February 11, 2009: DHHS Grand Valentine Dinner Party

I am sorry that I am late to do blogging this subject cuz I kept delaying it due to pains in my stomach that made me uncomfortable.  I will tell u about it in the next blog.  I was supposed to do this great story that I had a wonderful experience.  So, here is my blog:

I wore a pretty outfit that night.  A gold silky blouse with long sleeves and ivory skirt.  And a pair of ivory wedding shoes.  I looked so formal.  I was feeling okay.  My bus came in on time.  DHHS Grand Valentine Dinner party was held at Palmetto Club in Daytona Beach and by Easter Seals.  In case u don't know what DHHS stands for, it stands for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service.  I recongized some deaf and hearing people from deaf club when I arrived at the party.  Nova and her boyfriend, Tom, Amy and Chuck, David (the other guy, not my youngest brother), Nadine, and some others I know.  About 75 people came to dinner.  I ordered a drink but actually, it's not alcoholic beverage, virgin margarita.  It tastes very good.  I love it.  LOL!  And then I chatted with other people before the dinner started but we had to pray first.  I already chose what I want for dinner.  The main course I picked out was chicken kiev.  After dinner, I had a slice of carrot cake.  My coffee looked too dark so I don't want to drink it cuz I felt it's no good.  Yuck.  Then Nova and Tom were hosting to play a game called "Newlywed Game" on the stage after dinner.  Do u know about this kind of game?  It referred to a TV game show that Bob Eubanks hosted in the late 1960s, '70s, '80s, and '90s.  There are 4 couples were involved in it.  This game was so funny!  LOL!  One of 4 couples received a plastic box of huge Valentine Kiss Candy.  After this game, few people received winning prizes when their name was announced.  People were about leaving when the game was finished.  I asked my deaf friend, Nadine, to take few pictures of me sitting on the old-fashioned couch.  I had to sit there after I got out of the wheelchair. It was my idea.  One of pictures look good.  I finished posting several digital photos in the photo album in this Multiply minutes ago.  Go check them out, please.  Also, I have some photos that business photographer took at the party in the website of Easter Seals.  Amy sent this website to us in an email last late month ago.  Anyways, I was curious to check out the new videophone that the Purple Team brought to us.  It can be using for a travel.  Sounds cool.  It's called Mobile Videophone (MVP).  It's free.  Then I did signing it up.  Right now, I am still waiting for someone to inform me about it when MVP is ready delivering to me.  Back to the party, it's about over.  Amy contacted my youngest brother, David, by using her Blackberry pager thru i711 when I am ready to go home.  She did it successfully.  David was going to pick me up.  I waited outside with Amy.  The weather that night was so nice and cool, not bad.  David did arrive to get me in his shiny blue Honda car.  And then I went home.  I had a good time at the Valentine Dinner party.  It was successful and wonderful.

March 13, 2009: Silent (Signing) Dinner at Cracker Barrel

That Friday early evening, I went to a Silent (Signing) Dinner at Cracker Barrel on a popular tourist strip, International Speedway Blvd.  Cracker Barrel is a country restaurant.  This is not my type of food but I kind of like it.  I decided to go there cuz I don't like staying home too much on weekends and staying home makes me boring.  Thank God, I got out of my family's mansion.  I wanted to have fun there and meeting some people that I don't know but my hearing interperter, Nova, knew.  My hearing interpreter, Nova, was a host there but still do being it.  Silent Dinner is where u can't allow to talk with anyone.  Hearing and deaf people must learn how to sign each other at the table.  Some hearing people are ASL students and teachers.  Other deafies taught them correctly if hearing people are trying to remember ASL.  As my bus arrived there on time, I recongized few of my friends from the deaf club were about entering into that restaurant but I didn't see Nova in a person yet.  I guess someone is calling the group when the table is ready.  I recongized some people I know from the deaf club when I found them at the table.  Oh, boy, the restaurant was so full of hungry customers cuz it's Friday.  Can't u believe it?  Wow!  Waiters and waitresses were sooooo busy and kept running around it back and forth.  I saw Nova at the end of table with her boyfriend, Tom.  I was glad to see Nova again.  She was chatting with other friends there.  And then I ordered a dinner:  A cheeseburger with bacon and fried steaks and a drink of raspberry lemonade.  Shoot, I forgot about the drink of apple cider.  OOPS, next time I will order a different one.  The apple cider is one of my favorite drinks and a very delicious.  A cheeseburger with bacon looks so huge but very delicious.  Yummmmmy!  Anyways, I met unknown people at the table.  I learned that a hearing woman is an ASL teacher at an elementary school in Palm Coast, north of Ormond Beach.  She's also a mother of 3 kids but 2 of them were with her.  I had fun chatted with people.  They were nice.  After dinner, I ordered a hot fudge ice cream mug.  Yummy!  I took 2 boxes to home.  A halfway of cheeseburger and the other box is many fried steaks but I did eat some of them at the table, not much, and plastic bag of biscuits.  After my friends and I left the table, I can't push the wheelchair myself cuz I carried an ice cream mug but I got a help from a young, female ASL student.  I carried it while I looked at merchandises around the shop as an ASL student pushed my wheelchair.  I decided to buy a bottle of water.  I did.  And then we went outside.  I had a plenty of time to enjoy the outside that night cuz my Dad could come to get me in 30 minutes.  I was not worrying if I would keep Dad waiting too long, u know.  However, I played a game called checkers at the table with the other young woman while waiting for Dad to pick me up.  I won it.  Ha, Ha.  I almost figured out how to play checkers as if I am trying to remember that kind of game.  I haven't playing it in a long time.  I did it few times when I was a young girl.  Then suddenly, all of people I was with at the table had to go right away.  Here is I was alone again after they left.  I think my hearing interperter don't understand what I said in a sign language when Nova came back to get her binder that she forgot.  I figured she's confusing and districting due to her brain surgery when Nova was 14.  I tried to tell her that I don't want to be alone until my father arrives.  Finally, my father arrived at the restaurant and picked me up from there.  Then I went home.  I had a wonderful evening that night.  I enjoyed the dinner and chatting with other people.

