[nagdu] Soul Searching

[Criminal Justice Major]

When my friend Nat, her guide dog Liam, Odie and I all go out together as a team and there's some frustration, both Nat and I will stop and I ask her if she'd like to talk about what may be bothering her and Liam and offer some help or advice/suggestion.
In return, she will also try to help me out if it comes to Odie and I.
So, all four of us try to work together as a team.
When I attended my first NFB convention, I was only sixteen years old and it was very frightening and scary.
During my youth years of growing up, I was exposed to one guide dog team at least: a substitute teacher at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind.
The older I got and attended more conventions, I was going to have to learn how to not only bear with so many cane users, but dog teams too.
I have experienced having a cane go up in between my legs and it didn't feel pleasant.
I use a sixty-two inch folding cane for the most part when I do need it, but one trick I did learn from a former vision teacher in high school was how to do a pencil grip technique.
That prevented me from tripping others.
If anyone is curious about the pencil grip technique, feel free to email me off list at:
orleans24 at comcast.net
I'll do my best to describe it.
*Smiles*
Bibi