[nagdu] Pilot in 1987

Fri Feb 3 19:14:41 UTC 2012

Ah, A dirty mind is a joy forever.

I'd like an order of ambition, & a side of focus, and a large coffee. And 
could you super size that please? It really needs to last for the rest of 
the day.
Lisa Belville
missktlab1217 at frontier.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2012 12:57 PM
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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