February 7, 2009: GDBAD

That late Saturday afternoon, the bus arrived at my place for picking me up.  The bus was taking me to Easter Seals where the deaf club is held and going to play Fingo game.  When the bus arrived at Easter Seals, I noticed, wow, so many vehicles were full crowded in the parking lot.  I don't know what's going on in there until I learned that people from out of town were having an interpreting training workshop when I went inside.  We were waiting for that group to get out of the room when the training is finished.  It's late.  Finally, the group of interpreting trainees was about leaving.  Thank goodness.  The deaf club officials were in a hurry to set up everything in the room.  We, as members and non-members, were waiting outside the room but automatic doors in the lobby room made us so cold as those kept opening continously.  Many other people kept coming in for attending and playing the game.  The room was so full crowded but I don't know how many people in there.  I lost a count.  When my deaf friend, Amy, came in with her hubby Chuck and deaf friend, Victoria, I paid her for a ticket to DHHS Grand Valentine Dinner party on Feb. 11th.  I asked a deaf friend to bring me a coffee that I paid.  I had a coffee that woke me up immediately.    It worked for me.  LOL!  Several minutes later, we started playing the game.  I had a slice of birthday cake that tastes okay.  It's probably from Winn-Dixie, a supermarket.  A hearing ASL student said the cake would be tasting better at Publix instead of Winn-Dixie.  She's right.  Later on, Dad came in to pick me up but the game took so long.  It was late.  I was waiting for the game to be finished.  I didn't win the game and the door prize that night but I am okay.  Then finally, I went home right away.

January 3, 2009: GDBAD

That Sat afternoon, Dad picked up my supper at KFC for ordering a box of popcorn chicken and then dropped me off at Easter Seals where I was having a deaf club meeting but about 10 minutes later, our meeting was cancelled cuz not enough members to show up.  We chatted.  2 of members left early for going out to eat.  I stayed there.  After members and guests arriving on time, we were going to play a Bingo that night.  My deaf friend, Jo, was very, very busy taking care of her mother who is in the wheelchair and has a Alzheimer's disease during the game.  Poor Jo.  I sometimes noticed Jo is very stressful and having a difficult life at home.  She's living in the house with her mother and her deaf, mental retardation brother, Bill.  I can hear Jo's mother kept coughs alot and I didn't see Jo's mother vomitting all over her pants.  Poor Mother.  So, Jo had to take her mother to the restroom but when Jo came back and informed me the restroom is mess.  She also said I should use another restroom on the other side of Easter Seals.  I understood.  Then Jo decided to take her mother home early cuz her mother isn't feeling well.  Amy and I agreed each other that Jo's mother should be putting up in the nursing home so it would give Jo a break.  I do recall hearing about the nursing home had turned down an application for Jo's mother to enter it about last year or so.  Jo complained about the nursing home.  Anyways, I didn't win but at the end of game, I won a door prize, a candlelight.  And then Dad picked me up for going home.

