Deaf Community

Jewell Todd was born in 1939. As a baby he became very sick and lost his hearing. He has four sisters and five brothers. His sister passed away from rheumatoid arthritis. His father worked in construction. His parents know a little sign language. At age 6 he went away to school. He did not understand sign. After he graduated he worked at Cupples Rubber. He married his first wife in January of 1985. They divorced and he remarried to his current wife. He has three kids. His daughter is 41 years old. Jewell's current wife Earline was married two times before. Her first husband drank a lot. Her second husband smoked a lot. Jewell was an AA patient. He has not drunk in 20 years! He also has a dog named Fallstaff. His favorite hobby is flirting with girls.

I really enjoy signing with Jewell. Most of the signs he uses I am already familiar with. He is a great story teller. Having someone else with a different signing style than Karyn is very helpful.

I do not know anyone else that is deaf and until recently I've never had to use my abilities. I work at a hotel. Last Saturday, a man came to the breakfast bar and put some oatmeal in a bowl and then turned the sink on. Well, we use the water in between the coffee that is already hot, so I said "excuse me". The man pointed to his ear, and turned away from me, as to tell me, Ð''Hey I'm deaf'. Was I ever excited! I quickly caught myself from not crying, and got his attention. I asked him what he needed the water for. He told me it was for the oatmeal. I explained to him about the hot water. He then asked where the microwave was. Well he was signing HOT Ð'- OVEN. Of course I was a bit confused. I signed AGAIN a few times then fingerspelled M I C R O. He began to shake his head yes. I told him where it was. Later after breakfast he came back down just to chat. He asked if I was deaf and if my parents were deaf. After getting no's to both of those questions he asked how I knew ASL. I told him that I was taking college classes. He complimented me on how well I signed to him.