My Aunt Mary – she was really just a family friend, but out of respect for her 86 years on earth we always called her Aunt Mary. She was the only person I ever met who used an ear trumpet – a tubular or funnel-shaped device which collects sound waves and leads them into the ear. It was an aid for hearing before there were hearing aids. It was necessary to speak directly into the trumpet if you wanted to carry on conversation. My dad discovered that a simple surgical procedure could restore a great deal of her hearing, but Aunt Mary was not interested. It wasn’t that she was afraid, she simply stated: “I’m 86 years old and I have heard it all – and I don’t want to hear it again.” She did want to be disturbed. Continue reading →