Clerc Scar 17 14-18 December 2009 CONTENTS ===== 17.1 CHASING VISTAS 16 Melanie Bond [Memoir] ===== 17.2 Ruminations of A Cyborg Aaron Weir Kelstone [Poem] ===== 17.3 My Story: Suicide Leslie Paul Peterson [Memoir] ===== 17.4 If Santa Were Deaf [Tweets] ===== 17.5 The Music Box Angela C. Orlando [Essay] ===== 17.6 Stoffel's Guide to Home Workouts Scott Stoffel [Humor] ===== FEEDBACK FRIDAY [Letters to the Editors] ===== We welcome letters to the editor in response to this piece. Send to editor@clercscar.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for space and clarity or not to publish a letter. We are always open to submissions. Submit your writing, artwork, or video to editor@clercscar.com. To subscribe, email subscribe@clercscar.com with the message "Subscribe daily" or "Subscribe weekly." To unsubscribe, email subscribe@clercscar.com with the message "Unsubscribe me." Find us on Twitter and Facebook! Visit our archives or bookstore at http://www.clercscar.com. Copyright 2009 by Clerc Scar. All rights reserved. ==================================================================================== Clerc Scar 17.1 ===== CHASING VISTAS 16 Melanie Bond Words: 1,157 [Memoir] Chapter 49 Free Campground at Bennett Park At around 11:30 p.m., we pulled into our first 24-hour gas station and convenience store on the outskirts of Pierre, South Dakota. A store clerk told Harvey that there was a free campground in town so we decided to check it out. With directions, we proceeded slowly down dark residential streets until we reached Bennett Park. Surprisingly enough, there was an official park sign that read "Free Camping." I thought how nice it was for the city of Pierre to extend its hospitality to weary road travelers. That included us! We slept in our van, and this time, we had the comfort of our blankets, sleeping bags, and pillows so that Harvey and I could sleep comfortably in our reclining seats. Dano and Buddy Bear had the whole back seat to themselves so they were able to stretch out and get a good night's rest. With the dawning of Monday morning, August 21, 2000, I was surprised to see the Missouri River just a few yards away from where we were parked. In my eagerness to smell the fresh morning air, I rolled down the window and was instantly greeted by foul odors emanating from the river. As the rising sun brought more warmth to the cool morning air, pesky flies started swarming into the van. I quickly closed the window but it was too late. I just could not get them out! I opened the door and tried to shoo them out but that didn't work either because there were more flies just waiting to buzz in! Dano noticed the sidewalks in the park and thought it would be fun to go rollerblading so he got his rollerblades on and took off. Within minutes, he dove right back into the van, rollerblades and all, in order to escape the foul river odors and the nasty pests! When I checked the women's bathroom out, I was disappointed to find that there were no public showers. So much for a free campground! It certainly did not meet my definition of cleanliness and functionality! In cases like this, we had a backup plan for refreshing ourselves. We carried wet wipes which were great for every imaginable clean-up need there was. And we carried baby powder which was great for removing body oils from our hair and for keeping our sweaty skin smooth and dry. I learned to use public bathrooms discreetly by stuffing my compact toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste in my pocket and rolling up clean undies and sliding it under my shirt or pants so that I could quickly change my undies in the toilet stall without anyone being the wiser for it. As a courtesy to others, I waited until people left the bathroom before I brushed my teeth. I just did not want people to think that I was a homeless person although technically I was! We were in between homes and in the process of moving from Michigan to Arizona. And at this time, our van and camper served as our only home. Chapter 50 State Capitol of Pierre We quickly left Bennett Park and went in search of Pierre's state capitol building. After a lengthy search to find a suitable parking spot that would accommodate our van and camper, Dano and Harvey went inside the capitol building. They especially loved looking up at the domed ceiling which displayed a beautiful large wooden spoked wheel at the center of the dome. This was followed by more graceful architectural and concentric circles down the length of the dome. And in each corner under the dome were large murals of Greek goddesses which symbolized major interests in South Dakota. Their state motto was one of only four state mottoes that expressed a religious sentiment: "Under God, the People Rule." Chapter 51 Second Prairie Dog Town It felt good when we finally left Pierre and made it to interstate highway 90 where we could pick up some more speed. We headed west and took the first Badlands National Park exit. Almost immediately, Dano spotted a giant wooden prairie dog built next to a ranch store and clamored to have his picture taken with this giant. This was "Prairie Dog Town" and this prairie dog stood at least 12 feet tall with its white belly exposed and a friendly black