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July 11, 2002
There is a huge conference going on in Washington DC right now called Deaf Way II which, according to its site, is "an international gathering of thousands of participants from every corner of the United States and the world to share and celebrate the experiences of deaf people." The convention center is very near my office, and as a result deaf people have outnumbered hearing people on the subway, in restaurants and on the streets this week.
A coworker and I went into Fuddrucker's yesterday and there were pre-printed order sheets next to the cash registers to facilitate ordering. And instead of calling out people's names when their orders were ready, they gave out those vibrating and flashing pagers that other restaurants use to alert people that their table is ready.
This morning, I was waiting on the subway platform and I watched a couple part ways -- she came to stand near me and he went to stand on the other side of the tracks to wait for a train going in the opposite direction. She caught his eye when the lights started blinking to announce the arrival of our train, and waved goodbye -- he waved, and signed "I love you" just before the train pulled in.
Posted by shannon at July 11, 2002 11:07 PM | For related posts:
Comments
Not really a comment, more of a free association:
When I lived in Colorado Spring in the early 80's (I was about 6), our house was near a school for the deaf. Deaf students would come by often selling cookies or candybars - typical fund-raising stuff for the school. This intrigued my parents, and they found out that the school also taught sign language classes at night. They signed up, I got taken along more often than not, and being the adorable child I was, I learned right along with them. Thus began the "secret language" of my family - we would sign to each other all the time.
When I was 9, I played violin in the elementary school "orchestra". We had a joint recital with the band, and my mom was sitting across the gym from me. We signed back and forth all through the band's performance, and I didn't think anything about it. Afterwards, however, my classmates clamored around me, wanting to know if my mom was deaf, and how did we understand sign language, etc. I told them about the school for the deaf, and we all went home. Later, telling the story to my dad, he suggested something that to this day I wish I had done: Tell them yes, she is deaf, but can read lips. Then spend the rest of the day laughing at everyone as they over-enunciated everything to her, "HEL-LOW, MISS-US STOO-URT!" Darnit. If only I had thought quicker!
Wow, I feel like I just usurped your blog - sorry!
:)
Posted by: Elizabeth at July 17, 2002 09:27 AM