The below prayer, which has been attributed to the Native American Ute Tribe, perhaps best expresses my own sentiments about what we can learn from the Earth – today, tomorrow, and always.
Blessings,
Ocean
Earth teach me stillness…as the grasses are stilled with light
Earth teach me suffering…as old stones suffer with memory
Earth teach me humility…as blossoms are humble with beginning
Earth teach me caring…as the mother who secures her young
Earth teach me courage…as the tree which stands alone
Earth teach me limitation…as the ant which crawls on the ground
Earth teach me freedom…as the eagle which soars in the sky
Earth teach me resignation…as the leaves which die in the fall
Earth teach me regeneration…as the seed which rises in the spring
Earth teach me to forget myself…
as melted snow forgets its life
Earth teach me to remember kindness…
as dry fields weep in the rain
Note: This is a Native American prayer which was originally found in the Unitarian Universalist prayer book. It has been posted on a number of different websites around the internet, including that of Cheryl Davis, an artist who specializes in portraying the beauty and heritage of Native American people. Cheryl’s site can be found at
http://www.cheryldavisnativeamericanart.com/
I was curious to learn more about what Jeff Daniels thought about his role in “Sweet Nothing In My Ear,” in which he played the part of Dan, the hearing husband of a Deaf woman and the father of a Deaf son. It must have been quite a challenge for him to take on a role of this dimension, and I wanted to find out what prompted him to take such a role, what it was like to work with Deaf actors and actresses, how he went about learning ASL for his part.
After doing a little Googling, I found the following article, which you can read by clicking on the link (there are other articles listed, but they are all basically repeats of the same thing):
It appears from this article that Jeff learned to sign his lines from watching videos of Linda Bove. While this was not a bad idea, I wonder if he made any effort to find a Deaf person locally that he could practice with in order to get feedback and help improve his signing, instead of waiting until he got out to California and met with Linda personally.
I’ve read a number of comments that his signing really sucked. Admittedly, if he was married to this woman for nine years and she was a strong ASL user from a Deaf family, I would have expected the husband’s signing skills to be better. On the other hand, we have to be realistic… can we really expect Jeff to have such expert signing skills in the short amount of time he had to learn the language? Probably not. While his signing skills may not have been accurately portrayed for the role, for someone who had been signing for a matter of months, I didn’t think he did that bad. He acknowledges that it was a challenge that he knew he could fail… I don’t know if I would compare it to “juggling three peaches,” but it might make people think twice about the idea that learning sign language is easy.
True, maybe Jeff could have done more to prepare for the role, but we have no way of knowing what more he actually did do, or what conflicts he might have had that prevented him from doing so. But at least he was willing to take on the role and give it his best shot, and I think that says a lot. I suppose it could be compared to William Hurt learning ASL for his role in “Children of a Lesser God”… you know these actors will likely never become fluent signers, but at least you can appreciate the effort they put into it.
I thought it was kind of funny in this article how Jeff reacted to trying to sign while carrying a cardboard box. At the same time, I think this demonstrates some of the issues that hearing people often have with learning sign language – if you’re not used to thinking in ASL, things like this can really leave you flustered. We in the Deaf Community think nothing of trying to sign with a baby in your arm, a drink in your hand, or while carrying a box; but if you’re a “foreigner” used to thinking that you’ve got to sign everything exactly proper with both hands…
One thing that bothered me a bit about the article… it states
A crew of sign language interpreters were on the set to assist Matlin and the company’s other deaf actors, including Valencia, Ed Waterstreet and Phyllis Frelich, who play Laura’s parents.
Ahem… excuse me, but why are the interpreters specified as helping the DEAF folks on the set? Interpreters are there to facilitate communication between signers and non-signers – they help EVERYONE, not merely those who are Deaf. I assume the hearing people needed them just as much as the Deaf people did!
I praise Jeff for his comment on
There’s a whole deaf culture that wants to be considered normal – and they are…
That’s the message that we want to get out, and it’s good to see that a member of the Hollywood community recognizes it. It’s not easy constantly trying to teach this lesson, but all we can do is continue to educate… one person at a time.
I am a little confused by the article’s statement about how Matlin
…had never played a character who signed solely in American Sign Language, which has a different syntax than spoken or signed English.
But then it goes on to say she won an Academy Award for Children of a Lesser God. It’s been a while since I saw this movie, but didn’t she sign solely in ASL and didn’t use her voice in the role of Sarah for this movie? She may not have played such a character SINCE that role, but that’s not the same as saying she NEVER has.
And the fact that she does speak, lipread, and use hearing aids in real life doesn’t mean she isn’t capable of playing the role of a non-speaking, ASL-using individual when the role calls for it. Challenging? Certainly… and she admits to such. She also admits that she realizes the expectations of the Deaf Community who would be watching this movie:
“I’ll have a very tough crowd watching me.”
Indeed, the Deaf Community has been tough… and brutally honest in its opinions.
