[nagdu] Pilot in 1987

Sat Feb 4 00:15:57 UTC 2012

Its Gayee Street.  Like Marvin.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Doug Parisian" <eggmann at shaw.ca>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2012 3:02 PM
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:
>>> http://www.facebook.com/pages/U-S-Coast-Guard-Auxiliary-Flotilla-18-06/18324
>>> 2738443425
>>> Follow us on Twitter:
>>> http://www.twitter.com/cga1806
>>> Visit our website:
>>> http://a0821806.uscgaux.info/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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