When you meet someone it is easy to pass that person you assume has nothing in common with you. But when you take the time to communicate, you can meet individuals who teach you something new and enrich your life.
Frank Bazos’ voice sometimes can be difficult to understand. Sometimes his words are clear, sometimes less so, but he always talks with his hands to make his points clearer. One day I approached him and said “good morning.” He signed the words and I mimicked his signs. He smiled and gave me a fist bump. From that day forward, I became one of Frank’s many informal students and slowly learned more about his story.
Frank was born in Crete. At the age of two, he lost his hearing when he fell down some stairs and damaged his eardrums. His father moved to the United States from Athens, Greece in 1954 and was able to send for the rest of his family in 1958. In Frank’s first year in the States, he did not attend school. Most schools were not prepared to accommodate deaf children.
In 1959 he crossed paths with a deaf man, who recommended that his mother send him to a special school for deaf children to the Jacksonville, (Ill.) School For the Deaf. Frank’s eyes still light up when he tells that story, because it was at that moment when he realized he was not the only person on earth without the ability to hear . He had believed he was alone. When he arrived at the school, he was blown away to meet a whole community who communicated with sign language. When he tells the story, his gesture shows me a head exploding, accompanied by a grin so joyful that I can almost see the nine-year-old boy whose world had just changed forever.
There are a few individuals at the Prisco Center in Aurora, both staff members and patrons, who know American Sign Language (ASL) and I enjoy watching them sign to one another without the long pauses I take to figure out words when I stumble to sign. Most don’t know ASL, but Frank is always patient with them. He signs as he speaks to everyone and sometimes people pick up a sign or two right away. It seems like everyone knows Frank when he comes to work out.
Forty years ago, Frank was a competitive body builder. He calls it “muscle shows.” One day he pointed to another Prisco Center patron and explained that his friend had won many body building trophies back in the day. I asked him what inspired him to get involved with that sport and he gave the short simple answer, “Why not?”
I admire someone who looks at his challenge as an opportunity to teach others. Frank lifts up everyone around him. Another challenge he overcame was a badly broken ankle, which required surgery in 2017 and left his ankle with screws inside. Frank said his weight went from 190 to 245 while he was recovering, so now he comes to the gym every chance he gets and has gotten into better shape again. He has been a landscaper and truck driver and he hopes to return to driving.
The Fox Valley Park District offers courses in ASL. You can sign up on the website: foxvalleyparkdistrict.org. Then, if you meet an interesting person such as Frank, you can greet that person properly!