My Favorite Place

I'm just playin' around with my pictures. This is a collage of one of my favorite places. Long Beach, WA. We often go there. The little red and yellow kite is my delta, and the rainbow colored one is a Chinese Dragon kite. You can't see the head very well, but it has a cow jumping over the moon. We also have a stunt kite my husband likes to play with, and another purple and pink delta, as well as an assortment of portable folding children's kites and what not. The little building with the flag is a place to buy fish and fresh cranberries. Weird combination, I know. . . but well, it's on the ocean and also home to a very large cranberry bog. There is some good hiking and birding out at Ledbetter State Park, which is at the very tip of the Long Beach peninsula. You cannot see them very well, but on the far right second from the top just below where I am holding a kite is a picture of a bunch of gulls. My husband was watching for a rare type one day up at Ledbetter. We usually buy fish on the way to the beach. Clams have been a tradition. Though I don't usually eat meat, I will occasionally eat a clam, because it doesn't seem like it has a brain. I have been dreaming of the beach now that Christmas is over and the New Year is beginning. Long Beach has a kite festival every August that draws people from all over the world.

A Question About Blackberries

Since a thief took my Sidekick, I will need to replace it. I might not get a Sidekick this time, so I am hoping for advice on what to get.

If you own a Blackberry, please let me know which type you have, what features you like, and also why you like these features. I would really appreciate this information.

Later, if enough of you respond, I'll publish a blog on what hard-of-hearing, deaf and Deaf people like the most, what is most popular, what features seem to be the most popular and so on--but only if enough of you respond.

Also when you respond-- if you could say whether you are hard-of-hearing, deaf, or Deaf and whether you talk with the phone, or only text, or use a loop or whatever. That makes a difference. If you don't want me to publish your response, just say so, and I won't.

Thanks!

Robbed on Christmas Eve

We were robbed on Christmas Eve. The thing that bothers me most is my husband and I have been trying to save money, so we didn't buy each other anything for Christmas this year. We only bought gifts for other people. (sigh) It seems like whenever we try to get ahead, we end up a few steps behind. I hope the people who stole our stuff really needed it.

I can understand stealing the two brand new winter coats from my trunk. Brand new too! $300.00. I was going to take them back. I couldn't decide, then in the meantime my mother-in-law bought a new coat for our son. I would have liked to think a homeless person needed coats because it was cold. A homeless person could use a coat since it has been snowing and so cold here, but I'm having a much harder time picturing a homeless person making use of my son's snowboarding gear that was also in the trunk -- valued at over $500.00. Luckily the board itself was in the garage. Then there was the bag with a really nice pair of curtain scarves. Do desperate homeless people need sheer window curtain scarves? I had been planning to take those back to Linens N Things because I changed my mind about the color. Another $150.00 or so. Several CD's were taken. $100.00. And finally, my Sidekick. $300.00. We've cancelled the plan, of course. Our homeowners insurance covers theft, but there's a deductible.

I've been wondering what goes through someone's mind while they're stealing from people on Christmas Eve who are sitting in church. Then today, my son said the sweetest thing. "Mom--don't worry. Whoever did this is living a crappy life." And he's right.

This is just a small blip. It is inconvenient and aggravating, but I still have my home and car and job. I can afford an abundance of food on the table all year long. I still have warm clothes to wear. I have so many clothes I'm trying to get rid of them. I have way too much stuff. I am lucky with family. Unlike other people who can't stand their in-laws, I love mine, and my parents too. I am fortunate to be surrounded by so much love-- an abundance of family and friends who are like family. My son is right. Whoever robbed us is having a crappy life, otherwise he or she would have been enjoying themselves with people on Christmas Eve-- like I was. (The above is my husband and his dad being silly. He stuffed balloons in a pair of pantyhose and put them on his head. Don't ask. . .)

Pajama Epiphany

I had an epiphany last night while sleeping. I must be kind of dim because for days I've been wondering what "deficit thinking" REALLY means. It seems I've read at least twenty-five different definitions by now and I wasn't getting it.

