The photo at right was the original shot submitted by James Junior, the deaf 60-year-old Indian Hills resident who has a knack for growing large tomatoes on very tall plants. You see him on a stepladder about to measure the height of his plants, which wound up being almost 9 feet tall. He came by the Daily Journal office two weeks ago with a handful of photos and a handwritten note that began, “Hi, I am a deaf man.”
James is the first person I’ve interviewed who’s deaf and unable to speak. However, we had an enjoyable conversation. During his visit to the Daily Journal office, I wrote a couple of questions on the sheet and he replied with his answers. So, when I visited James at his home, I carried a legal pad because I wanted to ask a lot of questions. If you look at today’s Neighbors section and see the photo of James, his girlfriend Lorraine Seat and their neighbor Nannette Belton, that’s my notepad that Lorraine is writing on. Lorraine, who’s also deaf and unable to speak, was answering a question.
My question-and-answer session with James filled up three pages. They were questions I would ask any interview subject, and instead of saying the answer he’d write it out.
This is one of the pages used for the interview. I used a pen with red ink and James wrote his responses with a pen with black ink. James, however, misplaced his pen while I was taking photos of him, so we wound up sharing my pen.
I think there was one moment when he didn’t understand what I had written. Of course, my penmanship isn’t that great; it’s hard for anyone to read. All in all, my interview with James went smoother than some verbal interviews I’ve done during my career. James is a jolly guy who’s proud of his plants and his tomatoes. Finding people like James is what Lee County Neighbors is all about.
If you know someone like James Junior who might make a good Neighbors cover story, send me an e-mail at bobby.pepper@djournal.com and I’ll check it out.
Posted by Bobby Pepper 
Posted by Bobby Pepper 
Bobby Pepper