[nagdu] Pilot in 1987

Fri Feb 3 22:36:19 UTC 2012

The sad part about having one's initial cane O&M in that same downtown area
is that we learned the streets as Long, Gay, Broad, etc. We usually stopped
at Broad to snort or snicker. 

I thought the names Grubb and Skidmore were pretty amusing too given the
neighborhood. Let's just say they fit back then and things haven't gotten
better. 

Also, there were people in both of my classes who remembered the route in
terms of number of blocks and turns while others used cardinal directions
and numbers or street names. It was a real mix and fascinating to watch
people remember it. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Doug Parisian
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2012 3:03 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Pilot in 1987

Gay Street?  Hmmm, interesting!

----- 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
>>
>> Follow us on Facebook:
>>
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>> 2738443425
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>>
>>
>>
>>
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