paw as if to greet newcomers. Somehow, Dano convinced us to go inside the ranch store and purchase a cute T-shirt with three darling prairie dogs for him. And, of course, when he spotted the vending machine with a note that read, "Feed the Prairie Dogs," he begged us to feed some coins into it so that he could feed the prairie dogs who lived next door in their own little town! We granted Dano's wish because we believed that these hands-on experiences were great educational opportunities for him. And, indeed, Dano seemed to thrive on every new and exhilarating experience that came his way. It took Dano and Harvey about 45 minutes to feed the prairie dogs. At first, there didn't seem to be any prairie dogs around but soon the word spread around the little town that there was food to be had. A few prairie dogs ventured out slowly at first, then they started scurrying and running in circles around Harvey and Dano which delighted Dano to no end! Two prairie dogs started fighting each other to see which one would have the preeminence over the other one. And, in fact, one looked pretty disheveled and beaten up! Harvey crouched down and started slithering on his belly right up to one of the prairie dog mounds, hoping that one would pop out and eat from his hand. And one did! At first, it approached rather hesitatingly, but then it gathered up enough courage to snatch a morsel from his outstretched hand and run to a safer distance. Then it came back and grabbed another one out of his hand but this time it didn't run as far. Soon he was eating right out of Harvey's hand! It was so sweet watching the two make a small connection, even if only for a moment. Dano had a ball feeding all the prairie dogs. Perhaps because of his smaller stature, the prairie dogs seemed to feel more comfortable approaching him. At one time, I counted at least 15 prairie dogs that had all gathered around Dano wanting their fair share of the feed. It soon became obvious to me that some of these prairie dogs were too fat and too tame. They became dependent on tourists to feed them. Nevertheless, Dano derived so much pleasure from being able to make contact with them. As he stood there watching their cute little antics, his infectious laughter rang out, bringing a sense of joy and well-being to the entire prairie dog town. Reluctantly, we left our little rodent clowns behind! [To be continued next week.] ===== Melanie Bond is a deaf-blind writer based in Bay City, Michigan. Back to Top ==================================================================================== Clerc Scar 17.2 ===== Ruminations of A Cyborg Aaron Weir Kelstone Words: 393 [Poem] Rumination: The act of pondering; meditation. Cyborg: A human being whose body has been taken over in whole or in part by electromechanical devices. I ruminate because when you are a monkey in the middle you get it from all sides. Each side wants something, rejects something, fears something, wonders something, or silently holds the gazing eye on the monkey in the middle of things. EAR 1 EAR 2 Me born deaf ear 1. Me born something ear 2. What that? No one know. Ear 1 find deaf school, happy-happy. Ear 2 hear something, add hearing aid, happy-happy . . . not. Time pass, ear 2 learn tolerate machine hang on body. But others see hearing aid me no fit full in deaf world, become HH. Later become hearing impaired. Later become monkey in the middle. Deaf world: school love. Hearing world: family no know, no connect. Ear 1 ignore, deaf culture good, sign language good. Ear 2 hear less. Time pass Ear 2 hear less . . . less . . . less. Time pass. Ear 2 hear nothing, join ear 1. Lip read learn, stare interpreter learn, ear 1 now full boss. Time pass. Ear 2 tell ear 1, me miss sound sometimes. Ear 1 tell ear 2, forget it, no need sound. Ear 2 say but . . . ear 1 say shhhhhhhhhhh! Time pass . . . long time pass . . . long, long time pass. CI come, ear 2 wonder, ear 1 say NO! Time pass. Ear 2 fearful think, ear 1 say for-for. Time pass. Ear 2 say discriminate stop please. Ear 2 and ear 1 need connect, deaf school, deaf culture, sign language all still good. Ear 2 say me miss music, miss birds, miss hear children laughing. Miss not all, just some. Ear 1 partner with ear 2. That very good. Oppress ear 1, no, ear 2, no. Ear 1 and ear 2 no change just become 1. So . . . Cyborg me now. Join toyota prius, join honda insight, join Schwarzenegger. Others now see wire in head me no fit in deaf world, become soul traitor. Later me label what? Know . . . not. But still monkey in the middle. Ear 1, ear 2 connect. Both deaf love, deaf culture love, sign language love, music love, life love, do-do me now? ===== Aaron Weir Kelstone teaches in the Department of Creative and Cultural Studies at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Back to Top ==================================================================================== Clerc Scar 17.3 ===== My Story: Suicide Leslie Paul Peterson Words: 651 [Memoir] I share with you about my plan to kill myself after I grauated from the High School, the Montana State School for the Deaf and Blind in Great Falls, Montana. The family of the religion said to me, "No-No!" because many things were related to the worldly things. They wanted