Reasonable Accommodations

May’s message evaluates how we can make reasonable accommodations for the disabled, despite our being associated with a group of highly trained, “unionized” and physically able professionals of the LAFD.


About once a year, if I’m lucky, I visit my Abuelita (grandmother) on the Big Island of Hawaii. I’m usually here from 10 days to 2 weeks or more (in fact, I am here right now).

During the last several years, I have brought my daughter, and sometimes even my husband (if he is lucky) and it only takes a few days for us to switch gears from city life to what I call the Aloha Mode. I have been coming here to Kona since I was 11 years old.

It was about then, over 30 years ago in fact, that my grandmother purchased for $60,000 the parcel of land in Kona Heights on which her beautiful, ranch style home now sits. She lives here 6 months of the year, returning home to Silverlake (near Downtown Los Angeles) no doubt only because she misses her family.

This year, on my flight from the Mainland to Honolulu, I found myself in a unique position. Though I had booked the tickets and confirmed our seat assignments online, the helpful Hawaiian Airlines employee who was helping me check in my luggage in the terminal at LAX suggested alternate seating. “I can give you some better seats for you and your daughter at the front of the plane just behind first class. You will have more legroom there,” she said.

I gleefully agreed, blissfully unaware of what I was about to face.

The next 5 hours went pretty much without incident. The woman who helped me was right; there was a lot more room in the seats she chose for us. But what I soon discovered, was just across the isle in a three seat configuration was a couple with a severly disabled adult child.

The father in his native Aloha Shirt was one of the most handsome men I have ever seen. He looked like a light haired version of Tom Sellick. His wife, equally beautiful, was of Hawaiian decent and although she was clearly in her late fifties, she maintained a good portion of what must have been striking beauty in her younger years.

They were clearly and very noticeably an openly Christian Couple. As our plane taxied down the runway, this father and mother held their daughter’s hand and said a heartfelt prayer, thanking God for all of his blessings and asking for a safe flight.

And for the next 5 hours I sat on my seat, just across the row from theirs and did my best not to stare. I had so many questions. Was this their daughter? Or, were they just on some kind of Christian Outreach mission for the severely disabled? Could she understand anything at all that they were saying to her? I wanted so to ask questions, but social graces and my clear inability to look either of them square in the eye (much less speak to them) prohibited me from doing so.

They acted so normal toward her and so very comfortable with their plight.

I furtively and occasionally glanced in their direction, taking quick snapshots in my mind while I did my assessment and attempted to reconcile how 2 Beautiful People could possible have had a child with such severe physical disabilities.

During one of my moments of surveillance I noticed how their daughter, handicap aside, truly was the genetic equivalent of her two parents. I decided at that moment that she was indeed their daughter (and that they were on a Christian Outreach Mission, but it was more long term than I’d originally supposed).

Finally, the impact of what was before me struck. And it struck me at of course, one of the most unpredictable and inconvenient moments. While I was filling out the mandatory Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture survey form I glanced one more time at the couple next to me (they wouldn’t notice me staring again, after all, since they were busy filling out their forms).

Then I looked at my daughter. There was nothing wrong with her.

Suddenly and without warning my body betrayed me. I could not see the words on the form before me. Tears had welled-up in my eyes and in my refusal to let them flow freely I became blind. I felt guilty for having a healthy child, confused by why this couple was so cheerful despite their predicament, and shame that I was unable to openly ask them even the simplest of questions that they have had a lifetime to find answers to.

Eventually I pulled myself together enough to complete the form and prepare myself and my daughter for the landing.

And I am proud to say, when I was walking off the plane, my eyes finally met those of the father. His eyes sparkled as he smiled at me with compassionate and kind eyes. I looked him square in the eyes and smiled back.

I was finally comfortable with what I was looking at.

Because we are both volunteers and communications specialists within the LAFD, we are able to make reasonable accommodations for persons with handicaps. But we need to understand that this adds an extra “layer” of adjustment for our comrades, the sworn firefighters under whom we serve the City of Los Angeles.

What an adjustment it must be for them to work with us; after all they are Union and we are “unpaid” (a sacrilege of sorts within Union culture, no doubt). We are the “less able bodied” civilians, if you will, who never made it through The Academy (in fact, we didn’t even try to) – yet here we work side-by-side. Some of us are in wheel chairs, and some of us are fighting cancer instead of fires.

