name this book

help! i need to put a name to this book so I can add it to my list. 

I can’t remember the name of this book I read in 9th grade, it was about a pair of friends [boys] who attended a private school.  the plot included a friend suffering a nasty fall by the river, one of the boys going off to war with the winter stormtroopers who skied.  for some reason the private school sounded like it was in CT.  this is a classic book and for the life of me the title escapes me but it seemed to have seasons in the title???

 i am sure one of you out there have read this book.

deafness is an excuse

Today, I was talking with my sweetheart about something and was trying to use my deafness as an example when she said to not use it as an excuse.  There is a big difference between an example and an excuse.

I got a little huffy about it because as the old saying goes, “Emotions cloud judgement.” So, I took the time to clear out my emotions and began thinking about how I explained it. 

With a clearer judgement, I can begin to explain more clearly and less emotionally.

This is my blog about not using deafness as an excuse.

I suppose there are people who view certain comments by other people as excuses which can be understandable in certain cases. 

Such as calling in sick to work in the middle of the week when everyone at work has seen you perfectly healthy the day before and in reality, you just partied a little heartily the night before and had a killer hangover. That is an excuse.

For a different example, not showing up for work when there is a monster snowstorm dumping 10 inches of snow and the roads were not plowed.  That is a reasonable explanation to me, not an excuse, although in the loosest tongue, it could be viewed as a reasonable excuse.

I began to explore how deafness became an excuse which meant going back into history to understand this.  After all, there are many successful deaf people in today’s world in all kinds of prominent positions.

This was not always the case, for once upon a time in history, society once regarded those with deafness or muteness with a dismiss of a phrase “deaf and dumb”. 

This was due to the stigma that those who were born without the ability to hear or talk were considered inferior to those born with five senses.

Somewhere along the way in the development of humankind, those who were deaf began to show signs of intelligence. 

By using that intelligence, they were able to rise above certain stigmas imposed by society to become role models, or in extreme measures, a legend. 

Deafness is about seeing, not hearing so we naturally do not believe what we hear, we have no ability to hear anyways. [I will write a blog in the future about this]

We did not have a natural need to believe those who spoke to us and said “You can’t do this” or “You never will be able to do this”.

One noteworthy person is Helen Keller, although she was deaf and blind.  Her legacy is the perfect example of being a role model who also became a legend in certain communities.

Nowadays, there are many successfully deaf people in their own right who have risen above certain stigmas.  We have a deaf Miss America, a few well-known deaf performers, a deaf president of the only deaf liberal arts college in the world, and even an award-winning movie scripted about a deaf woman. 

Part of these opportunities to achieve recognization came about due to several factors, including technological advancements, educational advancements, among others.  Probably the most important factor above all else is humanity.

There were those among the hearing population who tirelessly lobbied against the “deaf and dumb” stigma such as Alexander G. Bell, Thomas Edison, and Gallaudet by creating an educational program for the deaf students, or by creating technologies to assist people with hearing loss.

So despite knowing all this, I still needed to explore why did such stigma come about.  The only explanation I could come up with is fear.  Ignorance is a form of fear.

In the race for the quest of the superior human, we often dismiss people with ailments, or lesser education as inferior to our quest. 

There are people who have earned multiple degrees from institutions for higher learning, working a significant role such as a neurosurgeon or an adviser but they still pale in comparison with those who were college dropouts leading some of the top Fortune 500 companies in the world.

These dropouts were dismissed with the stigma “lucky”.  We till consider them inferior because we view our own intelligence superior to the “lucky” ones.  This makes me wonder where the old saying comes from, “Ignorance is bliss.”  Those who say it must be scared to death.

So how did “using deafness as an excuse” come about?

I suppose there are more reasons than I am aware of but they all probably stem from a few basic characteristics.  Laziness, and ignorance to name a few.

to be continued…

storm on the cape

February 22 saw the first major snowstorm of the winter on the cape.  It was an unusual winter this year in comparison to last winter, my first winter on the cape. 

While the rest of the world north and to the east of us got battered by monster storms, the locals who live on Cape Cod year round as well out on the islands enjoyed a nice mild winter, rarely was a day when the temperature dropped below 35 degrees at noontime. 

