Michael Hingson, #1 New York Times Best-selling Author & Inspirational Speaker

The Saga of Flight 1241

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Mike Hingson

Last week I wrote an article discussing the decline of customer oriented services by airlines in the United States. I promise to tell my own personal story of a recent trip I took involving an airline. Now it’s time for me to tell the tale. You won’t believe what happened.

On April 23, 2017 I flew on American Airlines to Gulfport Mississippi to attend a meeting the following day. While I had planned to fly back in the evening of April 24 I was unable to do so as, at least from my computer searches, American Airlines, my airline of choice, had no flights available for me. I decided to take the first flight out from Gulfport on Tuesday morning of April 25. At 6 AM I left Gulfport Mississippi on AA flight 5788. We arrived in Dallas-Fort Worth right on time. I went to my gate for my second flight, AA 1241, which was to leave at 8:44 AM Central daylight Time. Continue reading →

How Do You “Unkill” a Lion?

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Mike Hingson

The recent execution of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe by dentist Walter Palmer has created a media firestorm and a general outcry of anguish and anger throughout the world. If you were to ask most people they would like to raise Cecil from the dead and put him back in his protected reserve to live out his happy life. Unfortunately such is not to be the case. Continue reading →

Thanks for the Birthday Wishes

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Mike Hingson

Yesterday, February 24, was my birthday. For those who want to know and haven’t done the research on my age the answer is that I am 65 years old this year. I was born in Chicago, Illinois, (South side). I have been blessed to have lived in various parts of this great country from New Jersey and Massachusetts on one coast to California on the Right Coast, (no strong feelings here). Continue reading →

Observation About Living In Our Changing World

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Mike Hingson

Earlier this week I wrote an article in which I discussed the changing world in which we live from the standpoint of terror and uncertainty. I suggested that one of the things that each of us can do is to relax and go within ourselves to overcome fear and terror. I realize that this is easy to say and many will feel that it is hard to accomplish. Continue reading →

I Get To Practice What I Preach

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Mike Hingson

It has been almost 13 years since the terrorists attacked us in the World Trade Center on 9/11, 2001. On that day my life changed as did the lives of so many of us in the United States. For me, it meant a return to California and a new career in public speaking. One of the things I am most often asked to discuss is “Change.” We’ve seen a lot of changes in our world and in our personal lives over the past 13 years. Major hurricanes, natural disasters, the economic crises in our country and in our world and major political divisions and upheavals have affected us all, some more than others. Continue reading →

What Is Normal Anyway?

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Mike Hingson

I have always regarded myself as a pretty normal kind of guy. I am 64 years old and have been married for half my life. I have a Masters degree in Physics from the University of California at Irvine which I received in the usual timeframe. Following in the footsteps of most normal people after college I obtained a full-time job which for me happen to be in sales. I sold high tech computer related products for over 25 years. Sounds pretty normal so far? Continue reading →

Help! My Baby is Blind!

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Mike Hingson

Every expectant or new parent anticipates getting only the most “perfect baby in the world.” If the newborn child looks in any way different, or if the doctors find “something wrong” with the child, all joy and enthusiasm can come crashing down around the new parents and their families.

A perfect example of this is what happens to any mother who gives birth to a child which happens to be born blind. In my case, for example, the blindness was not diagnosed until four months after I was born, and the blindness was not technically there at birth, but it was caused by me being given a pure Oxygen environment right after birth. You see, I was born two months prematurely and the Oxygen-rich environment was necessary in order to keep me alive. The condition which caused my blindness is known as Retinopathy O Prematurity. Blindness is not always the result of a pure Oxygen environment for newborns, but it can be a condition that results. Continue reading →

Video on fair wages for workers with Disabilities

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Mike Hingson

Dear Fellow Federationists:

We wanted to share a video with you that supports our call for fair wages for workers with disabilities. We asked American workers at an event outside Johns Hopkins Hospital what they thought of the fact that Americans with disabilities can be paid less than the minimum wage. Their reactions are powerful. Continue reading →

Funds for First Timers to the NFB National Convention in 2014

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Mike Hingson

Do you need a little extra cash to be able to attend the national convention in Orlando this summer?

The Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship Fund invites members of the National Federation of the Blind who have not been to a national convention before to make an application. The three largest expenses are round-trip travel costs, usually by plane; the room cost from arrival on July 1 to departure on July 7; and food costs when mostly eating in a hotel. The fund will usually cover one of the three. To understand what the committee needs to know about you, read the article by me, Allen Harris, chairperson of the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund, which is published in the March “Braille Monitor.” Here is a direct link to the article: Continue reading →

Information technology pro, guide dog teach the workplace, world about trust and teamwork

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Mike Hingson

Veteran information technology salesman Michael Hingson once had a job interview scheduled with a technology company that was abruptly canceled.

The headhunter who arranged the interview phoned Hingson a few days beforehand and asked: “I see you’ve worked with blindness-oriented organizations. Is someone in your family blind?”

“I’m blind,” Hingson said. His meeting was called off early the next morning.

Hingson, who holds a master’s degree in physics, was far from surprised. According to the Social Security Administration, 70 percent of employable blind workers are unemployed and that’s primarily because employers reject their capabilities, said Hingson, who uses a talking smartphone, talking email and other tools. Here’s a link to the whole article

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