The Castaway Hotel - 4 - 16. Chapter 16 - Doing What We Can

On Monday I called a friend of mine who was in real estate, so we could set up a time for him to come over to the house to meet John and Margaret. I wanted him to show them some listings of the available ranch homes in the area, but he quickly advised me business was a little slow at the moment, so there wasn’t a great deal for them to look at. He agreed to come over later that afternoon, if that worked for the Spences, so he could show them his current listings. He said he would allow them to look at the pictures, read the property descriptions and then determine if any of those offerings interested them. Once I told them what the realtor had suggested, John and Margaret rapidly agreed to his plan, and this made both parties happy.

The three of them spent a few hours together that afternoon, and after seeing a couple of listings that interested them, they did a quick drive-by inspection of those properties. That way, if they liked the location and the appearance of the exterior, then they could have the realtor set up an appointment with the homeowner or another realtor so they could view the interior, as soon as the arrangements could be made.

John and Margaret looked a little weary after returning from this outing, but they still took me aside and asked questions about the sections of town these homes were in. This was to ensure there weren’t any drawbacks to those neighborhoods that they weren’t aware of. Happily, I told them what I could and answered all of their questions, and then they went back to discuss their choices privately. As far as I know, they still hadn’t made any decisions before they went to bed later.

The boys and I got up early Tuesday morning and made our way to the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Pittsburgh. Sally joined us on this little outing and it proved to be a very interesting visit. The school serves quite a broad range of ages, since it works with both children and young adults, from the age 5 to 21. The students are taught a nearly identical academic curriculum as what they would get in a public school, but they are also offered other subjects, which are specifically geared toward the deaf student.

During our time there, we saw how the younger children were taught sign language and some of us even managed to pick up a few signs ourselves that afternoon. We also learned how to sign the alphabet using our fingers. In addition to these types of classes and the normal academic subjects, the students also received instruction in the use of computers. Considering the type handicap involved, it didn’t surprise us the courses were very visually oriented and relied a great deal on demonstrations and the written word. I knew this made it even more difficult for Pat to appreciate, but he listened to me telling him what I was seeing and made the most of it.

Over the course of the day, we were also told about some of the modifications these students had in their homes, to accommodate for their lack of hearing. For example, the doorbell would be hooked up to a light, instead of a buzzer, or to both, if the rest of the family members could hear. The phone was also connected to a light and could be hooked up to a special device (TDD) that would print the messages out and allow the receiver to type a message back. This device could be a stand-alone piece of equipment or it could be integrated into a computer, by means of a TDD modem. However, with the growing use of instant messaging programs on computers, this was almost unnecessary now.

The children were also able to participate in sports at the school, including volleyball and basketball for the girls, and soccer and basketball for the boys. The major difference with how the games were played was just in how they communicated with their coach and each other during the contests and practices, but the game itself looked basically the same. They were just as capable of competing and performing at the same level of ability as any hearing child of equal physical ability.

Before we left, we learned many other things about the students and the school too, and had a chance to chat with members of the staff and some of the children attending there, through an interpreter of course. Although most of these children also spent time with their families, there were a few who preferred not to go home for very long, because they felt cut off from most things that allowed them contact with the outside world. At home they could only communicate with their parents, if they didn’t have a computer or the TDD device to help them keep in touch with others. Some of their parents also had only a limited knowledge of sign language, since they couldn’t find the time to schedule in the classes that would give them a better grasp of the subject, due to their job requirements or other family obligations. This information gave us an idea of at least one way we could help these children.

Before we retuned home, we had a chance to talk privately with the director and I suggested he make requests to the Castaway Foundation to help those students in need of a computer, TDD device or any other piece of equipment they might need to make their home life more comfortable and normal for them. I also suggested I would check into the idea of getting each of the students a laptop computer, which they could carry back and forth between home and school, so they could use their computer to stay in touch with their family or friends, even while they were away.

I also suggested our charity might be willing to pay for the cost of the sign language classes for the parents and/or siblings who needed more instruction to be able to communicate with the deaf family member. The charity might even consider reimbursing the wages of any parents who had to take time off from work to attend these classes or pay for child-care, if they had other children at home who would need to be watched during these times. All the director would need for them to do to get this help is to have a family member submit a request in writing and then I’d do what I could to take care of these issues for them. The director, the boys and I all agreed that by ensuring the family could communicate with the deaf family member and that person could, in turn, with others whenever they wished was of utmost importance. This would be given first priority, as far as the charity was concerned.

