<div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">This is a fun piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">It’s about the ambivalent relationship we
have with electronic, AI, devices. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">There is a greater need for these things
for accessibility’s sake. So life is richer with them, <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">but sometimes I yearn for a good old
typewriter. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">The only problem is I couldn’t read what I
typed and certainly couldn’t edit. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">On the other hand, we could get those
services from sighted people directly. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">That would cost a lot. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">So keeping our<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">equipment functioning isn’t costly,
frustrating, and bad for</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">our health?
It’s a well written</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">piece and off hand,
I can’t think of anything</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">to change. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></o:p></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></o:p></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Hearing
voices<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Marcia
J. Wick, The Write Sisters<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">September
2019<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Word
Count: 321<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">At
5:30 a.m., my alarm speaks, “Feed the dog.” My mobile phone then announces, “The
high temperature for the day will be in the 80s.” Siri, the lady trapped inside
my smart phone, speed reads my email and internet searches effortlessly. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">It’s
not that I’m losing my mind, hearing voices when I’m home alone. I depend upon
audible technology to compensate for my progressive loss of vision. As a person
who is blind in the 21</font><sup><font size="2">st</font></sup><font size="3"> century, I am grateful for audible
technology. It’s as if I’m never alone. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Considering the fact that everything your
devices hear is being saved and stored, you may really not be alone. Big
brother is watching.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Michael
lives in my laptop. He speaks through my screen reader. He doesn’t judge my
writing; he reads to me without intonation or emotion. When I dictate text
messages, I have programmed a delightful English gentleman to read them back to
me. Somehow, my words seem more clever and whimsical when echoed in his lilting
accent. My smarter-than-me phone, on the other hand, sometimes makes me feel
inept. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Does the name HAL mean anything to you?<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“I’m
sorry, you’re daughter isn’t in your contact list,” Siri claims. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“She
is, too,” I retort. Sometimes, I call Siri the “B” word when she pisses me off
like that.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">My
talking book player also reads aloud to me. I can adjust the tone of the
narrator’s voice up or sound so that a man sounds like a woman; I can adjust
the speed so that a woman sounds like a chipmunk. Either way, I can insure that
they stop reading aloud in 15 or 30 minutes according to the time I set on the
audible sleep button. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">It
used to be that only human voices from the television or radio filled the air
in my home. Now I rely on talking microwaves and coffee makers, talking
Calculators, thermometers, and clocks.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Voices
via YouTube, podcasts, webinars, Netflix, mp3 files, eBooks, and conference calls
add to the cacophony.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“OK,
Google,” I command. Turn it off! Let me remember the beautiful sound of peace
and quiet.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">I’ll drink to that.</span></u></b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></font></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv7038352256msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font></div>