I can't talk about it. It's too painful. But I will. Mel was my best friend, a talker. At lunch, all I had to do was nod periodically as he went on and on. Then one day he stopped speaking and began texting. In order to get a response, I had to text back, which meant I had to manipulate a keyboard. I had grown quite comfortable with just nodding. It meant more responsibility on my shoulders.
After several months Mel showed up without his phone. I needed an explanation, but when I tried speaking, only gibberish came out. Same with Mel. Our mouths had forgotten how to form word sounds. Luckily I had a pad and pen and asked through a note. He said his phone had been repossessed by the carrier because he was going over his text limit. We spent the entire lunch exchanging notes.
Recently I've been practicing making cogent sounds. I can almost say sufferin' succotash. If you don't use your glottal muscle it deteriorates. I've also been working on bringing my nod back to snuff and including head shaking exercises in case I disagree without something Mel writes or texts or speaks. Communication between friends is so important.
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