Even more rarer a day on Cape Cod when the weather started turning in a snowstorm.  Snow had not fallen on the ground since the end of winter in March, 2006.

Alas, it was not my first snowstorm this winter as I had the fortune of being in York, PA during the much publicized fiasco of the Valentine’s Blizzard which left motorists stranded on the Interstate.

Snow started falling last night as I emerged from my work outside to enjoy my break.  The snowflakes were nice and soft, not quite fluffy but fluffed up from the howling winds synonomous with the cape winds.  After a year on the cape, I have begun to understand the cape winds are not just an oddity, we are directly in the path of the winds coming in from off-shore as it makes it way to the coast, some 30 miles away where the Bourne bridge ends.

There is an outdoor light that shines on a small corner of the parking lot from the corner of the building I work in.  Snow was falling nice and tight together, maybe 2 to 5 mm of space in between each snowflake.  Neverless, falling like a mad army of millions in a uniformed wave.  A gust of wind would rush down and grasp them up like waves crashing on the beach in directionless swirls.

Snow continued to fall though the night, covering the town in a nice clean blanket of white shadows as the headlights from my car traced the way home.  Only if I had a good camera to take a picture in the night with.  I turned in for bed wondering how many more inches would fall…

As it turned out, not that many.  We only got a measely inch of snow, maybe 2 in some parts but it was already beginning to melt by lunchtime the next day.

books in my lifetime

updated 2/21/07 [dang list keeps growing] 

I came across a blog listing books to read and thought I create one listing books I have read in my lifetime.  [This is in no particular order as I will expand it as I remember other books over the years as well as future books.]

