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An Open Discussion Meeting Of Alcoholic 's Anonymous At Boone 's Own Club 12

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I spent the early evening this past Friday at an open discussion meeting of Alcoholic’s Anonymous at Boone’s own Club 12 establishment. I attended this meeting as an able-bodied young woman capable of hearing and seeing the happenings around me. The pressing concern on my mind for the evening was to consider barriers I might experience if I were attending this meeting as a deaf person. I immediately became aware upon entering the building and taking seat at a round, conference-style table arrangement that there was no sign language interpreter available. I asked the authority figure as to whether or not one could be provided and she was unable to accommodate. If I required a translator, it would be my responsibility to access a person to provide that service and bring them along with me to the meeting. This information immediately got me thinking about what course of action I would have to take if I were not only deaf but experiencing a socioeconomic crisis. As I sat in anticipation for the meeting to begin, I noticed a lot of sidebar conversations taking place. Women were chatting about various subjects simultaneously and I was only able to discern the beginning of the meeting from the cacophony when the group leader announced that it was time to begin. When she made that announcement, my gaze was fixed on another part of the room. I was only cued into the beginning of the meeting because I received an auditory signal. If I had been unable to receive this signal and

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