At home that night, the boys were talking excitedly about the things they had seen and learned at the school and were trying to figure out what else they might be able to do to help. After some discussion about this, we agreed the older boys could help by contacting companies dealing with computers, TDD devices and modems, so they could tell them about the charity and our goals. Then they would request quotes on the best prices these places could give us on these items, so we could start providing them to those who needed them. We started to compile a list of quotes for each device, but we also had the companies mail us the information, complete with specifications. It was fun watching the boys getting excited about helping others.

On Thursday, we made our visit to the Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia, with Sally joining us again. This trip struck a little closer to home, because of Pat’s current condition, and the boys took a special interest in what they learned here, hoping this knowledge would help them make life a little better for their brother. The school dealt with students with an even greater age range than the School for the Deaf, as they help students from the age of 3 to 21. These students could commute, if they lived nearby, or live on campus in the dormitories, although they had to be at least 7 to qualify for that privilege.

Once again, the academic courses offered were the same as would be given at any public school, but there were other courses that could also be taken, which were designed to teach things a sightless person would need to master. We saw how children were taught to utilize Braille, an alphabet created by using raised dots, so they could read their special textbooks and books in their library. In addition to that, they were given instruction on how to move about by utilizing a small foldable cane, but they were also taught little tricks they could use to remember where things were, how far away various objects were or how many steps might be on a particular staircase.

Besides the classroom activities, the students were trained to do many other different tasks, some of them of the normal everyday variety, which sighted people really don’t think much about, and other more advanced skills, sometimes job related. The younger children were instructed in such things as brushing their teeth and getting dressed on their own, while the older students might be shown how to select their own clothing, using little tricks to help them know the color of the garment by where it was hung in the closet or by reading Braille labels attached to each item. They were also taught how to prepare meals and clean their rooms, as well as other things, like woodworking and how to use computers equipment with special audio equipment. The school’s goal was to make each student independent and able to adapt to real-life situations when they were on their own.

The school was very big on teaching their students career skills, including vocational skills for those who were so inclined. They even allowed students to run the snack bar (which included the responsibility for doing the short-order cooking), working in the school store (which meant handling the money and stocking the shelves) and putting out their own school newspaper. They also offered extracurricular activities, such as choir, bell choir, voice classes and sports (track and field, swimming, wrestling, hiking and cheerleading). They really were offered quite a wide variety of activities and opportunities, and we were all quite impressed.

Pat did ask many questions as we went along, and it seemed as if he were getting ready to accept the fact he might be attending this school the following year, although that idea had never been suggested. The staff graciously answered all of his questions, while attempting to also soothe his apprehensions, as it was evident why he was so interested. I think he was trying to take control of his life and plan his own future.

In talking to various staff members later, some of my sons wanted to know why they didn’t see any guide dogs being used. It was then explained to us the guide dogs, or seeing-eye dogs as some people like to refer to them (we were to find out why later), were a very expensive proposition, and for that reason only supplied by private organizations, which were supported by donations. These organizations also had other requirements such as insisting those adopting their dogs come to them, so their training could be conducted there. One of those organizations, The Seeing Eye, was not too far from the school, but there were some additional expenses involved with acquiring one of their animals. The Seeing Eye charged $150 for the initial visit and $50 for each subsequent visit. This was just to offset some of their expenses, although it was actually just a small percentage of the group’s actual costs. Those fees merely helped to offset a small portion of the overall expense, which included the cost of the dog, equipment, training sessions and transportation to and from Morristown, NJ, where The Seeing Eye was located.

Most of the dogs bred by The Seeing Eye were German shepherds, Labrador retrievers and Golden retrievers, and at 8 weeks those animals selected were assigned to pre-approved volunteer puppy raisers who would teach the dog basic obedience and socialization. These volunteers had to attend 4-H puppy training classes, even though it wasn’t required they belong to the 4-H. The trainers would then work with their dog until it was 18 months old, before returning the animal to The Seeing Eye location, where it would spend the next four months in training as a seeing-eye dog. The person receiving the dog was required to be at least 16 years old and the dog would be approximately 2 years-old by the time it was ready to perform the required duties. Due to this, only the oldest students at the school would qualify for this benefit, so the school chose not to include it as part of their service. The dogs would usually serve their owners from five to eleven years, and then the owner would have to come back to the organization for a new companion. Needless to say, this proved to be a very informative session for us.

