Technology is usually meant to help us.Often, it does—eventually.This episode of Real Stories MKE features stories abouttechnologyfromSarah Beth Nelson, Savannah Bloechl, Sydney Selig, Joel Mankowski, and Mark Weinberg. Real Stories MKE is hosted by Kim Shine and JoelDresangwith support from producer Jasmine Gonzalez and audio engineer Sam Woods.
Episode transcript below from Ex Fabula's Real Stories MKE series.
Joel Dresang
Welcome to Real Stories MKE, brought to you as part of Ex Fabula's mission to connect Milwaukee through real stories. I'm Joel Dresang.
Kim Shine
And I'm Kim Shine. Ex Fabula believes everyone has personal stories worth sharing, and they run community workshops to build storytelling skills and confidence. Ex Fabula also hosts slams, where folks tell their truest stories on stage. Now in this episode, we are sharing five of those memorable tales.
Joel Dresang
And our theme in this episode is Technology. You know, technology is usually meant to help us, to make life easier or fuller. Often it does—eventually. Sometimes, it takes getting used to, and sometimes, technology fails us, even if it's our own fault.
Kim Shine
I like that, "eventually."
Joel Dresang
Yeah, you know. So, I just got, my phone just got its operating system updated—
Kim Shine
Yeah?
Joel Dresang
—and I hate that! You know, I'm, you know, I'm glad I realized the purpose of that, but I keep getting these reminders of, oh, look what your phone can do now. I don't need that. I, I, I'm not an early adapter. I'm not a Luddite, but I don't like to have technology foisted on me. I'd rather discover, hey, I'd like to do this myself.
Kim Shine
I'm kind of similar because, honestly, my phone's been trying to update for maybe two or three updates now, and I need to delete some stuff. And, you know, I'm just chill. I'm chill with the old version. I'm okay for now. I'll change eventually.
Joel Dresang
Eventually, yes, it's a good word. Our first technology story deals with the challenge of adapting to technology. Sarah Beth Nelson shared this story at a 2025 StorySlam at Milwaukee's Next Act Theater. Here's Sarah Beth.
Sarah Beth Nelson
The first time that I was in a public restroom where they had one of those toilets that did both the automatic flush and the big and little flush, I thought, "Oh, okay." And then I thought, "Wait, how does it know?" And so, after I had finished doing my business, and it flushed, I read the fine print under the sensor, and it said that it judged based on time. And so, my worst fears were realized. Not only was somebody paying attention to how long I was in the bathroom and making assumptions about what I was doing, but it was our robot overlords.
Sarah Beth Nelson
So, so let's just agree, like, toilets can be a little bit scary for everybody, but especially small children, right? And my two kids are teenagers now, but I remember the years when they were tiny. And there's a couple things you need to know about having a kid who's potty training, or a kid who is like potty trained, but still sort of a small child. When they say they need to use the bathroom, you get them to a bathroom because there's often not a lot of time in between, "I need to go," and "It's too late." And the other thing is that toilets, most public toilets, are made for able bodied adults. And, at home, you can create some accommodations to make the toilet easier for a child to use. But out in public, a child is balancing on a cliff over a whirlpool. So, it's quite frightening.
Sarah Beth Nelson
So, there was one day, my family and I, we were living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at the time. My kids were about two and four years old. I had taken them out on some errands. We went to this store. It was kind of a crafty store, and there we were shopping for mittens. It was like now, it was starting to get colder outside, and we found some really cute knit mittens, nice and warm. Came out of the store and Virginia, my four-year-old, said, "I need to go potty." And I said, okay. So, I'm looking around like, it's like a, like a 15–20-minute drive home. That's, that's too long. But a couple doors down there's the Whole Foods. I said, okay, the Whole Foods has a public bathroom. We'll be able to go to the bathroom in there.
Sarah Beth Nelson
We start walking down the sidewalk, and as we're walking, she's going slower and slower. "Does it? Doesn't the Whole Foods have an automatic flush toilet?" And now, I knew full well that the Whole Foods did have an automatic flush toilet, but I didn't want to have that conversation on the sidewalk. And so, I said, "I, I don't know, I don't remember. Let's just get in there, and then we'll, we'll figure it out."
Sarah Beth Nelson
And so automatic flush toilets are especially scary for small children because the sensors don't sense them very well. So, it will just, all of the sudden, flush in the middle of while they're trying, trying to use the bathroom. So, I managed to, like, get, get my kids into the Whole Foods, into the bathroom, and then, you know, she's going slower and slower, and the, the big stall is open. There's somebody in the smaller stall, and she's going, "I don't know, it has an automatic flush. I don't want to use the automatic—I'm, I'm okay. I can wait until we get home."