1. Lisey’s Story – Stephen King
2. Salem’s Lot – Stephen King
3. In the Time of Butterflies – Julia Alverez Recommended
4. The Farming of Bones – Edwidge Danticat Recommended
5. The Cat in the Hat – Dr. Seuss Recommended
6. Lorax – Dr. Seuss
7. Dr. Suess’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book – Dr. Suess
8. Green Eggs and Ham – Dr. Suess
9. Oh, the Places You’ll Go – Dr. Suess
10. How the Grinch Stole Christmas – Dr. Suess
11. The Shining – Stephen King Recommended
12. Cujo – Stephen King Recommended
13. Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
14. The World’s Religions – Huston Smith
15. Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Richard Bach Recommended
16. April Fool’s Day – Bryce Courtenay Recommended
17. Power of One – Bryce Courtenay Recommended
18. On Writing – Stephen King
19. The Parable of the Pipeline – Burke Hedges
20. The Richest Man in Babylon – George S. Clason
21. Desperation – Stephen King
22. Bags of Bones – Stephen King
23. The Negative – Ansel Adams
24. All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque Recommended
25. Night – Elie Wiesel Recommended
26. My Brother Sam Is Dead – James Lincoln Collier Recommened
27. An Army at Dawn: The War in Africa – Rick Atkinson
28. Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae – Steven Pressfield Recommended
29. Angles & Demons – Dan Brown Recommended
30. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
31. Wolves of Calla – Stephen King
32. It – Stephen King
33. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
34. The Stand – Stephen King
35. The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three – Stephen King
36. Everything’s Eventual – Stephen King
37. Song of Susannah – Stephen King
38. Are You My Mother? – P.D. Eastman
39. The Cube: Keep the Secret – Anne Gottlieb & Slobadan D. Pesic Recommended
40. Pinkerton, Behave! – Steven Kellogg
41. A Rose for Pinkerton – Steven Kellogg
42. The Regulators – Stephen King and Richard Bachman
43. From a Buick 8 – Stephen King Recommended
44. My Side of the Mountain – Jean Craighead George Recommended
45. Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam – Bernard Edelman
46. Paddington Bear – Michael Bond
47. The Story of Babar: The Little Elephant – Jean de Brunhoff
48. The Travels of Babar – Jean de Brunhoff
49. Babar the King – Jean de Brunhoff
50. Seven Firefights in Vietnam – John A. Cash
51. Riding the Bullet – Stephen King
52. Flags of Our Fathers – James Bradley 
53. The Drawing of the Three – Stephen King
54. Four Past Midnight – Stephen King
55. Whiteout – Ken Follett
56. Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe Recommended
57. The Celestine Prophecy – James Redfield
58. The Tenth Insight: Holding the Vision – James Redfield
59. On the Road – Jack Kerouac Recommended
60. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
61. East of Eden – John Steinbeck Recommended
62. Cannery Row – John Steinbeck
63. Tortilla Flat – John Steinbeck
64. Ramona Quimby – Beverly Cleary
65. Beezus and Ramona – Beverly Cleary
66. Sphere – Michael Crichton
67. Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton
68. April Morning – Howard Fast  Recommended
69. Ralph S. Mouse – Beverly Cleary
70. Runaway Ralph – Beverly Cleary
71. Ralph and the Motorcycle – Beverly Cleary Recommended
72. The Dark Tower – Stephen King
73. A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawkins
74. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho Recommended
75. By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept – Paulo Coelho
76. The Hardy Boys: The House on the Cliffs #2 – Franklin W. Dixon
77. The Hardy Boys: The Haunted Ford #44 – Franklin W. Dixon
78. The Hardy Boys: The Secret of the Caves # 7 – Franklin W. Dixon
79. The Hardy Boys: Mystery of Smugglers Cove #64 – Franklin W. Dixon
80. The Hardy Boys: The Shore Road Mystery #6 – Franklin W. Dixon
81. The Hardy Boys: The Clue in the Embers #35 – Franklin W. Dixon
82. The Hardy Boys: The Shattered Helmet #52 – Franklin W. Dixon 
83. The Hardy Boys: The Sinister Signpost #15 – Franklin W. Dixon
84. Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
85. Slaughterhouse 5 – Kurt Vonnegut Recommended
86. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kessey Recommended
87. Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer Recommended
88. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of Mt. Everest Disaster – Jon Krakauer 
89. Hop on Pop – Dr. Seuss Recommended
90. Fox in Socks – Dr. Seuss
91. Horton Hears a Who! – Dr. Seuss
92. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – Dr. Seuss
93. Mutant Message Down Under – Marlo Morgan
94. In a Sunburned Country – Bill Bryson Recommended
95. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream – Hunter S. Thompson Recommended
96. Shadow Divers – Robert Kurson Recommended
97. The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini Recommended
98. The Great Brain – John D. Fitzgerald
99. More Adventures of the Great Brain – John D. Fitzgerald
100. The Great Brain at the Academy – John D. Fitzgerald
101. The Great Brain Reforms – John D. Fitzgerald
102. The Great Brain Does It Again – John D. Fitzgerald
103. The Return of the Great Brain – John D. Fitzgerald
104. What’s That Pig Outdoor?: A Memoir of Deafness – Henry Kisor  
105. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
106. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling
107. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling
108. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling
109. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
110. Deception Point – Dan Brown
111. Dragon Tears – Dean Koontz
112. Watchers – Dean Koontz
113. Mr. Murder – Dean Koontz
114. The Door to December – Dean Koontz
115. The Perfect Storm – A True Story of Men Against the Sea – Sebastain Junger
116. The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island – Linda Greenlaw Recommended
117. The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain’s Journey – Linda Greenlaw
118. Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea – Steven Callahan Recommended
119. Lonesome Dove –  Larry McMurty
120. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail – Bill Bryson
121. The Call of the Wild – Jack London Recommended
122. Rich Dad Poor Dad: The Cashflow Quadrant – Robert Kiyosaki
123. Sales Dog: You Do Not Have to Be an Attack Dog to Be Successful in Sales – Blair Singer & Robert Kiyosaki
124. Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America – Erik Larson
125. Reef – Nora Roberts
126. Honest Illusions – Nora Roberts Recommended
127. The Tin Collectors – Stephen Cannell
128. Shane – Jack Schaefer Recommended
129. Hidden Prey – John Sandford
130. Night Prey – John Sandford
131. Mind Prey – John Sandford
132. Secret Prey – John Sandford
133. The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss – Robert Kiyosaki & Ken McElroy
134. The Patron Saint of Red Chevys – Kay Sloan
135. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
136. James and the Giant Peach – Roald Dahl
137. Fantanstic Mr. Fox – Roald Dahl
138. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator – Roald Dahl
139. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex – Nathaniel Philbrick
140. Ahab’s Wife: or the Star-Gazer – Sena Jeter Naslund Recommended
141. The Brethen – John Grisham
142. The Last Juror – John Grisham
143. The Rainmaker – John Grisham
144. The Pelican Brief – John Grisham
145. The Client – John Grisham
146. The Green Mile – Stephen King
147. Cold Mountain – Charles Frazier
148. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon – Stephen King
149. Shoeless Joe – Ray Kinsella Recommended
150. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
151. Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe Recommended
152. Tommyknockers – Stephen King
153. Insomina – Stephen King
154. The Langoliers – Stephen King
155. Captain’s Wife – Douglas Kelley
156. Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
157. Galilee – Clive Barker
158. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – John Berendt
159. Hiding My Candy: The Autobiography of the Grand Empress of Savannah – Lady Chablis
160. The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant: Principles for Successful Living – Terry Felber
161. Curious George – H. A. Rey
162. Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever – Richard Scarry
163. The Killer Angels – Michael Shaara Recommended
164. Alienist – Caleb Carr Recommended
165. The Angel of Darkness – Caleb Carr
166. Twillight Eyes – Dean Koontz
167. A Theif of Time – Tony Hillerman
168. Skinwalkers – Tony Hillerman
169. Mafia Princess: Growing up in Sam Giancana’s Family – Antoinette Giancana
170. The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to his White Mother – James McBride Recommended
171. A Light in the Attic – Shel Silverstein
172. Where the Sidewalk Ends – Shel Silverstein
173. Giving Tree – Shel Silverstein
174. Falling Up – Shel Silverstein
175. Deadspawn – Brian Lumley
176. Necroscope II: Vamphyri – Brian Lumley
177. Necroscope IV: Deadspeak – Brian Lumley
178. Necroscope III: The Source – Brian Lumley
179. Necroscope – Brian Lumley
180. The Last Aerie – Brian Lumley
181. The Secret of the Unicorn [Adventures of Tintin series]- Herge
182. Explorers on the Moon [Adventures of Tintin series]- Herge
183. Red Rackham’s Treasure [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
184. Christine – Stephen King
185. Thunder Point – Jack Higgins
186. Eye of the Storm – Jack Higgins
187. Empire of the Sun – J. G. Ballard
188. Chess for Dummies – James Eade
189. Personal Finance for Dummies – Eric Tyson
190. Marabou Stork Nightmares – Irvine Welsh
191. Night of the Fox – Jack Higgins
192. The Eagle Has Flown – Jack Higgins
193. Storm Warning – Jack Higgins
194. Jack and Jill – James Patterson
195. Pop Goes the Weasel – James Patterson
196. Along Came a Spider – James Patterson
197. Kiss the Girls – James Patterson
198. Flight 714 [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
199. The Seven Crystal Balls [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
200. Destination Moon [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
201. The Calculus Affair [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
202. Vineyard Blues: A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery – Philip Craig
203. A Vineyard Killing – Philip Craig 
204. Tintin in Tibet [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
205. Tintin and the Picaros [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
206. Land of Black Gold [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
207. Prisoners of the Sun [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
208. Tintin in America [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
209. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway Recommended
210. A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway
211. Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemingway
212. The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy Recommended
213. The Cost of Living – Arundhati Roy
214. The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
215. The Samurai’s Garden – Gail Tsukiyama
216. Snow Falling on Cedars – David Guterson
217. The Shipping News – Annie Proulx Recommended
218. The Cider House Rules – John Irving
219. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, an Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson
220. Rainbow Six – Tom Clancy
221. The Hunt for Red October – Tom Clancy
222. Red Storm Rising – Tom Clancy
223. Flight of the Intruder – Stephen Coonts
224. The Bourne Supremacy – Robert Ludlum
225. I Heard an Owl Call My Name – Margaret Craven
226. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – E. L. Konigsburg
227. How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medival Europe – Thomas Cahill Recommended
228. Needful Things – Stephen King
229. Dreamcatcher – Stephen King
230. Gerald’s Game – Stephen King
231. Night Shift – Stephen King
232. Pet Sementary – Stephen King
233. Rose Madder – Stephen King
234. Storm of the Century – Stephen King Recommended
235. Hearts in Atlantis – Stephen King
236. Dolores Clairborne – Stephen King
237. Human, All Too Human – Friedrich Nietzsche
238. The Twillight of the Idols – Friedrich Nietzsche
239. Discourse on Method and Meditations – Rene Descartes 
240. Silent Spring – Rachel Carson
241. Animal Farm – George Orwell
242. The Last of the Mohonicans – James Fenimore Cooper
243. A Child Called It – Dave Pelzer
244. The Lost Boy – Dave Pelzer
245. Mystic River – Dennis Lehane Recommended
246. Five Against the Sea – Ron Arias
247. Survive the Savage Sea – Dougal Robertson
248. Romeo and Juliet – Shakespeare
249. Lord of the Flies – Mary Hartley
250. The Town and The City – Jack Kerouac Recommended
251. The Red Balloon – Albert Lamorisse Recommended
252. Clifford the Big Red Dog – Norman Bridwell
253. The Incredible Journey – Shelia Every Burnford
254. The 101 Dalmatians – Dodie Smith
255. Pippi Longstocking – Astrid Lindgren
256. Pippi in the South Seas – Astrid Lindgren
257. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Ian Fleming
258. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – Ian Fleming
259. Dance with Wolves – Michael Blake
260. The Known World – Edward P. Jones
261. Thorn Birds – Colleen McCullough
262. The Talisman – Stephen King and Peter Straub
263. The Black House – Stephen King and Peter Straub
264. Eye of the Dragon – Stephen King
265. The Plains of Passage – Jean M. Arel
266. The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
267. Stones from the River – Ursula Hegi
268. The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
269. A Separate Peace – John Knowles
270. The Good Earth – Pearl S Buck
271. Make Way for Ducklings – Robert McCloskey
272. Homer Price – Robert McCloskey
273. Blueberry for Sal – Robert McCloskey

