LDS Distribution Center, Red Wing Shoes, and Cracker Barrel

I discovered an LDS ASL Interpreter’s Discussion Board on the internet (another prayer answered). Since I have been racking my brain about how to teach the Young Women Theme in sign, I wrote a message and asked how would be the best way to do that. I also asked another question that I will save for tomorrow’s post about our Sign class. I would like to give this man, Doug, a big hug for his answers to both of my questions. He told me that the ASL version is available at the Distribution Center. “Go to www.ldscatalog.com and do a search for product # 35224010. The ASLYWT is easy to follow and best of all it’s free. Go to your local Distribution Center and pick one up.“ Easy to follow? We shall see.

I tell Steve that I want to go to the Distribution Center today. He asks if he can come along. I sign “yes”. He would also like to go to Red Wing Shoes. He decided to go back to work at Deseret Industries Manufacturing because they NEED him (capital letters by the DIM boss). This is like déjà vu.

I also have a $25 gift certificate to Cracker Barrel so we decide to go there for lunch.

My mind is focused on getting that ASL video, so I am not prepared to be deaf today. I forget to bring paper, but the pen is always in my purse. I also was not prepared for the good conversation Steve and I have in the car about why we understand that ASL is good for Deaf people and it’s hard for us to learn it in our situation. It’s difficult to drive and have a good conversation while signing. I am at the wheel and I am wondering who is driving this car.

We get to the Distribution Center and I wander around looking for the video while Steve is in the men’s room. A nice lady comes up beside me and asks me if I am finding what I am looking for. I am not. “I am looking for the Young Women Theme in ASL. Someone told me you might have it here.” She leads me over to the disabilities section. No wonder I could not find it. In this huge store, there is one tiny section with a few ASL products and large print scriptures. The Young Women Theme is not there. Most of the ASL products can be ordered online. So the nice lady orders it for me, and says it will take 2 to 3 weeks to receive it. That’s fine. I will just have to explain to the Young Women President that what I have been teaching her girls might not be right. I hope I haven’t been too far off.

Next we go to Red Wing Shoes. This is the same store we went to over a year ago. I am already tired, so I sit down and decide I am going to be deaf today. Steve tells the salesman that he is deaf and he is looking for steel-toed boots. After that I am not listening. My mind is off doing other things, after all these are his boots and his business. Steve sits down and we sign to each other. Steve also voices while he signs. Within a few minutes the salesman comes over to us, looks at me and says, “Shumko?” I give him a blank look. First of all, I am deaf. Secondly, I am wondering how he knows our name. Steve looks at me and I guess he can see that I am not going to answer, so he continues his business with the salesman and eventually purchases the boots.

We are in the car again and I ask Steve in sign how the man knew our name. Last year Steve had purchased a pair of boots and then found they pinched his toes too much, so he special ordered a pair that would fit his big hooves (15EE). It took longer for the boots to arrive than it did for him to quit the job at DIM, so he didn’t retrieve the boots from the store. His special ordered boots were still there waiting for him. He says they are comfortable.

We get to Cracker Barrel and I gesture to Steve that I am still deaf. A hostess starts to talk and Steve gestures that he is deaf. Another hostess who signs asks him in sign if I am hearing. Steve signs that I am deaf also. They sign to each other and I note that I do not understand her. She is looking a little timid, but she is smiling and she leads us to a table. I make the sign for “Cool!” to Steve (I have never found that sign in any dictionary so did Steve make it up?). I am thinking that we have found a restaurant where someone who signs will serve us. We sit down and begin a sign conversation to each other.

Within a few minutes, I hear, “Can I help you?” My immediate reaction is to look at the waitress. She is not the signer. This person snuck up behind me so I was not prepared. I smile at her and do not answer. I am hoping that she is thinking I looked at her because I saw her from the corner of my eye and not because I heard her. Steve gestures that we are deaf and he orders drinks for both of us. I am feeling a little embarrassed so I study my menu. She comes back in a few minutes and we struggle a bit to show her what we want to order. She is talking the whole time. Maybe I didn’t fool her after all, I don’t know. It would have been much easier for both of us if the girl who signed had been our server. But I suppose the boss would get upset if a hostess who signs accommodates a couple of deaf people. In spite that, Steve hands the waitress a nice tip for her trouble.

Steve wants me to pay for the meal with my gift card while still pretending I am deaf. “See what happens.” I am chicken. I don’t want to do it, but I will try. I ask him if the cashier is the signer because I did not understand her. She is not. I hand the girl the gift card and the order receipt, and she rings it up. She tells me that there is money left on the card. I do not understand her (I am deaf), so Steve gestures to her to write it down. She writes it, and he fingerspells it to me. We are successful all around. Whew!

Since we have a little money left on the card, we wander around the store a bit and look for something to buy. I spot the Moon-Pies, or as Steve calls them, “Mooooo’n-Pies” and we decide to purchase a box of those. I pay for them with the gift card and again the cashier writes how much I owe her. She is smiling and everyone is happy.

So this is my perspective of the day. Maybe Steve will add his perspective and make it more interesting.