Miss-Delectable
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A CHRISTMAS GIFT: Santa knows sign language
The boy with the auburn hair sat on the lap of the man with the thick white beard and velvety red suit.
Santa's white-gloved hands came into view of the smiling boy.
"Did you write a Christmas list?" Santa asked, signing with his fingers and hands to communicate with the boy Saturday.
"I wrote a Christmas list for my parents and put a lot of presents on it," 10-year-old Darien Davis signed back.
Like Darien, Ron Swartz, the man behind the red suit, is deaf. The 52-year-old Clarkston resident has been taking Christmas wishes from deaf children for 10 years at an annual event at Silent Call Communications in Waterford.
Only a handful of kids turned out this year, but the purpose remained the same: Give children who can't hear a chance to talk to Santa, said George Elwell, president of Silent Call, which makes alerting systems for deaf and hearing-impaired people.
"I've seen a lot of deaf kids going into malls and stuff to see a Santa, but then they couldn't talk to Santa," said Elwell, 69. "This way the kids can come in, they sign to Santa, they tell them their wishes, he signs back to them."
Most of the children who came before 2 p.m. Saturday are not deaf, but some have parents who are.
Darien was one of the few children able to communicate with Santa as they never had before. What's at the top of his Christmas list?
"A train, for sure," Darien signed to Carol Wills of Holly, his grandmother.
This was the first time Darien and his 8-year-old sister, Rebecca, who also is deaf, visited a deaf Santa.
Most of the time, Wills said, they go to mall Santas with their other two siblings, who can hear. But the experience isn't as fulfilling because Darien and Rebecca can't tell Santa what they want for Christmas.
"This is the first time I've ever seen them go up and talk" through signing, Wills said.
Rebecca took full advantage of the situation. When asked what she wanted for Christmas, she set her sights high, on a life-size toy pony.
Swartz started dressing up as Santa because when he was a child, his visits to Santa were just plain difficult.
"He'd just go up to them and wouldn't be able to understand them," said 16-year-old Warren Swartz, translating his father's signing. "He was excited to see Santa, but he couldn't tell them what he wanted."
The boy with the auburn hair sat on the lap of the man with the thick white beard and velvety red suit.
Santa's white-gloved hands came into view of the smiling boy.
"Did you write a Christmas list?" Santa asked, signing with his fingers and hands to communicate with the boy Saturday.
"I wrote a Christmas list for my parents and put a lot of presents on it," 10-year-old Darien Davis signed back.
Like Darien, Ron Swartz, the man behind the red suit, is deaf. The 52-year-old Clarkston resident has been taking Christmas wishes from deaf children for 10 years at an annual event at Silent Call Communications in Waterford.
Only a handful of kids turned out this year, but the purpose remained the same: Give children who can't hear a chance to talk to Santa, said George Elwell, president of Silent Call, which makes alerting systems for deaf and hearing-impaired people.
"I've seen a lot of deaf kids going into malls and stuff to see a Santa, but then they couldn't talk to Santa," said Elwell, 69. "This way the kids can come in, they sign to Santa, they tell them their wishes, he signs back to them."
Most of the children who came before 2 p.m. Saturday are not deaf, but some have parents who are.
Darien was one of the few children able to communicate with Santa as they never had before. What's at the top of his Christmas list?
"A train, for sure," Darien signed to Carol Wills of Holly, his grandmother.
This was the first time Darien and his 8-year-old sister, Rebecca, who also is deaf, visited a deaf Santa.
Most of the time, Wills said, they go to mall Santas with their other two siblings, who can hear. But the experience isn't as fulfilling because Darien and Rebecca can't tell Santa what they want for Christmas.
"This is the first time I've ever seen them go up and talk" through signing, Wills said.
Rebecca took full advantage of the situation. When asked what she wanted for Christmas, she set her sights high, on a life-size toy pony.
Swartz started dressing up as Santa because when he was a child, his visits to Santa were just plain difficult.
"He'd just go up to them and wouldn't be able to understand them," said 16-year-old Warren Swartz, translating his father's signing. "He was excited to see Santa, but he couldn't tell them what he wanted."
