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Allison Friedman, Lauren Holtz, and Justin Quan

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7:30 am, Eastern Standard Time
Day 5 Deaf Academic Bowl Competition
Gallaudet University, Washington, DC

What does one do with 400 Deaf kids who want to see the sights in Washington, DC?  One solution is to drop them at the Washington Monument, assemble a team of Deaf guides, and take off walking around the Mall.  That’s how we spent a good deal of our time Tuesday while a few of the other teams continued the grueling competition.  What a blast!

The Washington Monument tends to start things off with a bit of shock and awe.  From there, it’s westward toward the new World War II soldiers memorial and the reflecting pool.  Of course, having Deaf guides means that all the commentary is directly accessible to almost all the kids, and the human interest stories are Deaf focused.  Did you know that the five stone cutters who topped off the Washington Monument were Deaf?  Things like that kept us all even more interested.

It’s a long walk down past the reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial.  Along the way we passed the site of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, and several others.  Off to the south, the Jefferson Memorial sat in its simplicity and splendor, looking like Monticello had been uprooted from the Shennandoah Valley and dropped next to the Potomac.

Nothing needs to be said about the Lincoln Memorial because it’s already been said.  Our kids agreed this was their favorite.  Oh and there’s a Deaf legend related to the statue.  It seems the sculptor who did the Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet/Alice Cogswell statue that sits on the campus at Gallaudet University was chosen to memorialize Lincoln.  Close examination of the statue show one hand clenched into the “A” handshape, while the other hand subtly extends the thumb and index finger into an “L”.  Manual alphabet.  A L.  Abraham Lincoln, get it?  Coincidence?  The Deaf people don’t think so.  It is an important part of the Washington Deaf Cultural lore and legend.

The Korean War Memorial was off to our left and I hope our kids noticed it, because it is an incredible, if haunting addition to the DC statuary.

From the Lincoln Memorial, we doubled back toward the White House.  To get there, we passed the Vietnam Memorials.  Two statues and a wall.  It is a shrine I return to every trip I make to DC.  Far too many of my contemporaries are listed there when they should be in boardrooms, class rooms, and playing with grandchildren.  Readers will forgive the personal note but Vietnam was and is one of the powerful forces of influence on my generation and those names are a powerful reminder.

The trail led us back to the White House. Always impressive!  Another long trek took us to the Metro Center subway stop where we embarked to Union Station’s underground food court.  Lunch was great.  A variety of choices made for interesting sharing, but only Lauren Holtz was brave enough to try the goat curry Dr. Bob got from an Indian restaurant, while Justin shared the spicy peas and potato combination.

The arcade of shops provided an hour’s respite of window and actual shopping.  Afterward, our kids linked up with the team from the Oregon School for the Deaf to walk up the hill, literally, from Union Station to the Capitol, Supreme Court, and Library of Congress buildings.  Back at Union Station, we picked up the Gallaudet Shuttle bus in time for supper and the excitement of the final rounds.

While we were touring, the Sweet 16 teams slugged it out until the top four survivors got together for the closing matches.  Model Secondary School of the Deaf from Washington, DC defeated the ever impressive Indiana School for the Deaf team to clinch third place.  The championship game pitted the Maryland School for the Deaf Orioles against the New Mexico School for the Deaf Roadrunners.  At the end of the evening, Maryland emerged victorious, the first team in the DAB’s fifteen year history to win consecutive championships.  Team awards, all-star player and outstanding player awards ended the competition.  Then the fun of the closing night party began.

Yes, dear hearing world readers, Deaf kids do dance!  The DJ set-up was impressive.  The speakers were the size of Subarus and the volume, especially of the bass line, rivaled the level of dBs one experiences standing next to a Boeing 747 as it takes off.

The girls from the Pearl City, Hawai’I team gave an impromptu lesson on how to hula.  The hip-hop and line dancing was enjoyed by all.  Most of the chaperones sit around the edges of the dance floor, getting caught up with old friends, but there are always a few hearty souls who brave the dance floor.  Dr. Bob was joined by Ms. Wasson, a coach from Montana School for the Deaf and Ms. Dixon, a coach from Derby High School in Kansas.  Racheal Griffin found lots of people to dance with, of course.  There were a few other dancing chaperones, but the Hersey team lead the way there, too.

Leave-taking is hard, especially when the days spent in a community are as glorious as the past days have been.  Wednesday morning good-byes were said and we safely arrived in the loving arms of waiting family members.

Racheal Griffin, my assisting coach and chaperone, was a pure pleasure with whom to work.  I have had many wonderful traveling partners through the DAB years, and Racheal is up there among the best.  Thanks!

In closing, I offer thanks to the administrators of D 214, Hersey, and LICA.  Dr. Schuler, Dr. Cantrell, and Ms. Streit are great in the support, encouragement and understanding they provide to the Deaf Academic experience.  Sheryl Goldman, Rich Golminas, and the other “mid-level” supervisors make the administrative processes and paperwork manageable for me.  I know Hersey teachers are used to extended field trips this time of year, but from where I sit, they willingly give the extra effort to make it possible for our kids to do this.

Finally, the “Friends of LICA” organization does fund-raising work to support the things that are not in budgets anywhere.  Thanks to them, the airfare expense was covered and the trip was possible.

To whomever I’ve overlooked, I apologize.  To everyone, thanks for giving me the pleasure and privilege of coaching and supervising the Hersey Deaf Academic Team all these years.

Until next year,
Dr. Bob
Robert Grindrod
JHHS Interpreter