Louisiana-Bound (2008)

Part 23 of 40: Friday Evening at Dan's

The evening turned out to be strange and wonderful. Dan arrived home with the door key and we all filed in. Time to sleep! Forget that! Every few minutes one or two friends would walk in the door. Let's face it! It was a party! There was no alcohol involved, no eating that I know of, it was talking, mostly in sign language. Four and sometimes five rooms were used by the excited quiet group.

Jessica and Philomena came in, also. That was nice. Melanie and Pi, as we called Philomena, had genealogy to discuss. There was a lot of action in Dan's room. A few of the guys were tacking up a black sheet in the back of the room. Why! I would only be guessing! That always gets me in trouble, but it makes life exciting!

Later, I saw another smooth-headed person like Mark on the monitor. There was a chair in the middle of the room. It must have been the video phone system in action. That's why they needed the sheet. Ah, for a dark background so Hulk could visit us through the video phone system. Hulk, in his bubbly countenance, was the other shiny top.

Later, John Lee and I were called into the room to have a live signing chat with Hulk. Melanie and others talked with him earlier. It was enjoyable doing that and Hulk took time to visit with all of us by video phone. Then, Tom, may have talked with Hulk for a few extra hours. I am sure both were tired. But what an evening that was!

Like most deafblind persons whom I know, Dan's room was no exception as far as being laid out for convenience. The computer with other hardware and software allows him to communicate well with the world outside his home. And whether he arranged rides for the deafblind or not from his room, somebody arranged those rides. We didn't always know the exact time SSP drivers would arrive, but we knew they were coming. That was a definite!

It was on that evening that I finally got a close up look at the sport's section of Dan's room with all the LSU Tiger's stuff. I didn't want to snoop in his private area, but that evening many people were in that room, so I felt comfortable looking around.

The walls were evident that Dan connects with the LSU sport teams in a big way. His room has lovely gold colored framed pictures of the LSU Tiger's big football championships. Also, a couple of white LSU footballs were there. One was on display in a clear glass container. No doubt, it was his special room!

After that Melanie and I went to bed. Were we tired? You better believe it! And morning came early. Melanie actually was first in the shower that morning and she was putting the pinch on me to hurry up. But with Tom still sleeping, I figured I had lots of time. Finally, I woke Tom up and he got right to the job of getting ready. Again I pretended to swallow his whole case of pills. We patted each other on the back while laughing.

It was John who arrived at Dan's to take us to the picnic. And that was after ten a.m. I didn't recognize John when I first opened the door. He looked different. Ah, more of a casual dress!

When he started to talk, it was to apologize for trying to guide us to seats which we didn't want at Langenaux's restaurant on Thursday night. It was nice to see that humble attitude. He was starting to weave his way into my heart. Not too many are ready to apologize and move on. It takes a big person! Soon we were on our way to the picnic.

Written by
Harvey A. Bond