DISABILITIES DON'T DETER THESE HARD WORKERS.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Larry Crismond folded his red-tipped cane cane, walking stick cane, walking stick. Probably used first as a weapon, it gradually took on the symbolism of strength and power and eventually authority and social prestige. , stuck it in his back pocket, and went back to work. ``Paper or plastic?'' the legally blind 38-year-old box boy asked the next customer in line at Vons supermarket in Chatsworth on Friday. Through the thick fog he lives in every day, Crismond could make out the outline of the woman's face, but he couldn't see her expression. ``Paper, please,'' Esther Laylock said, looking down at Crismond's name tag with the words ``visually impaired'' written on it. ``Thank you, Larry,'' she said, smiling as she watched him bag her groceries. The checkers checkers, game for two players, known in England as draughts. It is played on a square board, divided into 64 alternately colored—usually red and black or white and black—square spaces, identical with a chessboard. help Crismond by grouping the products that should be bagged together in the same area on the counter. Crismond can't read the labels, but big deal, says Shelly Thorson, who has been a Vons checker check·er n. 1. a. One, such as an inspector or examiner, that checks. b. One that receives items for temporary safekeeping or for shipment: a baggage checker. 2. for 28 years. Crismond can feel sizes and shapes. He knows that cans go with cans, vegetables go with vegetables, and you put the bread on top. Back in the bakery department, 22-year-old trainee Allison Haynes had no problem seeing her customers, but she couldn't hear a word they said. Intently, the young hearing-impaired woman read their lips, breaking into a wide smile as she deciphered de·ci·pher tr.v. de·ci·phered, de·ci·pher·ing, de·ci·phers 1. To read or interpret (ambiguous, obscure, or illegible matter). See Synonyms at solve. 2. To convert from a code or cipher to plain text; decode. their orders. ``I've been with Vons a long time, and she is, by far, the best trainee I've ever had,'' said Barbara Ford, Haynes' supervisor. ``She does a great job, and the customers love her.'' Both employees have been on the job for about a week now, thrown on the front lines of the supermarket wars during one of the busiest food shopping weeks of the year -- Thanksgiving Thanksgiving annual U.S. holiday celebrating harvest and yearly blessings; originated with Pilgrims (1621). [Am. Culture: EB, IX: 922] See : America Thanksgiving national holiday with luxurious dinner as chief ritual. [Am. Pop. . If you can make it through that madhouse, you can make it anywhere. Assistant store manager Bob Ordas says both of them have proved, beyond a doubt, that their disabilities are no barrier to doing a good job. ``Diversity is the lifeblood life·blood n. 1. Blood regarded as essential for life. 2. An indispensable or vital part: Capable workers are the lifeblood of the business. of this company,'' he said. ``Everyone deserves an opportunity, and the great job Larry and Allison are doing, plus the positive reactions we're getting from customers, has made them a valuable asset to our store.'' An asset that Crismond, who is married with three children, never thought he would get the chance to show. He was working for a telemarketing telemarketing, the practice of selling goods or services to customers by means of the telephone or of surveying consumer preferences in telephone conversations. company when the boss called him in one day and told him things weren't working out. ``They let me go. I was out of work for five months, on unemployment, and ready to start digging ditches to support my family.'' Walking through a job fair in Northridge last month with his wife, Anna, he came across a Vons booth where job applications were being accepted. ``I said, `Let's keep walking, they're never going to hire me.' But she convinced me to stop and talk to them. I filled out an application, got called in for an interview, and was hired.'' But getting the job was one thing -- doing it was entirely another. ``Yeah, I was nervous,'' Crismond said Friday, taking a short break. ``I didn't know if I could do it, but at least I had to try.'' Many customers are so intent on watching the price scanner (1) See also antivirus program. (2) An optical device that reads a printed page or transparency and converts it into a graphics image for the computer. The scanner does not recognize or differentiate in any manner the content of the material it is scanning. they don't even notice him. But the ones who do, who see `visually impaired' written on his name tag, always have a kind comment. A few customers have asked him if it hurts his feelings or embarrasses him to have his disability pointed out like that. ``No, it doesn't,'' Crismond said. ``I don't want people thinking I'm ignoring them or not giving them good service because I'm not looking at them. ``I just can't see them and how they're reacting.'' Once in a while, Crismond's job coach, Karen Davis For others with the same name see Karen Davis (disambiguation). Karen Davis is the president and founder of United Poultry Concerns, Inc., which she founded in 1990 as a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl and , will step in to help him out. But not often. ``If there's a baby in the cart, I'll let him know to be extra careful with the bags, but that's about it,'' said Davis, who works for the nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. Work Training Program Inc., which helps people with disabilities get jobs. She will remain with Crismond until January, when his new guide dog will be ready to come to work with him. Back in bakery, Haynes is swamped "Swamped" is the seventeenth episode of The Batman's second season. It originally aired in North America on June 11, 2005. Plot Synopsis Killer Croc, a half-man, half reptile plans to submerge all of Gotham in water in order to facilitate his plundering of the city. with a long line of customers wanting pies and fresh-baked goods. She doesn't have a lot of time to talk, but she does have time to say she loves her job and is grateful for the chance to prove who she really is. Just like Crismond, and longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective Vons checker Christine Agnone, who is hearing impaired: A good, hard worker ready to show anyone who cares to see the truth that a disability is no barrier to doing a great job. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) At left, Allison Haynes, who is hearing impaired, reads lips to serve customers in the Vons bakery in Chatsworth. At right, Christine Agnone, left, is a longtime hearing-impaired checker, and Larry Crismond, right, is a visually impaired box boy who has become popular with the customers. The checkers help Crismond by grouping the products that should be bagged together in the same area on the counter. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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