They Talked With Their Hands
My Daddy was a very special person who loved people and
he never knew a stranger. When I was a little girl, he took
me with him when he would go to visit his brother. I
remember how he always cared so much for my Uncle John. He
and Daddy were very close and when they were together they
"talked with their hands". You see, my Uncle John was deaf.
I doubt that anyone else could keep up or knew what they
were saying because they had been doing this since childhood
and I'm sure had some of their own signs and shortcuts. I
noticed their facial expressions also as their hands flew as
they talked. I wanted so badly to be able to talk to Uncle
John too and so Daddy taught me how to "talk with my hands".
I remember the first time I made the attempt to sign to
Uncle John. I was about 8 years old and I signed, "Uncle
John, I love you." Big tears came in Uncle John's eyes and
he signed to my Dad, "You taught her!"
I remember another time that Daddy and I were traveling and
we stopped in a small town for lunch. Two men were sitting
in a booth where we could see them. They were pushing paper
back and forth and writing. My Dad got up and went over and
signed to the man to ask if he was deaf. I can't even
describe to you how this man's face just lit up! He was so
excited that someone could talk to him. He had come to live
in this small town with a sister and she was the only other
person in town who knew how to sign. He and my Dad talked
for a long time and I don't know who was more blessed....
the man...or my Dad and I.
I think that being deaf caused Uncle John to be very
sensitive in other ways. His other senses seemed
strengthened to make up for the deafness. He could tell
things by looking into your eyes. Since he was deaf, if you
had something to say that he didn't want to hear, he simply
turned his face away. This was his method when you wanted
him to do something he didn't want to do or when he simply
didn't want to hear what you had to say because the news was
not good. When Daddy was only 58, he was hospitalized with
terminal cancer. When he died, Uncle John happened to be in
another hospital at the same time. When my aunt went to tell
him the sad news, Uncle John looked away and refused to look
at her.... he already knew when he saw her face, and this
time, he just didn't want her to see him cry.
Pamela R. Blaine
pamyblaine@blaines.us
My husband and I live in West Virginia and we have four
children and three grandchildren. I enjoy all kinds of
writing but I can still "talk with my hands". I especially
love music, playing the piano, and writing songs.
http://blaines.us/PamyPlace.htm