About the time we finished discussing this topic, the president of the school board came over to see me and asked to speak to me privately. I agreed and we moved away for our little chat. “Mr. Currie, I have been told a little about what you plan to do to help some of our students and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Whatever you can do to assist some of the less fortunate students would be greatly appreciated, but I believe that possibly I can also assist you.”

“Assist me?” I asked, quite confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well, sir, it’s not so much for you, as for one of your sons,” he replied. “I understand one of them had an accident recently and lost his sight.”

“Yes, that’s correct,” I confirmed.

“Well, one of the members of our school board is also one of the finest ophthalmologists in the world,” he went on. “Would you mind if I contacted him and made an appointment for your son to see him? He is much more abreast of current advancements in the field and might be able to give you options that your own doctor might not be able to offer you.”

“That’s is very generous of you, but I’d like to check with my son first, before I agree to it,” I announced. “I’ll bring him over and you can explain this offer to him, if you wouldn’t mind.”

He consented, so I went over and told Pat I had something to discuss with him. I think his first reaction was that I was going to bring up the possibility of his going to school here, and he was quite surprised when the school board president revealed his offer. Pat was more than a little excited by the possibility, to say the least.

“Do you think this doctor might be able to help me see again?” he asked, hopefully.

“I’m not sure if he can or can’t, Pat,” I told him, “but I don’t see any harm in making an appointment, so we can learn what he has to say. He might discover something the other doctors may have missed or not known about, but then again he may only confirm the other doctors’ diagnosis. The choice is yours.”

“Well, if it might help me, why not?” he asked. “I don’t see where I’d be any worse off if I go there.”

“That’s true,” I confirmed, “but I wanted to make sure you agreed to it, before I let this gentleman set up the appointment.”

“I think it’s great, Dad,” he enthused. “Thank you, sir, for doing this for me.”

“You’re very welcome, young man,” the school board president told him, “and I hope he will be able to help you, just like your family is helping our students.”

We left that day with some additional hope and some ideas for helping others. First, I was going to have the Foundation look into supplying the students with Braille printers for their computers, so they would be able to read the information that was sent or gathered for them. In addition to the printers, I also wanted to check into the possibility of having each student get a guide dog as soon as they were eligible. I would encourage the Foundation to arrange for their training during the summer after their 16th birthday and also have the charity pay their fees, as well as make an additional donation to the organization, equal to the non-reimbursed cost of providing this service for each of these students. That way the students we were helping wouldn’t take anything away from others whom the organization providing the dogs might be able to benefit.

Before we left, we were told the school board president was able to make an appointment for Pat in May and were quickly assured we were lucky to get in that soon. He explained this particular doctor is booked very far in advance for appointments, because he was one of the best in his field, so Pat and I were pleased by this news. There was no real urgency on our part, because Pat and I both took the attitude that if he can help – fine, but we weren’t expecting any miracles. Pat still hadn’t completely resigned himself to why this had happened to him, but I do think he had already decided he would try to do the best with what he had to work with and not waste any of his time wallowing in self-pity or regret. I felt the positive approach he was taking would not only help him grow stronger, but also make the adjustment easier for him as time passed, if that’s what he needed to do.

That evening at home, the boys made up another list of things they need to get quotes on for the School for the Blind, which included the Braille printers and voice synthesizers for the computers. They also began to bounce ideas around about how we were going to raise more money for the charity, since it seemed that the ideas they were already working on were going to use up a big chunk of what was there. After informing them that some additional donations had come in after the magazine articles ran, we bounced around ideas such as dinners, running the concession stands at athletic events and car washes as other means of adding to the charity’s coffers. They went to bed considering what else they might be able to do to help, which touched Pat deeply, since he understood he was the catalyst for their concern.

Friday passed by quickly, as all of us were busy pursuing our ideas in greater detail, but we had to put that aside as evening rolled around. Tonight, Sally would be arriving with Richard from the group foster home, and we had things to do to prepare for his visit. He was going to be spending the weekend with us, because his prospective parents were coming here tomorrow to meet him.

Sally showed up on schedule, with Richard in tow. He was carrying a small suitcase, which had obviously seen better days, but it did seem to serve its purpose. After they came inside, we chatted for a while before sitting down to dinner. I had previously convinced Sally into joining us too, since I thought that would make the transition a little easier for Richard. I sat in my usual seat, with Richard on one side of me and Sally seated on the other side of him. Everyone else shifted their seating accordingly, so this could be arranged. You see, over time the boys had all come to expect to sit at a certain place at the table, claiming squatters’ rights, so to speak. They were willing to break this rule and change places from time to time, especially when we had company who wanted or needed to sit by someone in particular, as was the case now.