Earlier in the evening I had my Kundalini meditation session with Subhan-- which was was wild, but enlightening. Subhan says it all comes together when you reach three points: 1) self-awareness 2) self-acceptance and 3) relaxation.

I don't know about others, but I have the most problem with number two. I'm old enough to be aware of my strengths and weaknesses, and I can relax, but dang-- I still have such a hard time accepting my faults. In fact sometimes I even dwell on them, which can lead to self loathing.

Most the time I do not mind deafness. When I'm alone or with other deaf/HH people, it's no problem at all. But all those awkward times, like today when a lady, cursed, sighed, rolled her eyes and yelled at me because she had to repeat a question--that kind of event gets buried, then comes back as a headache, or keeps me awake at night. It hurts. It's not my fault.

On the one hand the reasonable side of me knows that woman had a problem. On the other hand, because I was working, I had to smile and remain calm and be nice to her. I would have liked to ask her if she thought I purposely developed a hearing loss specifically to annoy her at the library. I mean-- my God if she thinks SHE has it rough having to repeat three times, how does she think I feel having to ask for repeats?!?!?!?

So self-acceptance can be a hard one. Last night I worked on that while meditating and I guess it must have been rolling around in my mind while I was sleeping because suddenly I woke up in the middle of the night with the answer.

Deficit thinking is when you don't accept yourself as a deaf or Deaf person. (I'm applying this to d/Deafness, but I think it can apply to anyone.) It's when you don't accept yourself. When you don't fully accept yourself, and I mean LOVE yourself because that's what self-acceptance is, then you cannot accept others for who THEY are. In order to fully love others, you must accept yourself with all your own flaws, so you can look past other people's flaws.

In order to accept others, to be open to new ideas, technology, culturally different people, we must first become comfortable with who WE are. I hope we can all help each other become comfortable.

(top photo from flickr chicagokristi, side photo-petersblog.org/images/self-love.jpg)

Cochlear Implants for Babies??

So I've been reading Mishkazena's blog, and as usual the issue of Cochlear Implants for babies has came up again. Some feel AGBell, Cochlear Implants for babies, and a few oral deaf people who blog about the positive benefits of oral education was the root cause of all this fuss-- which finally led to John's deficit thinking/censorship outburst. Read his blog here if you haven't already. John's blog (Since the time I originally posted my blog, John has recanted. Now he says he only meant deficit thinking should be censored, not certain individuals. See Johns New Blog.) At this point I'm super confused. I don't know how you can censor thoughts. I don't mean this sarcastically. I understand there's a disconnect because John's second language is English and I'm just now learning ASL. We're all supposed to be part of the same community but we don't even speak the same language.

As a late-deafened person. I often feel like I have one foot in deaf world and one in hearing. While my world isn't always totally silent, I think I understand the daily ins and outs of deafness. To give an example, recently my kids were talking about the sound squirrels made.

"They make sounds?" I asked. I didn't know. I grew up hearing. I should have known all the animal sounds by age fifty. But life is a learning experience and I have missed a few things along the way. We don't know exactly when my hearing loss began, so maybe I missed more things than I realized. I had never heard squirrel chatter before, and no one ever mentioned it. That I'm fifty, and only just now learned animals in my yard make a noise I didn't know about floored me!! That's what deafness is all about. For me. . . Deafhood is something different for others.


Similar incidents have happened over the years. On camping trips I've learned we were near rivers or lakes in the morning. Everyone else heard it when we pitched our tent at night, but they never said anything. People knew there were beehives in places I didn't know about because they could hear the hum. My deaf world is full of wonder. There's surprise when I'm on a hike and round a bend to find a waterfall. The hearing know it's there all along because they can hear it for miles.

BUT because they are too distracted with their ears, hurrying to get to a river or an ocean they hear, sometimes they miss other things I see with my eyes. I stop and marvel at dew on a spiderweb, an unusual red bug, a pretty rock, and lag behind hearing hikers because I'm in awe of the beauty around me. Colors seem more brilliant than they did when I could hear well. Movement catches my eye with its rhythm. Sunlight and shadows wink through spaces to catch my attention. Maybe that's how I enjoy Deafhood? I don't know. That's when I enjoy deafness.