GDBAD Christmas Dinner December 6, 2008

I went to a GDBAD Christmas Dinner Party at Easter Seals last late Saturday afternoon.  My bus came in to pick me up at my mansion on time.  I arrived at Easter Seals so early when my bus dropped me off there.  When I got inside, some club officials were setting up the food on table.  I was so hungry and can't wait to eat until 5 pm.  I had a small lunch, a salad, cuz I would be ended up getting full at supper.  Anyways, one of club officials, Georianna, announced us that we have had to line up at the door outside the room to pay the food and game.  We did it as she said.  We were waiting to take our turn to pay admission but it took us so long cuz one of guests from the other deaf club had discussing the payment with one of our club officials, Bud, a president.  Bud screwed up.  Bud and Roy, the other club official, a treasurer, were discussing the payment that Amy sent an email to spread out to us about Christmas Dinner Party.  I waited and waited patiently.  The price was mixed up.  Bud gave us a correct price.  Oh, well.  Next year, Bud will be replaced as club president by a deaf guy from New Smyrna Beach named Marcus cuz Bud could be losing his mind at his age.  I hope Marcus will be a good planner and successful and smart.  Anyways, I don't have to pay the food cuz I am a member of the deaf club but will have to pay the Fingo game later.  Then I went to the table where I wanted to seat at in my wheelchair.  I noticed so many guests and members flocked when they arrived.  Wow, the room at Easter Seals was so crowded!  The space in it is too small.  Chuck came in but he's not with Amy cuz Chuck informed me that Amy had to do Christmas orders for her many customers at home.  She's very busy doing those ASL artwork orders every Christmastime.  Again, I was waiting for the food to start but a prayer come first by Carl from St. Augustine.  I was first to line up to get food at table cuz I am in a wheelchair.  I was told that.  I picked out what I wanted to eat.  They look yummy and delicious!  Club officials ordered the food at a supermarket, Publix.  They taste better than we made food ourselves.  Biscuit, ham, chicken, potato salad, dips, crackers, devil eggs, and macaroni salad.  Free drinks are tea but have to pay sodas and water.  Pumpkin and pecan pies.  When I finished picking out the food, I went back to the table and ate them.  I chatted with some members and guests at the table.  After dinner, I had to pay the game.  We were waiting for the game to start but it took us so long cuz club officials were very busy taking care of things first.  Some members and guests went ahead to get a piece of cake when the club official opened the box of Christmas cake but she decided to stop doing it for members and guests until at break time.  Finally, the game started.  I didn't win that night but I am okay.  I really needed money for food and Christmas shopping.  I enjoyed playing the game.  It was fun.  Then Dad came in to pick me up but we have had a speaker named Brian who works for CSDVRS, a different video relay service company, not Sorenson VP, as Outreach Specialist.  Brian discussed a new videophone product, the Z.  Hmmm, I am thinking about this new product but I can't afford it.  I like Sorenson VP better and would like to have a nice Blackberry Pearl pager as my Christmas or Birthday wish from one of my family members cuz I can use it to anywhere in the travel world outside my home.  Anyways, when the speaker finished talking, I went to check out his flyer and an application.  And then I went home.

Here is a slideshow below:

Boil Water Issues In My Hometown. An Appt with Melody.

Last Monday, I can't believe no one in my hometown informs me as if I am being deaf who can't answering the phone that the boil water has been issued that afternoon.  I heard the lightning struck a water plant in Ormond Beach on 5 o'clock TV news.  Mom confused me by what's going on in my hometown when she videophoned me thru an interpreter.  I don't want to hear about the boil water issues. I called Mom twice about it. The last one was that my parents think it's not in our area.  My parents asked me if I have to check the water if it is pressuring.  I replied yes.  It means no dirty and looking clear.  Mom said I don't have to worry about it. LOL!  I told her I am not.  I feel healthy since then.  I heard on the TV news that so many residents in our area wanted to pick up a package of free bottled water at an art performance center.  The boil water issuses had been lifted yesterday.  About deaf community, most deaf people are very confused by what's going on in their hometown when there is an emergency if they have no idea.  911 calls make to only hearing residents when there's a warning issue.  I e-mailed my deaf friend in New Smyrna Beach about what happened in my hometown that Monday night.  Anyways, I wish someone who is responsible taking care of our problematic situations so he or she informs Florida Governor Crist about our deaf community is doing it immediately, not for a year or 2.  We are waiting for a green light from our governor if someone have an idea about how to set up an emergency for all of deaf residents.

I went to see Melody last Tuesday afternoon for my appt.  Melody wanted me to pick which level of sounds is the best and then started to play a harp again for about 15 minutes.  As Melody continued to play a harp, I feel I am getting a vibe in a progress.  The vibe went through my feet, legs, and then to in both sides of my head.  Wow!  I felt my right knee is acting up like a shake.  After the harp was finished, Melody showed ASL in an alphabet order with her left hand to me.  Nice try.  Then I learned how to correct a pronounce of word.  It was a difficult.  And then Mom’s turn.

Dancing With The Stars Season 6 Day 7 - Marlee & Fabian

I can't believe Marlee is eliminated from "Dancing With The Stars" last Tuesday night. I was disappointed but I am okay. She worked hard.

However, I saw Marlee dancing with Fabian on "Live With Regis and Kelly" on TV this morning. Their dance on that TV morning show was wonderful. Marlee and Fabian wore a pair of jeans. She looks beautiful with a bright, highlight long hair.

Here is a video below:

Hallmark Hall Of Fame - "Sweet Nothing In My Ear" That Marlee Maltin Starred In

Did u watch "Sweet Nothing In My Ear" on TV movie last night? I did. Wow, that TV movie was so good. Marlee Maltin played a deaf teacher and mother and Jeff Daniels played a hearing father and an employee at a car shop office. This TV movie is story about both hearing husband and deaf wife making a hard decision on their son, Adam. They have been discussing an issue of cochlear implants but disagreeing about it each other.

If u missed watching this TV movie last night, DVD will be available for purchase after May 15 at ur local Hallmark Gold Crown store. Also, if u can't afford it, I am suggesting u would wanting to go to either the library or Blockbuster.

See the Link Tab of it on this page, please.

Dancing With The Stars Season 6 Day 6 - Marlee & Fabian

I am so glad that Marlee and Fabian are saved for another next week. Whew! Congratulations on them! The kind of their dance is Samba. Marlee said in a sign language that Samba is the hardest dance she've ever had with Fabian. I noticed that on TV show last Monday night. Whoa! I agreed with her. Here is a video below. Enjoy!

