TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
“KINDNESS IS THE LANGUAGE WHICH THE DEAF CAN HEAR AND THE BLIND CAN SEE.” —Mark Twain
M aria Sanson’s journey exemplifies this truth, proving that with kindness, determination, and an open heart, we can overcome any obstacle. Born to deaf parents during the waning years of communism in Romania, her childhood was a blend of hardship and adversity mixed with innocence and joy. “The first six years of my life were lived during the communism era,” she recalls. “Despite the fact that all life at the time was rationed, from food, heating, and clothing, as children, we did not feel the impact much because we did not know any better.” In her neighborhood, children played outside from dawn till dusk, stopped only by their parents’ calls for dinner. Sanson’s memories are vivid, painted with the smell of fresh bread from the local bakery and the long lines that stretched for blocks. “We would go with a cloth bag and our cards for the rationed food to get bread for dinner,” she says. “I can still see the sea of people
waiting in line and hoping to make it to the counter before the bread was out.” Her father, a skilled carpenter, and her mother, a talented seamstress, provided Sanson with a sense of normalcy and pride. “My dolls always had nice clothing that my mom made, and my dad crafted a beautiful toy bed and table.” Despite economic and political hardships, books were a sanctuary for her, opening up worlds and ideas beyond her immediate reality. “We read some of the most interesting novels which impacted my thinking and mindset, like Dostoyevsky and Victor Hugo.” December 1989 brought seismic changes to Romania. The fall of communism and the subsequent execution of the dictator were events that Sanson experienced firsthand. She recounts a harrowing memory from the revolution. “I was traveling back with my parents from my grandparent’s house. We were at the train station in Bucharest, and there was active
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COMMUNITY & CULTURE
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