A week later I see Mr. Dowdy at the medical center. He is waiting in the
lobby, seated by himself in a waiting area. Here is my chance.
I approach him slowly, wondering if he can sense my advance. I gently
place my hand on his shoulder, and grab the empty plastic seat next to his.
Leonard quickly turns his head my direction and a broad, open-mouth
smile appears in an instant. As I reach to shake his hand, his whole body is
turning my way, and after a brief touching of our hands, his right hand
tactfully is drawn to my face. His thumb is immediately on my lips, and his
index and middle fingers are on the angle of my jaw. The meaty part of his
palm now presses against my voice box. I guess I’ve always had a phobia
of people touching my face, but the suddenness of our coupling
overwhelms my social qualms.
An energetic smile still electrifying our first meeting, he mouths,
“Hello, I’m Leonard,” with an understandable phonation that is
nonetheless typical for a deaf person.
“My name is David,” I intone, intensely reading his face. Can we cross
the chasm?
“Hello David!” Leonard exclaims with gusto. A new friend.
I glance around, a smattering of patients in wheelchairs, teenage
mothers with newborn babies, a disheveled homeless guy in a windbreaker,
and a smartly dressed pharmaceutical rep all staring at us. I explain that
we live in the same neighborhood, that I have seen them walking to the
medical center. Leonard explains that Betty works here at the medical
center in the laundry department. With a little bit of difficulty, we are
communicating, and I’m getting used to my face being handled and
interrogated. A few minutes in, Betty appears on the arm of one of her
coworkers.
Leonard and Betty grasp hands, immediately fingerspelling together in
a cacophony of blurred silence. Betty tilts my way, and in almost normal
speech, says, “Nice to meet you, David.”
I am dumbfounded, really. Over the course of a few minutes we are able
to acquaint ourselves, and I’m hopeful that in the future they’ll remember
me. I scramble back to one of the academic buildings on campus, inspired
by the Dowdys resolve and good-natured charm. I later learn of their trips
to Europe, his job in a machine shop, his woodworking hobby, and other
wonders. I also learn more about Leonard’s ability to use his hands to
understand people. It’s called “Tadoma,” and utilizes the feeling of the
marcin
(Marcin)
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