Dancing With The Stars Season 6 Day 5 - Marlee & Fabian

Go, Marlee! Yay! Yay! The kind of dance is Viennese Waltz. Oh, what a beautiful dance! How romantic! Marlee's dress looks so stunning. Congratulations on Marlee & Fabian being saved for next week. Here is a video below:

Kitty's New Sorenson Video Phone 200

Last Thursday night, I received an e-mail from a man unexpectedly. His name is Tim. Tim informed me that Sorenson have my Video Phone (VP) 200. That's good news. Finally! I waited so long since I ordered it a year ago or 2. It's a free for deaf callers only. Then I IMed him right away for discussing Sat plans. Sat plans was a successful. It installed by him that some of my deaf friends knew. Tim replaced an old VP 100 with a new one that looks different I have now. He works for Sorenson and lives in my area. We discussed Sorenson VP 200. I am happy to receive it. I am learning how to use it. Thanks to Tim. A VP is using for deaf callers. A deaf receiver can chat with a deaf friend thru a video in their TV or computer and use a relay service in contact with a hearing person thru an interpreter. When a flasher in the Sorenson VP 200 singals a deaf receiver, he or she have to turn on with a remote control and finds out who is calling her or him. Thank God, I really need a flasher cuz I can't hear rings. Long before I received a new VP 200, I had difficult listening to rings and missed the overdue calls. I didn't know that until I've checked out the missed calls in VP 100.

Dancing With The Stars Season 6 Day 4 - Marlee & Fabian

The kind of dance that stars had to do a different last Monday night is a jive. So, I just found out Marlee and Fabian were first to do dancing on the show that night. Wonderful. I enjoyed watching it during the dancing segment. I am so proud of Marlee and Fabian. They worked hard and are overcome. Last Tuesday night on TV, I just learned both Marlee and Fabian are saved. It means they are going to stay at the dance show for another week. Yay, that's good news! I can't wait to see them again next Monday night!

Deaf Times: Marlee Matlin Dances to Her Own Beat

Here is another article online from Deaf Times below.  Marlee discussed the dancing show.  She's enjoying it.  It's fun. 

From the newsroom of the ABC News, Monday, March 24, 2008 .....

Deaf Actress Proves You Don't Need Hearing to Listen to the Rhythm

Actress Marlee Matlin wowed the crowd last Tuesday when she trotted to the beat on "Dancing with the Stars" despite her hearing disability. (ABC)

While Marlee Matlin cha cha cha-ed her way into fans' hearts as the sentimental favorite on last week's "Dancing With the Stars" season premiere, many wondered how the deaf actress was able to maintain the beat and stay in perfect step with her partner Fabian Sanchez.

"Fabian is my music. Fabian, as the man, takes the lead," Matlin said. "He also is my music where I just go with him. I look at him and follow him, as if he's my music, as if he would hear it and try to do it right. It's as simple as that."
Rumors suggest Matlin and Sanchez use secret cues to communicate on the dance floor.
"I'm touching her, and I [communicate the rhythm to] her through my movement. There are no signals here," Sanchez said.
Making sure Matlin has all the right moves isn't a simple task for the 42-year-old mother of four who describes herself as profoundly deaf.
"Without hearing aids, I'm stone deaf. I hear absolutely nothing," she said.

Still, she enjoyed performing for the millions of viewers.
"It was a great feeling. It was fun and it was a total natural high," Matlin said.
Even if Matlin doesn't take home the glittering mirror ball trophy at season's end, she already has proved her hearing disability doesn't limit her aspirations.
Matlin lost her hearing at 18-months-old after a bout with the virus roseola, and has never let her silent world limit her. As a result, she netted a best actress Oscar at age 21 for 1987's "Children of a Lesser God. "

Inspiring the Next Generation

The fact that the actress, who is currently a regular on Showtime's "The L Word," has been able to accomplish so much came as no surprise to second-graders in Gallaudet University's elementary and secondary programs in Washington, D.C.
There, Matlin has served as an inspiration for hard of hearing students searching for the beat.
"I was really surprised. 'Wow — a deaf person is dancing.' So, now I want to dance also," said Zachary Jones, a dance student at Gallaudet's Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) performing arts program.
The program, which caters to the deaf and hard of hearing, teaches students to rely on eye contact and teamwork, while internalizing the beat, to develop dance skills, rather than focusing on the music.
"I would say that deaf people have to work a little bit harder in terms to make sure they are relying completely on the count and the rhythm," said Yola Rozynek, of MSSD.
They often come up with the moves first and pick the music later. "I can hear some of the beats. We maintain eye contact and use our eyes. We keep a rhythm," said MSSD dance student Jene Kelly.

"We use counting and memorize all the dance moves. We use the counting to keep us on track and we also practice very often," said MSSD dance student Ormar Rodriguez.
As the students continue to perfect their moves, so will Matlin.
"All I can say is I'm having fun. I hope the audience is really gonna enjoy our performance as well as everybody else's on the show," Matlin said.

Deaf Times: Deaf Actress on “Dancing With the Stars” Show By Leonard Hall

This weekly column writer for deaf community, Leonard Hall, discussed Marlee Matlin at "Dancing With The Stars" and many deaf outstanding dancers in the deaf world.  Here is an article online from Deaf Times below:

From the newsroom of the Olathe News, Olathe, Kansas, Saturday, March 22, 2008 .....

