Problem Solver

Note to my Sister:  Before you read on, YES I know you hear just fine!  It is not an issue at all.  Everyone knows I am prone to hyperbole, and this blog post is just one more example.  Please take no offense at anything I say.

Note to Everyone Else:  (wink.)

I love my sister dearly and would not trade her for anyone in the world.  She has been kind, supportive, and loving throughout my entire ordeal.  There is nothing she will not do for her family.  My sister is also, well, loud.  Not in an obnoxious or intentional way.  Due to some hearing loss she speaks loudly and sometimes misses parts of conversations.  Trying to converse with her in a crowd can be challenging.  With this in mind, when she and my brother visited me this past weekend, I tried to be strategize the best place to sit in the visiting room.  This is a rectangular room with concrete block walls that is roughly the size of half a basketball court, and it’s lined with rows of plastic chairs.  There’s a high guard’s desk like a judge’s, a board game area, a vending machine area, and bathrooms.  When a lot of visitors are in there, it can sound like there’s a half court game going on.

There are two corners of the room, however, that offer a little peace.  The chair rows are shorter there, so fewer people crowd around.  The night before my sister and brother visited, I asked to sit there and that request was granted.  That spot allowed a two row buffer behind us and no one in the front row or on either side of us.  Whew!  We had a wonderful visit.  But upon their return the next day, I sat down in the same section and was told to move by the guard.  I politely explained why I preferred to sit there, but was told no, not possible, sit where I tell you.  Afraid of endangering the visit, I moved to the spot where the guard wanted me to go.  While it was still enjoyable to visit with my siblings, my sister clearly had some trouble hearing, as we were surrounded by families on all four sides.  My sister tried to speak quietly, but sometimes no sound came out of her mouth at all!  We all had a good laugh over that, but boy was it frustrating!

Two days later, I approached the warden and assistant warden after lunch.  I explained our problem and asked about the protocol for accommodating visitors.  They said sitting in the quiet corner was a safety concern, because it’s safer for people to be kept all together.  Also, they said people might sneak in contraband in that corner.  To me, this made no sense.  They monitor the whole room and we are searched when we leave.  Finally the warden came up with a solution.  She was being a problem solver.   She looked me in the eye and said, “Tell her to buy better hearing aids.”  They both laughed heartily at this little joke, clearly dismissing me for daring to ask for help.

I’m lucky, I know, to get visitors from time to time, and I cherish each person who goes through all the travel and hassle of coming here.  It seems like the least they could do here would be to allow some accommodation for visitors who do make the trip.  But no.  What can I do about it?  Well, as for visits with my sister, I’ll just have to yell (with a smile on my face) and see how they like that!