Sarah Beth Nelson
And so now I really want her to use the bathroom, and I'm embarrassed that somebody is witnessing this difficult parenting moment. And then that stall flushes, and this, the woman comes out, and she kind of smiles, and I kind of smile back, and she goes over to the sink, and then she hesitates and turns around, and I'm thinking, "Oh no, I don't—I do not want this stranger to get involved in this difficult parenting moment."
Sarah Beth Nelson
But she came over and she said, "You know, the kids that I nanny for are also scared of automatic flush toilets. Let me show you something." She went in the big stall, and she tore off a strip of toilet paper and hung it over the sensor, and then she came back out, and she started washing her hands.
Sarah Beth Nelson
And I shoved my kids in the big stall, and I said, "Look, it can't see you. It's not going to flush. It's going to be fine." And finally convinced Virginia to get up on the toilet, and it worked. It did not flush while she was going, she was able to get up off the toilet. It didn't flush until I took the toilet paper off of it and dropped it in the bowl. And what this meant was not only that we were able to use the toilet that day, but that we were able to use automatic flush toilets from then on, because we knew the trick of blindfolding them. And so, although I may be afraid of my robot overlords seeing me in the bathroom, I was kind of grateful that that stranger saw me in the bathroom and offered help instead of judgment. Thank you.
Joel Dresang
That was Sarah Beth Nelson from an Ex Fabula StorySlam in October 2025, and we have an update from Sarah Beth. I love getting updates from our tellers. She says, "After I told the story, someone else at the show said they were going to use the toilet blindfold trick with their kids. I'm delighted that I get to keep paying forward this helpful tip to other parents, and on the radio, perhaps it will reach even more souls in need."
Kim Shine
I really hope so. That was great. Now, one of the benefits of technology is how it can enhance our individual lives by making it easier to do things we find difficult. In 2019, the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities, they put on a Self Determination Conference, and Ex Fabula provided a StorySlam for the occasion. Our next two stories are from people at that conference who shared how tech helps them. First, we'll hear from Savannah Bloechl.
Savannah Bloechl
Okay, where do I begin? So, I'd say that my most meaningful introduction and use of technology has come from something called a Wacom tablet. I got my first one when I was, I think, maybe 11 or 12, and it's something that I use to draw and create art, and that is one of my passions as someone on the autism spectrum, is art. Technically, it's also one of my stims, too. So, instead of flapping my hands to self-regulate, I'll doodle little, tiny drawings.
Savannah Bloechl
And so, what a Wacom tablet does for me is it helps with my hand-eye coordination, because it's a, it's a plastic slab, and you doodle on it while nothing shows up on it, and it shows up on a computer, on a computer screen. And, um, so it's been a real, it's been an outlet for me, and it's also been a great way to make money by selling my art while also indulging my passions. Thank you.
Kim Shine
That was Savannah Bloechl. Next, we'll hear from Sydney Selig, who shared her story at the same 2019 self-determination conference. Sydney spoke with Ex Fabula volunteer, Deserae Constantineau.
Deserae Constantineau
So, Syney, how you feeling?
Sydney Selig
Happy and a little nervous.
Deserae Constantineau
Little nervous? Well, that's okay, it's your first time, but it's a lot of people's first time tonight, right? You're among good company.
Sydney Selig
Yeah.
Deserae Constantineau
So, Sydney, how do you use technology?
Sydney Selig
I use my phone to talk to texts. I use my phone to feed my dog.
Deserae Constantineau
How do you use it to feed your dog?
Sydney Selig
Alarm goes off.
Deserae Constantineau
Yeah, and how do you set that?
Sydney Selig
It kind of dings. I feed my dog around five o'clock, so I use that kind of timer on my phone.
Deserae Constantineau
You set the timer. What about when your friends pick you up?
Sydney Selig
I track them and I call them, and sometimes I text them.
Deserae Constantineau
Okay, so sometimes you text them. And then do you use, use the alarm? You talk to the alarm?
Sydney Selig
Yes, I do. And I set my alarm for three o'clock till that. So that was good when I had to leave work.
Deserae Constantineau
Oh, really? So that lets you know when you're going to leave work?
Sydney Selig
Yep.
Deserae Constantineau
Yeah? And do you use Siri? Do you use the voice command?
Sydney Selig
Yes, I do.
Deserae Constantineau
And has that helped you to be more independent?
Sydney Selig
Yep, it helps me a lot.
