The Real Secrets of Cheese and Rice

Welcome to the Secrets of Cheese and Rice!

You may say to yourself, "Wow.. This chick must really love cheese and rice!" The answer to that is WRONG! My deaf friends would know right away what the story behind cheese and rice is. I graduated from Illinois School for the Deaf. During my senior year my friends would often find me in a heated discussion about the Bible with my fellow classmates. On many occasions I would forget to sign. I would get so excited that my hands couldn't keep up with me. On one occasion I was talking about Jesus Christ (calmly) to one of my friends. This friend was hard of hearing like myself and could understand if I didn't sign. While I was talking to my friend others around me were watching. My other, completely deaf friend, came up to me and asked me what I was talking about. I explained that I was talking about a story in the Bible that dealt with Jesus Christ and him dying on the cross. She looked at me and started laughing. Apparently she was trying to read my lips while I was talking. She thought I was talking about cheese and rice. Now you may ask yourself. How would one get cheese and rice from Jesus Christ. Go and stand in front of the mirror and without using your voice, say cheese and rice. Pretty bizarre, huh?

Later that week I shared the funny moment that my friends and I had with my teacher, Mrs. Jamsie Hurt. I went to church with Jamsie and often we would meet to pray or she would encourage me through out day by quoting verses. Well, one day we actually were confronted by someone for openly discussing prayer and God in the classroom. In fact when we met to pray it had to be before or after school hours and not in the presence of anyone in case of offending someone. So one day I was having a really bad day. My teacher said, "Barb, keep you chin up. Remember cheese and rice." Of course no one in the class really understood but we knew. That was all that mattered.