[nagdu] Pilot in 1987

Fri Feb 3 19:04:32 UTC 2012

No kidding!

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2012 1:57 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Pilot in 1987

My, the streets in Columbus have wonderful names!  Broad, High, Gay, Rich,
and Long!
Tracy

> This discussion of the test/achievement walk at Pilot brings back
> memories.
> I was there twice in 1987 and can still do that walk in my head. <grin> Of
> course I occasionally find myself on those very streets these days but
> don't
> go downtown much as I once did. For those who don't know, I live in
> Columbus
> but work for GDF remotely.
>
> They may have changed things but as I recall, the Pilot leash is the only
> one with the extra snaps needed to turn it into a muzzle of sorts. Because
> the leashes I'm familiar with from there had only a snap under the chin to
> close the loop of the muzzle, it was easy for the dog to break. My first
> dog
> routinely broke hers, unsnapping the muzzle part then chewing it
> viciously.
> Many a time I got off a bus with half a leash in my right hand.
>
> As for muzzling on the buses, prior to the ADA, that was a requirement of
> the Central Ohio Transit Authority that all dogs in training be muzzled.
> Silly, yes, but there you go. That requirement is no longer in place as I
> understand it.
>
> As for the test walk, as we knew it, the walk was designed to not only
> show
> you that you could work alone with your dog over a route, but to show the
> staff how you dealt with stress.
>
> I think there were merits to it but the pressure the instructors in my
> classes put on people was a bit much. They were all former military and
> ran
> it like a drill, not exactly helpful. I hear things have changed a lot and
> I
> like the new name of the walk.
>
> Yes, remembering the streets was important as you needed to know about
> where
> to turn for the bus stops. People could use whatever method they wanted to
> remember the route. The real test was if you could understand the
> differences between streets and alleys on the route, keep track of where
> you
> were and judge your crossings.
>
> I failed my first test walk because I didn't catch my dog veering right
> during a wide crossing and walking down the block, but on the street, not
> the sidewalk, and right toward a bus. I caught it but not in time to
> satisfy
> the instructor who was judging my walk. For you Pilot folks, it was Jay
> Gray. We laugh about it today. Not so much back then.
>
> We did go into the old Woolworth store along the route and had to purchase
> something. I think I bought candbars. I still think this is an excellent
> exercise.
>
> Here's the route we took back in 1987. I'd be curious to hear from recent
> grads if it's the same.
>
> Leave the gate near the relief area at Pilot. You're on Grubb Street. Turn
> right and go to the corner of Grubb and Town streets.
>
> At the down curb, turn right and walk down Town street with the traffic on
> your left. At the next corner, which is Town and Skidmore, turn right
> again.
>
>
> The next cross street is Rich Street. Cross here and at the up curb, turn
> right and walk maybe 10 feet to the bus stop on Rich street.
>
> Take the Number 10 bus and ask the driver to let you know when they get to
> Long and High.
>
> The nice thing about Columbus is that it's laid out in a grid pattern in
> the
> downtown and Pilot Dogs area and the grid runs pretty much true
> north/south.
>
>
> Our buses now have the automatic stop announcements but it's been my
> experience that drivers tend to turn them off or way down so asking is
> prudent..
>
> You get off the bus at Long and High. Back then it was just before Long
> Street so you'd turn left once off the bus and walk up to the corner with
> the traffic on your left. Then you'd turn left again to cross High street.
>
> At the up curb, you'd turn left, walking the way you'd come on the bus,
> south. You would next cross Gay Street, Broad Street and on the up curb of
> Broad Street, turn left and cross High street again. This is where I
> screwed
> up. <grin>
>
> On the up curb of Broad and High, turn right and walk along a very wide
> sidewalk in front of the Ohio State House. The next street you come to is
> State Street.
>
> Cross State and at the up curb, turn right to cross High Street yet again.
>
> On the up curb, turn left to head south on High Street. Along this block
> was
> where the Woolworth store was, about halfway down. Since the dogs back in
> my
> classes didn't have suggestive turn commands or find commands, you had to
> know where the door was and give a right turn command exactly there or the
> dog would turn into windows. You could ask for help from people but you
> were
> supposed to do it yourself. The instructor judging your walk would not
> talk
> to you at all unless you were in danger. You didn't get dinged for missing
> the door though or no one would have gone home with a dog. <grin>
>
> We'd been in this store before, several times so we had ideas of where it
> was along the block.
>
> Once you'd purchased your item, you left the store and turned right to
> continue down the block to the corner of Town and High streets where you
> turned right on the down curb.
>
> This street is where the bus stop is to go west on Town Street so you'd
> walk
> about halfway down the block, prior to the alley, and wait for the Number
> 10
> bus.
>
> You would ask the driver to let you off at McDowell Street, which is 2
> blocks shy of Pilot. This street has a light control.
>
> I want to say that the bus stop was just past McDowell, but I could be
> wrong
> on that one. At any rate, once at the down curb with Town Street in front
> of
> you, cross town with McDowell on your left and turn right. You next cross
> Skidmore then continue to the corner of Town and Grubb where you turn
> right
> and head for the gate on your left along that block and you're done.
>
> Tired yet? <grin> It's really a very nice walk and I'd be curious to know
> where you all go now. Done right, the concept is a good one and sort of
> mirrors what I think some of the O&M lessons are like at the National NFB
> centers, plus the dog of course.
>
> Jenine Stanley FSO-PA
> U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 18-06
> Columbus, OH
> cga.jenine at wowway.com
>
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>
>
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