I can only hope that we do so with more understanding and less discomfort than I had during my flight to The Big Island.

Don’t Forget to Stop for Coffee

April's message emphasizes clear and concise communication and outlines an upcoming LAFD-sponsored training program aimed at helping us improve our skill sets

Last month's message partly memorialized some of my recent whirlwind tour of the East Coast. And while this message is not meant to be a travel log, I’d like to share one more story from my trip, if you would indulge me for a bit.

Massachusetts is a state that I’m pretty much in love with. I spent the better part of my childhood with my Great Aunt Daisy at her home on the beachs of Mid Cape Cod. It is place where my cousins spent their summers “making bank” as deckhands for commercial Tuna Boats. I often joined them, fishing during the day off Stellwagon Bank of Northern Cape Cod, then I would recover at night.

Handline fish by day, recover at night. That's pretty much how it went. It was hard, real and physical work -- so much so that even in the jubilance of youth, I was exhausted by the evening. Admittedly my fishing adventures limited themselves to a few times a week at best.

The rest of my time was spent engaging in the lofty pursuits of lobster eating, clam digging and general relaxation on the beach or driving with my Aunt Daisy around this small beach community. And by small, I mean small enough that the Green Harbor Harbormaster also doubled as a Marshfield Police Officer – where everybody knows everybody’s business and even the business of those they don’t know by virtue of their VHF Scanners.

One summer, the new Chief of Police was called out to a major traffic accident over one of the PD frequencies. By Marshfield standards, it was a big incident; a multi-vehicle accident with multiple casualties at the intersection of one of their many rural routes.

So with adrenaline pumping, one of the officers called to another over the air, reminding him of an important detail that none of them wanted to forget. “Don’t forget to stop for Coffee,” he said.
You can imagine the community response that resulted from this unintentional “blunder.” The Mayor’s office and City Hall were slammed with calls the following day. Indignant citizens wanted to know why the local police, whose salaries they paid for with their tax dollars, felt so free to stop for coffee on the way to a major accident. It was a Public Relations nightmare for Chief Coffee, and I can only imagine the tone of Coffee's debriefing after this miscommunication.

So much of the time we try to be clear and concise while passing traffic, even during casual chatter with fellow hams, so as not to be misunderstood. Yet in the case above, even when the officer thought he was being clear and certainly not offensive, there were feathers ruffled along with a communal misunderstanding.

This begs the question: How can we as LAFDACS Members improve our communication skills? Well, we can practice, engage in Continuing Education, or even Teach. Teaching is a process which I have found to be the best method of learning and personal improvement and I recommend it highly for those of you willing to become involved in our mentoring program.

Chief Bisson (KF6XX) has also admonished us to continue improving as an organization, so much that he and Mark Willardson (N6UOZ) are developing a curriculum for the New LAFD ACS HF Radio Certification course, which will allow certificate holders to periodically check in -- on behalf of the LAFD -- with the California State Office of Emergency Services (OES) during their weekly HF Net held for participating, recognized Government and Public Safety Agencies.

This will be exciting and it will enable participants to improve their skill set while using the new HF Equipment at Old Fire Station 77.

But going back to clear communication for a bit, I'd like to share some excellent advice recently given to me by LAFD Firefighter/Paramedic Truman Van Dyke III (KE6JCA) while I was composing the Radio Lecture curriculum and lecture for the 80 hour American Red Cross First Responder Course currently being taught at Old Fire Station 77. He said “Think before you speak and don’t speak before you need to.”

Other suggestions he gave were: 2) Use plain language and 3) If given a statement or question that you need to respond to over the air, repeat the statement (over the air) back to the person make sure you understand what they are asking of you.

We would do well to do “all of the above” and more when it comes to basic and good radio practice.

But I am probably preaching to the choir here, right?

[Pictured above: KG6TWQ with cousins, family and Local Lobsterman (and teenage deckhand of yesteryear) Timmy Seaver in Marshfield.]

Do Not Leave Your Baggage Unattended

The message for March/April discusses further the choice we often have to make between Community Service and Family and observes how the two are mutually inclusive.

You may wonder where that March message went.

Well, I was traveling on the East Coast this month, alone with my 4-year old daughter on vacation. We went to New York City, then Connecticut, then to Cape Cod and then back to The Big Apple all within a 7-day period.

