Joey Gibson’s Blog

I spent nearly two hours at Tribble Mill Park tonight exploring new trails. I had no idea how long I was out there, but it was a blast. These trails are becoming something of a Siren song: each time I’d think “OK. I’m going to head back now,” I’d see another trail and hear it beckoning to me. “Come on! This way is much nicer than that way. Try it, you’ll like it…” in a very ethereal voice. So I went. I was tearing down trails that were no more than 5 or 6 inches across. Root, rocks, gullies, slippery rocks with running water. I had to stop at one point as I came over a rise because the other side was waaaaaaay too steep for me to navigate down and remain in one piece. I finally had to look down this one trail and say “NO! Foul Temptress! I rebuke you!” when I realized how dark it was getting…

But the temptress that was that last trail would get the last laugh. When I made it back to the parking lot I decided to take one more trip around the paved trail. I was a little over a mile into it when I got stung by a BEE right under my right eye!! Holy crap, that hurt! I felt the impact, then the stinger enter. I slapped at it, knocking my sunglasses off along with the little bastard before he got too much venom into my face. I’m still swollen and it hurts mightily, but it could have been much worse.

After a few minutes of lightly touching my cheek (Ow! That hurts!) and cursing some more, I headed out to finish my last lap (another mile and a half or so). I got back to the car, packed up and went home.

With the exception of the bee sting, it was a lovely evening.

Why on earth do some deaf people wear their deafness like a freaking badge of honor? I’m talking about those leaders of the “deaf community” who adamantly deny that being deaf is a disability and actively try to stop anyone who is deaf from using any means to better their lives. Just like when Rush Limbaugh announced that he had gone deaf and would soon be getting a Cochlear Implant. He got calls and letters from these so-called leaders asking him not to do it and to “embrace his deafness.” That’s horse shit. Being deaf is not natural. It is a disability and it is a handicap, and if there is a technology or procedure that can restore some degree of hearing, you should take advantage of it!!! Wake up people! If I ever lost my hearing or it happened to my wife or son, you can absolutely count on me to do whatever I could, using any technology available, to restore as much hearing as possible. You can make bank on that.

What got me on this is this CNN story about a man who has invented a glove that will convert American Sign Language into actual spoken words using a computer to translate. This has the potential to be an amazing thing for deaf people if only they will embrace it instead of this silly notion of deafness as a “culture.”