Oscillating Through This Deafblind Life
A Team Blue Investigation Report
By Patty L. Fletcher, the Human
October 3, 2026
Moon Phase: Third Quarter
Good Saturn’s Day (Saturday) to you all.
I hope you’re splendid today.
“‘Splendid’ sounds like such a fancy word,” someone said to me once, long ago. They insisted I should change it to a more common word, and I said no. No, because people should learn new words, and they should also express their feelings as best they can. This is important in so many ways.
AWWW! I digress.
Why do I hope you’re splendid today?
I hope you’re splendid today because I’m splendid today.
Yesterday, as some may know, the thermostat in my dorm room blew its top. I’d said for days that there was something wrong in that room, and when I returned from lunch, I found the thermostat validating my statements.
The temperature had gone from a frigid 58–65 degrees to an uncomfortable 87. It dropped to 84 after some time and stayed there.
Blue and I had a lot of running around to do yesterday, so hanging out in the dorm and admin building lobbies was no great burden. I had to be there several times throughout the day. Although I took and worked George Long-Tail, better known as my cane, to show Blue exact directions and help him find buttons in strange places, Blue bore the brunt of the labor.
My thought process was that, while waiting for maintenance to fix the screwy thing, we’d firm up some things, tire him out, and then settle him down for a nap.
That’s not what happened.
First, I worked Blue back and forth from the dorm to the admin building, finding the buttons. Rinse and repeat.
Then we had to work for a little while on finding the ramp from the cafeteria to the dorm. He constantly wants to take me back to the admin building. I want to be able to go from any building I choose to the next, but he is enamored with his babysitter. I’ve heard of 10–12-year-old boys being infatuated with their nannies, but I wouldn’t dare call his minder a nanny. She is the deputy chief.
I believe that’s why Blue loves her so. Blue likes order. He craves routine. Life sometimes tosses craziness into the mix, and one must deal with it, like it or not, but Blue and I prefer knowing what to expect and what is expected of us.
When we’re at home living our lives together, I become deputy chief. Now I’m an officer in training throughout my days here, for I need a bit of polishing, and Blue feels that having a deputy chief to assist us along our way is fine indeed.
Everything was going well after we’d retrieved both Instacart orders and come back to put them away—until I saw that it was nearly 4:00 in the afternoon and they’d still done nothing. Blue was hotter than the hounds of hell, so I decided we’d go to the dorm lounge/lobby.
After we’d chatted a bit with those who were coming and going, Blue and I made ready to go to the cafeteria. When I stopped by the dorm office to check out, I told Miss Sausy about the crazed thermostat. I knew that if anyone could find a solution, it would be Sausy.
I call her this because she’s got a spunky, spicy soul. She always has a kind word, a bit of helpful advice, or a laugh to help you along your way. She is a take-no-nonsense lady, and I think that’s fine amid the chaos that is always looming, ready to take over this new deafblind life of mine.
When I returned from supper and heard Sausy calling me into her domain, I felt a moment’s trepidation. Had I made some misstep without realizing it? Was there yet another problem on the horizon?
To my delighted surprise, after entering, I learned I’d be moving rooms. It appeared the crazed thermostat had won the day.
That was just fine with me because there were other annoying problems in that room.
The outlet by the sink never worked correctly, and the chair at the desk wouldn’t stay raised. Somehow, the room just held the wrong vibe for me, and I was glad to be leaving it for homier spaces.
Now, this morning, I’m propped up on pillows, drinking a cup of coffee laced with Peppermint Mocha creamer, while Blue, who also appears to feel splendid here in our new room, dozes peacefully beside me.
Living free of the Terrifying-Temperature-Thermostat and its maniacal ways has given us the sanctuary we need to get through this intensive training. At the end of the day—or, like now, early in the morning—peace-filled times are like a soothing balm, easing the rough and, for me at least, painful patches encountered along our way.
What we’re doing is not easy on Blue, either.
While I’m training during the day, I must work George Long-Tail through the building from class to class, and then there are two hours of O&M (Orientation and Mobility). *better known as hell*!
While this is going on, he stays with his deputy chief, and though he loves her immensely, he needs to be able to move about more during the day. Being tied in one place is starting to take a toll on his behavior. I wish he did not have to be tied in one place. While I was recovering from sickness last year, while in the office of his foster dad, he was able to be free. Blue has fabulous off-leash obedience, but the deputy chief sometimes has duties elsewhere, and he must remain on duty in her office.
I was starting to feel better working with Ninja O&M when I learned he had left for parts unknown, leaving me in the hands of Ninja O&M #2. Ninja O&M #1 + Ninja O&M #2 = Magnificent O&M skills from differing angles.
O&M Ninja #2 has an idea about a walking routine for Blue and me, so I’m going to try to get him to teach us this week. How neat it would be to report to Ninja O&M #1 that I’d not only begun getting to all classes mostly on time, but had also basically learned the main portion of the campus and was venturing outside the center’s domain!
I wonder if such a thing is possible.
I also hope to get a folding version of George, for he does need a sister. Georgette. She would be helpful when traveling.
In November, Blue and I are going to be at the Virginia state affiliate of the American Council of the Blind conference and convention. It will be held in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and I’ll be carpooling with friends. Having Georgette instead of George would be lovely. I’m hopeful that, if I work very hard, this is something Ninja O&M #1 might approve.
For now, it’s time to think about getting ready for brunch. Then there is cleaning and clearing out the old room and straightening the new room, making sure everything is in its place.
For now, this is Team Blue Investigations saying, “Keep your nose to the ground and your tail waving at the sky.”
Affirmation:
“Everything I do, I do with intent.”
And quoting Dr. Seuss:
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
#ThisDeafBlindLife
Patty L. Fletcher – Author and Content Promoter.
About Patty L. Fletcher
Updated November 2024
Patty L. Fletcher is a woman of passion and exploration.
She studies the art of manifestation and is a seeker of knowledge and the wisdom to know what to do with it when it’s learned.
To learn more visit: https://pattysworlds.com/about/
If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, you may have a fresh start from any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.
Mary Pickford