Did you ever stay over with a friend and know it would be the last time you two would be together? I had that experience with a friend who attended Jericho Hill School for the Deaf and Blind. He and I shared the same interest in long distance shortwave and AM radio reception. Friends such as Tommy were rare at the school. Rarer still were the weekends when I could visit the homes of my friends instead of being cooped up in the dorm.From Deliverance from Jericho: Six Years in a Blind School, here is the poignant account of my final hours with a good friend.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
On my last night at Tommy's house, we stayed up late talking and listening to his multi-band receiver. Reception was fantastic that evening. I envied Tommy for having such a high- end radio. It was one of those professional general coverage receivers which amateur radio operators used.
"Promise you'll write me when you get home," Tommy said as the eastern horizon began to lighten. I promised and drifted off. My braille skills were sketchy at best but I believed I could reply to his letters.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Deliverance from Jericho abounds with vignettes of what life was like in that government-run institution. These range from poignant experiences of homesickness to hilarious incidents of mischief. Please feel free to click on the link to my books or contact me directly for more information about them.
Hi Bruce, I remember reading this in your book. I believe you said later that you and Tommy lost touch. I've lost touch with most of my friends from both the Arizona school for the blind and the public schools. However, there's one friend from Arizona who still calls me from time to time when she wants something, usually money or help learning Braille which she never did when she was in school because she had enough vision to read large print. I told her frequently I don't have the money, and I don't have the time. She hasn't called me in a while so maybe she's getting the message.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Bill keeps in touch with a few of his friends from the Colorado school for the blind. He has fond memories of that institution which I think is a better school that Arizona or Jericho. That's probably why he maintains the connection.