i had so much fun with relatives...those in my generation have come back together at funerals of their parents. We are all in our 50s and 60s and naturally have ailments. Diabetes runs rampant and family get togethers are hard on diabletics so they just say what the heck.

Some have weight problems that could be harmful and what a battle that is.

But my stepmother is deaf and i am practically mute. we feel and look like we are handicapped and sound like it. She has deaf sounding language. When my girls were little the could imitate her perfectly. They would mimic her on the beach saying ,"now don't get too much sand in your bathing suits your pappy will get mad."

[as a side note, who ever made the rule that when you go swimming you aren't supposed to get sand in the car or the seats wet. Come on!!]

So my stepmother is beautiful, well dressed white hair and looks younger than 70. She can still pull it off socially, but can't hear beans unless you look straight at her and she can read lips. Well that only works sometimes with me. Most of the time my lips are in dystonia or whatever it is that i have in my lower face. in addition, when i go off now it's pretty bad. i have a seriously pronounced head bob and my right leg is essentially useless.

i may not be the first to die in my generation, but i am surely taking the longest and sufferiing the most. Speech is vital to a social situation. Adaptive and discreet devices should be available under medicare [some are] and we can learn from the deaf ed teachers - my brother used to teach at a deaf ed school.