Deserae Constantineau
Yeah. And how do you feel when you do that?
Sydney Selig
Very independent and wonderful, and I get up on time to go to work too.
Deserae Constantineau
Yeah. Does that give you more—then you're not feeling rushed, right?
Sydney Selig
Yep.
Deserae Constantineau
Yeah. And you feel a little bit more like you're doing things on your own?
Sydney Selig
Yep. And I feel pretty independent. And my mom and my brother helped me out, and my aunt,
Deserae Constantineau
Yeah, yeah. And where do you work?
Sydney Selig
Noodles & Company!
Deserae Constantineau
Really? And what do you do there?
Sydney Selig
I run food and wipe down tables.
Deserae Constantineau
Really? And how does that make you feel?
Sydney Selig
Happy, independent, and I sometimes I like running food more than...
Deserae Constantineau
More than wiping tables?
Sydney Selig
Yeah.
Deserae Constantineau
You get to meet a lot of people there, yeah?
Sydney Selig
And I like to talk to the customers, too.
Deserae Constantineau
Well, of course, that's the best part, right?
Sydney Selig
Yep.
Deserae Constantineau
Well, I'm glad that you could share with us anything else you want to say, yeah? Anything else about your phone? What else do you like to do with it?
Sydney Selig
I like to play Connect the Dots when I'm bored.
Deserae Constantineau
Okay, well, there you go. We all like to play with our phone when we're bored. Right?
Sydney Selig
Yep.
Deserae Constantineau
All right. Thank you, Cindy. Everybody give a round of applause—
Sydney Selig
Sydney, not Cindy.
Deserae Constantineau
Sydney. Sydney, sorry, that's my speech. Thank you.
Kim Shine
Now that was Sydney, not Cindy, Selig.
Joel Dresang
Our next story comes from Joel Mankowski, who tells us how the technology of a special alarm clock helped him right up until, well, I'll let him tell it. Joel shared his story in American Sign Language at the 2024 Ex Fabula Deaf StorySlam. The voice you'll hear is an ASL interpreter from Professional Interpreting Enterprise. Here's Joel.
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
Hello, everyone. I'm going to share a visual story with you.
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
I was in a tizzy! I was frazzled, and in my PJs, I was like, forget it! Put on my shoes, got outside, was running as fast as I could, got all the way downstairs. I ran out from the fifth floor, looked around. I was like, "Oh, forget it. I'm just gonna keep running," and I ran all the way to the field house, breathing heavy, trying to get through, got in there, started going down the stairs to the basement, and then I fell.
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
A long time ago, it's probably about forty years now, I was a student at Gallaudet University. I had a [flashing] light alarm to help me get up. I would set it every night. I hated it when it would vibrate to shake to wake me up. I didn't care for that. So, I preferred the light. So that's the way that I set it up for myself to wake up every day.
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
This particular semester, it was in the beginning, I go to my first classes. I signed up, went to the registration table, trying to find what was interesting, which class I liked, pick and choose. It was before the age of computers, where you could hop around and click, so I had to look and pick and choose. Decided to pick a physical education class. I was looking through the list of options in the catalog, they had basketball, that was closed, they had [unintelligible], that was closed—the last one that was left was racquetball. It was at eight in the morning. I am not a morning person. I said, okay, be positive, I can get myself through it. I sign up.
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
Following week, that was the first day in class. It was located in the field house all the way down to the basement, and that's where they have the racquetball courts. I dragged myself there, I'd heard rumors about the teacher, one of the strictest teachers on campus regarding being late and absences. If you have three late, three absences, they give you an F. That was it, game over! So, his name was very well known, high reputation for failing people. So, I was like, okay, racquetball, I can do this, I can stay positive.
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
So, you know, I played throughout the semester. Got through September, August, September. Then I realized I like to sleep in. I had my first late experience. I was like, oh, it'll be okay, I can get through it. Sometimes you miss things, you know? You stay up all night, you're studying. You think, "Ooo, the second one, I missed it." I'm like, I can get through this. I kept being positive. Got to December. I was like, "Oh. I'm going to miss that! I can't, this is my third, fourth? That's it. You know what happens." So, I was like, I didn't even have that option on the third one. I had to be real careful, try to keep positive attitude about it. By the time we got to December, we're almost at the end. I saw the finish line.
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
The night before class, I was sure I'm not going to miss it. I set my alarm for seven o'clock AM, dialed it in. I've been setting that for 7AM the whole semester. Haven't had a problem thus far. Everything was great. I knew—I trusted it. It's going to get me through. We're going to finish strong. I went to bed, slept, had a great night of sleep. Got up, looked over. It was 7:55.
