Category: Redux

To be used for LOM and HMS Redux

Life On The Margins, Redux4 Comments

How Little Money…..

RJ Walters

  It’s surprising how little money we can get along on. – March 9, 1933  Will Rogers From the date above it is obvious that Will penned these words during the height of the Great Depression. Many people during that period learned Will’s lesson first hand.  Will was kind of like the Kennedy’s of his time.  He made his fortune via the Ziegfeld Follies, his books, movies and daily newspaper posts.  He was a rich guy but had an overwhelming empathy for those who struggle through life.  I think if Will were alive today he would be one of the … Continue reading How Little Money…..

Life On The Margins, Redux2 Comments

Social Conscience…..

RJ Walters

  “One sure way to determine the social conscience of a government is to examine the way taxes are collected and how they are spent. And one sure way to determine the social conscience of an individual is to get his tax reaction. Taxes, after all are the dues we pay for the privilege of membership in an organized society.” —President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, actively making the case for taxes as part of his re-election campaign in 1936. I know I am going to make some of my more conservative readers barf here but I consider FDR to be one … Continue reading Social Conscience…..

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Being Deaf….

RJ Walters

Source: DO NOT OPEN « creativetidalwave. Working in a deaf school for many years I learned the value of incidental learning. So many students lacked a lot of common knowledge often taken for granted. We are constantly learning from events and situations that are going on around us though we are often not aware or participating in them directly. Being deaf cuts one-off from a more experiences than most are aware. They are often clueless of what is happening around them because they are not alert to turn to observe due to a lack of being able to hear to know something … Continue reading Being Deaf….

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Remaking Ourselves….

RJ Walters

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world — that is the myth of the atomic age — as in being able to remake ourselves. — Gandhi When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood  behind me.  — 1 Corinthians 13 Looking back on my life Gandhi’s quote above inspires me with its wisdom and the second quote from the Bible mirrors the same message.  Being able to see … Continue reading Remaking Ourselves….

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No…..

RJ Walters

I am thankful to all those who said NO to me. It’s because of them I did it myself.  –Albert Einstein After collecting a number of Einstein quotes he is becoming one of my favorites and this is one of the best ones. I know in my life I have always asked “Why is this like ….” I often get the equivalent of “no” as a reply or maybe more accurately “this is the way we have always done it…” or some such as that. Those refusals to take seriously my “why” has made me stronger over the years. It … Continue reading No…..

Life On The Margins, Redux4 Comments

Late Deafened Culture??

RJ Walters

I have had some questions and some search engine links to my blog about a “late deafened culture” so I want to talk a little about that here. As I mentioned on other posts I have been deaf for the last twenty-five years or so. Anyone who went deaf after acquiring the ability to speak is considered late deafened so I am obviously one. We make up about 1.5% of the current population in the U.S. The other deaf group is the pre-lingually deaf.  They typically have been deaf since birth or at a very early stage.  They make up … Continue reading Late Deafened Culture??

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The Sounds of Silence…

RJ Walters

It has been a while since I relayed any stories about my deafness so I thought I would present one here. One of my favorite singer/composers was Simon and Garfunkel from the 1960’s. I still have all their albums including perhaps my favorite song from them which was “The Sounds of Silence”. Little did I know back then that the title of this song would take on a completely different meaning for me. I have been deaf for about twenty five years now and as a result of that the sounds of silence is indeed the sound of silence. In … Continue reading The Sounds of Silence…

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Being Deaf Is Lonely…

RJ Walters

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 … Continue reading Being Deaf Is Lonely…

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Deafness and Danger

RJ Walters

Of course being totally deaf as I am means that I can no longer hear the noises around me. Sometimes that is a good thing. I no longer hear the screaming kid at the table next to me in a restaurant. I am somewhat oblivious to the constant chatter of people on cell phones always around me. The last five years of my corporate life was living in a cubicle. Most people complained about them as you can hear conversations, coughs and other things from several cubicles around you. I was one of the few who really liked my cubicle. … Continue reading Deafness and Danger

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Born Deaf vs Late Deafened…

RJ Walters

I think of my deafness as an affliction that I must daily try to overcome in order to go about my business in the hearing world. That is not the case with some, perhaps most, who are born deaf. They claim they celebrate their deafness to the degree that they deem giving any child who is deaf a cochlear implant is child abuse! A cochlear implant is a device that is surgically inserted into a deaf person’s hearing system to allow many of them to hear. The deaf who strongly identify with their deafness are know as the Deaf Culture … Continue reading Born Deaf vs Late Deafened…

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Playing “Deaf & Dumb”…..

RJ Walters

As I have mentioned before I went deaf in 1988. Learning to cope in a hearing world has been one of my most strenuous challenges. Most people, whether they want to admit it or not, have preconceived ideas of who a deaf person is and for the most part I don’t fit into that mold. I am deaf but have maintained my ability to speak relatively clearly. But since I have almost no feedback I often have problems controlling the volume of my speaking. With an IQ of about 130 I am somewhat intelligent person.  I am at best a … Continue reading Playing “Deaf & Dumb”…..