I'm Different, And My Manner

I've Been Around Since I Was 19, I Won The Oscar When I Was 21, I've Had A Couple Of Tv Series. I've Continued To Work Despite The Predictions Of Some Naysayers.

During A Visit To California, When A Friend Of My Grandmother's Told My Parents That I Must Be Deaf Because I Was Not Responding To Sounds, My Father Was Absolutely Convinced That I Was Simply Being Stubborn.

I Got A Good Handshake. A Lot Of Executives Tell Me I Have The Best Handshake In Hollywood.

I'm The Only One In My Family Who Is Deaf, And There Are Still Conversations That Go Around Me That I Miss Out On. And I Ask What's Going On, And I Have To Ask To Be Included. But I'm Not Going To Be Sad About It. I Don't Live In Sad Isolation. It's Just A Situation I'm Used To.

I Can Hear You And I Can Watch Your Mouth Move, And Then I Put Together The Sounds And The Visual Image And I Can Understand The Words As I Integrate The Two Signals.