That is really nice. I will have to show this to my wife.
Reba, I also wanted to update you from the other thread. For those reading, I posed a question in another thread concerning my attempt to find an NRA Instructor that knew ASL. My wife, and a mutual friend, are interested in taking a basic pistol course. My wife is deaf, and our mutual friend, is also deaf as well as has severe CP. He can, however, hold a firearm, and aim it.
Reba suggested that I get an ASL interpreter. I thought about this, and yes, it would ideally work - but not in this situation with my wife and mutual friend - for reasons I would rather not really get into here. Not for the initial course, I mean - maybe when they are both a little more confident, then an ASL interpreter would more than like benfit the both of them with further advanced training.
Here is a very brief background of events that led up to this. My wife, and our mutual friend, were both talking to his girlfriend on VP. I was not part of the discussion they were having. They both tried to get my attention while I was in the kitchen making a grilled Muenster cheese sandwich with honey ham and potato bread. Apparently, our mutual friend's girlfriend had asked why I was wearing a gun, as she saw me in the kitchen on the VP.
My wife and my friend's girlfriend talk to each other quite a lot - it is a deaf sisterhood kind of thing - many of you are familiar with this.
So, rather than resort to the usual "because I can't carry a cop in my pocket" or "I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6" smart alec retorts, I decided to ask the three of them a few questions.
My first question was directed at my wife (she and I have gone shooting before, but her friends have brainwashed her into thinking she didn't need a gun). I said "What if you and (our mutual friend) decided to go to (a local public park with walking trails) and someone attacked you? what would you do?"
She looked at me like 'DUH!' and said "Simple, I grab my phone and call 911".
Ok, let me stop right here - I do not discourage anyone from calling 911, it was not the point I was making.
I then asked my wife, "So, are you going to ask the attacker to wait a few minutes for you to make the call? Will he be nice enough to let you wait until the police arrive before he attacks you and our kids and (our mutual friend)? What if there is no reception?"
I could see her processing this - she has learned how to communicate with me over the years and knows when I am being serious and when I am just joking around.
She also hates to admit it when I have made a valid point
She thought it over and even said "yeah, and what if my phone drops and breaks?"
I said "Sweetie, I know guns make you nervous. I know its because you think the kids can get to them and somehow a horrible accident will happen and they will end up injured or dead. I know I can teach you everything about firearm safety, but I really think you should take a certified course from a certified instructor - because the more you know about firearm safety, the less nervous you will be. You will have a lot more confidence also if you know how to defend yourself, and our kids, because I cannot always be around."
So, they agreed to take a course, but the instructor has to be deaf.
I found an NRA instructor, and he used to be my roommate at Gallaudet, he is a friend. I had no idea ... but we hooked up and that part of the problem has been solved
