When I was working as a Child Support Enforcement Investigator for the State of Ohio, Lorain County, the county had a sign language instructor come for one of those Cultural Diversity classes (this was back in the mid 80's through the late 90's). I had always wanted to learn sign language so i signed up for classes with the instructor. It was great. It's a beautiful language. I would sign the hymns at my church (learning them with some extra after class help with the teacher...she was great...I would just give her the scheduled songs and video tape her signing the songs on Mondays and I'd have till Sunday to learn them). I worked with a deaf woman at Child Support. She was from the generation that was not taught not to sign, but to read lips and to speak so as not to stand out as different. Sadly, if you don't use it, you lose it...and, not knowing any deaf or hearing impaired people, I have forgotten much of what I learned. Just like losing the Czechoslovakian my siblings and I spoke as very young children when my mother's "baba" lived with us. My great grandmother never learned English.