I have been deaf to many sounds most my life, if not speech-- and now I'm deaf to most speech too. I still understand the hearing world because I remember hearing. I remember the soft and tinkly sound of flowing water in the distance. I also remember the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet. I barely remember cricket chirps. I haven't heard a mosquito since I was a very little girl, but I remember they made a high-pitched sound when they flew. So I know what it's like to be distracted by sounds. Hearing is still my "culture" even though I don't quite fit in. I have missed out on a lot of stuff after I started to lose my hearing.

I am not hearing or Deaf. I am deaf. In my perfect world everyone would sign and talk at the same time. The hearing would caption their videos and the Deaf would caption their vlogs. I would not care about sentence structure or spelling because I appreciate the time it takes to caption. I realize not everyone's first language is English. I would not care about perfect ASL because I realize not everyone's first language is ASL.

So what does any of this have to do with Mishkazena's blog??? And implants for babies??? I keep wondering about the subject of cochlear implants on babies. Have any of you personally known a baby who was implanted? I haven't. I have read the occasional news accounts of the rare implant that got infected. Circumcisions also get infected sometimes, and they are painful. Babies are given nothing to deaden the pain. I think it's a brutal practice. (If you want to read a horror story, there was a baby boy many years ago whose penis accidentally got lopped off during circumcision. A psychologist decided it would be best to turn him into a girl after that. Very, very sad, but true story!!) As Nature Made Him

I have seen videos of people who were implanted young and they seem to have better speech than people my age who grew up with hearing aids. Since I'm deaf I have asked others to evaluate their speech too. The deaf speech doesn't seem to be present. This is really great I think, because unclear "deaf speech" can be considered somewhat of an obstacle in the hearing world and may hinder one's job propects!

The reason hearing parents may choose to implant their kids is because infant language development begins early. National Institutes of Health Language Development A lag in language development can impact a child's ability to read and learn later on. We all know how important education is, especially in today's world. I honestly don't think believe cochlear implants are about "hearing supremacy" or a desire to wipe out Deaf people. They are about opportunities. I have met a few implanted late-deafened adults who can talk on telephones and I'm impressed with their hearing capabilities. I don't know if they can hear mosquitos or squirrels. Probably not. But I knew them before their implants and after, so I was able to make a comparison. The differences astounded me!!

If I had a Deaf child I'm not sure what I would do about a cochlear implant, but I AM sure the child would be taught ASL. I am not an expert on any of this. I am only a late-deafened mom who has raised three kids, and this is only my opinion based on how I see it. There are risks with the cochlear implant--yes. But there may also be many opportunities. Each parent needs to weigh the risks and oppportunities against the child's individual needs, whether the child has other challenges, and how healthy the child is. Parents need to consider their own lifestyles, their financial resources, and family support systems. There are so many factors to consider before a major surgery. Perhaps the some parents feel pressured into implanting their child and cave. It's intensely personal and we shouldn't judge them after the decision has been made. They only do their best given the information they've received.

I wish I learned ASL earlier. I wish my family knew ASL and that I had more friends who knew ASL. When you have a cochlear implant you are still deaf in a lot of situations, and the processor has to come off. Or it malfunctions. Or the batteries need to be changed. ASL makes so much sense for ALL deaf/Deaf people, especially children.

I hope we can all remain open, as I believe hearing parents need support from the Deaf community more than ever before-- and it needs to be positive support if we want them to listen.

Deficit Thinking = /< Surplus Disregard?

Gosh I'm kinda new. I just started reading and posting to Deafread the past couple months or so. I was shocked by John's message about "deficit thinkers." Though John himself didn't name names, a few of the commenters to his blog did-- and the names that most frequently came up were McConnell, Paotie, "and their strange friends" including Karen and Brian Mayes. Because I frequently comment on both McConnell's and Paotie's blogs, I wondered if I was included among the list of "strange friends."

This surprised me a little bit because I've fiercely butt heads with both Paotie and McConnell in the past. But I guess because I'm deaf, not Deaf, you all might as well lump me in with them -- and the Mayes.