The trip came to a somewhat unwanted dramatic crescendo on the final day (of course), in Jet Blue Terminal One at John F. Kennedy Airport where a Chernobyl grade emotional melt down took place. It was loud, there was much running away involved and all I could think about was the hateful looks I was getting and about how I wasn’t supposed to leave my baggage unattended.

There I was—at JFK, the launch point of one of the worst terrorist acts on American Soil, the same airport that STILL requires you to take off your shoes while traveling through the metal detector (even 4-year olds, thank you very much) – and I had to walk away from my carry-ons.

The good news is I wasn’t arrested, my luggage wasn’t taken to some forsaken indefinite holding place where it would be checked for who knows what, and we got home…eventually. Yet this experience is seared into my memory. Why? Because when things of this nature happen I often wonder why (as New Age as it sounds) and I’ve asked myself—what am I supposed to learn from this experience?

So often in life we are forced to decide between two important choices where by choosing one, you forsake the other. In this case I had to choose between the safety of my daughter or protecting an element, albeit small, of National Security.

The work we do for the City of Los Angeles through the LAFD ACS may also seem small, and when choosing between our families and the City, yes, families and children should be our first priority. But we must always remember in the back of our minds the value of what we do in, as we hear every Monday Night, “contributing to the safety and security of the City of Los Angeles.”

Your service within the ACS may remove you temporarily from your loved ones or co-workers, but it makes the City, and yes, even the World, a better and safer place for them.

If only for a moment -- or a few hours -- that is enough.

Totally Committed: Surfing the Skywaves

February's message is about committing oneself to work while maintaining a balance.

A handful of well-established good friends of mine are surfers. All three of these men have attempted over the years to help me become better at surfing. One of them (Kim) taught the sport to me while I was in my Twenties, another (Kevin) took me surfing with him while I was in my Thirties and gave pointers along the way, and the last one (Jared) hasn’t given up on me even though I am now in my Forties.

With all of this coaching, solidarity and support I find it ironic that surfing is the one sport I have had trouble excelling in. In fact, I have struggled with it. Yet I played Volleyball at Pepperdine and lettered all three years in tennis, track, and volleyball while in High School. This begs the question: what gives with surfing?

I’m pretty sure Jared figured this out, since one day he showed up at my door with a video in hand titled, “Totally Committed.” The video illustrated very poiginantly that in order to excel at wave-riding, a surfer needs to totally commit his or herself to the wave. If you waiver, second guess yourself and hesitate at that crucial moment when you are about to go “over the top” of the wave, you will most likely wipe out (or “eat lava” in surfer terms). This message made a big difference in how I approached improving myself in this sport.

I have found the experience of volunteering to be, in many ways, similar; if you put all your heart into it during the moments that you do it, you get much more out of it and are much more effective.

So as we volunteer our radio and communications skills to the City of Los Angeles and LAFD, let’s consider totally committing ourselves during the moments that count.

The challenge is in not letting the work consume us long term – to keep balanced the remaining portion of life, the part involving family, loved ones and paid work.

Which brings me to my next point: Ham radio for many is a mistress of sorts.

How many times have we heard stories of spouses not happy with the amount of time we spend with this hobby and with the volunteer work we commit to on top of this? We have lost some members to this, and I applaud them for choosing marital and family harmony over extracurricular activity.

But let’s get back to this mistress for a moment so I can tell you another story.

When I first got my license I remember getting some interesting input from my husband. Who was I talking to on the other end of the sky waves? And then there were the Saturdays, and the weekly nets. The list went on.

In many ways, radio and volunteer work was in the early days my connection to the outside world. Having been a Stay At Home Mom for three years, these activities easily and seamlessly connected me to humanity. But now I work full time. My daughter is in Pre-school and when we are together she requires more and more attention (understandably).

So it has recently become glaringly apparent that if I do not strike a balance soon, the result may be unfavorable.

Sound familiar?

Leadership & Initiative: “What’s That Got to do With Me?”

January’s message emphasizes leadership and initiative and encourages all ACS Members to provide valuable input so we can grow and improve as an organization & better support the City/LAFD.

Being a Good Leader – An Ongoing Resolution

The fresh climate inherent to the New Year also ushers in a sense of resolution and a spirit of renewal. Some of my ongoing resolutions include becoming a better person and to also be more open to my fellow man. And with this relatively new mantle of responsibility on my shoulders – that of Club President – I know that I also need to become a better leader.

