lunch with the deaf
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
Toronto, 2005.05.13
Today I had an unusual experience. I went into a Harvey's for lunch, and 3/4 of the people in the restaurant were deaf. Adults, children, even gaggles of teenagers. It was like a deaf commune had descended on the place just ahead of me. What made it so striking was that the place only had the noise and babble of maybe ten people when in reality there were 40-50 people in the palce.
Happily, the staff seemed to cope quite well with the challenge of lip reading and whatnot, and I commend them. Everyone seemed to be getting the meals they wanted, and the lined moved along at a good clip. Never thought I'd say it, but that's one well-staffed fast food joint.