Only One

Sometimes, you get used to being the "only" one. In a company where I daily hear many different languages: Punjabi, Italian, Greek, Spanish, French, Creole, Farsi... I have yet to find another person who knows ASL other than being able to fingerspell their first name. Strangely, these same people cannot fingerspell their LAST name. I find the lack of ASL knowledge sad since ASL is the 3rd or 4th most popular language in the US. The ranking depends on which study you use. But alas, I have not found a fellow signer... oh well... I'm quite used to being the rare African-American at the ice rink. There are really many of us; we always acknowledge one another at competitions, even if we are competing against one another. It's a camaraderie based on an odd observation: we all know that if there are children around, someone will assume that we are someone's nanny, caretaker, baby-sitter or housekeeper. Whatever. We know that someone is going to assume that we are not the skater, but the help. Okay, got it. Been there; experienced that. Recently, there was an international adult figure skating competition in Germany. I've watched the videos for several years can safely say that NO ONE who who even remotely resembles me has participated in this competition. No one. For three years. I know enough German to know the derogatory word for a black person and I know that I wouldn't react well if I heard that word. And I'm not sure who much it would cost to bail me out of jail in Germany. It's sad too because this is a pretty large competition with people from Spain, the Czech Republic, Russia, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, and of course, Germany. This IJS competition seems to run very smoothly with several professional flashes tossed in. The skaters and their home country flashes up when they start their program; the slow-mo repeat of key program elements while waiting for the scores... it just seems lovely. Alas, I don't see myself joining them in 2019. But who knows? Maybe I'll surprise myself. Rinks in this part of the world are closed for the Memorial Day holiday. As the child of a veteran, I say to all who served, "thank you".