Just to keep the record straight though, I have sided with John Egbert in the past too. I put in a plug for his book on my site as well. I often agree with him, but not this time. I like a good discussion and I think Paotie and Mike are great at generating discussion, even though some of their remarks are often inflammatory. They DO get us talking about hot issues we need to question, such as the rift between the deaf and the Deaf. It's painful to look at the truth sometimes.

The comments about the Mayes saddened me. That any of you would even consider censoring Mike or Paotie's blogs and say the things you said about the Mayes convinced me we have much work to do before the D/deaf can call themselves a "community."

If not for Deaf Edge's blog and the overwhelming positive comments there, I would have seriously considered moving on. I was beginning to wonder if deaf people were welcome here. Thanks to all of you who commented in DE's blog. You've given me hope.

Peace. . .

(Also-- I wanted to explain why I haven't been doing deaf heroes the past couple weeks. I turned my library book in. It was time. As luck would have it, the book belonged to another branch, so I sent it back and reordered it. Guess what? It's lost in the system somewhere. I may ask for it for Christmas.)

Sitting in the dark--- thinking

(Before I begin, I should probably inform you all I've changed my address. If you're a regular reader, it's now djembeslappin.blogspot.com)

When a friend emailed to ask if I wanted to meditate with an Indian guru I have to admit I was skeptical. The timing conflicted with my belly dancing class, but I've also had some reservations about group led meditations ever since my Lamaze classes years ago. Visions of a dark hot room with a mumbling facilitator whose lips I wouldn't be able to see in dim candlelight flashed through my mind.

Then by coincidence the storm we had last week flooded my dance instructor's apartment. She called from an emergency shelter to cancel all our classes and activities for the month. I felt badly for her, but this left a void in my Thursdays that needed to be filled. I've come to enjoy dancing each week. I love wearing a colorful coin skirt that sparkles in the light when my hips wiggle. More than that, I really NEED the female companionship.

I live in a "man house." With men. Who watch football from August through, um. . . when does it end??? ESPN is on three televisions in three rooms whenever they're home. Football season lasts for several months. Three men. One of them doesn't even live here. I'm not sure why the third TV needs to be on when he's not here, but it is-- ALWAYS! Their dinner discussion revolves around football each night, while I read a book. Sometimes they call the third one or a grandfather to chat them up about scores, while I'm virtually ignored. It's just me and the cat here taking up space. One computer must also be left on a certain sports website at all times, so they can check games that aren't televised. I have my own computer, so I won't bother their website. I must never, ever touch the MAN computer. THE website must be there at all times in case something important happens. I try to fill my nights as much as possible-- books, computer, djembe, belly-dance, ASL, work. . . (Picture above is of two of them during a Seahawks playoff game a couple years ago. They've had seasons tickets to football games since before they could talk.)

Given the choice between staying home on Thursdays or meditating in a group, the guru began to sound more appealing. I sent an email to him. "Can you accommodate me? I'm practically deaf, and I read lips." We'll see if that doesn't put him off, I thought. Almost no one willingly accommodates the deaf and this was being held in a home. It wasn't a business setting that HAD to accommodate me.

"YES-- Please come!" he wrote back.

Awww --- what the heck, I thought. If worse comes to worse, I'll close my eyes and take a nap. I enjoy my friend. We'll have a few laughs. She's always getting me into stuff like this.

So-- off we went last night. When we pulled up to his house, it appeared dark inside. I asked if she was sure he wasn't a serial killer. She wasn't too encouraging. "We'll find out!" she grinned.

Our first meditation was called a "Darkness Meditation" Whooooooooo. Sounded creepy.

We arrived early and were greeted warmly by a man with an abundance of curly gray facial hair. Reading his lips would pose a challenge. Oddly, this guy didn't look at all Indian. His eyes were bright blue. Stepping inside I picked up scents of cardamon, clove and saffron. Shoes were left at the door, then we were offered tea and honey. "Hi--I'm Kim. The one who emailed you about not being able to hear?" I reminded him.

