Miss-Delectable
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Students at Center give Paterson sign of approval -- Newsday.com
David A. Paterson was about to become governor.
At the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults in Sands Point, the cheery, crowded lounge fell virtually silent yesterday as Chief Judge Judith Kaye began the historic ceremony that would make it happen.
Men and women settled down into pairs, often with one's hand cupped slightly over the other's fingers, waiting to feel - through sign language - whatever Paterson had to say.
A staff member in front and to the side of the television stood ready to sign for students who could see but not hear, and students whose vision limits them to seeing the world as if peering through a straw.
And then Paterson stepped up, taking so long to thank and introduce dignitaries in the legislative chamber that signers in the room had to alternate and take breaks (some more than once, it would turn out).
But students and staff smiled and laughed at his many jokes.
For them, Paterson is the governor, not the blind governor. And they hope he makes his mark on the office by being an excellent leader, not an excellent blind leader.
"I was very impressed with what he said," said Robert Smithdas, 82. "It doesn't matter if he is blind as long as he has the brains to do an excellent job," he said.
That was high praise from Smithdas, a published poet who went to school with former Gov. Hugh Carey. Center officials said he became the second deaf-blind student to earn a bachelor's degree, 50 years - yes, 50 years! - after Helen Keller earned hers. Although, thank goodness and thanks to technology, bachelor's degrees among deaf-blind students are commonplace now.
"I can relate to him," Kelvin Crosby, 20, would say later of the new governor. It's not so much because Crosby has a genetic disorder that has left him with both hearing and vision loss. It's because he wants to be a counselor and inspirational speaker.
Paterson taught him to spice speech with humor, Crosby said, and he intends to try it out when he talks to a group of master's degree students later this week.
Speaking through a sign language interpreter, Maricar Marquez, an independent living instructor at the center, said she didn't want Paterson to become a symbol for what legally blind people could accomplish. "His job should be to serve all of the people of New York State, to create jobs and a new future for all of us," she said.
That sentiment was echoed by staff and other students yesterday.
And it's one worth repeating:
Paterson isn't there for disabled people; he's there for the rest of us.
His job isn't to pave the way for the legally blind or otherwise disabled. Already, he's been there, done that. And at the Helen Keller center, Crosby, Smithdas, Marquez and others are making their way quite nicely in this world, too.
Still, there was considerable pride at Sands Point as Paterson assumed the helm.
"Let me reintroduce myself," the man on the television said. "I am David Patterson and I am the governor of New York."
The lounge rocked with applause.
You could see it, as some students waved both hands near their shoulders, using sign language for applause.
You could hear it, as others applauded, vigorously, the old-fashioned way.
And, as still others stomped their feet in a show of approval, sending vibrations to each other through the floor, you could feel it.
You really did feel it.
David A. Paterson was about to become governor.
At the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults in Sands Point, the cheery, crowded lounge fell virtually silent yesterday as Chief Judge Judith Kaye began the historic ceremony that would make it happen.
Men and women settled down into pairs, often with one's hand cupped slightly over the other's fingers, waiting to feel - through sign language - whatever Paterson had to say.
A staff member in front and to the side of the television stood ready to sign for students who could see but not hear, and students whose vision limits them to seeing the world as if peering through a straw.
And then Paterson stepped up, taking so long to thank and introduce dignitaries in the legislative chamber that signers in the room had to alternate and take breaks (some more than once, it would turn out).
But students and staff smiled and laughed at his many jokes.
For them, Paterson is the governor, not the blind governor. And they hope he makes his mark on the office by being an excellent leader, not an excellent blind leader.
"I was very impressed with what he said," said Robert Smithdas, 82. "It doesn't matter if he is blind as long as he has the brains to do an excellent job," he said.
That was high praise from Smithdas, a published poet who went to school with former Gov. Hugh Carey. Center officials said he became the second deaf-blind student to earn a bachelor's degree, 50 years - yes, 50 years! - after Helen Keller earned hers. Although, thank goodness and thanks to technology, bachelor's degrees among deaf-blind students are commonplace now.
"I can relate to him," Kelvin Crosby, 20, would say later of the new governor. It's not so much because Crosby has a genetic disorder that has left him with both hearing and vision loss. It's because he wants to be a counselor and inspirational speaker.
Paterson taught him to spice speech with humor, Crosby said, and he intends to try it out when he talks to a group of master's degree students later this week.
Speaking through a sign language interpreter, Maricar Marquez, an independent living instructor at the center, said she didn't want Paterson to become a symbol for what legally blind people could accomplish. "His job should be to serve all of the people of New York State, to create jobs and a new future for all of us," she said.
That sentiment was echoed by staff and other students yesterday.
And it's one worth repeating:
Paterson isn't there for disabled people; he's there for the rest of us.
His job isn't to pave the way for the legally blind or otherwise disabled. Already, he's been there, done that. And at the Helen Keller center, Crosby, Smithdas, Marquez and others are making their way quite nicely in this world, too.
Still, there was considerable pride at Sands Point as Paterson assumed the helm.
"Let me reintroduce myself," the man on the television said. "I am David Patterson and I am the governor of New York."
The lounge rocked with applause.
You could see it, as some students waved both hands near their shoulders, using sign language for applause.
You could hear it, as others applauded, vigorously, the old-fashioned way.
And, as still others stomped their feet in a show of approval, sending vibrations to each other through the floor, you could feel it.
You really did feel it.