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
And the teacher was like, "Oh Joel, where are you?"
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
I'm like, "I'm here!" Breathing heavy. I swear I made it. So, I got up, I felt good. I made it!
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
The teacher said, "Are you okay?"
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
I'm like, "Oh yeah, I'm fine, I made it." We all laughed about it. It was good. Like racquetball, got through. But I kept thinking, "I set an alarm. What happened? What went wrong?" So, I left. I was heading back to my dorm, all the way back up to the fifth floor to my room. I looked at the alarm, trying to figure out, what could be wrong? Hmm. Seven o'clock... PM. That's what did it.
Joel Mankowski (via ASL interpreter)
Technology? Of course, you always have to be careful. Make sure you said the right time, or it's gonna get you in trouble, right? So that was my experience. Thank you.
Joel Dresang
That was Joel Mankowski from the 2024 Deaf StorySlam. The reason you heard no applause after the story was because everyone used sign language—jazz hands—to show their approval. You can see Joel tell his story in American Sign Language on the Ex Fabula YouTube channel. And we also have an update from Joel. Joel told us that currently he's teaching American Sign Language at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He lives in Greenfield, Wisconsin with his Border Collie named Quinn.
Kim Shine
How cute. Hey, Joel, what would you like to do some UltraShorts?
Joel Dresang
UltraShorts? Yes!
Kim Shine
So, UltraShorts, for those who don't know is, if you go to a slam, you don't want to get on stage, you can write a very short story related to the theme and give it to the host, and they'll tell it on stage.
Joel Dresang
I've got one. It's an UltraShort from Carrie: "Sometimes my phone has a mind of its own and starts playing music. For some reason, it's usually Christmas music, kind of creepy, but kind of cool."
Kim Shine
This one's from Anonymous: "I finally got an iPhone today. I dropped it in the toilet. I was scared, but happy it didn't crash. Much to my pleasant surprise, my iPhone is waterproof."
Joel Dresang
You know, Kim, I actually looked that up, and Apple makes no claim that its phones are waterproof, so I would be careful about dropping your phone in a toilet.
Kim Shine
Yeah, I wouldn't do it again.
Joel Dresang
Here's an UltraShort from Adam: "I'm teaching my mom about computers. I showed her copy and paste. Mind. Blown."
Kim Shine
Control-C and Control-V. That's great. Now our final tech story comes from Mark Weinberg. Mark provides a before story on technology. He tells about a tech that helps him now by recalling what his life was like before technology existed. This is from a 2024 Ex Fabula StorySlam with the theme "Lost." Here's Mark.
Mark Weinberg
So, for eight and a half years, I've been sleeping in the same room, on the same side of the same bed, next to the same woman, my wife, Jenny. Eight years. Eight and a half years. Jenny was having some difficulty sleeping, so we decided to make the room pitch black. I covered all the LEDs in the appliances and the clocks, pulled the curtains tight, and went to bed. Late that night, early in the morning, I got up to go to the bathroom. I'd been sleeping there for eight and a half years. I didn't know where I was. I couldn't find my way out of the room.
Mark Weinberg
You see I have something called DTD, develop—close enough. Thank you. Developmental topographical disorientation. It means that I can't create a cognitive map of space and keep it in my head. It affects my—and this is a real word—wayfinding abilities. So normally, I'm just confused. I get around. I navigate by, by what I see: buildings I know, by landmarks, by habit. If I know how to get from home to A and home to B, and I have to go from A to B, I just go home first. It gets me there. I always leave a building by the same door I went in, because otherwise I don't know where my car is. I have AirTags in my motorcycle bags so I don't get lost.
Mark Weinberg
But every once in a while, it hits me. I'll be driving home. I've driven this road a thousand times coming home from work, and suddenly I don't know where I am. I taught in a small college for 17 years. At least once or twice a year, walking across campus to teach a class, I didn't know where the building was. I have these episodes, but for the most part, I get by. As you can imagine, my very best friend in the whole world is Siri on my GPS.
Mark Weinberg
But I've lived through a time when there was no Siri. So, before Siri time, I was on my way to give the most important workshop of my life. It had taken months to organize. Twenty teachers were coming, and if they liked what I did, there was a significant chance that I'd become a teaching artist at MPS, Jenny and I, and it was really important, something I really wanted. I had driven to the building the day before, so I knew where everything was. Everything was set up. So, there I was, 7:30 in the morning, hopelessly lost. I had no idea how to get to where I had to go. I went into an absolute panic. I called Jenny, and in the calmest voice I could, I said, "I'm lost."
