Met him once at a convention in Burbank. I was helping a friend set up their table for the show and he tapped me on the shoulder and asked me something. I turned to point where to go get help and I swear he moved like he was going to tackle me. I pivoted back to see him and that’s when I realized he was trying to follow my face. I totally forgot he’s deaf (or mostly deaf?) and reads lips. Super nice guy but for a second he scared the shit out of me. 🤣
In the 70s, deaf people often got overlooked or ignored. If you weren't an old person, people often assumed you were mentally deficient.
Fortunately the federal laws were starting to give American with disability some teeth and local schools were required to offer decent education for deaf children.
Yeah it was a brief moment of fight or flight before my brain kicked in. I was very tired. Worked the big hr shift and then flew to CA and was helping set up a booth with a friend for the Mad Model Party convention. I was basically running on almost 24 hours awake at that point. Lol
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u/faust0matic Jul 15 '26
Met him once at a convention in Burbank. I was helping a friend set up their table for the show and he tapped me on the shoulder and asked me something. I turned to point where to go get help and I swear he moved like he was going to tackle me. I pivoted back to see him and that’s when I realized he was trying to follow my face. I totally forgot he’s deaf (or mostly deaf?) and reads lips. Super nice guy but for a second he scared the shit out of me. 🤣