2. Getting Through: Responsibilities of the Sender

It was a gray and gloomy day when we pulled into the ski-area parking lot, and decided to sit a spell to see whether the sun might break through the clouds. As we waited, a carload of skiers pulled in next to us. Undeterred by the fact that the mountain had now vanished in the fog, they started unloading their gear. Idly watching them, I noticed that they had left their headlights on, and told one of them. The fellow nodded, but he didn’t turn out the lights.

Odd, I thought. Why did he ignore what I told him? Why wasn’t he paying attention? Why didn’t he listen to me?

A few minutes later, as group members prepared to set forth, they started speaking to each other—in sign language. Ahhhh! It wasn’t ...

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