Funny, Talkative and Deaf on the D.C Metro Commute

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Girl Sings at Farragut North Metro
Today I had a conversation with the funniest, most talkative, deaf man I've ever met.
So I was minding my own business as usual, waiting for the train, when this guy walked passed me and suddenly turned around. He tapped my shoulder.
DG: Excuse me!
Me: (I turn)
DG: Where are you from?
Me: Uganda
DG: (Drops his hands - the sparkle in his eye deems - he was disappointed. He thought I was from Ghana.)
Me: You from Ghana?
DG: Yes! But I don't like Ugandans
He apparently has had some not so good experiences with a Ugandan mother whose kid attends the same school as his. His attempt at arranging play dates have been futile. Then he adds, "Well, it's different here. I don't know what she's going through, so I let it go." In the middle of this he told me he was deaf. He became deaf at the age of 5.
We got on the train.

DG: I love my mother. She made sure I attended regular school all the way to university.

He lip reads.

He told me hilarious stories of power cuts back in Ghana and how his friends would keep talking and then wonder why he was acting aloof. Then he laughed and said "I couldn't see their faces". Boy! that cracked me up! I liked that he had such a sense of humor.
DG: I love it here, there are good benefits for the disabled. Back home they don't care as much.

By the time he got off the train, I'd seen photos of his wife, his son, his best friend and pictures of him in P7, S4, and S6. Yeah, I know.

It was a 20-minute ride but very engaging. I had to look him in the eye, speak clearly and listen intently. Wow!! Some people know how to make chilled lemonade with the lemons life throws at them.

Oh!! The photo? I had stopped to listen to this girl’s sensational voice a few minutes before we met.

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