December 26, 2020. I woke up deaf. And stayed that way for 6 weeks. I hit the ear canal trifecta: Eczema → Fissures → simultaneous fungal and bacterial infection in both ear canals. My ears were all form and no function. But when the hearing world went silent, I could still access interpreted news, information, conversation. Because I'd spent 25 years interpreting and teaching ASL. I felt pretty lucky, considering. Learning ASL doesn't always need to be charitable. Here's why I'd tell *you* to learn it: 🌑 "We own the night." Silence is a tactical advantage. In a crowd, across a football field, near your perpetually listening smartphone/TV — have full conversations without making a sound. 🧠 It rewires your brain. Visual-spatial language processing builds cognitive flexibility. You'll think much differently. 🏥 Medical vulnerability is real and sudden. I didn't see mine coming. Most people won't. I've been a nationally certified ASL interpreter for 25 years. I built Express ASL so people could learn it right — structured, sequential, become truly fluent. 62 weeks. Self-paced. Learn ASL because the right skill at the right moment changes everything. You can start today for free - Week 1. 🔗 ASLTerpAndTeach.com Nostr-only discounts available. 💥Pay in Fiat = $50 discount (Use discount code: DIRTYFIAT50). ⚡ Bitcoin accepted. Pay in Bitcoin = $100 discount (DM me) #ASL #SignLanguage #Grownostr #Otherstuff #GM #Deaf #learn