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Double Pride Testimonials: Deaf Hearing Siblings Retreat (July 7-10, 2011) |
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Fremont, California - July 18, 2011 Hey, my friends at Double Pride and Sheila: The dear A to Z emotions: The first night it was a mix of first encounters and various diversities and amazing people. There was everything imaginable and even a loving caring pastor of the local deaf church, David. You got to love him. When he stood up at the keynote introduction, he began to sign ASL and tell us about himself. Oh goodness, I was hooked. Oh my goodness, that’s about all the deafness I thought I could take and you took it even further. Thank you, it just got better and better every day. HOORAY! And you, Sheila: You knew every single person. You are so warm and welcomed everyone so kindly and offered any assistance that was needed. There were three of us that needed a hearing interpreter and you provided that. Thank you for providing an interpreter for the hearing impaired minority. That was greatly appreciated. I think the show was a blast and thought it really amazing that they had a small hearing section in the corner of the auditorium. Oh my goodness. That’s the way we used to do it with the deaf in our huge community church. I’m just laughing at the reverse effect it had on me and the wonderful remembrance of my mother and our experiences when we were young. Oh goodness, there was such a variety of characters and your sister, Lisa is fantastic. What a great young star she is and how much we enjoyed her presence there. There was every ethnic group imaginable and every age from the newborn to the aged. Everyone respected each other and everyone was represented in some way or another. OOPS! My father is from Tennessee and he used the sign NEGRO and voiced the word BLACK. OOPS again, Dad, I yelled at him in big signs and several of the African Americans told me to relax and that a lot of older deaf people use that sign and it’s perfectly Okay. Well, I turned to dad and I told him in big signs that it’s Okay for him to use that sign NEGRO, but he will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER see that sign again from me. Ha ha. Yes, that is my deaf side. It’s a lot of fun and once again I am recharged and back into my grind with a smile on my face because of last weekend at the Double Pride Siblings Retreat. Oh, gosh, my deaf side and deaf father thank you. Oh, he had a good time. It’s so hard for him here because up where he’s from everyone knows him and loves him dearly. He is learning that he must start over to cultivate friendships here and he wanted to come without fail. Gosh, two weeks ago he had his entire hip replaced and his leg was bruised from his knee clear up the middle and half way up his side. We checked him out from Beverly Hills Rehab and then drove him up. They were not ready to check him out and wanted to keep him for a few more weeks. NOPE! Dad wasn’t having it and the x rays showed that the hip replacement was very successful although still some pain. Dr. Peneneberg gave him a clearance to come to the retreat and off we went to the dismay of his Physical Therapists. Oh goodness Gracious. My father totally enjoyed himself and only slept the first afternoon, being tired from the drive. WOW! He just can’t stop talking about it and we learned a lot and are talking more now because of what he learned at the double pride retreat. Another instance of two siblings, One hearing, One Dear Deaf. Misunderstandings about their parents that we have all experienced and some of us have succeeded and the mix and dynamics were always changing. Brilliant. There were tears shed, crafts made, fabulous show. Oh, the show. Oh, Rosa Lee and her brother, Frank were just the crèm boo lay. Oh, is that a see sign or KISSFIST. Oh, my god! I’m going to subscribe to that magazine. It’s for the younger crowd and my deaf side will always maintain that light and joy that was brought to the front again. I’m happy and smiling once again in my day to day life and my father and I have a better communication. SHOOT! I called my sister. Oh, can you believe it! Probably couldn’t have done it without the help of the Double Pride Weekend. In closing I would like to say that a lot of us were CODA Children. This event did not take the place of CODA and it seemed that the deaf siblings were excited to attend a retreat that included them. I am going to the CODA CONVENTION in Miami and have a lot of fun planned. Oh, my father went to the Double Pride Retreat breakout group of deaf children of hearing parents. I always think of it as CODA and it was interesting to see such diversity and hear problems that we would never think of. Oh, we heard about jealousies, prejudices and a lot of barriers were torn open in this beautiful group of diversity. I’ve never been the minority and it was an eye opening experience for me. I saw others with my insecurities and learned lessons that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Oh, the game of DEAF CHARADES. It was exciting and scary. I tell you that I can play hearing charades and in a group party of 30 contestants, I placed 3rd. Yes, it was brave and courageous of me to play deaf charades because it’s totally different and emotional and deaf people can really play games and my goodness, I finally got a sticker. I think that perhaps the nice lady next to me, the pastor’s wife, was just being nice and letting me win. Well, I came in last and have a good competitive spirit and played my heart out and there were some great pictures taken. Yes, at the end of the retreat, the pictures were taken and the photographer, KEN, did a really fair job of capturing everyone present and the festivities. Sometimes the pictures only focus on a few people and I saw a good representation of everyone in the slide show at the end. Very wonderful and amazing. He was everywhere, slipping in and out gracefully and capturing every angle. Shoot, I could go on, but Alan is already calling for me to spend some time with him. OOPS! Yesterday he asked me a question over and over again. Why was he getting so upset? Because I answered him in sign language and he didn’t see it. I told him he HAST (have) to learn sign language and I will communicate better. Today we broke two communication barriers. I owe him an apology because perhaps I am the one that communicates differently. That was a big one for me to swallow and I learned my lesson well at the retreat. SHOOT! I must say that the food was delicious and INCREDIBLY perfect. We met the cook and she has won awards and I can understand why. She is deaf and very pleasant and happy. SHOOT! I can’t remember her name because she sat behind the food. MISS BEAUTIFUL COOK, next time I’m going to sit and chat with you. I want some cooking secrets because everything was unbelievable. GOSH, I’ve probably forgot a lot of things but Alan is calling me. I love you all and remember lots of your names. That means it was a very impressionable weekend and life changing event. I will be there next year. Count both my father and myself in your next siblings, Double Pride Weekend. SINCERELY and with the brightest deaf heart! David Burns |