As for my own opinion… well, I thought the movie had its strengths and weaknesses. There were parts of it I liked, and parts of it I didn’t like. For the most part I thought it was pretty well balanced and tried to show all sides of the situation. It took a universal issue – the challenge of being a married couple trying to communicate differences of opinion and make appropriate decisions regarding raising children – and gave it a unique slant.
I’m not sure I can give it two thumbs up, but it definitely gets an A for effort. If it at least taught people a thing or two and got them thinking, then that’s a good thing.
It was a little after four thirty in the morning. I was at work, cleaning the kitchen in the apartment where my clients live, having just finished making lasagna for their weekend meals.
All of the sudden, I was having a hard time keeping my balance. Now granted, I do have a balance problem which is connected to my deafness, but this was more than that. And since I reserve any drinking I do for my days off (besides, I’m not that big of a drinker anyway), I knew I couldn’t blame my unsteadiness on alcohol.
Nope, there was something else going on here. The building actually felt like it was…
shaking.
This wasn’t the normal shaking that one might feel when a semi passes by your home. Besides, the apartment was in a large complex away from any major traffic, so there wouldn’t be any large trucks outside the door. This was something that actually made the furniture shift a couple of inches.
I immediately went outside, only to find that the neighbors were also outside standing around in the parking lot, with the same puzzled expressions as myself. Obviously I wasn’t the only one who had felt the trembling.
Since the apartment was located close to the airport, the first thing that went through my mind was a possible plane crash. But I didn’t see anything that looked like a fire, and the neighbors didn’t hear any sirens.
So I went back inside, only to discover that my clients (both of whom are developmentally disabled and mentally retarded) had woken up, and were freaking out in the living room. They couldn’t understand why someone would come in and shake their beds. After calming them down and escorting them back to their rooms, where they looked upon their mattresses with nervous suspicion before finally climbing back under the sheets, I grabbed my trusty SideKick and put in an emergency text message to the office.
The building here just shook big time, and it freaked out the clients. Anyone know what’s going on?”
The answer came back a few minutes later…
earthquake.
Yup, folks… southern Indiana got visited with an earthquake this morning.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake registered 5.2 on the Richter scale… not all that impressive when compared to Los Angeles earthquake of 1994, which measured 6.7… or the Alaskan earthquake of 1964, which measured 8.4 on the scale. Nevertheless, it was still strong enough to put cracks up a schoolhouse in West Salem, Illinois, which was close to the epicenter of the earthquake… less than sixty miles away from Evansville. It also did some damage as far away as Louisville, Kentucky – a good two to three hours to the east.
And of course, to rattle a couple of people’s nerves.
An earthquake in the Midwest??? Actually, it shouldn’t be all that surprising. The area around the Mississippi River between Saint Louis and Memphis is home to the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the most seismically active area in the country east of the Rocky Mountains. Some scientists predict that the next “big quake” won’t happen in California or Alaska – both known for their earthquake activity. It will happen right in the nation’s heartland. Indeed, major earthquakes estimated to have registered around 8.0 or higher did occur here back in 1811 and 1812, which changed the course of the Mississippi River and entirely destroyed a town which is now underwater. It is estimated that a serious earthquake in the New Madrid Fault Zone could actually devastate 65% of the city of Memphis in Tennessee and do significant damage elsewhere as well.
We ended up having an aftershock later in the morning around 10:15 which registered 4.6 on the scale. The morning’s earthquake is said to have been felt as far away as Chicago, Kansas City, and Memphis.
It’s not the first time I have felt an earthquake, but it hasn’t been a common occurrence in my life. I can’t say that it’s something I would care to repeat.
But at least we can be thankful that there was minimal damage and no report of injuries.
Next time we might not be so lucky.
This is a damage range comparison between an earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone area and a comparable earthquake in the Los Angeles area. As you can see, an earthquake in the Midwest could have some long-range devastating effects over a greater distance than one in California
One of the things about moving back to my hometown is that it evokes a lot of childhood memories.
Driving to and from work, I often pass the schools I attended when I was a kid. As the only deaf child in an all-hearing family, I was kept at home and attended the local all-hearing schools. No deaf school for me; no ASL, no Deaf Culture, no Deaf classmates or mentors. I was the classic “solitary” – the deaf child growing up in a hearing environment.
But it wasn’t all bad… I still have some pleasant memories of attending Plaza Park Elementary School (which is now a middle school), and then going on to William Henry Harrison High School… home of the Warriors. I was the class of 1976, and one of my classmates – Brad Ellsworth – is now serving Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives. Believe it or not, even as the only deaf student in the entire school, I served on Harrison’s Speech and Debate team, and actually made it to state finals.
When I passed my former high school the other day, as I often do when coming home from work, I noticed the sign in front of the school indicated that the prom was soon coming.
Ahhh… the memories.
