SILENT BOY MOMENT! :o) HAPPY JOY JOY!!
Submitted by BLues. on December 13 1999 at 04:50:07
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Hey guys! I was reading some of the posts below and realized that I have a boymoment in my past that may be worth sharing here now! :o) Well, here it is. Okay, it was about 7 years ago. I was in the military but had a bunch of freetime and spent it all with my yf's. Had a bunch. Michael...was one of 'em. (sniff sniff) Michael and I had a mutual friend that was born deaf. He was a couple years past my AOA but we were still great friends. Even though at first we couldn't communicate with each other all that well, relying solely on his lip reading skills and pencil and paper. I bought a book soon after meeting him called "The Joy Of Signing" and started teaching myself. I learned pretty quick because me and this kid, he was 15 at the time, always hung out together. His parents were only that in the simplest definition of the word. So, he was pretty free to do whatever he wanted and that meant hanging out with me. Going out of town. Going to amusement parks. All kinds of crazy stuff! Great days! One day he asks me if I would mind driving him up to see his friend who lived near Washington D.C. With Michael at his Grandmothers for the day it would be just us two but that was okay. We were friends...there wasn't an attraction. At least not on my part... :o) So we drove for a few hours to meet this friend of his. He had some crude directions which made it a little exciting! Especially when you consider how difficult it is to be 1. confused 2. lost 3. driving 4. needing your hands to drive and communicate. It was fun though and we eventually got to the building. We ate some pizza nearby first and then walked up to the building. Great big one, tall. We took a long elevator ride to the top and got off. I could tell he was a bit nervous. I was too. I really didn't know what to expect. I mean, my friend was very patient with me about my signing skills but even he got carried away sometimes and excited causing him to speed his hands up to a blurring barrage of silent speech that was totally undecipherable to me. I just knew that the day would be filled with him and his friend chatting at this pace that was way too fast for me and I would be left just smiling and nodding and signing the words "cool" and "yes" and "okay" all day long! We get to the door and he knocks. Immediately 3 of the cutest little boys you ever saw swing open the door in a mad rush to get there first! I guess he was expected! :o) We found his friend in one of the back rooms and I was introduced. I watched as my buddy looked at me and then looked back at his friend and ran his right hand over the back of his left. Pulling his right hand towards the lefts wrist. Letting him know to keep the conversation slow for me. :o) They both laughed at that so I punched my friend in his arm and he wrestled me to the floor. His buddy jumps into our pile and soon after the three little ones fall on us turning the friendly wrestling match into a BLuesfest. :o) It was so sweet wrestling with the little ones. They were about age 10. So special. After a few minutes of battle a women comes into view and the silent heap breaks up into six smiling pieces. This women, I was told by my friend, was the boys caretaker or something like that. I think they all stayed there while away from their schools. I instantly recognized the women!! Her face was on the back of the book I had bought months ago! She was the author of that book! I said "HEY! Your ------" (sorry, i forget her name now!) She was so modest about being recognized and sort of acted like she would have rather me not have recognized her at all. The boys were so affectionate to her and you could tell that this was truly her calling in life. It was what she lived for. It was wonderful to see. We all retired into the living room to sit down and drink sodas and talk with one another. My friend and his friend talked amongst themselves about school and girls. The three smaller boys sat near me. Asking me a ll kinds of questions. Asking if I was deaf or hearing impaired. Asking why I knew signlanguage if I wasn't deaf. It was a bit of a novelty for them. To see a younger person who wasn't a teacher or parent of deaf children knowing how to communicate with them. They enjoyed my views on TV, music, life, school. I enjoyed them more I'm sure! They were great. Treating me on one hand like a mentor, and on the other hand like a child that they needed to be patient with. It was so special. The one who was sitting nearest me decided to get comfortable and just laid down on his back, resting his head on my lap. Looking up at me with the big curious eyes. Asking me these silly questions about where I lived and what my middle name was. All kinds of questions. He would joke with me when I would have to ask him to repeat something he had said. He would greatly exaggerate the hand sign and stick it one inch from my nose so I wouldn't miss it! It was so funny! After a while the women, who I learned during my chatting singed for some area church, came into the room and pointed at her watch. The little ones waved goodbye and my friend, me and the other walked towards the door. I told the lady thank you for having me as she busily cleaned up soda cans and we walked out. Chatted in the hall for a few minutes saying goodbye and then left. All during the drive home I was pretty lost in thought. Boys are so wonderful and most beautiful of all Gods creations. What a great day! I kept remembering the little guys pretty hands in my face in playful mocking of my feeble attempts to say something. There is something so immaculate about the hands of deaf boys. So special I can't even describe it...at all. No words spoken could do it justice. You have to see those words. It's something you just have to see for yourself. Ah well, there it is. Loved sharing that. Loved that day! Take care! BLues. |