By Leonard Hall

Deaf actress Marlee Matlin had never danced professionally before and joined one of the 12 woman dancers with male partners on the ABC reality television show “Dancing With the Stars” that debuted last Monday night.

Marlee Matlin and her male dancing partner/teacher Fabian Sanchez did very well last Monday show dancing the “cha-cha” and getting 21 points. The couple finished third among the 12 dancing couples.

It is no surprise that Matlin can dance well as she is in good physical shape. It took two weeks of cha-chaing and quickstepping practice for seven hours a day for Matlin to prepare for last Monday “Dancing With the Stars” debut.

In the deaf world, there are many outstanding deaf dancers.

At the international deaf festival held at Gallaudet University several years ago, there were several outstanding dancing troupes from throughout the world, including China, which provided outstanding dance performances.

Matlin proved to be more rhythmically inclined than at least half of her competitors.

She faced tough competition, even so none of the other women dancers have danced professionally before.

On Monday, the top woman dancer was Kristi Yamaguchi, who is the Olympic gold medalist in women figure skating. She made it look easy being on and off the ice.

Also dancing are actresses Shannon Elizabeth and Priscilla Presley, tennis champ Monica Seles, actress Marissa Jaret Winokur and other well-known celebrities.

No couple was eliminated from last week show, but two will be eliminated Monday, March 24^th.

Matlin is a 42-year old Emmy-nominated television actress who won a best actress Oscar in 1986 for “Children of A Lesser God.” She has starred in a number of TV series and movies.

This is the sixth season of “Dancing With the Stars”. ABC sought to provide a diversity among the dancers, a contributing factor to the success of the show. Dancers had been boxers, basketball players, football players, baseball players, models, and actors.

In season four, model Heather Mills, who wears a prosthetic leg, lasted seven weeks on the show.

It is good to see diversity on this reality television show. Matlin will do well in the dancing competition.

Deaf Times: Deaf dancer will be watching Marlee Matlin on "Dancing With the Stars"

From the newsroom of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, Wednesday, March 12, 2008 .....

Heather Wagley practices with dance partner Larry Nemeth at the American Dance Exchange. When they compete, the judges are unaware that she is deaf.

When I found out about Marlee Maltin's dancing job on TV a month ago, I was excited and happy to learn about her situation there. Yay! I am planned to watch "Dancing with the Stars" on Monday night, ABC. Remember Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995? She was the first deaf ballerina to win Miss America but the kind of her dance is different. I will never forget the night she won. Regis Philbin was witnessed there. His reaction about Heather Whitestone is that he can't believe it as his head shaked. Heather is so amazing! Anyways, I am going to find out how Marlee is doing. Otherwise, here is an article online about a deaf dancer and her dance partner below. I picked this out last Wednesday night cuz I thought u might be interesting to learn about what deaf dancer can do that u don't know.

Heather Wagley was putting her best foot forward on a recent afternoon, but her instructor Larry Nemeth wanted a better best foot forward, and then another.
So Nemeth, who teaches at the American Dance Exchange in Highland Heights, led Wagley to repeat a sequence of steps here, a sequence there, allowing the music to pace them through a medley of dances, from West Coast jitterbug to fox trot to tango to cha-cha -- as other students and instructors danced around them.
Wagley, a tall, blond woman of 32, has won first place in more than 50 ballroom dancing contests, with Nemeth as her partner the last eight years or so. When the San Francisco Open DanceSport competition begins March 28, they'll be there in their dancing shoes.
The judges won't know she's deaf. They never do.











ABC Actress Marlee Matlin practices with her partner in preparation for Monday's sixth season-premiere of "Dancing With the Stars" on ABC.
Of course, when ABC's popular reality show "Dancing With the Stars" begins its sixth season at 8 p.m. Monday, the judges will know contestant Marlee Matlin is deaf.
And so will everyone who watches the Oscar-winning actress and wonders, "How can she dance to music she can't hear?"
Wagley, a dance student for 18 years, was pleasantly surprised that Matlin was chosen for the TV competition -- and of course, she'll be watching, as usual. Communicating through sign language to instructor Tony Nunez, she predicted Matlin has her work cut out for her, though.
Matlin is hoping her appearance will shatter once and for all the misconception that deaf people can't dance. "Deaf people can do anything except hear," she said in USA Today, quoting I. King Jordan, the first deaf president of Gallaudet University, a school in Washington, D.C., for the deaf and hard of hearing.
The actress will learn the dances through sight, feel and repetition, just like Wagley, said P.J. Novarro, co-owner of the dance studio. He said the film star will have to practice at least 40 hours to learn a dance, and that's more or less true for the other participants, too.
"Everyone is born with rhythm," he said. "She may not hear the downbeat, but it's transferred to her by her teacher."
While the bass notes can be felt through wooden flooring, they are not transmitted effectively through other materials, like concrete, or wood on concrete. That's why a deaf dancer needs to count steps, or look to a partner for guidance, as Wagley does. She focuses on Nemeth's face all the while she's dancing, he said, because she reads his lips for instructions, like "quick" or "slow" to keep the rhythm.
"And I'll tell her if she leans too heavily," he said, and that would indicate she isn't maintaining proper posture, which was a problem early on. "I keep telling her to take smaller steps. And a big challenge for her is moving her hips for the Latin dancing."
And she must remember step counts. The merengue, for example, is danced on eight counts, equally timed; the rumba is quick-quick-slow; the cha-cha is cha-cha-cha, rock step, and the mambo is 1 -- hold -- 2-3-4.
Sue Bungard, director of community services at the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, knows the drill. She is deaf and attended Gallaudet, where students held homecoming dances. "The band would play loud, and we'd have a wonderful time," she said. And they'd keep the music cranked up in the student lounge, too.
But college wasn't her first introduction to dance. "I took tap and ballet as a child, and I took line dancing," she said. "I just followed along."

