Skip to main content

Hearing the here and now

Months ago, as I was driving, I happened to noticed that Canyon Hearing Aid Center was torn down to make way for more parking for the next door convenience store. For some reason, I felt sad about this new turn of events.
I should have been accustomed to this type of change of landscape.  Being from Las Vegas NV, I had seen many hotel and casino buildings disappearing off the face of the earth. For instance, I remember watching on television the implosions of the Landmark and the Sands Hotels. Years ago, I had been a guest at the Landmark , which was a fanciful building, true to its name. I also visited the Sands’ kitchen facilities  when I was attending UNLV.  It was somber to see history be turned into dust.  At least these implosions made way for construction of larger hotels, supplying jobs and eventually more tourists.  
Maybe the reason I was saddened by this destruction of Canyon Hearing Aid Center was that someone lost his livelihood. This land was just being used as a parking lot.  
I had visited this establishment a couple of years back.  My husband had noticed that when he spoke to me I responded by asking him what did he say.  I argued that sometimes he spoke in low tones. However, I did notice at times I was asking other people to repeat themselves. He became concerned and insisted I have my hearing checked. We had seen Canyon Hearing Aid Center many times in our travels and one day we drove to this facility. I wasn’t looking forward to the hearing test at all—it was a reminder to me that I was growing old and one of my senses might be betraying me.  
When we stepped into the building, it appeared that time had stood still in these rooms.  The man who did my hearing test was none other than Dan McCuskey. He looked exactly like he did on the local commercials. I mentioned to him he was much taller than he was on television. With a deadpan demeanor, he stated that he was sitting down for the commercial, so of course no one could tell his real height.
I explained the reason behind my appointment and he administered a battery of hearing tests. The results were my hearing was perfect. Though I was thrilled I wasn’t in need of a hearing aid, I was curious why sometimes I had to ask someone to repeat what he/she just said? He explained as we age, we sometimes cannot process words as quickly as we used to when we were younger. He suggested instead of asking the person to repeat him/herself, just state “I cannot listen as fast as you’re talking!” I found him to be very knowledgeable and had a good dose of common sense.
I wasn’t quite joyous about the news that I wouldn’t be receiving a hearing aid today. It didn’t change the fact that I was growing older and this realization was disheartening.  As I left the examining room, I saw that Mr. McCuskey was speaking with a delivery driver in his office.  The subject they were speaking about was of motorcycles. From what I overheard, the delivery driver was asking Mr. McCuskey did he enjoy going on his latest bike ride.
I couldn’t believe my ears (I knew I heard right, I had a print out to prove that!)—here was this gentleman older than I was and he was riding motorcycles?! I was inspired by this and decided that though I may be growing older, that didn’t mean I would stop being vital.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any mention of the closing of Canyon Hearing Aid Center.  I hope that Mr. McCuskey is enjoying himself, riding his motorcycle into the sunset. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Negative energy in pages

Have you read a book that affected you? I remember a few years back a co-worker had this glossy book at her desk. I looked at its cover, which I found curious. It depicted a calming beach scene with a shark fin prominently in the ocean distance. The novelty of this book was it contained sayings that at first appear positive, for instance “If at first you don’t succeed…” and end it with negative words “…don’t waste your energy trying again.” As I flipped through the pages, I found the sayings amusing, clever and stinging. She let me borrow it so I could read it cover to cover. When I took it home and read a few pages, I began to feel an emotionally heaviness fall upon me. Generally speaking, I see myself as an optimist—I try not to let too many things get me down. However,  after reading a few pages of this book, a dark cloud of depression loomed over me. I decided to quit reading the book—it wasn’t like I was under any obligation to finish it! The very next day, I gla...
1 comment
Read more

A touch of Minx

A few months ago, I, along with everyone else, fell in love with the movie Inside Out .  I also appreciated that one of the main story points was it is  okay to feel sad, sometimes it’s an emotion that cannot be avoided. It was nice to see a movie not sugar-coat tough emotions and show that memories can be shaded with a blend of feelings. I thought the writers were so clever to materialize emotions into characters that kids could understand. Again, I was overwhelmed by their inventiveness that there are little beings living in the main character’s brain. As I watched these colorful characters on the screen, I had a nagging reminder of a comic strip I had read growing up. It was in the British  comic book called The Beano .  Not to be confused with the natural remedy .  The Beano comic book has been going strong for over 60 years in Great Britain. When I arrived home, I looked up these characters. The cast that started me doing comparisons was The Numskulls ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lessons from Teachers

Many times when people talk about the teachers they have encountered in their schools, usually the lessons have been of the traditional sort.   A teacher has done or said something inspiring that has changed their lives for the better.   Actually, I have had a teacher show a negative trait that was a positive life lesson to me.   She was my seventh grade teacher.   She was a very large woman—she had to make her own clothes to fit her.   Not only was her physique large, but also her personality.   She was a very aggressive and no-nonsense woman.     “You can’t get away with anything in Miss C class!”   was the comment we heard from previous teachers and older students.   When she hosted detention, she made a sign to put on the clock that read: “Time passes—will you?”             Being in her class, she made it very clear that she was the boss.   Now, most of the time, she wa...
1 comment
Read more