Communication

Sit in any airport and watch people. I’ll bet at least fifty percent have one hand to an ear talking on a cell phone. The other fifty percent have those gadgets that stick in their ear and leave both hands free to pull their carry on with one, and drink their Starbuck’s coffee with the other while conversing on their blue tooth. I often wonder,  Who are they calling at 6:30 in the morning?

            In our technologically addicted society, communication has become immediate. With “i phone” and “i pad” and “i pod” and I don’t know what else, we have become instantly connected with a bevy of others yet more disconnected than ever. Letter writing is quickly following the path of lost arts and crafts of the past. Putting pen to paper and detailing those glorious and intimate details of our lives have given way to texting whole sentences with just a few letters; OMG, BFF and LOL

            I’m not against technology. My deaf son has benefitted tremendously from having the latest communication device. His “I phone” with its vibrating alert is his constant companion and connection to the world. Unable to use conventional telephones, texting, e-mail and instant message are the easiest ways of calling his friends. My son was born deaf and depends on sign language for face to face communication. When we talk to each other, our fingers and hands dance an air ballet in the quiet space between us. Sign language also incorporates facial expression and body language. Sometimes, what is not said orally can be conveyed more forcefully by the shrug of a shoulder or lift of an eyebrow.  As I’ve grown older, my arthritic hands, no longer agile, make my “signs” stilted. I guess it’s like many older adults whose voices have weakened with age and it becomes more difficult to understand their speech..

            I once read, that like some animals, our primitive ancestors could communicate telepathically. However, in our human evolution, when we stood up on two legs instead of four, enabling us to use our hands as tools, our thinking and reasoning brains developed. Soon language became our major means of communication and we lost our initial instinctive abilities. Yet, mental telepathy and ESP still dwell in our mutual deeply buried memory waiting to be brought forward in an occasional flash of sudden recognition. We’ve all experienced those times when we knew who was calling before the phone rang. Or knew, with just a look, exactly what another was thinking.                       

            My best friend for my entire life had been my sister Dorothy. We frequently found ourselves saying the same thing at the same time, our thoughts in perfect synchronization. Before Dorothy died, she told me that if she could find a way to communicate with me after she passed, she would. I hadn’t felt her presence and looked for a sign that she tried to contact me but found none.

            I said aloud, “Dottie, maybe you can’t break through or maybe I’m not receptive, but if you can find a way, I’d sure like to hear from you.”

            Shortly afterwards, while looking in the bottom dresser drawer, I found a small pink box tied with a white ribbon. I recognized the box as a gift from Dorothy some years before. I had forgotten what it contained and when I opened the lid, I saw a small gold charm in the likeness of an angel.

            “There you are!” I said, and since then, have worn it on a chain around my neck, keeping my communication with Dorothy close to my heart.