My Thoughts

My Thoughts on Christianity and Other Things

Archive for the category “Hearing Loss”

17 Apr 2013

HELP!

First before I start this post I will say that my wife and I have been praying for the victims in the Boston bombings. We also been praying that the police would find and arrest those who were responsible for this. And thank you to those of you who helped the injured.

This link has caption for the Beatles song “Help” for my deaf and hard of hearing friends.

Galatians 6:2
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

Why is it so hard to ask for help sometimes? You know there are many people who would like to help.

One day when I was walking out of the bank, I saw a couple with car trouble. I had no problem giving them a jump start. In fact I was happy to do so.

A few years ago the heater went out on our car. The only way to fix it was to replace the heater core which would require disconnecting all the wires and vacuum hoses, then removing the dashboard. Removing all nuts and bolts, and disconnecting all the wires and vacuum hoses can be done by only one person. Lifting the dashboard to remove it however, requires two people. I had no problem going to a neighbor asking for help, and he had no problem with coming over to help me.

Yet when it comes to money, food, housing, or some weird health problems, we often don’t like asking for help. Why? Often times we are embarrass. Or other times we may think ‘it’s our problem and it’s none of their business’. Or we may think no one would understand or maybe no one would believe us. And then some of us may simply think it’s too shameful.

There are also times when someone would need help and there is absolutely nothing anyone could do but, be there for them.

A few weeks ago my wife and I went on a trip to visit my dying Dad. He was dying of cancer and even with pain killers, he was in great pain. Sometimes I just sat next to him. We all did. Sometimes when he was in pain I told him to squeeze my hand.

If you know someone who is sick or recovering from a bad injury, go to them. Visit them even if you do nothing but sit there in the chair next to them and sleep. It will mean a lot to them. And if you need help and someone wants to help you, it might be wise to let them. But sometimes, use caution.

Some of you know I have a hearing loss. For many years I just didn’t let people know. I bluffed a lot when it came to hearing someone. Many of my customers had no clue that I couldn’t hear every word they say. Yet I was able to repair every piece of machinery they brought me. One day however I messed things up a lot. The customer was mad. When he found out I couldn’t hear well, he was mad about that. He said I would avoid lots of problems in life if I would just tell people that I have a hearing problem. Right now many of my hard of hearing friends are saying, “We keep telling you that!” I know. I’m doing better now.

Still if you need help, ask for it. Tell you friends. There are lots of people who would be happy to help you.

If you know of someone who needs help, ask if you can help them. Some of you don’t need to be told this, I know. But for some others, I will say, ‘do it anyway’.

Matthew 25:44-45
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

Thank you to everybody who has helped, and prayed for my wife and I about my parents.

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03 Mar 2013

Perfect Shop Radio

HPIM0496This is another article I wrote for a hearing loss newsletter. As you can see this one isn’t just for those with hearing loss.

Many of us enjoy working on a hobby in the garage, basement, barn or wherever. Many of us would also like to listen to a descent radio. Being hard of hearing we have two problems. The first one is most radios we have in our shops sounds poor. Whether you like listening to talk or music, you will most likely find that the radio will either be not loud enough, or if it is, too badly distorted to understand. The other problem is cost. If you want a loud good sounding radio, you could buy a nice expensive one. However if you do, would you want something that nice in the garage or barn where it would get: dusty, dirty, grimy, damp, with maybe a few little mice running across it?

My radio in the garage can withstand dampness, dust, very hot or cold temperatures, is loud and sounds good. I also paid $10 or $15 for it. (I don’t remember, I had it awhile) What I have on my shelf in the garage is a car radio. It’s too ugly for in the living room, but it’s perfect for in a shop. You can use most any speakers you want. Mine came from a couple of Snohomish County Sheriffs’ cars. They were for the police radios. For the antenna you will need at least part of the antenna wire with the center wire sticking out. With that I attached a three foot wire to it and hung the end over the rafters. Longer is better within reason.

For a power source you could use a car battery for a while, or you could use a 12 to 14 volt DC power supply. Don’t go too cheap or it won’t work well or have enough power to run the radio. I’m using one that came from a 12 volt rechargeable electric lawn mower, and it works OK on FM. (It makes noise on AM) I may go back to a battery because then it sounds good on AM and FM. Like I say: this is not a pretty set up for your living room, but for a shop that’s in a garage or barn, it perfect.

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02 Mar 2013

But Officer

After I wrote this for a newsletter I received a phone call and was asked if they could use it for something. I said yes. Later I heard that it was used as a training aid by Snohomish County Emergency Management to help those with hearing loss.

One night not long ago my wife Karen and I were coming home from a dinner out. It was dark and I was driving. When we were a block from our home I noticed a county sheriff car sitting in a church parking lot. No problem; I wasn’t speeding or anything. I turned left on the dead-end street we live on. That is when I noticed the flashing lights behind us. I pulled over.
“I can’t believe we’re being pulled over on our own street!” I said.
The cop came over and asked for license, insurance, and registration. He said my license plate light was out. I got out to see for myself. Yeah, it’s out.
He walked back to his patrol car. I stood by my car leaning against the roof looking around to see if there were any looky-loos looking out their windows to see what was going on. I heard the policeman say something but I don’t know what. I just thought he was talking on the radio. Cops do that sometimes.
As I was standing there wondering if I was going to be teased by my neighbors; I heard the cop yell something like, “If you don’t want any trouble you better do as you’re told and get back in the car!”
Where did that come from? I told him I didn’t hear him. He said something about asking for trouble.
I don’t have an answer for this. I understand for law enforcement, its safety. I also know he didn’t know I was hard hearing. One interesting thing to note is, that he seemed to have had no problem of me getting out, to look at the burnt out license plate light. So why was he yelling later?
He never did write me up.

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