I have noticed that highly effective leaders do so by example. It’s much easier to follow and respect someone who “walks the walk” in addition to “talking the talk.”

Effective leaders are also fair, open minded and willing to change their ways if necessary so that their constituency are happy and taken care of. In the framework of the ACS, this means my job is to (1) Work closely with other members of the Presidency to make decisions that are for the good of the membership at large; and (2) Listen to the needs and wants of each member and do our best as a Presidency to meet that person’s needs.

Taking the Initiative (This means all of us!)

Now that I know what I need to do, how am I going to accomplish it? The first step is to get some constructive input from Membership and from friends of the ACS. What do you think can be done better? How can we improve as a Presidency? And here’s a real scary one (for me) – what do I as a President need to do, in your opinion, to be a more effective leader?

Our Club Vice President (and webmaster) Alberto Casanova (KF6UXT) has come up with an excellent vehicle for members as well as the public at large to provide constructive input through the new and improved “Contact Us” section/button of the lafdacs.org site. Use it!

Let’s all provide input and even solutions and ideas there. We need to break away from what I call the Cycle of Whining, and voice our opinions about what is “wrong” or what we don’t like while concomitantly coming up with a solution (or at least helping that process along). I can’t tell you how many times Command Staff has heard complaints from members about how something is being done – with no solution or constructive input being presented. The bottom line here is: Bring a solution or at least some ideas to the table with you if you can.

On that subject, our new website is a prime example of a good ancillary communication tool. The Radio is our main method of communication and vehicle for service. Likewise, the computer is both a companion to our radios and a tool we can use to manage the massive amounts of information being hurled at us through Cyberspace (via email and the like). The site is there to help coordinate our efforts as a Club and as an LAFD Citizen Corps volunteer entity serving the City of Los Angeles. It also aims to ease the administrative burden placed on our ACS Command Staff, so that all of us can do some “one stop shopping” for information and answers to questions.

We have the whole of 2006 ahead of us. The Command Staff is about to roll out our formal LAFD ACS Calendar and we as a Club want to put together effective Club Activities, training and service opportunities.

Be a part of that. Let us know what you think!

My best,

Carolyne J. Keeler
ACS Radio Club President

December Message - Flexibility, Education, Empowerment & Diversity

Where did December go? Better yet, where did 2005 go?

As 2005 draws to a close I have naturally begun reflecting on the year that has passed me by and think about the things I want to accomplish in 2006. And as the Radio Club Presidency completes our first Quarter of service, I have identified four recognizable qualities that I hope the ACS Membership at large will embrace during 2006. They are: Flexibility; Education; Empowerment; and last but not least Diversity.

Flexibility is essential for an organization (or individual for that matter) to grow and improve. For me, it is the benchmark of progress. And as we measure ourselves against this quality and question how flexible we really are, I suggest we adopt a motto I learned during my CERT training: Semper Gumby.

We need to embrace any uncertainty or even fear that can accompany change while remaining confident. Some of us have had to face the change in the general demographic of our new membership (discussed later), which has by and large been composed of what I will call “Hamsters,” or new Hams. These are the folks who either flew or lumbered through Our Mentoring program and we are very proud of them all.

Which relates to the next point of discussion -- Education.

Education is something I will never take for granted. I will tell you exactly why because it is important to me.

I embrace educational opportunities because of my Abuelita; my Grandmother Christine Viloria -- a third grade educated, first generation Angelina who grew up picking cotton in the fields of Southern California. You may ask, why would a woman like that effect anyone’s education? She did this because she never took education for granted. Despite lack of formal schooling (no doubt socio-economically driven), she has always had a thirst for knowledge. Further, all four of her children hold degrees -- from AAs to Doctorates -- and 6 of 9 grandchildren hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. All of this, because a minority within minorities who picked cotton knew that education was the key to a better life.

So it is with this appreciation that I encourage all members and prospective members to press forward and be willing to learn – weather it be to graduate from formal mentoring by getting licensed, to upgrade your license, to improve your Morse Code skills or to better master your radio in general. Just do it!

Better yet, hop onto the www.lafdacs.org website and tell us what educational opportunities you want us to provide.

