Thanks, Beebo!

Thanks for last night (pic edited from Carthalis' Flickr).

I've never had the opportunity to learn any sign languages, but I've always found them to be such a visual treat. The lyricism of the body movements and the emotional expressiveness is a joy to watch. I have to try hard not to stare and have my interest mistaken for gawking. At those times I'm very much aware that I am peering into another culture, into a different frame of reference that weaves richness out of silence in ways I can only dimly understand.

Maybe I am having a bad day, with too many threads that have hit raw nerves about health and disease, communication struggles, and identity politics, but just to have a hearing person acknowledge that there is a Deaf culture and that is outside of and distinct from the hearing world brought tears to my eyes. Thank you.