Thru Hiker in Emergency Help needed!

[Flash Hand]

Frosty AGAIN,


I guess you didn't know that my PARENTS ARE DEAF also. THEY are old fashioned and they don't have TTY at their homes because they rely on hearing siblings to use phone communication. AND, yes I am trying to get a hold of my mother on the internet but it turned out that my mother's computer got a virus and is not functioning until a few days ago. My mother was very disappointed that I didn't finish my hike again. AND, don't you dare to assume that I never contacted my family and friends, and I DID IT a few times.

You know how dogs feel when they got fleas? SO, what I feel like right now is that I am a dog and you are the flea. You just started to make me feel itched.

Flash Hand

[Flash Hand]

Apparently I had a brief encounter with Flash Hand, here in Luray about a month ago. There was a man who looked a lot like the guy in the photo on this site, wearing an AT t-shirt and my sixth sense said he was a thru-hiker. He was walking briskly without pack on Main Street. I figured he was likely staying in a motel, was probably headed toward Wal-Mart over a mile away, and pulled up to offer a ride.

He did come over to my truck, but couldn't talk well. He made an attempt to communicate to me that he was deaf, which I comprehended. He then just kept walking. It's possible that by pulling up like that, uninvited, that I frightened him. I watched as he stopped in front of various store fronts to check the addresses. Eventually, I think he found what he was possibly looking for--the local Work Force Job Center. This is a non-profit organization that helps the unemployed find work and work skills.

The whole scenario confused me a bit, but this thread makes it a lot more clear. I now wish I had been a bit more assertive and had taken the time to try to communicate with Flash Hand. I'm sure I could have helped--either directly (food, shuttle, maybe even some money) or by offering him some temporary work if that had been his wish. My home, property, and business are in constant need of manual labor.

While Luray isn't the "trail town" that Waynesboro and Front Royal are, we do get several hundred hikers per year here (NOBO, SOBO, section), and I hope Flash Hand found someone familiar with the AT willing to help. At the least, I'm curious where he stayed while in Luray--which seemed to be at least a couple days judging by the time stamps on his posts here.

Anyway, best wishes on your next thru-hike attempt, Flash Hand.

Skyline,

I do remember you. I can explain why I didn't bother to stay and asking for help. That time I didn't bring paper and pen with me. I THOUGHT/ASSUMED you were one of tourist or curiousity people asking questions about Appalachian Trail. Its because there is no way of communication between us, and I wasn't be able to understand lip reading at all. That time, I was on my way to motel. When you left, and I saw your decal on the back of your SUV, I was like oh no, and realized that you are part of AT community and are providing help to hikers. I wish that I am being assertive in asking you for paper and pen.

The reasons I didn't put any effort to communicate between us ares 1) no paper and pen 2) most of the time, hearing people think that I can understand them more clearly if they try to talk. Actually, I am very poor lip reader and usually didn't being assertive enough to communicate ONLY if I didn't bring paper and pen. Paper and pen is the ONLY and SOLE way of access to communication between me as a deaf person and hearing people. The alternative to that is the hearing people know sign language.

I don't know when I would try my 3rd attempt. If I do, I will certainly contact you if I am in Luray again.

Flash Hand

[Flash Hand]

ASL is a very different language than English. Syntax, context, word order, word endings, tenses, etc. are either totally different from spoken/written English or do not exist at all. The English writing of a lot of deaf people looks like this, because basically it is almost a foreign language to them. That said, I can understand it easily, and it looks a hell of a lot better than my signing! I can speak Spanish and German, but writing it is a whole different animal. I'll mess up some grammar and make the natives giggle. I can, however, still get my point across. Don't get bogged down by the details, just take your time with it . . .

[BTW, Flash Hand is the real deal, and he is a pretty cool guy to boot. I met him when I was section hiking at Mt. Roger's, and I have already kicked him (via email) for not notifying me when he needed help. I don't get here much.]


Jaywalke

Hey Jay Walke,

It is no excuse for me to forget about you. Yeah, I never thought about you. If I wasn't really panicked and maybe I would think clearly enought to ask you for help.

I want to thank you so much for fingerspelling me that there was an Owl sitting in the tree. A thru-hiker Crazy Horse might have forget to tell me about owl in the tree after telling about it to all of you. You didn't forget the presence of deaf hiker. You earned my biggest respect for that. If not for you, I, definitely will, wondering why 3 or 4 hikers run to the woods at same time and probably will miss out the opportunity to see Owl in the woods. Crazy Horse knows that I am deaf because we communicated in paper and pen on the 2nd floor of Thomas Knob Shelter. He is the first to write down and introduced himself to me. Hearing people sometimes do forget that there were presences of deaf person in the same area. For example, I worked for Home Depot as a Night Crew, and everyone in the breakroom quickly stood up and left without letting me know that there was a fire drill. With quick thinking and figuring out what is wrong with the picture, I finally left the breakroom about 5 minutes later. If there was a real fire and I might ended up die alone in the breakroom. The crew of about 8 employees apologized that they forget about a deaf worker in the SAME room. YOu didn't forget about me and I was very impressed. Jay Walke, you are my friend,

I will certainly contact you if I decide to try 3rd attempt to thru-hike.

Flash Hand

[JP]

Flash Hand.. Have you thought about making cards with common phrases or things you need to say most. It would save a lot of writing. Maybe some cards with short answers.
Hope you finish your hike!

[Frosty]

FROSTY... I think you missed my point. I DO HAVE MONEY but LACK access to the bank. Without ATM card, no ID, Nothing on me. How can you stay another night at motel without it?

You can't stay in a motel without money. You are correct. You would have to stay in a tent in the woods.

Frosty
Again, I forget to add... DO NOT EVER WORRY about my zero days.

I am not worried about your zero days. You can take as many as you want. Deafsmart was giving the entire list grief for not sending you money, and I responded (to him, not you) that I cannot afford to take a day in a motel for every two days I hike, and was not willing to send money to any one, deaf or hearing, to help them do something I cannot afford. Take all the zero days you want anywhere you want. But I'm not going to pay for them.

I guess you didn't know that my PARENTS ARE DEAF also. THEY are old fashioned and they don't have TTY at their homes because they rely on hearing siblings to use phone communication. AND, don't you dare to assume that I never contacted my family and friends, and I DID IT a few times.

I didn't know they are deaf, and I am sorry to hear it, but it doesn't change anything. My comment was that it would have been wise to set up a way to get money for emergencies in case one came up. That is important for everyone, but vital I would think for someone with communication problems. I'm glad you contacted your family and your friends a few times, but if you did and they were aware that you didn't have money, why ask WHITEBLAZE? That's why I assumed you hadn't contacted them. Because if you had, your family and friends could have sent money in a lelter by overnight US Mail.

You know how dogs feel when they got fleas? SO, what I feel like right now is that I am a dog and you are the flea. You just started to make me feel itched.
Flash Hand

Well, there's no need to get angry about it. You asked for money. When you ask, there are two answers, YES and NO. Some of us said "no." When Deafsmart gave us grief about it, some of us told him/her why we said "no." At this point, I think I made the right decision.

I'm sorry your trip ended again. It must be a major disappoinment. Hopefully you'll be better prepared next year if you try again.