[nagdu] American Idol contestant gets guide dog

Wed May 13 18:20:25 UTC 2009

Yup!  We're not visually impaired anymore, though.  We're visually
challenged!

Around here, I occasionally get the carefully framed and posed questions,
"So, are you sight-impaired?  You don't act like you're really blind."

All I can think is that they're sight impaired, since they have the
impairment of sight and need it to do all the things I can do without it.
Then it occurs to me that my clever comeback to that effect will go nowhere
once it passes their eardrums, so I just say, "I'm blind!"  And grin while I
add that I do have some residual vision, but it's not enough to use, etc.,
etc.

Actually, I do like opportunities to help educate people who are good enough
to ask questions, especially now that I've heard the usual questions and
phrasing enough times to be able to follow the script and move on to a chat
about something else.  Except for the snidely sarcastic side of my
personality that latches on to these things and keeps throwing up
suggestions for word play.  /smile/  I think that's why I like having
friends who are willing to tease me.  First, it shows respect, because they
would never take potshots a poor, pathetic blind wimp. And I can shoot back
the first thing that makes it from my brain to my tongue and get them back,
and we all laugh about it.  Those are also the people who accept my
independence without questions and just assume that the mistakes or quirks
they're teasing me about are a part of my learning process and nothing to
get upset about.  Too cool!

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Marion & Martin
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 4:38 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] American Idol contestant gets guide dog

Did you notice that they can't even use the word "blind in this article?

Marion

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Julie J" <julielj at windstream.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 6:52 AM
Subject: [nagdu] American Idol contestant gets guide dog

> Paula Abdul Surprises Idol's Scott MacIntyre With Guide Dog
> Direct link to video
>
> Paula Abdul Surprises Idol's Scott MacIntyre With Guide Dog
>
> by Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna
>
> Today 2:19 PM PDT The night Scott MacIntyre got booted from American Idol 
> five weeks ago, Paula Abdul took him aside and said, "I have a wonderful 
> surprise
> for you in a couple of weeks," he told Access Hollywood. That surprise 
> came on Friday when the Idol judge presented the visually challenged 
> singer with
> a guide dog from Guide Dogs of America in Sylmar, Calif.
>
> Scott walked-or "test drove" as he joked-two of the organization's 
> Labrador retrievers on Friday, but he won't get his dog until after the 
> American Idol
> tour ends on Sept. 15. At that time, he'll get matched up with the right 
> pooch for him and go through a 28-day training process. "We have to find a

> dog
> that really likes loud music," joked Paula.
>
> Scott, who was lured to the event under the false pretense that he was 
> there to sing, was quite surprised to learn the truth...
>
> "Are you serious? Thank you so much," Scott told Paula at the event, which

> was in honor of May being National Guide Dog Month and cosponsored by 
> Natural
> Balance Pet Foods and Petco.
>
> Scott is the first visually challenged contestant on American Idol. The 
> Scottsdale, Ariz., singer isn't completely blind; he has a 2 percent field

> of vision
> and gets around with the use of a cane. On the set of Idol, his fellow 
> contestants would walk him to and from the stage. Now, he'll have a furry 
> friend
> to help him out instead.
>
>>From this link:
>
>
http://ca.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b123256_paula_abdul_surpri
ses_idols_scott.html
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