Life
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Monday Jaunts Through Norman: Coffee, Chaos, and the Senses That Guide Me
Mondays have become my favorite kind of reset. While the rest of the world seems to groan its way back into the workweek, I lace up my shoes and head out for a long, slow walk around Norman, Oklahoma. There’s something deeply comforting about the familiar rhythm of these days: the aroma of fresh coffee, the distant buzz of college students stressing over exams, and the constant percussion of construction echoing through the streets. This morning started, as so many good ones do, at Yellow Dog Coffee. I settled in with not one, but several cups, letting the rich, warm brew wake up my senses and my spirit. The place…
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How many Blind People have to be Hit before the Law is changed in Arizona?
A short story about our bill, HB2064, and how politicians, like Walt Blackman and Laurin Hendrix, let it die in the Arizona State House. How many blind people have to be hit by negligent drivers before something is done? How many blind people have to die before they listen?!
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Why I Chose the Fujifilm X-T4 for My Digital Photography
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been writing about the rising cost of film photography, and unfortunately, the trend hasn’t slowed down. With global instability, tariffs, silver prices, and persistent inflation, film prices continue to climb. Film photography is drifting into the territory of a luxury hobby. That’s a difficult reality to accept, especially for those of us who have relied on it as a primary creative outlet. I don’t want photography, especially something as timeless and expressive as film, to become inaccessible. But practicality has a way of forcing decisions. For me, that meant looking for an alternative. Some of you may remember that I previously owned a Sony…
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Scream 7: A Blind Cinema Experience with Audio Assistance
Going to the movies isn’t something I do often. For years, I’ve skipped theaters altogether, sticking mostly to news on the radio or the occasional podcast. As someone who’s legally blind, the visual spectacle of film has felt out of reach for a while. But on a recent Thursday, my wife Deana and I decided to change that. We headed to our local AMC Theatre in Norman, Oklahoma, to catch Scream VII, and it turned out to be one of the most immersive movie experiences I’ve had in ages. Deana had been excited about Scream VI ever since it hit theaters back in March 2023. The film, the sixth installment…
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My ‘Gotcha’ Moment: Tech and Blindness Misunderstandings
Mondays with decent weather mean one thing: a walk to my favorite local spot, BeanStalk Coffee on Main Street here in Norman, Oklahoma. I cut through the brisk wind, navigate the crosswalks with my cane tapping the way, and arrive around 8 AM feeling accomplished. I order my usual drip coffee (the barista kindly brews a fresh batch when it’s low), grab it when it’s ready, and head outside to a bench a few hundred feet away. Coffee in one hand, I settle in, pull out my iPhone, and start scrolling through Instagram the way I always do. That’s when it happened. A guy approaches, big smile on his face,…
