses our room. We will be back at the church on March 26th to hear Bill Martin play favorite tunes.
News you can Use by Barbara Macpherson
At Hadley (800-323-4238) you can order workshops on technology, daily living, white canes and mobility. These workshops can be put on cartridges which can be read by your Arizona Talking Book Player.
You can now listen to Hadley podcasts and Inside Sound Bytes on by calling this number 847-558-1317
The Hadley domain name is now hadleyhelps.org.
On the Alexa Echo Dot, a new skill is: Open “character.ai“. where you can then can from a list of famous people you can talk to, such as Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, and Amelia Earhart. You won’t believe how smooth the AI voice is and will be amazed by how many questions it can answer.
NFB Newsline is a wonderful service to listen to the news and magazines on a land line or cell phone. You can also set up your favorites. My particular favorites are AARP Bulletin, AARP Magazine, NFB Braille Monitor, and ACB Braille Forum. There is also a mobile app. The service is easy to use and there is a tutorial on site. To sign up for the free NFB Newsline, call your reader advisor at the AZ Braille and Talking Library at 602-255-5578.
Tax Prepare Line 888-227-7669 You can get your taxes prepared for free. Some local sites include Wilmot Library (520 594-5420) and Udall Senior Center (520 791-3941)
Hearmore 800-881-4327 You can order 2020 pens and foam dots in different colors.
Low Vision Optometrist Dr. Jennifer Caywood
Mobile 520-820-8176 Office 520-261-2653
Email: jencaywood@gmail.com
Hobbies with BARD
by TSB Board Member Timette Middelkoop
Tucson Society for the Blind is a wonderful organization that brings together blind and visually impaired people. Along with our weekly gatherings and periodic events in the community, we learn about many new technologies and equipment that improve our lives.
Although we have vision loss, we are still people with many interests and hobbies. One of our members, Joe Mora, will be participating in the Senior Olympics in Tucson. The dates are January 6 through 28, 2024. Joe has competed for many years, winning a number of medals in different events. This year he will be in the shot-put competition.
For those of us who are interested in music, BARD has recently added a music feature! This is where people read the actual sheet music out loud, note by note. This allows a person to play a song as the notes are read out loud. For example, I am currently working on playing the song “Mandy” by Barry Manilow. The reader plays the entire song. Then he plays individual sections, and then goes through them note by note. The intro is 8 measures, and he breaks it up into 2 sections of 4 measures each. He says that the song is played in the key of F, so it will have all of the B notes played as B flat.
Not only does he read the notes, but he explains which finger needs to be on what key. “Left hand play F two below middle C with finger 5. Next, right hand play middle C with finger 1.” This type of detail allows a person to play along as he reads the sheet music. Though I am a beginner on the keyboard, it’s very exciting to place my phone on the music stand, turn on the book and play along with the musician!
There is also music for guitar. I don’t play that; but listening to a sheet of guitar music being read and explained sounds very straightforward.
Downloading music is also simple. Go to the “Get Books” section of the BARD app. Select “Search music” and that window will open. You can select “Title” or “Author” if you know the specific piece of music for which you are looking. Otherwise, you can select “Keyword” and type in piano music or guitar music, and select “Go”. This will bring up a list of all available titles.
If you don’t have the BARD app on your phone, you can contact Talking Books and speak with a librarian. He or she can help find the music you would like and send the tapes to you. They can also add music books to your list of favorite requests and have new ones shipped to you as you return the ones you finish.
Being blind or visually impaired doesn’t mean we have to stop participating in hobbies and activities that are enjoyable to us! One of my goals for 2024 is to improve my piano playing. This feature on BARD will be a great help to me with that.
May you find equal pleasure in exploring new ways to continue doing the things you have always loved.
To learn VoiceOver on the iPhone:
Download the free app VO Starter. The lessons are brief and very informative. Another option is to go to www.hadley.edu and click on Technology. There are several workshops on VoiceOver and SiriusXM and how to answer the iPhone and send email. Another option is to call Hadley and have them put it all on a All IOS workshops cartridge which can be played on the NLS Talking Book Player. You can reach Hadley at 1-800-323-4238
In honor of the Tucson Rodeo, here are some cowboy jokes.
COWBOY JOKES
1. What Do You Call A Happy Cowboy?
A jolly rancher
2. What Do You Call Someone Who Wears Cowboy Clothes?
Ranch dressin’
3. How Did the Cowboy Ride into Town On Friday and Ride Away Three Days Later On Friday?
The horse’s name was Friday!
4. What Did the Cowboy Say When His Dog Left?
Doggone!
5. Why Did the Bowlegged Cowboy Get Fired?
Because he couldn’t keep his calves together!
6. Why Did the Cowboy Take Hay to Bed?
To feed his nightmares.
7. What Sickness Did the Cowboy Get from Riding a Wild Horse?
Bronc-itis
8. Why Did the Cowboy Die with His Boots On?
Because he didn’t want to stub his toe when he kicked the bucket!
9. Why Can’t the Bankrupt Cowboy Complain?
He’s got no beef!
10. Why Did the Cowboy Get a Lot Of Laughs?
Because he’s always horsing around!
11. What Do You Call a Cowboy with Bad Gas?
Darn Tootin’
12. What Did the Cowboy Say to the Pencil?
Draw, partner.
13. Where Do Cowboys Cook their Meals?
On the range.
IRISH JOKES
a. What do you get when you cross poison ivy and a shamrock? A rash of good luck.
b. Never iron a four-leaf clover, you don’t want to press your luck.
c. What do you get when you cross a pillowcase and a stone? A shamrock.
d. What do you call an Irish man sitting on the couch? Paddy o’ furniture.
e. Why can’t you borrow money from a leprechaun? Because they’re always a little bit short.