To be continued…..

Updated as of 2/21/07

go for the record

i am halfway to breaking my record of 60 visits in a day with my two recent posts, deafness is an illness, and books in my lifetime.

if i write a blog, they will come…

tell your friends, bring your families, share the joy!!!

 update : as of 12 am EST, I am at 58 visits….

wahoo update : as of 12 pm EST, I reached 69 visits, broke the record, thank you everyone…

deafness is an illness

oldtimer
February 9th, 2007 at 9:16 pm

Some of your offbeat posts leave me cold, but I find it is perceptive of you to recognise that STS’ site has a message for all of us.

Deafness is considered the worst sense to lose, worse surprisingly than blindness. With deafness you are cut off from the world like living under water.

In the UK behind-the-ear hearing aids are supplied on the Health Scheme after a long battle by the Deaf Foundation to establish that deafness is an illness, and that hearing aids are not a “cosmetic device.”

This was a comment made in response to an article by the Barbados Free Press which blogged an article about my blog.  I found it amusing because of the use of the word.

True, deafness can be caused by an illness but it is not a form of illness.  Examples of possible “illnesses” or more accurately, ear infections would be

• Otosclerosis
• Meningitis

There are also causes such as organ failure, which can occur naturally or even self-inflicted such as

• Eardrum punctures
• Explosions which can rupture ear drums
• Long-term exposure to loud noises
• Nerve damage [which can prevent electrical signals from travelling to the brain]
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

In rare cases, genetics, but it must be understood that

• Hearing parents can have deaf children
• Deaf parents can have hearing children 

However in many cases, it is still a medial mystery as to other causes of deafness such as in my case which there is no obvious source. 

Click on this link for a comprehensive list  compiled by Gallaudet University Library, the only liberal arts college in the world for deaf people.  

I was simply born Profoundly Deaf, the only one in my family history.

Read my post, about sayonaratosilence  for further details.