Yes, I attended my prom – four of them, to be exact… all with the same person. Harrison had both a Junior Prom and a Senior Prom back in my day (I don’t know if they still do this or not). The Junior Prom was held in April, and the Senior Prom in May.
I remember my first prom… I was a junior, and my date was a sophomore. He was a nice guy named Kelley… I wouldn’t say that we were “boyfriend and girlfriend” in the total sense of the word – more like really good friends who did things together. I suspect that his feelings for me were probably somewhat stronger than mine for him – we didn’t sit around making out all night, and we never did the “dirty deed” together… if you get my drift. I cared about Kelley, but I wasn’t in love with him. He didn’t make my heart flutter or put stars in my eyes.
But when the prom came around, he was the one who expressed the desire to accompany me, and the one I chose to do so.
So I bought the dress… a bright cheerful red and white patchwork halter dress; fixed my hair and put on my makeup; and with his mother acting as chauffer, off we went to join my classmates in the most sacred of teenage rites.
The theme of my Junior Prom was “Pieces of April”, a popular song at the time as recorded by Three Dog Night. The music was provided by the band “Clear Lights” – a local band that was considered one of the best in the area. Kelley and I danced, we drank punch and munched on appetizers, we joked around with our friends.
And then they played the theme song.
We joined other couples on the dance floor. I laid my head on Kelley’s shoulder and rested my cheek against his chest. He kissed my forehead and held me close.
And for a few brief moments, we could pretend to be young lovers dancing under the moonlight.
I haven’t seen or talked to Kelley in years. He went with me to my Senior Prom also, and I was his date for both his Junior and Senior Proms. But I went away to college, and although we continued to write, we simply drifted apart. I was learning ASL and beginning my journey into Deafhood… we just didn’t seem to have much in common any longer.
But every year in April I am transported back to a magickal night when we danced to one of my favorite songs… a time when we were still so very young, full of the hope and promise of future possibilities.
I hold onto those visions, and I keep them in my own memory bouquet.
Ocean is the creator & manager of this blog. Born deaf into an all-hearing family, she was raised oral and attended hearing schools. Ocean began learning sign language at the ripe old age of 16, and after meeting a Deaf man began her own journey through Deafhood. She graduated from Gallaudet College (now University), and has held positions both within & outside of the field of Deaf Services.
Ocean has been a practicing Pagan for 30+ years, is an ordained High Priestess of the Wiccan tradition, and considers herself "an eclectic witch," with a primary focus on Celtic Spirituality, but an interest in many different areas. A skilled tarot reader, she once donated her services to help raise funds for a Domestic Violence agency. She has also done workshops on aromatherapy, herbalism, & Paganism for the Deaf Community.
As a passionate advocate, Ocean often speaks out on the need for greater access for Deaf people (Pagan or otherwise) - interpreters, captioned videos, CART, etc...and works to build bridges between the Deaf & Hearing communities.
She lives not far from her hometown on the banks of the Ohio River with her two cats, Karma & Gandalf.
To contact Ocean,
you may email her at oshginva@gmail.com
MAKING CONNECTIONS
This sculpture shows the sign for "connect"...and that is what Deaf Pagan Crossroads is all about - making connections. Connections between Deafhood and Paganism, connections between the Deaf Community and the Hearing Community, connections between myself as the writer and you as the reader. I hope you will take the time to read my various posts, some of which are listed below. Welcome to the Crossroads, and I hope you make some connections here!
BLOG & CONTACT INFO
Deaf Pagan Crossroads is a blog, operated by one individual - Ocean. It is not an on-line coven or community. While I do have limited knowledge of and contact with other Deaf/ASL Pagans around the country, I am not aware of any Deaf covens. I'm happy to share what information I may have, but I may not have the answers you are seeking. I encourage readers to do their own research and find their own answers whenever possible.
Those who wish to contact me privately may do so by sending an email to oshginva@gmail.com
Please be aware that it may take me a few days to respond, depending on my time and priorities.
Thank you!
WANT TO USE EXCERPTS FROM POSTS ON THIS BLOG?
Sometimes readers will see something here and wish to use it in a paper or on their own blog/website. While I am flattered by such interest, please be aware that most of the writings on this blog site are the property of Deaf Pagan Crossroads and are copyrighted by Virginia L. Beach. As such, they may not be reproduced elsewhere without the expressed permission of the owner. I'm usually pretty open to allowing usage of such if you just take the time to ask. Permission may be granted by contacting Ocean at oshginva@gmail.com Thank you.
copyright 2006 - 2012 Virginia L. Beach
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This sculpture shows the sign for "connect"...and that is what Deaf Pagan Crossroads is all about - making connections. Connections between Deafhood and Paganism, connections between the Deaf Community and the Hearing Community, connections between myself as the writer and you as the reader. I hope you will take the time to read my various posts, some of which are listed below. Welcome to the Crossroads, and I hope you make some connections here!