me to be separated from the worldly things to heavenly things. For the example, no movie, no TV, no magazine, etc. I had no fun in the religion because of no communication. I was totally deaf. I announced to my school that my goal to be preacher for no reason. I felt the way that I want to be preacher even I do not know much about the religion. Ofcourse, I think about collection the money from the people. After I graduated I had no goal for my future. Note: At my time Voc. Rehab. counselor discussed with my parents without me for my future job. There were no ASL communication even no interpreters. They never shared with me. It was 1962 at the time. I thought that I want to kill myself. I looked at the contain of the 25 ALKA-SELTZER. I planned to eat them all but I saw my vision about hell and heaven that I never know the truth. My teacher told us the heaven is bored as the angel play the harp (music) all time. Even my peers said, they wanted to go the hell because there will be high wild funs. I saw my vision was completely different than theirs. I know I will lost my life to the hell. So I resisted the pills. I was very sad because I saw my vision about the heaven but I had no idea how could I go there. No way for me to go there. I sat on the rocky chair. I thought that I want to run away from my family but I do not know how to live without the parents. More sad. Then I decided to kill myself for surely because I have no hope or no dream. It was same happens as above. I saw my vision of hell and heaven again. So I gave up and sat on the rocky chair. A short later my father, the preacher, gave me a letter which he wrote it for me about a year ago but never sent it to me. I read it about Adam and Eve. I was hungry for more. My father was realized. So he shew me the magazine about the Bible College special for the deaf. I read it. He asked if I wanted to go there? Inside me was no but my head nobbed to say yes. I did not know my father called VR counselor to cancel the plan for the drafting job and change to the Bible College. The counselor did not accept for any religion, but my father fought his right. Then VR counselor allowed me to go there for one year. In September 1962 I went to the Bible College. There were plenty ASL communication and 12 deaf students. Two days later I found the answer of my visions. I repented my heart back to Jesus as my Savior. I learned more about Jesus, as HE said, "No man comes to MY Father except by me, I am the Life, Way, and Truth." Now I know the Jesus is the way where I need to put my faith in Him and He will guide me to His home forever. Thank to my parents who prayed for my soul for the years as I grew. I am happy as I am the Christian since September 1962 and now I am 66 years old with cancer. I am looking forward to meet Jesus as my Shepherd who lead the sheeps and lambs to the heaven. Goodness, I did not kill myself. Thanks God for the visions. Back to Top ==================================================================================== Clerc Scar 17.4 ===== If Santa Were Deaf Lines: 233 [Tweets] The following are selected Twitter messages in response to the subject "If Santa Were Deaf." [#ifsantaweredeaf] @alicialane: 'Twas the Night before Christmas would be accompanied by a drum. Now (thump) Dash (thump) er (thump)! @beandsp: the reindeer would be signing to him but cant fingerspell. @aimistar: we would have signing children . . . and inevitably, a signing world. @tamtweetam: after putting gifts under the tree, he wld chat with the parents in the kitchen. @jaseuro: xmas songs would cease to exist, except, perhaps "Silent Night". @csano: it'd take weeks for everyone to get their presents because Santa would only work part time out of fear of losing his SSDI. @jaseuro: his wife would tell him, "have a blast time" before he takes off with his reindeer. @lisainberkeley: thered be a deaf santa happy hour in north pole. @williebike: Santa would be texting his pager while his knees is steering the sleigh. @ajmorton: he'd have graduated from santa college, thru vr. @lisainberkeley: hed sign off each gift with "hugs! santa" @jaseuro: his first question to deaf kids wud be "where did you go to school?" instead of "what do you want for Christmas?" @chadwtaylor: he would scream "ho ho ho" in a corner for the sake of bass effect. @tamtweetam: christmas would come on the 26th, not the 25th, due to DST. @chadwtaylor: he would use his pager's bright screen when Rudolph's nose fails. Back to Top ==================================================================================== Clerc Scar 17.5 ===== The Music Box Angela C. Orlando Words: 736 [Essay] I admit, I wasn't impressed when Charles gave me the music box. This was about four years ago. The music box looked like something you would put in a child's room. I thought it was for my son. I was bewildered when Charles insisted it was for me. My brother enjoyed giving people gifts. He was the kind of person who would buy you a gift for no reason. It didn't have to be your birthday or Christmas. If he saw something he thought you would like, he'd buy it for you. Charles was a gifted musician. He loved music and he adored music boxes. I wouldn't expect a man to like music boxes so much. But