One of my regular rituals is to go to McDonald once every month or two and get a steak & egg bagel for breakfast. I did that this morning. I found a picture of one and included it here but it really didn’t resemble the one I got at the counter. Mine had the steak hanging out the right side of the begal while the egg and cheese were clinging to the left edge. 🙂 It has been a few months since the last time I did this. I always sit at a table where I can watch all the people ordering their food. Every time I go there in the morning I see the group of about a dozen “old guys” sitting around BSing. They seem to have a good time in each others company. They sit at those same tables for a couple of hours. The cast of the scene is constantly changing as some come and others leave.
One thing this reminds me of is just how lonely being deaf is. I would love to be able to join the “old guys” after all I am one of them even though I don’t want to always admit that. I did try it once but when they found out I was deaf all the usual camaraderie just stopped. So instead of enjoying the group I actually caused it to come to a screeching halt! I don’t blame the guys for this; it is just something that happens. Having someone different who requires some special attention is just something that they can’t handle. Especially during their morning BS sessions. Now when I go, like this morning I give them the usual “guy” nod of the head and head for my special table.
I cope with my deafness on a daily basis. But it can get awfully lonely now and then…
And the journey goes on.
RJ's Corner 
My wife is quite hard of hearing without her “ears” in, and not a whole lot better when her hearing aids are functioning.
I can understand your feeling of loneliness. She can’t easily participate in any discussion from the back seat of a car or at a noisy restaurant.
She’s been that way for 20 years yet I still get frustrated when I have to speak louder and slower. That is just thoughtless on my part. It isn’t as if she chooses to be 80% deaf.
LikeLike
Yeah, I lived in that in-between world for several years. In some ways it was a relief to finally loose the last fragments of hearing as that is a very frustrating situation to be in day-by-day.
Everyone has, or maybe should have, a handicap of one sort or another. That is what keeps us humble. I just deal with what the Lord gives me; both the good and the bad and deafness is not all bad. 😉 For instance I slept like a baby during all the booming thunderstorms last night.
LikeLike