I am taking ASL this summer and am practicing whenever I am sitting still or driving the car. My daughter is into advanced ASL and is planning to continue on to become a certified interpreter. I think I might want to interpret as well as there is a great need. Imagine being in the emergency room and being unable to communicate with anyone – just one example of the places that are always happy to have an interpreter available. This is not a “take some courses and “voila” journey however. It takes practice and it involves learning signs in addition to finger-spelling. I’ll see how far I go with it – at any rate, I will be able to communicate at various levels in English, French, Italian and, now sign (sign is the 4th most spoken language in the US).My instructor became deaf at 22 after contracting spinal meningitis and so her speech is excellent which is not the case with people who are born deaf. She earned her masters in business administration and PhD in psychology (she is a counseling psychologist) AFTER she became deaf! She is also president of L.E.A.D. an agency that provides counseling and advocacy for the deaf and hard of hearing. Living in both worlds makes her an excellent teacher and I am enjoying the class. July 1 my daughter and I will take my granddaughter to catch her flight to New Jersey where she will spend a week with my brother-in-law Mark and his wife. Sandy She loves visiting them and is really looking forward to the trip. She will turn 15 the week after she returns to Missouri. She has just learned that the mechanic (former Navy and single father) who takes care of Mark’s boat has a 15-year-old son. Ah, life is good when you are 15! At any rate, she is looking forward to fireworks in Fairhaven on the 4th!My husband is training for the Missouri 340 which will be held later this summer. The 340 is a canoe/kayak race from Kansas City to St. Charles, MO on the Missouri River. The river is not being kind to our canoeists so far this year however. He and his partner were planning on a 50-mile race on the KAW river, finishing in Kansas City. The race is now going to be a 35-miler (maybe) and will be starting later in the day – he’s not going. Another race that was scheduled last weekend was cancelled due to high water as well. He is keeping busy teaching and making canoe paddles so the races themselves are not a big deal. As long as he can get in about 100 hours before the big race, he should be fine.As you know, it is hotter than Hades this summer all of a sudden. Heat index in the 110-range today again. I am so grateful that we have air conditioning. Makes it all a little more tolerable. That’s about it for now. Hope your summer is going well.
Ta Ta from Columbia.
M