"OH Yes!" he beamed, then grabbed my hands, "Come right in, you'll have no problem, I'll look right at you and you'll sit next to me. You'll be fine." He smiled softly and squeezed my palms ever so gently, warming them from the cool night air. Geez! He was giving off really good vibes!

I could hear the beat of New Age music playing quietly in the next room. It sounded like a djembe, the little African drum I play. We settled in to relax with our tea while others arrived.
"He doesn't look Indian" I said to my friend.

"No, I think he's Canadian." she replied.

Here's the run down of our first meditation with him. It was called a Darkness Meditation. First, he told us a little about the meditation. It was an ancient "Essene practice." I don't know what this means. Don't ask me. It's ancient. He went on to talk about how many other cultures have practiced this, including the Egyptians and Jews when Jesus was alive and so on. He described how one loses the feeling of oneness in darkness and becomes one with the universe and one with the darkness. Humans tend to fear darkness. The idea was to look into the darkness, and not be afraid. We were to welcome it. The darkness, he said, was like a womb, and we would become one with the darkness and with everything. He sat next to me and looked right at me while he spoke. I was able to lip read him because this part was all spoken in a well-lit environment. I might be wrong about this, but I think he might have trimmed his mustache and beard a little between the time I arrived and the time he started speaking.

Here's what he says about the meditation on his website. "In this meditation we use the absolute darkness of a lightproof room. The absence of light can be a primal source of relaxation and inner nourishment.
The Indian mystic Osho has said of this meditation: "In it, you can become like the ocean. You can be one with darkness. And darkness is so oceanic; nothing is so vast, nothing is so eternal."

He gave us the run down of what we were supposed to do before doing it, so that I wouldn't be lost in the dark-- literally. Next, we were led into a basement holding candles, then one by one we would blow them out until the room was completely black. Then we would meditate in total darkness with no sound with our eyes wide open for one hour. Why should your eyes stay open in darkness? Because when you close them, you see negative images of what you've been looking at earlier. You know how that is-- right? If you're looking at your computer screen right now, and you close your eyes, you'll see a rectangle of a computer screen. That's a negative image of what you just saw. So you must keep your eyes open to look into the darkness. Thus, you'll see only positive images in the darkness. Negative images are bad. Positive=good.

Admittedly it was weird looking at nothingness at first. The basement had been prepared so that it was indeed pitch black after all the candles were extinguished. An hour is a long, long time to sit and think with your eyes open in pitch black. My first thought was, "What the hell am I doing here sitting in the dark looking at nothing for an hour. I PAID for this? Sometimes I'm SUCH a sucker!!" But the longer I sat there thinking, the more peaceful I began to feel. As my thoughts started to settle, interesting things started happening. VERY interesting things. I was surprised! Amazingly the time FLEW by! It seemed like our session ended within a matter of minutes. Afterwards, I started to describe my experience to my friend and she finished my sentence. She had the very same experience. I came home feeling relaxed and energized. I'm SO glad I did it!! What a great tool for managing the stress of the holidays!

Next week, we're going to try Kundalini. I've always wanted a Kundalini experience! I hope I can manage it. I know it's not easy, but I think this guy is really GOOD!

A Christmas Meme

I haven't done a meme in ages. This one is from Bellezza, and it's a Christmas meme. I've decided to do it because I have no Christmas spirit at all this year. The truth is I'm feeling Grinchy. I thought maybe writing about Christmas might help. (sigh)

A Christmas meme:
What is your most enduring Christmas memory?