he did. He once told me he was on a quest to buy a music box for everyone he knew. When you stop to think about it, it seems silly that anyone would give me a music box. After all, I'm deaf and blind. I can't hear the music and I can't see the design. What's the point of giving me such a gift? Charles was an unusual and special person. It didn't occur to him that a deaf-blind person wouldn't want a music box. His focus was on making sure a deaf-blind person could enjoy one. He would find a way. He would find the perfect music box. I loved that trait in him. A deaf man told Charles that he could feel the vibrations of the music when holding a music box in his hand. That gave Charles an idea. He then searched until he found a tactile music box with moving pieces that I could feel with my hands. By feeling the vibrations, I can experience the music. By touching the figures, I can see the design. The moving pieces brings the dance to life. My music box shows a toy trunk full of circus animals. There's an elephant with huge, smooth ears and a curved trunk. He's holding a ball with his trunk. There's a zebra with many stripes. The lion has a glorious mane. I can feel the texture of the curls and tufts. The giraffe has a long neck. His face stands high above the other animals. I can feel each body shape: the legs, tails, ears, and noses. I love the faces. They are so delicate and detailed. At the top of the trunk opening, there is a little bird. He twirls in a circle as the music plays. The trunk keyhole is a dog's face made of wood. He has droopy ears. His head shakes back and forth while the music box plays its song. I don't know what the song is. I can hear some notes but can't make out the tune. I can feel the vibrations of the music, though. I know it's a happy song. Sometimes you don't appreciate a gift until it's gone. I don't mean the gift of the music box. I'm talking about Charles's gift for making people happy and sharing his love. I didn't appreciate the music box when he gave it to me. I put it on a shelf and forgot about it. It was left behind in my husband's house when I fled from an abusive marriage. The court ordered my husband to return my personal belongings. I made a list of what I wanted from my old house. This was after Charles's death. I thought of the music box with an aching heart. I so badly wanted it back. My husband only returned a few of the items I asked for. Most of what he gave me was junk that wasn't on the list. He did, however, return the music box. I nearly burst into tears when I saw it. Suddenly, I loved that music box more than anything else. It's now on a shelf near my bed. I feel it whenever I need to be close to Charles. It brings back memories of the brother I so dearly love and miss. It's become my memorial to my big brother Charles. Through the sadness of loss, I still always smile with fondness as I touch the music box. Only Charles would think to give me a music box. Only Charles would find the perfect theme. Only Charles would think of such a child-like and happy tune. He loved music boxes and he found a way to share that love with me. ===== Angela C. Orlando is studying ASL at Kent State University with plans to enroll in a graduate program in special education. Back to Top ==================================================================================== Clerc Scar 17.6 ===== Stoffel's Guide to Home Workouts Scott Stoffel Words: 552 [Essay] Do you wish vainly you could whip that sorry carcass of yours into shape, but you just can't afford to join a good gym or buy quality exercise equipment for your home? Of course you do! Well, yours falsely is here to help. The Stoffel's Guide to Home Workouts can be done right in your living room with common household items you may already have. This exclusive exercise program is being made available to you at absolutely no cost to me. Disclaimer: I do not guarantee that your sorry carcass will be whipped into great shape by following this program. However, I take full credit if it is. Equipment you will need: A comfortable recliner Two cold beers A fresh bag of chips A large submarine sandwich Exercise 1: Leg Extensions Let's start by working on those thunder-thighs. Sit down in the recliner with both feet on the floor. Using one hand, pull up the leg rest until your legs are fully extended. Count to 11.5 and then lower your feet back to the floor. Repeat until your hand is totally exhausted. Exercise 2: Arm Curls Now that we've worked the lower body, let's move on to the upper body. Grasp a cold beer in each hand. Be sure the beers are open before you begin. Start with both beers positioned on the armrests of the recliner. Keeping your elbows on the armrests, bring the beer in your right hand up to your mouth and take a swig. Now lower the right-hand beer back to the armrest and bring the left-hand beer up. Repeat until both bottles are empty. You should begin with 12-ounce beers, but as you gain muscle tone, you can increase the weight to 22 ounces. Exercise 3: Bench Presses This will improve your pectoral strength. Recline your chair all the way back, so that you are lying almost flat on your back. Holding the submarine sandwich with both hands, push it up as high above your chest as