Richard still appeared be a little nervous about being here, but seemed to be more at ease after discovering the seating arrangement. During the meal, I could feel Richard’s leg touching mine, and he never moved it away during the entire time we ate. Not only that, but I could see him frequently staring at me, even though he was answering questions from some of the other boys or listening to what the rest of us were talking about. When the meal was over, a few of the boys started clearing off the table, and Sally announced it was time for her to leave.

Suddenly, Richard seemed to withdraw into himself again, after learning Sally wasn’t going to stay too. He knew Sally much better than any of the rest of us, since she had spent much more time at the home, and Richard looked deeply troubled as he went over to her to say good-bye and thank her for everything she had done for him. Sensing his predicament, I moved behind Richard and scooped him into my arms, so I could promise him I’d make sure he was all right. He looked at me a second, to confirm my sincerity, and then a grin began to emerge upon his cute face, just before he gave me a mighty hug about the neck. I knew at that moment things would be fine.

Once Sally left, I went into the family room to read the newspaper, while the boys watched television. Richard came in and sat on the floor, next to my chair, so I knew something was going on in that little brain of his. When I finished reading paper and set it down, Richard stood up, got right in front of me and began to speak.

“Mr. Currie, how come you adopted all of these boys?” he wanted to know.

“Well, that’s hard to say, Richard,” I responded. “You see, I adopted each one of them for a different reason, but basically it was because they didn’t have anyone else they could live with. They were either orphans, thrown out by their families or had been taken away because of various problems. I started out as their foster father and then things developed from there. I just figured it seemed like the right thing to do.”

“You sure do have a lot of sons,” he remarked. “There are almost as many boys here as there are at the group home where I live.”

“Well, I don’t think there are that many, but we do have a full house,” I agreed. “Are you excited about meeting the couple who might want to adopt you?”

He looked at me and studied my face, but I think he was debating about how honest he should be with me. Once he made up his mind about what he was going to do, he then took time to search for the right words to express his feelings to me. “Well, I am a little excited, cuz I’ve been hoping for a while that someone would adopt me, but I’m also kinda scared. I mean, I’ve never met these people before and I just hope they like me and I like them.”

“Yes, I can see where this could be very scary for you,” I agreed. “I’m sure some of my boys went through similar apprehensions the first day they came here to meet me… well, maybe not Ricky.”

“Why wasn’t he scared?” Richard wondered.

“It was probably because he already knew me,” I explained. “You see, I was the principal at his school when I found out he didn’t have any place to go and took him in to live with me. He was my first son, and for a little while, it was just the two of us.”

Richard looked over at Ricky, who was watching television and hadn’t been listening to our conversation, and spoke to him. “Ricky, you were really lucky to know Mr. Currie before you came here to live,” he told him. “That’s why you weren’t scared, right?”

It took Ricky a few seconds to get the drift of what Richard was saying, but once everything clicked into place, he devised his answer for him. “Who said I wasn’t scared? I was terrified,” Ricky announced, with an evil grin emerging on his angelic face. “Wouldn’t you be scared if they told you that you were going to live with your mean old principal?”

Richard looked startled by that proclamation and I knew he would need some clarification to understand what Ricky meant. “But he isn’t mean, is he?” Richard asked.

Ricky’s grin broadened. “Oh, I guess you don’t know about all the paddles and whips he has in his office at school,” he teased. “He uses them on the kids when they get into trouble.”

Immediately, Richard whirled in my direction, a look of horror etched upon his face and his mouth hanging open. Pretty soon he heard some of the other boys giggling, so he turned back to look at them. While Richard was trying to figure out what was going on, I thought it time to set the record straight.

“Ok, you little monster,” I addressed my Ricky. “I think you’re giving our guest the wrong impression here. I don’t want him thinking I’m the Marquis de Sade.”

“No, I’m not!” Ricky quipped back. “I’m just telling him about the side of you that most people don’t get to see.” He could hardly keep from laughing as he finished his comment.

“Well then, maybe I should give Richard a demonstration of how this works then, using you as my target.” I announced. As I was saying that, I jump up and grabbed Ricky by the arm, pulled him toward me and draped him over my left knee, quickly using my right leg to pin his legs in between. I then placed my left forearm across his back, so he couldn’t lift up, and immediately began to smack him playfully on the butt. Ricky began to scream, as if he was being tortured, and he could have been nominated for an Oscar for his realistic portrayal of a victim.