When I was a little girl there was a large store in downtown Detroit called JL Hudsons. On the top floor they had a small shopping area "just for kids" with a small kid-sized door. Inside you could buy presents for your family with your allowance money all by yourself. "Elves" would help you decide what to buy. I think they were really maybe young women or other moms because one time I shopped there I remember the elf seemed like a woman and she was much taller than me. It was really very, very special shopping downtown when I was a little girl because we dressed up in our Sunday finest to go shopping. We always did this once a year and we would drive around to look at Christmas lights on the way home. We ate in a fancy restaurant for lunch. My daddy came with us, which was unusual since he worked all the time. One year I remember going through the little door, then an elf met me and asked how much money I had to spend. I showed her the coins in my hand. Then the elf asked who I was buying a present for. It was my grandma. She asked me what my grandma liked to do. Well-- I said my grandma liked to wash dishes. So the elf recommended a fancy kitchen sponge shaped into a Christmas wreath. My goodness! Did my grandma's eyes light up when she opened my gift with the sponge inside on Christmas! She was so excited! I explained about how I bought it at JL Hudsons all by myself with my allowance money. I think I was about five years old. We washed dishes together with that sponge on Christmas. I loved my grandma so much and I had very few Christmases with her, so this is one special memory.

Do you have a favourite piece of Christmas music? I LOVE the way the Transiberian Orchestra does Pachelbels Canon in D-- what little I hear of it. Since I used to play Pachelbel's Canon on the piano I can sort of follow it. I also remember the words to the first part of the song, "Now is Born the Divine Christ Child" We used to sing it in church when I was a little girl and I really liked that one. I have to say I love most Christmas carols, and I especially love them sung by choruses in hymn style because it reminds me of Christmas Eve Candlelight service.

I am going to add a question here that wasn't on the first meme. Do you have any unusual or special family traditions? My family does. We light Advent candles each Sunday in Advent before Sunday dinner, which used to be more fun when our children were small because they would fight about who got to light the candles and who got to put them out and then before we began eating my husband would read a Christmas poem. He STILL does this every Christmas and the kids still pretend to fight over the candles, though it's just for fun now.

What makes your mouth water at Christmas time? Pecan Pie-- and my mother-in-law's Christmas cookies-- which are the best in the whole world. I usually make a prime rib, but I don't eat meat. That's mainly for my husband because he likes a prime rib on Christmas.

How soon do you put the Christmas tree up and when do you take it down? My husband comes from a Norwegian background and also his birthday is in December, so those two combined factors mean we put it up late. We haven't put it up yet, and we never take it down before New Years Eve. We DO put up a fake tree mainly because I was traumatized by the Little Fir Tree story when I was a kid. I know, I know. . .Do what you want. I got a fake, and I burn an evergreen candle for that nice smell. We used to buy live trees years ago, and then plant them in our new yard. But they're expensive. Then we moved to the woods and I have more evergreens than I know what to do with. And yes-- it's TRUE they DO grow like weeds, and I realize people kill pumpkins every year and other plant products. Yes, yes-- I know it's JUST a plant! I have my little fake tree-- leave me alone. hahaha!

I'm really glad I did this because it made me think about lots of Christmas memories. You can do it if you want, and I'll look forward to reading your answers!

Emergency Meeting for Parents of Deaf in NYC

I received this urgent message below this from a friend who works in the New York City school system. I've removed her name to protect her identity in my blog, but I felt this was important to reprint here in its entirety. I don't live in NYC. I wanted to get the word out. Isn't it just like a politician to have an important meeting like this at the last minute? If it's sparsely attended, he'll say no one cared enough about the changes he planned to make, when the reality was few people knew about the meeting. It's the holidays when people are busy too. If you live in the NYC area, please plan to go this coming Monday night if you can.

THIS SHOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE, SOONER OR LATER IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.

IF YOU CARE ABOUT DEAF, HARD OF HEARING, BLIND AND THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN BOTH PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS.....PLEASE PASS THE WORD ALONG IN TO PARENTS AND ANY DEAF GROUPS YOU KNOW. MAYOR BLOOMBERG IS ABOUT TO MAKE SOME HEFTY CHANGES THAT WILL AFFECT THE HANDICAPPED STUDENTS OF NEW YORK CITY.



LEAGUE BUZZ ALERT!

Proposed Dismantling of HES and EVS Come to a Town Hall Meeting on MONDAY DECEMBER 10th, 2007 to have your voice heard!



The League for the Hard of Hearing has just learned that discussions are underway at the NYC Department of Education regarding dismantling Hearing Education Services (HES) and Educational Vision Services (EVS) and shifting the responsibility for meeting the educational needs of deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and visually impaired children to local school districts and school principals. These school districts and school principals do not likely have either the expertise or the funds to meet the specific educational needs of these children.

