I’m unable to get back due to some health reasons to my Uncle Rod’s funeral, which is this coming Monday. I’m not sure who’s going to see this or if they know him. But I am sharing a couple thoughts about a man that had a great impact and a great influence on me.
There were times when we were closer and there were times when we were further apart and there were things that we disagreed on and there were things that we agreed on too. I love my Uncle Rod for who he is, who he isn’t, for the times that we were close, for the distance and disagreements as well.
My Uncle Rod was deaf. He was a strong advocate about people learning how to read lips. He grabbed my hands when I tried sign language and said no. He felt music through speaker vibrations at my shows. He rejected cochlear implants to live his way. We bumped heads on some of his strong opinions, but I respected how he stood by them.
I miss him. We had that solid goodbye a couple years ago. When I found out about his passing, it was sad, but also made me feel like here’s a guy that’s at rest, at peace. I love you, Uncle Rod.
**Moments from Video:**
00:01:16 – Lip reading, not sign language
00:02:46 – Music through vibrations
00:03:01 – Cochlear implants choice
00:04:17 – Deaf but could hear better than many