Mark Weinberg
She said, "Well, where are you?"
Mark Weinberg
I said, "I'm lost. I don't know where I am." So, I drove very slowly down the street and read every street sign to her as I went. She figured out where I was, and then, just like Siri does for me now, talked me through, turn by turn, until I got to the workshop. I got there on time, gave the workshop and got the job, by the way.
Mark Weinberg
And as I left the car and headed into the building, she gave me the advice she thought would really help me get by. She said, "Remember, in Milwaukee, the lake is always to the east."
Mark Weinberg
About three months later, I had gotten a GPS. I don't know if you remember, you used to have to rent it and pay for it by the month, but I had it on my phone. And I was dropping a friend off at a hotel in Minneapolis. I gave my phone to another friend, and I taught him how to program it in so that he could get our location, so we could go back to where we were, to our hotel. And I said, I'm just going to go down this way, because I know this is where we start. The first thing I heard when he got the phone programmed was, "Make the next available U-turn." I was going in completely the wrong direction.
Mark Weinberg
So, I have learned over the years never to trust my sense of direction, never to assume where I go, where I'm going to go. But the third thing that I do know is that the lake is always on the east. The unfortunate thing is, I can't see the lake from here. Thank you.
Kim Shine
That was Mark Weinberg, and we also have an update from him, too.
Joel Dresang
Love those updates.
Kim Shine
Yes, Mark says, "Somehow, I forgot to mention that Jenny"—his wife—"talked me through the streets of Milwaukee just after I had woken her from a sound sleep in a cabin in the mountains in Northern California at 5:30am her time."
Joel Dresang
Yes, Mark, you need to acknowledge that. Hey, Kim, how about some more UltraShorts?
Kim Shine
Yeah!
Joel Dresang
I've got one here from Anonymous: "Even though my school's art program was very underfunded, my music instructor managed to open a music technology class and taught production. Years later, I'm learning to master my production skills and create art for my community."
Kim Shine
Like that. This one is from Dominique Boyce. Dominique says, "I'm a single mother of one son and I try to stay strong for the both of us, because it's hard raising a child by myself and on my own. We come to the library so I can get on the computer and let him enjoy watching things on YouTube. He likes cars and animals."
Joel Dresang
Here's one from Anonymous: "For a long time, I thought libraries were about books and movies. There, I can record music and mess with film equipment. I can use technology I wouldn't be able to use otherwise. Libraries provide the tools that can lead us, if we choose, to a more radical democracy."
Kim Shine
I totally agree. I love the library.
Joel Dresang
Me, too.
Kim Shine
Everywhere I go, I get a new library card. I have one from Bad Girl. Bad Girl says, "Back in the 70s, no cell phones, no caller ID. I thought it was exciting to have five boyfriends. I kept a notebook under the phone with messages, alibis to give each of the different boyfriends. My roommates were my partners in crime."
Joel Dresang
See how technology has messed that up?
Kim Shine
I know! So true.
Joel Dresang
I've got another UltraShort from Anonymous. This actually was translated from Spanish. "We arrived to New York from Bogota, more than 40 years ago, parents, six kids and 60 records of music from our homeland. Four decades later, three generations, all with electronic devices in our pockets. Still get together to listen to our music on those records."
Kim Shine
I love that.
Joel Dresang
That's nice, yes. Well, Kim, that's all the time we have for this episode of Real Stories MKE, but don't worry! We have more episodes in the hopper. Ex Fabula has been around since 2009 and there are plenty more audio stories available at exfabula.org/radio
Kim Shine
That is right. And you can find so much more on the Ex Fabula website. They've got upcoming events, and you guys got to check all that stuff out. And maybe we'll see you at one that's coming up. Maybe you'll tell us a story too. You can also connect with Ex Fabula on Facebook and Instagram and keep up with this podcast, Real Stories MKE, wherever you listen,
Joel Dresang
Thanks to all the funders of the Deaf Stories Project and the Equal Access Project, including the Bader Philanthropies and the Wispact Foundation. Thanks also to everyone who makes this program possible, including Ex Fabula staff, the storytellers, producer Jasmine Gonzalez, and our technology honcho, audio engineer Sam Woods.
Kim Shine
I really like that title. We're gonna give that you now, Sam.
Sam Woods
Thank you!
Kim Shine
I think he likes it! All right, for Real Stories MKE, I'm Kim Shine.
Joel Dresang
And I'm Joel Dresang. Remember, everybody has stories worth telling. Start sharing yours.
