The Deaf Way II Anthology: A Literary Collection by Deaf and Hard of Hearing Writers

Every Man Must Fall

Willy Conley 171 Every Man Must Fall The E.R. We frequently get called to the E.R. to photograph the following cases: rape, child abuse, wife beating, and police brutality. You MUST shoot the injured areas and the face in the same photo. When shooting, vary the flash angle to reveal the bumps, bruises, and cuts. Be sure to shoot lots of pictures —it would be disastrous to under-shoot when it comes to medical-legal situations. Each slide must be hand-labeled with your signature and date on the back in case you get called to court to testify that you were the photographer on the case. Hand deliver the photos to the requesting physician and have him sign your log to show proof that the images were delivered. NEVER give the photos to a lawyer, a patient, or a police officer; they must ask the physician for copies.  WHEN MAX WAS told what the announcement over Dulaney High’s public address system was all about—that his friend, Billy Hendricks , had drowned in the Loch Raven Reservoir, all he could do was sit there and stare at the wooden speaker above the door. How could such tragic news spill through the speaker’s fabric screen and yet nothing could be seen coming out. Max was of a world where all information had to come to him visually. Most of his classmates and teachers never understood that, despite repeated attempts to explain the realities of his deafness. Minutes before Max learned of the tragedy, the sun was shining bright and cheerful rays into the classroom. Morning announcements went on dreadfully long, and to him they sounded like an alley dog barking incessantly. Since he couldn’t lipread dogs and Gallaudet Book 5/1/02, 9:56 AM 171 172 Willy Conley knew dogs couldn’t enunciate anything better than an “arf,” “yap,” or “rowf,” Max ignored the morning cacophony and killed time playing tic-tac-toe tournaments with Flathead, his deskneighbor . Flathead used condoms with see-through packages for “O’s” while Max put down twisted paper clips for “X’s.” The tourney winner would get a six-pack of beer. Flathead was about to drop an “O” to win a game when he suddenly stopped midway, pressing the condom between his fingers. He looked up at the doorway . Max could tell he was listening to the speaker by the way he tilted his head. Max imagined that if Flathead turned at the proper angle, a stream of words would enter cleanly into his ear, like water through a funnel. Max envied him for getting information that easily. Flathead put the condom down and bowed his head. Max saw students behind him talking rapidly to each other. Others sat quietly, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. A few of the girls began to weep. One girl got up and walked hurriedly out of the classroom. Max looked over to Mr. Crumwell, his homeroom teacher, for some visual reference. Crumwell looked up towards the speaker, shook his head in disgust, mumbled something that looked like “he asked for it”, and went back to grading papers. Somebody in the senior class must’ve gotten caught in the lavatory for smoking pot and wasn’t going to be able to graduate — probably the star varsity pitcher or quarterback. Max nudged Flathead’s skinny arm. Flathead looked up at Max, all sad-eyed, running his hand over his crew top soothing himself. Max gave him a questioning gesture with an upward shake of his head asking, “What’s up?” Max knew something more serious than a pot bust had happened . Flathead didn’t get emotional unless he won at tic-tac-toe or lined up a hot date for a mixer. He flipped the tic-tac-toe sheet over, grabbed the pencil and wrote, “Billy Hendricks died.” Max had to read it a few times. Flathead couldn’t spell to save Gallaudet Book 5/1/02, 9:56 AM 172 Willy Conley 173 his life, and Max wondered if he wrote an incomplete sentence like, “Billy Hendricks did.” To confirm the spelling, Max whispered, “Are you saying Billy Hendricks d-i-e-d?” Mr. Crumwell and the students in the front of the class suddenly turned their heads to look at Max. He thought he had whispered. Flathead’s lips quivered. He scrawled the words, “drowned, lock ravin.” It was then...