Yeah, I know, that’s kind of a weird title for someone who is deaf, since I can neither hear a choir nor an echo chamber. But I’ll use these words because it’s the best I have available to me. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I have been doing with Munky Mind for the…
Author: J. Parrish Lewis
J. Parrish Lewis was born and raised in Maryland. In his youth there, he and his brother had many adventures in the dogwood forests near his home. His nostalgia for these adventures has strongly influenced his characters, their relationships, and their perspective on the world they inhabit. He moved to California’s coast to earn his degree in communications and now lives with his family in the San Joaquin Valley. Lewis is profoundly deaf and uses American Sign Language to communicate. He enjoys hazelnut coffee, captioned movies, and walking his dog.
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Snapshot: Shadow puppets and funny faces
This is just a snapshot, a short glimpse into a moment of my life. Monkey wanders over to me, dragging his blanket, the one that’s white and fluffy on one side and black and velvety on the other. It is mid-afternoon, and his homework is done, so he is wearing a smile. I sit on…
Some time ago, I noticed that when I do the dishes, I am automatically tense. I breathe more shallowly, and my shoulders and neck are taut with tension. I realized that this has been the case for a long time, perhaps since I was young, but I never really examined this very closely. I just…
When I was a kid, fences seemed unimportant. Boundaries never really crossed my mind. I reveled in the freedom to explore not just my own neighborhood, but all the neighborhoods in walking or biking distance. When I was 5 years old, growing up in Columbia, Maryland, the sidewalks were a bit like the road in…
/////This is TOP SECRET. Do not share.///// Here’s the plan, Stan. World Domination by the Deaf Community (includes EVERY country, not just America) will commence during Deaf Awareness Week this year. It will be swift, requiring only that we hypnotize all non-signers with our native signed languages while staring deeply into their eyes. The key…
This is a post for hearing parents of deaf children, who have not learned to sign. I write this knowing that you love your children and that you try very hard to make the best decisions you can for your children. This is not a post to bash you for your choices, but to perhaps…
Deaf people are generally underestimated. When I say “generally” you need to interpret that as “really quite often, unfortunately, even though it shouldn’t happen.” This is true in the general population, and this is true with those who are in the position of hiring new staff for companies. We are underestimated, and as a result…
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The writer in the current
The writer sits on his green couch, keyboard poised on the soft pillow resting on his lap. The blank screen intimidates him and will not back down from his insistent stare. He wonders what will come forth, if anything will come forth, for doubts have multiplied of late. Self-doubts about his talent, fed by fearful thoughts and the…
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Plugged in and disengaged
![[image description: close up of a hand holding a smart phone]](https://www.munkymind.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Plugged-in.jpg)
I should write this post on a typewriter. I’d even be satisfied with the word processor I had back in high school, an awe-inspiring machine which had this tiny screen that showed two or three lines of text that you could EDIT. I mean right there on that minuscule screen, you could edit it. Without…