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Reader Exchange

Vision clinic wants large-print magazines

By LINDA COLE and INGRID KOHLER
Published August 26, 2006

Hanging around the waiting room waiting to see the doctor is a deadly expenditure of time for most of us, but imagine how much more boring it would be if we didn't have those 2-year-old magazines to help pass the time.

Sandy McLaughlin's recent e-mail reminded us that the doctor's office presents an even more limited selection of reading materials for people with visual handicaps. In fact, Sandy, a development project coordinator for Lighthouse of Pinellas in Largo, informed us that the agency is looking for large-print magazines for its low-vision clinic.

As you may know, Lighthouse of Pinellas is the only private not-for-profit agency in the county providing specialized services and training for individuals of all ages who are blind or have serious vision loss.

If you would like to recycle your used copies of large-print Readers Digest or any other large-print magazine, they will help pass time in the waiting room, as well as be used in eye exams that test the effectiveness of new visual devices. Sandy's e-mail address is smclaughlin@lighthouseofpinellas.org.

Carol Buchanan of Clearwater writes that her dad would love to have a banjo to play for his grandchildren. He hasn't had any lessons yet, but he is intent on learning. If your strumming days are behind you, this could be a good way to keep the music going.

In fact, Carol's dad turns 80 in September, and she would like to surprise him with a banjo. Carol has a nearly new single rollaway bed that you may want in exchange. That's something you can work out when you call her at 727 530-4160.

It's an excellent bet that most of us have at least one unfinished household project that shows every sign it will remain incomplete until the last trumpet blows. Perhaps helping Jennifer of Palm Harbor with her particular lingering project may be a jump-start to returning to our own.

She needs to rout the edges of some new cabinet doors to match existing ones. Thinking that she could enlist her neighbor's router, Jennifer purchased a router bit with a half-inch shaft. But, oh no! The neighbor's router wouldn't accept a bit that large. So our beleaguered do-it-yourselfer visited some local woodworking shops, seeking aid, but all were too busy to take on such a small job.

So Jennifer is visiting Exchange Land, looking for somebody with a router that will take her bit, somebody with sympathy for an individual who is tired of looking at the mess inside her uncovered cabinets. That good Samaritan is welcome to take home a cabinet that was removed, as a memento. Router owners, do your good deed of the day: Call (727) 787-4817.

Sometimes calendars are too beautiful for our own good. It's not easy to throw away the gorgeous images, even when our storage space is limited. Tina Crisp of St. Petersburg apparently has reached her saturation point: She is offering 18 "keepers" to artists, schools, churches and other outlets for pretty calendars. Tina will deliver them anywhere in St. Petersburg. Please call (727) 525-9369.

Marsha Godsey has noticed the requests for yarn from groups who knit lap robes, caps and related items for sick children, soldiers, nursing home residents and other groups. Marsha wants to offer her knitting skills to one of these busy groups, so please call her at (727) 821-7622.

When Martha Tobiassen's 8-year-old granddaughter, a southpaw, comes to visit, she has been talking about golf, especially about trying to hit a golf ball with a club. Martha would love to locate some left-handed golf clubs for a child that age. Martha will be glad to pick them up. Please call (727) 669-5517.

Thank-you note

Nancy Medogrol of Largo was thrilled to find a perfect new home for her beloved LPs. At 7 a.m. the day her offer appeared, her first phone caller (of more than a dozen) claimed them. The records will be played at weekly dances held at the mobile home park that happens to be right next to Nancy's apartment complex.

Send requests to Reader Exchange, Floridian, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg 33731 or e-mail cole@sptimes.com Requests will be accepted only by mail or e-mail. This is an exchange column, so we will not run items that are for sale. Readers must agree to publication of phone numbers, including area code. ON THE WEB: An interactive version of Reader Exchange is available at itsyourtimes.com.

[Last modified August 24, 2006, 09:18:48]