Don't forget to watch "Dancing with the Stars" on Monday night at 8 pm Eastern Time on ABC. Here is a link of this show below:


Dancing with the Stars

1888 Photo Depicts Helen Keller, Teacher Sullivan

This 1888 photo released by the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston shows Helen Keller when she was 8 years old, left, holding hands with her teacher, Anne Sullivan, during a summer vacation to Brewster, Mass., on Cape Cod.

When I heard about a 1888 photo of Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, on the TV news last night and this morning, it got me interesting and this photo looks cool. I have never seen this one like that before. But I can't see the sign language of Sullivan spelling "doll" in that photo. I can tell that Helen was about improving her behavior and English skills during the year 1888. She looked much better than the year before. A year before 1888, Helen was a troublemaker and messy but in that 1888 photo, she looked so pretty and recovered. Wow! I am so impressed by seeing that photo.

1888 photo depicts Helen Keller, teacher

Society staff discovers 1888 image from donated collection

The Associated Press

updated 7:48 p.m. ET, Wed., March. 5, 2008

BOSTON - Researchers have uncovered a rare photograph of a young Helen Keller with her teacher Anne Sullivan, nearly 120 years after it was taken on Cape Cod and tucked inside a family album.
The photograph, shot in July 1888 in Brewster, shows an 8-year-old Helen sitting outside in a light-colored dress, holding Sullivan's hand and cradling one of her beloved dolls.
Experts on Keller's life believe it could be the earliest photo of the two women together and the only one showing the blind and deaf child with a doll — the first word Sullivan spelled for Keller after they met in 1887 — according to the New England Historic Genealogical Society, which now has the photo.
"It's really one of the best images I've seen in a long, long time," said Helen Selsdon, an archivist at the American Federation for the Blind, where Keller worked for more than 40 years. "This is just a huge visual addition to the history of Helen and Annie."
Image stuffed inside a family album For more than a century, though, the photograph was hidden in an album that belonged to the family of Thaxter Spencer, an 87-year-old man in Waltham.
Spencer's mother, Hope Thaxter Parks, often stayed at the Elijah Cobb House on Cape Cod during the summer as a child. In July 1888, she played with Keller, whose family had traveled from Tuscumbia, Ala., to vacation in Massachusetts.
Spencer, who doesn't know which of his relatives took the picture, told the society that his mother, four years younger than Helen, remembered Helen exploring her face with her hands.
In June, Spencer donated a large collection of photo albums, letters, diaries and other heirlooms to the genealogical society, which preserves artifacts from New England families for future research.
"I never thought much about it," Spencer said in a statement released by the society. "It just seemed like something no one would find very interesting." Spencer has recently been hospitalized and could not be reached for comment.
It wasn't until recently that staff at the society realized the photograph's significance.
'It's a beautiful portrait' D. Brenton Simons, the society's president and CEO, said the photograph offers a glimpse of what was a very important time in Keller's life.
Sullivan was hired in 1887 to teach Keller, who had been left blind and deaf after an illness at the age of 1 1/2. With her new teacher, Keller learned language from words spelled manually into her hand. Not quite 7, the girl went from an angry, frustrated child without a way to communicate to an eager scholar.
While "doll" was the first word spelled into her hand, Helen finally comprehended the meaning of language a few weeks later with the word "water," as famously depicted in the film "The Miracle Worker." Sullivan stayed at her side until her death in 1936, and Keller became a world-famous author and humanitarian. She died in 1968.
Jan Seymour-Ford, a research librarian at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, which both Sullivan and Keller attended, said she was moved to see how deeply connected the women were, even in 1888.
"The way Anne is gazing so intently at Helen, I think it's a beautiful portrait of the devotion that lasted between these two women all of Anne's life," Seymour-Ford said.
Selsdon said the photograph is valuable because it shows many elements of Keller's childhood: that devotion, Sullivan's push to teach Helen outdoors and Helen's attachment to her baby dolls, one of which was given to her upon Sullivan's arrival as her teacher.
"It's a beautiful composition," she said. "It's not even the individual elements. It's the fact that it has all of the components."

