Day 3, part 1: Drive-thru

Day 3 began with oddness yet again. Every time I take off the processor and place it back on, it seems like I’m starting over with adjustments. After an hour, things return to a decent state, although I wouldn’t come close to calling normal.

Saturday was a long day. My son had his first soccer practice, followed with lunch, naps, and the usual lazy Saturdays. I was so lazy, in fact, that I didn’t cook dinner. So we opted for fast food. For whatever reason, I decided to be the one to go grab food, and I ended up at two different drive-thru’s a few blocks from our house.

Let me tell you, there is nothing on earth like a drive-thru to give a dose of reality to a deaf person. So it’s likely that someone like me, one who avoids confrontation or embarrassing situations at all costs, would fear a simple little thing like a drive thru. And we won’t even mention my previous experiences with Sonic or even mini-traumas at Chick-fil-a. The drive thru has inevitably been the bane of my former life as a deaf girl.

My first drive thru to stop at was Arby’s. It just so happens that behind the drive thru is a fire lane, and behind the fire lane is a set of train tracks. And of course at the exact time I pull next to the speaker box, a lovely train decides to grace me with its presence. It wasn’t a quiet train either. The horn wasn’t blowing, but I could certainly hear the thing going by at break-neck speed.

The first thing I heard from the speaker box at Arby’s was, “Can I take your order?”

Yeah, that’s right, I could make out every single one of the words in that sentence. Amazing?! Certainly so! I completed my order with the guy and understood everything he said, with exception to my cost. But who cares? I’d have paid a dollar or two extra for that exhilarating feeling of listening comprehension. To say I was on cloud nine just probably isn’t even close to describing my happiness.

Drive thru number two: Wendy’s.

Has anyone else every experienced a rude teenager who tries to ask you questions about your order while you’re trying to tell him what your order is? Deaf, hearing, or somewhere in between, anyone would have a hard time hearing a guy who does that. So I didn’t leave Wendy’s with the same feelings. But one thing I did learn. Apparently they ask if you want regular or spicy chicken nuggets. I’ve been through their drive thru a zillion times as a deaf girl and I never even knew that. I did understand it when he asked me through the speaker box though (after I asked him to repeat himself since he spoke while I was).

I guess it’s true. You learn something new every day.