Two weeks ago, Lipreading Mom reported on the case of Pearl Pearson, a 64-year-old man who was assaulted by a highway officer because he couldn’t hear the officer’s commands due to his deafness. In the post, I also shared my experiences with being unable to hear an officer when I was pulled over. You may … Continue reading
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When You Call Me a Hurtful Nickname
This week, a child who I don’t know very well called me a hurtful name, ‘Deaf F—–‘ (Rhymes with Maggot).’ Instead of staying upset at him (he later apologized), I wrote “The Power of a Name.” You are welcome to share this with anyone you think it may help. THE POWER OF A NAME Before … Continue reading
How Robin Williams Taught Me to ‘Seize the Day’
Twenty-five years ago this summer, I sat in a packed Texas movie theater with a high school friend. The movie was Dead Poet’s Society, and in it, the late actor Robin Williams’ character teaches Literature at an all-boy’s prep school in the 1950s. To engage his students who had been previously taught to embrace conformity and … Continue reading
Learning to Hear Without Ear Canals
I met Janet at a presentation I gave this summer in Kansas City. The speaking topic was “How to Thrive with a Hearing Loss.” While I expected attendees to have a basic understanding of hearing loss and deafness, I wasn’t prepared to meet someone who had as many years of personal experience as Janet did. … Continue reading
Folding Fitted Sheets and “Good ‘Nuff”
Originally posted on Hearing Elmo:
My newlywed daughter bragged to me recently that her husband can fold a fitted sheet. Pressing for details I found out that he evidently can fold them where they are laying flat. … like they just came out of the package. … making Martha Stewart proud. I think I hate…
What Swimming Pools Do to My Ears
Go back in time with me to the summer of 1983. My family owned an above-ground swimming pool that kept me and my sisters entertained most days. I was nine years old. It wasn’t the first time I had worn plugs to keep the water out of my ears. Wearing ear plugs with water was … Continue reading
Answer this Question: What Were You Doing Five Years Ago?
Five years ago this month, my first book debuted. A book tour followed, with stops in Nashville, Tennessee; Kansas City; Oklahoma City; and the small town that inspired the book—Chickasha, Oklahoma. Lip Reader is a work of fiction, but the story has some true elements. The main character, Sapphie, is a reflection of me as … Continue reading
I Will Miss You, Maya
Weeks after my second child was born, I was in the throes of a horrible postpartum depression. Something motivated me to pick up a copy of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the memoir of author and poet Maya Angelou. In the book, Maya shares about growing up in racially segregated Arkansas and how … Continue reading
Letter to My Childhood Sunday School Teacher
This Easter, I want to recognize a particular teacher I knew as a kid. Miss Ann and I attended a country church in Oklahoma during the early 1980s. She was the first Sunday school teacher I can remember from my childhood. There may have been others, but Miss Ann taught me in a plain-spoken way. … Continue reading
We Can’t Know What it Means
Originally posted on Hearing Elmo:
When I want to go to the store, I load up my service dog and away I go. When I go to church, I just walk out the door to my townhome’s parking place and get in my old car and drive safely to the place I call my church…
Lipreading Mom 