Now here's a modern woman who embraces technology

Some members of the memoir-writing class I lead at the Chicago Cultural Center. Wanda is to my left in the photo (the far right as you look at it).

I am always inspired by the stories my memoir writers read out loud about their past, but sometimes, I’m equally inspired by a story one of them tells me about what’s going on in their present life.

Take Wanda. She has had a significant hearing loss since childhood and sits right next to me during class so she doesn’t miss a word. Her hearing impairment was not detected until she was a young adult, and she often got in trouble for not paying attention in school.

Wanda is 92 years old now and has learned to use a computer to write her essays for class. She’s a thoroughly modern woman: she follows this blog (hi, Wanda!) and sends an email message my way from time to time, too. Last night I checked my email one last time before heading off to bed and found this message from Wanda in my “in box” about a new piece of technology she’d received for free with a prescription from her ear doctor:

Hi Beth !!I’m so excited my caption phone has been installed. The screen lights when the phone rings. The number and name of the caller is printed on the screen. It prints out what the person on the line is saying. It will store the conversation for further reference. It has a personal directory to store all personal phone numbers. With the volume control and the caption I can talk to all of my soft talking friends. These are just a few of the features.
Isn’t that JUST A GREAT piece of technical equipment and a blessing to us hard of hearing folks??
NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, as soon as I remember how to turn the sucker on, I will start calling. (SMILE)
HUGS ALL AROUND!!!

Wanda B.