Discussing Graphic and Comic Books for Disabled People

When I was a young girl, I read comic books that made me to understand. I didn't understand what texts in there are all about but pictures almost helped me to understand. I didn't care about those texts. That's probably why I ended up getting screwed up with my English skills before I entered a college. I realized that. I figured it out when I read a blog about comic and graphic books in a different website minutes ago. This is interesting subject for disabled children and adults. Without reading comic and graphic novels, disabled kids and adults could be confusing and don't understand what books are all about. They would also be lost forever. See blogger's discussion of the topic, "Comic for Galluadet Students" below:

Berke Outspoken: Comic Books for Gallaudet Students:

There are questions and answers about addressing reading disabilities on another website, Suite101.com below:

Addressing Reading Disabilities Using Graphic Novels to Build Reading Skills Author: Lynn Moore Published: April 9, 2007

Many kids with disabilities enjoy reading graphic novels. Here are some of the top reasons why. Are you looking for books to boost your child’s interest in reading? Of course, many kinds, or genres, are on the book shelves. Some people love to read mysteries; some love to read history. Many children and teens with disabilities love graphic novels. Graphic novels provide lots of picture prompts. The pictures show step by step what is happening. The text in graphic novels is short and sweet. It is clear from the dialog balloons exactly who is speaking. The slap stick humor in many graphic novels appeals to the sense of humor. Graphic novels look cool. What kind of graphic novels are available? Beginning readers (such as those published in the Phonics Comics series by Innovative Kids) Picture storybooks in graphic novel format True comic books Classics and other books rewritten into graphic novel format What other kinds of books are good reads for children with reading disabilities? Any of the numerous learn-to-read series that are on the market Books with repeating text Books with a strong connection between the pictures and the words Beginning chapter books Hi/lo books (high interest level/low reading skill required) Activities to Encourage Disabled Children to Read Listen to parents read Read with a parent (taking turns for every other page) Joining a library book club Reading books for prizes at school (theme park tickets, free fast food, school prizes) Reading to a younger sibling, a doll, a pet, etc. And . . . the number one way to encourage children with disabilities to read is to let them see YOU reading!

An Interview With Tuya, the Mongolian Hard of Hearing Young Woman By Karina Chupina

I have heard of a foregin country named Mongolia little bit. That's where Chinese people living in. It's a small and poor country. It's also the land of Genghis Kahn. The situation there is having a hardship and trying to build up improvements. Otherwise, I learned what happened to the disability culture there. It sounds sad. This i711 online article writer had an interesting interview with a hard of hearing Mongolian woman named Tuya Mijiddorj for discussing disability culture there. She works for organizations as being an officer. See an online article about her below:

December 12, 2007

Let's admit it, for many of us Mongolia is a byword for all things remote. What do you think of when you hear the name of this world's second-largest landlocked country after Kazakhstan? Of the Gobi Desert, steppes, and dinosaurs? Ghengis-Khan's heritage? Its nomadic past and present? Or its communist regime under the Soviet Union and the fall of communism in 1990? I think first of all about the book that I was given in my childhood: it told about adventures of archaeologists in Gobi desert who headed there in search of dinosaur traces. This book was one of my favourites.

Last week, a friend of mine introduced me to Tuya Mijiddorj from Mongolia, young woman with a hearing loss who is active in the country's disability movement. I could not resist my professional and personal curiosity to ask her a few questions - answers to which will provide us with a small window into the world Tuya lives in.

And, let me tell you, after the interview I started looking for more information about Mongolia to connect the pieces of all information I had. Hope you will do the same!
Karina:Please tell us about yourself, your education, age?

