Hello readers!

Geez! Ten days into January 2024 and I haven’t blogged at all! What?

I must get a rhythm, a routine, a release of epic proportions. I’ve got sooo many things to tell you, to do, to write about!

Let me start by Wishing you all a Happy New Year! May 2024 outshine 2023 by 120%!

So, without further delay…:

A funny, not funny, thing happened years and years ago! Funny for me, not funny for the other person…

My hearing was deteriorating when I was 19 to 22…so I started learning American Sign Language (ASL). Then, I enrolled in college and requested interpreters for classes.

Then, the college hired a new coordinator for Deaf students, and this person deemed that I was not fluent enough to use an interpreter.

So, in order to continue getting interpreter services, I needed to take an Interpreter level ASL class. If I failed, then no more interpreters.

So, I had to do it, plus they hired to Deaf Interpreters to relay for me, as I couldn’t see the instructor, a Deaf lady named Karen. She had a Deaf assistant who I had an unfortunate (funny) altercation with…

This story took place at a time when Zoom was a adjective for speed, webinar hadn’t been coined yet, text messaging was done with pen & paper etc… hell the class material included 2 VHS cassettes, yes I had a VHS player!

Late one afternoon, I needed to ask Karen about something important, so I went to her office hoping to find her.

Instead the Assistant was there instead, he was working very diligently, head inches from the papers he was marking/reading.

It was pretty obvious that he was totally oblivious to anything not on that desk!

As I needed to get his attention, I slowly – and I do mean 5x slo-mo – moved my hand under his nose.

When he realized my hand was not part of the paper he was marking, he uttered a scream, jerked backwards and gasped… I had spooked the poor guy!

After a second he looked around for the owner of the offending hand, and recognized me.
“What do you want?” was his curt question, which came out as simply “What!” without any question mark.
I was trying to stifle my laughing, his response was comical! Even at 21 and a new to Deaf Culture, I realized that laughing at this person’s reaction was inappropriate.
”Ooo want talk P-a-r-e-n. Where?” This translates to “Oh, I want to talk to Paren, where can I find her?”
The Assistant, seeing the laughter in my eyes, regained his dignity quickly, replied vehemently: “Karen home gone.” He then firmly closed the door in my face.

With no recourse but to laugh, I walked away giggling to myself!

The assistant is now a professor of ASL in another city, way across Canada!

Yup, I learned that it is best to NOT give Deaf folks Slow Hand, but to flick lights or tap shoulder! Lesson learned!

BTW, I did pass that course, I got a C+. I wasn’t trying that hard to prove that I needed interpreters.

Thank you for reading, liking, sharing