Category: People You Should Know

Lowell Myers, a deaf attorney who practiced in the Chicago area for years, has passed away. Myers was known for handling a case for Donald Lang, a deaf man with minimal language skills who was accused of murder. The case was later chronicled in the 1979 made-for-TV movie titled, “Dummy.”

His obituary can be accessed here: Lowell J. Myers.
Chicago is home to another deaf attorney, Howard Rosenblum, who credits Myers as his inspiration to become a lawyer as well.

“Lowell Myers was a pioneer,” says Howard. “He became an accountant AND a lawyer at a time when many deaf people were unable to overcome barriers to education. Mr. Myers just did not see barriers, only opportunities. Even when the Dean of John Marshall Law School told him that he could not be a lawyer because of his deafness, he did not see a barrier. Mr. Myers simply convinced the Dean to give him a chance. Not only did he graduate from law school, but he did so well that he was among the top students in the school. He did this without interpreters or any other kind of accommodation. He worked as a lawyer for many years without the benefit of the ADA or other disability rights laws. Mr. Myers just did not let such barriers stop him.

Mr. Myers also helped others see opportunities. When he came to speak about his experiences as a lawyer at an event in 1978, a twelve-year-old deaf boy saw the same opportunity that Mr. Myers saw for himself. That boy was me, and thanks to Mr. Myers, I became a lawyer 14 years later. Lowell Myers, wherever you are now, thank you for being an inspiration.”

Howard works for Equip for Equality in Chicago and runs the Midwest Center for Law and the Deaf.

In early September, I headed out to the Marriott hotel to sign the contract for the IL Hands & Voices Mom’s Night Inn. Across the street from the hotel was my favorite restaurant, Maggiano’s. A family that I worked with generously gave me a gift certificate so I decided to treat myself to lunch. Armed with a stack of magazines, I was looking forward to enjoying a Maggiano’s Salad.

I walked in and did a double-take. Sitting in the waiting area was the priest that married the hubby and I– Father Joe Mulcrone. He was waiting for a friend to show up and join him for lunch. So we hugged and I sat down to catch up with him while he was waiting for his friend.

A half hour later, his friend still hadn’t arrived. We decided to have lunch together, figuring his friend could always join us. We had so much to catch up on, since we both advocated for many of the same issues but hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

We shared a great lunch and Father Joe chatted about his latest mission: a trip to Mexico. Father Joe arranged this trip to Rancho Viejo, Mexico for the 2nd Annual Catholic Deaf Youth in the Western Hemisphere on July 1 -8, 2006. There were 25 deaf adults from the U.S., Trinidad/Tobago, Ecuador and Mexico. Pat Graybill, Father Joe and several others spent the week celebrating various masses and teaching leadership skills to the participants. Communication was quite a challenge: Two spoken languages: English and Spanish. Three sign-languages: American Sign-Language (ASL), Venezuelan, and Mexican.

Halfway through our lunch, we stopped and had a good chuckle. Apparently Divine Intervention had arranged for us to meet and have lunch together– how else to explain how a priest from Chicago and a gal from the western suburbs arrive in the same restaurant at the same time and a companion doesn’t show up?

It was 1986 when Marlee Matlin trotted up to the stage to accept an Oscar for her performance in Children of a Lesser God. She was the youngest performer to receive an Academy Award. It was just two years after I had become profoundly deaf and was first introduced to American Sign Language. I understood almost nothing of Marlee’s signing in the film and relied on the captioning.

Today, after twenty years of signing, I understand a heck of a lot more and I don’t have to ask for repetition on a frequent basis anymore. Looking back, I remember the comments that surrounded Marlee, the praise/disdain of her communication style. Whether she used her voice, sign or both, she couldn’t escape being criticized when in the spotlight. I always thought it was crazy when people would comment on communication mode and forget the accomplishment or the person behind it.

Today, the supposed “one-shot wonder” has had an acting career that spans twenty years with numerous movies, sit-coms, and guest appearances. She has produced books, been involved with several charities and tonight, she will host the “Extreme Home Makeover” in her second appearance.

And she managed to find time to have four kids!

Today’s Chicago Tribune posted an article: Matlin Gets The Last Laugh.

Update:
I found myself enjoying the Extreme Makeover Show. Marlee hosted the show with a lot of enthusiam and it was great to see such a deserving family reap so much from a new home. The best part– knowing that the son and father finally had a way to communicate on a daily basis.

On Saturday, September 9, 2006, Bernard Bragg, one of the founders of the National Theatre of the Deaf, was honored as “The Father of Deaf Theatre” at Oakton Community College in Illinois. The event was sponsored by the International Center on Deafness and the Arts.

CBS News Anchor, John Davis, was the emcee of this event. The Traveling Hands Troupe, a group of deaf, hard of hearing and hearing dancers began the event with a dance routine.

In honor of Bragg’s mime career as “The Quiet Man”, Jonalee Folerynski performed a mime story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears that certainly didn’t need any voice interpretation for those not familiar with American Sign Language. Other performers included Michael Schwartz, Kyle Littlepage, Liz Tannebaum, Mike Stark, Gina Matzkin, and Melanie Kaplan.

One of the most memorable skits of the night was CJ Jones’ comedy routine. Deafinitly a routine that’ll make you laugh your butt off. Heck, just one look at his publicity picture will make you chuckle:

One by one, Bragg’s protege’s took the stage to demonstrate the skills that Bragg instilled in them through workshops and camps. One by one, they thanked him for his guidance and expertise over the years. Bragg was actually speechless for a very short time, but he quickly bounced back with an eloquent speech and a “thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

For the last two years, I’ve been contributing articles to the Hands & Voices Communicator. I’m always looking for deaf and hard of hearing people with interesting jobs.

About a year ago, I came across Henry Kisor, a literary reviewer for the Chicago Sun Times. I contacted him and asked if we could meet so I could do an article. Henry was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Criticism in 1981 and the author of several books, including “What’s That Pig Outdoors, A Memoir of Deafness.”

We met for lunch and Henry shared tales about his life’s adventures. Henry took a train trip across America, interviewing passengers by lipreading, and the result was the book:
Zephyr: Tracking a Dream Across America.

A midlife crisis had Henry pursuing his dream of flying (a dream that he thought he couldn’t accomplish because he was deaf) and he began to take flying lessons. He obtained his pilot’s license and began to do some research about flying. A pilot by the name of Cal Rodgers, came up during his research and he discoverd that Rodgers was hard of hearing. Henry purchased a small plane and decided to take a trip across America, similar to the trip that Cal Rodgers took in the early 1900’s. He penned the tales of his adventure in this book: Flight of the Gin Fizz. I enjoyed this book so much that I wrote a review: Epinions: Flight of the Gin Fizz.

Henry joined the International Deaf Pilots Association and participated in several fly-ins around the U.S. He also wrote three mystery novels and a children’s book. Henry recently retired from 38 years of newspaper writing and is working on another book.

You can read the full Hands & Voices article here: “Mystery Author Unveiled: Meet Henry Kisor.”