[nagdu] Be careful when someone says "you can"--lol

Buddy Brannan buddy at brannan.name
Mon Aug 3 22:59:09 UTC 2015


When we went to Ukraine to adopt Alena, we did not bring Chet. Primarily because I was unsure of access in Ukraine, and I figured dealing with an adoption and a possibly skeptical government bureaucracy was likely enough, and adding a guide dog on top of it, with perhaps no protection for access, and almost certainly no one's hard of guide dogs anyway, well, one battle at a time, was my thinking. Of course, probably a good idea, since we spent most of our time literally locked in our apartment. 

--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: 814-860-3194 
Mobile: 814-431-0962
Email: buddy at brannan.name




> On Aug 3, 2015, at 9:50 AM, Tracy Carcione via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Dan.
> I certainly found your missive interesting.  I'd love to hear more about
> your travels to other countries with your dogs.
> Hey, you should write a book. .:) Some people write books about how Fluffy
> helps them walk around town.  You could write about how Fluffy helped you
> travel the world.
> Tracy
> 
>> Stargazer's statement about her husband saying "you can" reminded me of an
>> incident in which the meaning of that word was indeed (it's possible"
>> rather
>> than (You should"--lol.
>> In 1995 I went to Russia with my first dog for a grad course in Russian
>> English interpreting, I was there  several  months And just in case you're
>> interested, . at least at that time Russia was terrible in terms of access
>> for guide dog users and so on.
>> I was in Moscow.
>> At any rate, at that time I was a relatively new guide dog user and full
>> of
>> piss and vinegar and wanted to go out and explore, second or third day
>> there
>> I thought I should try crossing the highway  near the dorm Konsomolski
>> Prospekt.
>> Yes, a lot of traffic but I thought, "how nice it would be to see if I can
>> cross it and go to the other side. Why did Dan (or the chicken) cross the
>> Konsomolsky Prospekt?--lol because  he wanted to get to the other side .
>> Anyway, let's see if I remember...out the dormitory door, down steps, over
>> a
>> sort of open concrete area, over grass and then a sidewalk. All right, I
>> asked someone where the corner was. He walked with me, then I said "can I
>> cross here"  in Russian of course.
>> He said "yes you can, but...". Well it sounded to me like there were no
>> cars
>> so I intoned those famous words, "Grant, forward". Grant of course was my
>> hound at that time.
>> 
>> Now the guy came running after me and met me on the other side.  He said
>> "I
>> meant it is possible to cross there, but people don't do it, there are
>> seven
>> lanes of traffic... We have an underpass, someone should show you where
>> the
>> pedestrian underpass is.".
>> So you can there meant "it's possible" but not, "you should.".
>> 
>> Now there is an addendum to this story (weren't you afraid of that--smile
>> ).
>> In 1997 I was in Monterey, California. I was walking when all of the
>> sudden
>> a guy comes up to me and says in a very thick accent "hey, I remember you
>> from crossing street".
>> "What," Dan thinks, "excuse me, Sir." I said.
>> "yes, you wer crossing street, I remember, very danger, two years ago."
>> I still am thinking what is he talking about and thought that maybe this
>> was
>> a deranged person who just happened to think he'd play some game with a
>> blind person, maybe someone off their meds.
>> 
>> "Yes," he continued" but you had black dog then, not yellow".
>> Well, my  god, this guy must be legit since Grant was black and my Evan I
>> had in 1997 was yellow.
>> He explained "You say to me, can I cross street, and I say can, but before
>> I
>> finish you start walking like tank. I came after you to make sure I could
>> wave to cars so no one runs blind person over, I am Christian."
>> 
>> Yes, indeed, his name was roman and he was  a political science professor
>> at
>> the University where I was studying for   that time in Moscow and e was in
>> California for a conference. That was indeed a coincidence. But the story
>> does indeed go to illustrate that the phrase "you can" may have different
>> meaning depending on the person.
>> I hope you found my book-length manuscript amusing.
>> 
>> Enjoy the day.
>> 
>> Dan and the Parker Hound
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Star Gazer via
>> nagdu
>> Sent: Monday, August 03, 2015 8:33 AM
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> Cc: Star Gazer
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Walking in new territory
>> 
>> 				Lori,
>> Your fiance sounds like my husband. When he says "You can..." I've learned
>> to respond with "Would you?" If he hesitates then I say "That's what I
>> need
>> to know". What I've found is that lots of things are good ideas until an
>> individual has to do them.
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Christina Moore
>> via nagdu
>> Sent: Sunday, August 2, 2015 10:50 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Christina Moore <christina.moore16 at houghton.edu>
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Walking in new territory
>> 
>> If Rick said he would not do the crossing himself and he is sighted than I
>> believe that you should probably not do it either. You can call out a
>> trainer but they may tell you the same thing.
>> 
>> --Christina
>> 
>>> On Aug 2, 2015, at 22:36, Kaye Kipp via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Oh
>> 
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> 
> 
> 
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