The National Federation of the Blind of NYS is partnering with the Parents of Blind Children of NY to hold an open forum in the form of a Town Hall Meeting to address recent and future changes being proposed. The meeting will be on Monday, December 10th from 6-9 PM in the Selis Manor auditorium located at 135 West 23 Street between 6 and 7 Ave. They are hoping that parents of deaf and hard of hearing children attend as well, to speak to the needs of their children.

Representatives from the Department of Education and EVS will be present to speak and answer questions regarding initiatives already underway, as well as representatives of other organizations.
For more information on hearing loss in children, click here.
League for the Hard of Hearing50 BroadwayNew York, NY 10004917-305-7700 (V)917-305-7999 (TTY)www.lhh.org

Are We That Different?

Lately, I've been thinking about cultures and communities. I like being American. I like that we're a country of blended cultures.

We have many, many cultural festivals.

In Seattle, one fun celebration is the Scottish Highland Games.

There's also the Chinese New Year.











Some celebrate Norwegian Independence Day.















Others celebrate their Muckleshoot roots.









But what's great about America is you don't have to be Scottish to join in the Highland games.






You don't have to be Chinese to be in the Chinese New Year parade.










You can be a Viking on Norwegian Independence Day, even if you're really a Muckleshoot;










And you're welcome to go on Muckleshoot tribal journeys, even if you're more of a Viking.







Some families have blended backgrounds. In America you can be a Chinese, Viking, Scottish, Muckleshoot. You can join in all the parades.

Celebrating our differences unites us. We celebrate each other. Because we know that

in our hearts, we're all the same. We're just people

who help each other when times are hard.

Are deaf, Deaf and hard-of-hearing really THAT different?











Peace.

Hillis Arnold 1906- 1988

I haven't blogged about a great deaf person in a couple weeks. When I opened my book of talented deaf Americans, it was Hillis Arnold's page. I'm glad. I've looked at his sculptures and read about him a couple times now.

He was born hearing in N. Dakota, then became deaf as an infant due to spinal meningitis. As a young child he enjoyed drawing and showed some skill using colored pencils. His earliest memories of sculpting was after a rainstorm when he made animal shapes out of the mud on his farm.

He was raised orally by his parents who worked with him on vocalization exercises after doing farm chores each day. At the age of 12 his family moved to Minnesota, where he was able to attend the Minneapolis Day School for the Deaf. Then he went to public high school and graduated with honors. From there he earned a B.A. cum laude from the University of Minnesota. Then he received a full scholarship to the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts. Next, he went to the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan and finally the Chicago Institute of Art.

In 1938, Arnold took a professorship at Monticello College in Illinois and remained teaching there for thirty-four years, while working on art commissions. Of teaching he said, "Communication with my students has never been a serious problem. At our first meeting I tell the students that by the end of the first or second week I will be able to read their lips if they move their lips a bit slower, and that they will understand me as they get used to my way of speaking." Arnold received many prestigious awards and recognitions for his work over the years. Most of it had religious themes and can be found in churches throughout the Midwest. Other works are in schools or downtown St. Louis.

Some of his sculptures incorporated deaf themes. "Because I am deaf, I am a better observer." he once said. One of his deaf sculptures called The Learners is a depiction of a mother practicing speech exercises with her deaf child. Another, called Deaf Given A Voice portrays an eye and an arm with moving fingers to represent how Deaf people use both their eyes and hands to communicate. Though Arnold never learned ASL or even fingerspelling, he was an advocate of Total Communication- the concept of using any and every possible means to communicate with a deaf/Deaf child.

Reading over the articles I found and writing this short sketch of his life, I got a sense that Hillis Arnold considered himself an artist first, not D/deaf first. His deafness was part of who he was, but not his main identity. It seems he was too busy teaching and creating sculptures to think much about his deaf experience. Still he acknowledged his deafness in some of his art when appropriate to do so. I like this about him.