When I was a child, I had to endure all the cruel childrens taunts and teasing because I couldn't hear. It left an emotional scar on me that will never go away. That is when I learned to avoid groups of people at all costs. Even though I've forced myself to go to social functions, I was always sorry I did, because I always came home feeling like I was rude, therefore, feeling humiliated and embarrassed to death. I've gone to a pychologist to try to get rid of my social phobia, but it never helped and never will as long as I cannot hear in groups. I've had several experience such as the one I'm about to tell you here; one day I was at a bank, standing around waiting for a teller to open up. All of a sudden, I felt everyone's eyes on me, and I looked around and at the end of the teller counter was a teller, waving at me, saying 'May I help you??'....I go over to her, and she's laughing at me, saying 'I thought you were sleeping over there; I kept yelling 'May I help you several times, and you just stood there!'. Well, needless to say, I was humiliated once again. I told her I wear a hearing aid, and cannot hear good at all. She got red in the face and apologized so much for embarrassing me like that. It was OK, she didn't know, but I DO wish that more people would be more aware of the fact that there are a lot of deaf / hearing impaired people out there in the world. I go thru Drive thru at fast food restaurants, and when I order, I order loud, slow, and clear so that they don't say anything back to me other than to pull around to the window. Sometimes, they just have to ask me if I want this or that with my order and that just infuriates me, because there's no way I can hear what they're saying on those boxes, and then I have to pull around to the window, they're looking at me with a disgusted look on their face, and I have to tell them I could not hear them on the speaker, that deaf people would like the luxury of going thru the drive thru, without the personnel just assuming that everyone can hear and start asking other questions. If I wanted this or that, I would've ASKED for it, right? Geez!

Also, how about when a hearing impaired/deaf person goes to the doctor's office and sits in the waiting room? We have to be able to sit where we can HOPEFULLY see the nurse come out to call our names, or we'll miss our appt! One doctor's office even has a PA system where they call out your name! Doctors, of ALL people should realize that not everyone has good hearing and should take that into effect! A nurse should come OUT into the waiting room where ALL can see her and call out the individual's name, in my opinion!

OK, that enough about me for now, although I may come back for more gripes later! :o)

My next page is a very beautiful poem written by Kimberly Dianne Richards I found in Barry Strassler's Deafdigest site, who happens to be a deaf woman....VERY well written and very beautiful!!