Empowerment is a key here. You can empower yourself or make yourself more powerful by adopting an Elmer (which by the way is Ham speak for Mentor), who in turn helps you improve your skill set. I love the name new Ham Julian Rogers’ (KI6BTO) community group -- the Southeast Empowerment Congress (in South Los Angeles/LAFD Battalion 13). Just their name along makes them sound like they’re going to get things done!

Diversity is perhaps the biggest asset (and hurdle) that we hold as a membership. In 2005 our Demographic has become much more diverse. This change is a challenge for many; we have to loosen up any stagnant habits, even alter some traditions to truly embrace diversity. If we are going to truly serve and represent the City of Los Angeles, our constituency MUST accurately represent the population that we serve.

With 2006 just arond the corner, let's set some lofty goals and work together to accomplish them. You can post your comments and ideas on the Blog (using your real name or call sign please), or give your ideas over the air during the Monday Night Post Net at 147.300.

I look forward to serving you in the coming year and hope that the remaining Holiday Season is a safe and happy one.

My best,

Carolyne J. Keeler, KG6TWQ
N6ACS Radio Club President
Los Angeles Fire Department

ACS Radio Club President's November Message

Dear ACS Radio Club Members and Friends,

It has been only 2.5 months since I took office as the ASC Radio Club President on September 1, 2005. So much has happened and I hope that it has been as positive for you as it has been for me.

Trust me; there have been bumps in the road. My personality does not quite ‘mesh’ with the variety of talents and personalities held by those who contribute to the LAFD through the ACS. PlusI began my whole adventure with the LAFD as a CERT Member, so I have been categorically somewhat of an outsider from the get go. To add to that I am a relatively ‘new’ ham and have only held my license for less than two years. I am neither an engineer nor an electrician.

It boggles my mind to think of the collective pool of talents that lay within the membership of the ACS. Some are hidden talents and some are gladly shared. It is this collaborative fellowship of sorts that is the kind that I really appreciate among Ham/Amateur Radio Operators, since we, by definition, practice this ‘hobby’ of Amateur Radio without thought of financial gain.

As LAFD volunteers I find it impressive that by and large we volunteer not only to support the City and the Fire Department but also to serve the community in which we live. It is this notion of service that I would like my November Radio Club President’s Message to be about.

What does service mean to me? Well, for starters, I am at your service. This is not the Presidency of Carolyne. The day I was elected I had an unusual feeling come over me – an epiphany of sorts. It was, as cliché as this sounds, the realization that since I was elected by the ACS Members, I would be ‘serving at the will of the people.’ Specifically, at your will.

With this in mind if there is anything that you think needs improvement -- any idea that you have had to improve the club or our membership at large -- please share them with me or any other member of the Presidency.

Which brings me to my next point: I am already very proud of this Presidency. We have already moved forward on some of our Key Goals and it has been less than 3 months! We have created an ever improving, interactive and administratively functional website at lafdacs.org and members have utilized it well. I thank you for doing this. It has made our job easier and has removed a tremendous burden from the Command Staff of administering over the daily affairs of the ACS.

Conversely, a small part of me is waiting for me and Alberto and Donna and Kevin Ballantine to crash and burn after building up such momentum so quickly. The other part feels we are just beginning and there is so much more to be done. To me, that is the nature of service – it is bound to make you worry a little and bring up a bit of anxiety. But we must press onward nonetheless.

I would like to finish with a story: When I was in my early twenties I served a Mission for my church. I left my studies at Pepperdine University and even gave up a few scholarships to do so because I knew, deep down, that the opportunity to serve my fellow man would have a profound and lasting impact on my life. And it did – it made me a better person in ways that nothing else could have.

During that year and a half away from family, loved ones and school I learned that opportunities to serve ebb and flow. I learned that sometimes you just need to go out there and create opportunities to serve. And I learned that people are all hard-wired differently. Service is a fascinating venture, to say the least.

So weather it be your community or the LAFD/City of Los Angeles, I promise you that if you serve willingly and without expectation of recognition or gain, you will find satisfaction and fulfillment that you’d never before imagined. Sometimes it can be rough. Personality conflicts may arise; people may annoy you, or circumstances just may not go your way. But if you persist and have the right attitude in your heart it will be one of the most satisfying things you ever do for yourself.

Most Sincerely,

Carolyne J. Keeler, KG6TWQ
ACS Radio Club President

PHOTOS by Bernard Faulkin, KG6FBM