Tuya: I am thirty three years old. Since the time that I lost my hearing, I didn't want to study in my high school anymore because I was ashamed of my peers. That's why I entered the Vocational Training Centre and majored as a technologist-tailor. After that, I worked for about 10 years in a sewing factory and its heavy noise worsened my hearing even more. When I quit my job, my chief wanted me to stay there as a designer, but I refused due to my health condition.
Karina:What made you become involved in the disability movement?
Tuya:When I worked in sewing factories I used to think: "What are other people with disabilities like? How do they struggle for living? How can I contact them?" and so on.
After quitting my job I went to learn Chinese because I used to work with Chinese technologists and I can read Chinese a bit. You know that the people like us can receive important information only through text. My Chinese teacher worked in the training centre of the Mongolian National Federation of the Disabled Persons' Organizations and he advised me to get a lesson together with other people with disabilities. Since then, I knew where it was and how it worked, and I was also introduced to its staff while participating in the training.
At that time, the universities used to reject students with disabilities in their curriculum, so I learned English myself. I've always had a strong desire to learn IT and foreign languages, but it was hard because of my hearing loss. Since August 2007, I have been working as an officer of Foreign Relation Division of the Mongolian National Federation of Disabled Persons' Organizations.
And I'm also studying in high school in order to fulfill my old dreams. After I quit my secondary school, I have always dreamed of completing my school education. I really know what the Mongolian hard of hearing youth dream about. That's why I want to help other people with disabilities to achieve their dreams and goals.
Karina:How many people with disabilities are there in Mongolia?
Tuya:There are about 115,000 people with disabilities in Mongolia and it is 4.8% of total population while 80 % of people with disabilities are living below the poverty line. It's sad to say this, but it's true. It shows that there is still a lot of work in front of us.
Karina:What's the attitude of the society to people with disabilities in Mongolia?
Tuya:You know that since ancient times people with disabilities were treated negatively. Most Mongolians used to live with their family members and take care of the elderly and disabled. But the transition from socialism to a market economy has opened up new opportunities in terms of economic, social and cultural rights; on the other hand, it brought hardships for people with disabilities and many families. They have been facing difficulties such as low income and unemployment.
Karina:What state structures are responsible for people with disabilities in Mongolia? How do they work and what do you think of their work?
Tuya:The ministry of Social Welfare & Labor is responsible for persons with disabilities. The National federation collaborated with them on the basis of contract. But I think our future depends only on ourselves. In recent years, we had a lot of success and we have been also facing some difficulties.
Karina:How many organizations are there for disabled people in Mongolia? Are there organizations for the deaf?
Tuya:There are over 60 organizations of disabled people that were registered in the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs in Mongolia. For the deaf, there is the Mongolian Deaf Association and the Mongolian Association of Deaf Youth. But I think there is still no organization to train hard of hearing youth who have difficulties in accessing information adequately and are behind the times. This was the main reason for me to get involved with the disability movement.
Karina: Are there any deaf people who are popular in Mongolia?
Tuya: Yes, there are many popular deaf people, especially women in Mongolia. For example: Mrs. Saranchimeg has a hearing loss and works as sign language translator for Mongolian National Television. She also works as a teacher in the Mongolian National Rehabilitation Centre. Mrs. Otgonbayar is deaf woman and is a good dancer. She graduated from the College of Art and Culture. She is now working as a chairwoman of Mongolian Federation Deaf Culture & Art.
Karina:Does the disability movement have role models with disabilities who they want to follow?
Tuya:I think I surely know him. He's a doctor of technical science and works as the president of Mongolian National Federation of Disabled Persons' Organizations. He had a car accident 15 years ago and injured his back. After the accident, he had not been able to recover fully till now; sometimes he wouldn't sleep because of his illness. I heard this from his daughter who works as a head of our foreign relation division as a volunteer. 44 organizations related to disabled persons joined the Federation and it is the umbrella organization which can influence the government.
Karina:Are deaf/ hard of hearing and disabled people provided benefits by the government? What are the benefits, exactly? How do you get hearing aids? Do you have a hearing aid manufacturer in Mongolia?
Tuya:All types of people with disabilities are provided by benefits from the government. They receive pension from the Social Welfare Agency and it is approx. 30,000-50,000 tug in a month, this is a minimum (US$1.00 is about 1,100tug). It's possible to study in a university free of charge if people with disabilities can pass the entrance exams. Some of us received hearing aids for free from Social Welfare Agency. Mongolia is a developing country and there are no hearing aid or cochlear implant manufacturers in Mongolia. If they want these, they need go to foreign country. As for me, I bought hearing aids on my own. They are Widex brand.
Karina: What would you want to tell people in the US about people with disabilities and deaf people in Mongolia?
Tuya:I always thought that US is symbol of freedom and equality. I never was in the US, so it's kind of a hard question for me. Maybe, I'd participate on behalf of Mongolian hard of hearing youth in Hawaii Pacific Rim Conference in April, 2008. So I'd like to reply to your question then (smiles).

SOME FACTS ABOUT MONGOLIA:
Location: Northern Asia, between China and Russia
Area: 1,564,116 square km
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Alaska
Climate: desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges)
Natural resources: oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron
Population: 2,9 mln
Ethnic groups: Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1%
Religion: Buddhist Lamaist 50%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4%, none 40%
See a link of an info about this foreign country below:

Mongolia

American Sign Language

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

I am showing u how to sign, "heart". See it below. But my sign language is a different from this. I use to both of my hands putting letter "H" on my chest, by saying a heart.

GDBAD Christmas Dinner Party 2007

Last Saturday night, I went to a deaf club at the nice building of Piggotte Community Center (<----click this link, please, for an info) in South Daytona Beach for a Christmas party and playing a game. That nice building fits me a comfortable to access in my wheelchair. I've never heard of that building before. It was named after "Coach" Joe Piggotte who became a Council member in 1984 and served as the Mayor of South Daytona from 1986 - 2005. He earned the affectionate name of "Coach" after leading two area high school basketball programs for 21 years. I also have never heard of this man before. He was probably living in that city for a long time before I moved to Florida with my family in 1985. Anyways, that newest building looks cool. The room where the party was held inside looks clean and huge. My bus dropped me off there that night several minutes before the party started. My hearing interpreter/friend, Nova, saw me arriving when she got out of her car and brought a woman named Sally who is a mental retardation and a deaf there. I know her little bit. She was a relative of my old counselor's husband. My bus driver dropped me off inside the center and left. I paid the party ticket at the table inside the big room. I brought a plastic bag of Chex Mix chips to the party. We waited for the dinner to start. I felt so starving. I can't wait. A deaf woman recognized me and said hi to me. She knew me from old deaf school days. She was my houseparent on the first floor of girls' dorm at Florida School for the Deaf (FSD) in St. Augustine for a short time. I was a teenager at that time. And other ladies who worked there for years remember me, too. They were at another table. One of them was my former reading teacher, Miss K (Todd, u know who she was, remember her?). She taught deaf students to read books. I told her my English skills were bad and screwing up until mine was improved when I went to a college. I think Miss K was glad to hear that. I learned that these ladies are retired now. After I chatted with these former FSD employees, we prayed first and then went to get our dinner at the buffet table. We did get our dinner. I ate a delicious and wonderful food. We chatted and laughed. I took some digital pictures. After dinner, we played a game but I didn't win that night. I am okay. I tried to get money for food and Christmas shopping. Anyways, I went home when the game is over. I had a fun time.

Mickey and Minnie are greeting "Happy Holidays" to all of you from Florida.