you can and then slowly lower it to your drooling mouth. Take a big bite of the sub. Repeat until the sandwich is gone. Note: Be sure to finish chewing before doing the next press. Exercise 4: Hand Exercises Sit up straight and put your feet back on the floor. Pick up the bag of chips and try to tear it open with your now greasy fingers. When you fail to open the bag with your hands, resort to using your teeth. When the bag finally rips open and the chips spill all over the floor, pick them up with your fingers. Unless your floor is much cleaner than your shirt, do NOT eat the chips! Deposit them in a trash can. Exercise 5: Clean-Ups Now that you've made a royal mess of the workout area, it's time to do some clean-ups. It may help to have a broom or vacuum-cleaner handy. If you do not have either, maybe the dog can help. Continue doing clean-ups until the workout area is cleared of all crumbs. You may ask why no abdominal exercises are included in this program. Hey, if you do this workout routine every day, it will develop your gut. If there is something you would like to have a Stoffel's Guide for, send your ill-advised request to: scottmstoffel@yahoo.com Back to Top ==================================================================================== Clerc Scar 16 FEEDBACK FRIDAY ===== Dear Editors: Re: "The Fight to Save FSDB" by Douglass Bullard While I applaud Douglas Bullard's legislative efforts and his desire to save a school for the deaf, I think it's time we looked beyond just "saving a school for the deaf" for the sake of saving it. As a Deaf parent of two young Deaf children (one of which currently attends pre-K at FSDB), I have been disappointed with FSDB on many levels. First of all, FSDB does not practice Bilingual-Bicultural (Bi-Bi) philosophy. As matter of policy, they claim to follow Total Communication philosophy when in reality, SEE or Sim-Com is used by many teachers, especially at elementary school level. My son has begun to pick up SEE signs, much to my and my husband's dismay. At a recent IEP meeting, when we requested that our son's teacher and the staff at FSDB to use ASL with our son, the IEP coordinator actually got furious with us for even making this reasonable request. Additionally, though FSDB claims to follow Total Communication philosophy, if one were to read their policies (see http://bit.ly/6caReN ), one will notice that they say "Signed English". They also emphasize heavily on the importance of speech and auditory training in their policies. FSDB test scores have been low for more than 5 years in row, and when I asked them what they thought was the reason for consistently low test scores, they blamed it on "language delays" in their students. They refuse to consider that it is possible that their educational system and communication usage may be due for an overhaul. I have also attended FSDB Board of Trustees meetings and recommended that they add ASL to the above policies, as well as rewriting the entire policies so that speech and auditory training aren't emphasized as much, all to no avail. FSDB was founded by a Deaf man, Thomas Coleman. I often wonder what he would make of today's FSDB: a school largely controlled by hearing people with barely any respect for ASL and Deaf Culture. Yes, Douglas Bullard saved FSDB, but was it worth it? Sincerely, Michele Ketcham ===== Re: "Visionary, Please" by Jesse Thomas I agree with him that it is troubling that no one is saying anything about the Gallaudet Presidential search process (and the eventual choice of President). I think the threat of loss of accreditation and threat of loss of Congressional funding has effectively muzzled the Deaf community to the point where they are afraid to rock the boat anymore. It seems to me that the obvious next step is for Gallaudet to become more financially independent so that any future activism can occur without that fear. He who controls the purse strings also controls his own destiny. Sincerely, Michele Ketcham ===== Re: "My Story: Suicide" by Leslie Paul Peterson Thank you to Leslie Paul Peterson and your publication for sharing his story. I was touched and deeply moved. I'm so glad that today you know Jesus and no longer need to fear death. I'm praying for your recovery. God bless you! Vanessa Fountain ===== Re: "My Story: Suicide" by Leslie Paul Peterson I found Leslie's memoir very moving. What a beautiful, true story. Ruth Silver ===== Re: "If Santa Were Deaf" This was endlessly charming! I think I enjoyed most "he would scream 'ho ho ho' in a corner for bass effect." Mary J. Thornley ===== We welcome letters to the editor in response to this piece. Send to editor@clercscar.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for space and clarity or not to publish a letter. We are always open to submissions. Submit your writing, artwork, or video to editor@clercscar.com. To subscribe, email subscribe@clercscar.com with the message "Subscribe daily" or "Subscribe weekly." To unsubscribe, email subscribe@clercscar.com with the message "Unsubscribe me." Find us on Twitter and Facebook! Visit our archives or bookstore at http://www.clercscar.com. Copyright 2009 by Clerc Scar. All rights reserved. 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