Richard’s eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw me doing this and I thought his jaw was going to hit the floor. He stayed that way, transfixed and as stiff as a statue, until the other boys began laughing and cheering me on, urging me to give Ricky a real spanking instead. Finally, Richard realized this was all in fun, so he joined the others’ chants, urging me to hit Ricky harder and make him hurt for pulling that trick on him. I did give Ricky one real good shot to the butt, one that cracked audibly, and Ricky jumped up and grabbed his backside when I released him.

“I guess I can see I don’t have any friends in this house,” he screamed. “Not even the new kid.”

“Only cuz you were trying to trick me and make me think Mr. Currie was a meanie,” Richard informed him.

Ricky feigned a hurt expression on his face. “Well, he is. Didn’t he just prove it?” he asked Richard.

“No way. If he was mean, he’d have given you more than one hard smack and your butt would be all red and you wouldn’t be able to sit down at all,” he confirmed.

“Well, my butt is all red. Want to see?” Ricky began to undo his jeans and Richard’s eyes almost bulged completely out of their sockets.

“I think we can do without that,” I told him forcefully. “We’ve already scared the poor kid and there’s no sense making him sick by showing him your rear end.”

At this point the other boys started teasing Ricky about his ugly butt and Richard was really laughing hard as the other boys continued to rag on Ricky. After letting it continue for a while longer, I finally called a truce, for Ricky’s sake, and the boys reluctantly agreed to abide by it. They loved seeing Ricky squirm like this, especially after all the pranks he had played on each of them, and really didn’t want to give up this golden opportunity at revenge. They merely did so for Richard’s sake. Instead, they started to fill Richard in on Ricky’s bag of tricks, to explain why they had been so relentless, and Richard began to laugh again, as the boys relayed some of the tales about the imps of mischief.

When it came time to get ready for bed, I passed the word along that clothing was required tonight, since I wasn’t sure if Richard was ready for a nudist convention. When I gave him his choices about where he could sleep and then asked for his preference, I figured he would probably want to bunk in with Ricky, as I had noticed how he had taken to the older blond, after our earlier incident. Instead, he asked if he could sleep with me. This shocked me a little, as was possibly the last choice I would have expected from him, but then I assumed it was because he was in a strange place and wanted to feel protected and safe. I gave in to his request, but only after making sure that this was what he really wanted to do, and then decided I had better turn in when he did too.

After I agreed, I realized I’d forgotten about Pat, who’d been sleeping with me since his accident, but he agreed he’d be all right alone on the sofa-bed in the family room for one night. Although Pat and I had been sharing that space since the Spences had been using my bedroom, John and Margaret had gone to spend the weekend with the Shays, so they could get to know them better and also give us room for our weekend visitors. Before I figure my way out of this dilemma, Dustin offered to sleep with Pat, so he could assist him with whatever he needed during the night.

Pat was the first to gratefully accept his offer, and then I did too, after thanking him for covering for me. However, Dustin seemed most pleased by the fact that he was going to be able to do something special for his brother. Even though the two of them had suffered through a previous fall-out or two, they still felt close to each other and this was his chance to make up for their earlier squabbles.

When we first got into bed, Richard was talking a mile a minute, asking me all kinds of questions. He wanted to know how I found each of my boys and how they came to live with me, but he also managed to slip in more questions about Ricky in between. When he learned all he wanted to, at least for the time being, he said he hoped he was as lucky at finding a nice home and prayed these people were as nice as they sounded. He was somewhat optimistic, as Sally and the staff at the group home had told him a great deal about this couple, and that’s why he thought it might work out. He was still a little apprehensive about his first face-to-face meeting with them, which was only normal, but he still clung fiercely to his dream of finally being adopted.

I tried to reassure him about tomorrow and let him know things would work out for the best, no matter what the final outcome was. He still looked a bit nervous, so I reached my arm out toward him, wrapped it around his shoulder and told him everything would be just fine. That simple act seemed to activate some unseen electromagnetic force, which caused Richard to roll on his side and cuddle up tightly against me. He joked a little about my body hair tickling him, so I informed him he didn’t have to lie that way if he didn’t want to. Somewhat panicked, he quickly advised me he’d be fine and was already getting used to it, before he slung his little arm across my belly.

We lay that way for a little while and then I looked down at him, ready to say something about the morning, when I noticed he was already drifting off to sleep. For that reason, I decided to forgo any more conversation and just gave him a gentle squeeze. I spent the next ten or fifteen minutes watching him give in to his exhaustion, while praying he would find great parents and be as happy as every child had the right to be.