[nagdu] Blind Inc.

[Tracy Carcione]

Marion, I think a person can live "fully and vibrantly" even if they don't
have great cane skills.  I know a guy who often seems confused while
traveling, but he gets where he wants to go.  More than that, he goes
places I'll probably never go, like Iraq and Korea, as well as travelling
all over the U.S.  Now he has retired his dog, and because of declining
health has not gotten another, but he still gets where he wants to go.
Isn't that what the oft-cited Nature of Independence speech was about? 
Basically, stop judging each other on how we get where we want to go, so
long as we get there?
Cane skills are very handy, but people who don't have them can still get
where they want to go, and that's what counts.  I do get tired of this
veneration of the sacred long white cane.  It's just a long stick.  Using
it is not rocket science.

I found what Rox said about her travel very interesting.
Tracy

> Jewel,
>     If you are going to attend a center, I think it would be best if you
> did
> so before getting your guide dog. Their very intensive O&M training will
> make you a superior guide dog handler. If you choose to go after getting
> your guide dog, I would suggest you do so well after you and your dog have
> bonded. During the day, you will be using your white cane. You will be
> able
> to see your guide dog during breaks and for relief, as well as before and
> after training.
>     Just for the record, there are those who will try to spin this policy
> to
> be an "anti guide dog" policy; however, I am of the opinion, from talking
> to
> and listening to what they believe and how each of the centers approach
> this
> issue, that it is not anti guide dog, rather it is pro sound O&M training.
> I
> am of the opinion that, like the general public, many blind people see a
> guide dog as the answer to their O&M problems, rather than as an
> enhancement
> to them. Both the white cane and guide dog have their advantages and
> disadvantages. Without the flexibility to choose the one that works best
> for
> a particular application, a blind person limits their independence and
> their
> ability to participate in all aspects of society and life! A carpenter
> learns how to use a hammer, but cannot build a house with just one tool!
> In
> order for us to live fully, we must have several blindness tools in our
> tool
> box. Of course, if one is comfortable with limiting their choices, that is
> their prerogative. My choice is to live fully and vibrantly. Sometimes my
> guide dog is not a part of this choice. JMHO!
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jewel S." <herekittykat2 at gmail.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 10:36 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind Inc.
>
>
>> Hi, this makes me curious. I am considering going to Louisiana Center
>> for the Blind. Should I go before I get a guide dog? What are the
>> rules at LCB for guide dogs?
>>
>> ~Jewel
>>
>> On 3/31/10, Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net> wrote:
>>> Hi Martha.
>>> There are people on this list who have been through the Colorado Center
>>> with their dogs, or there used to be.  Jen was one of them, I believe.
>>> She
>>>  said it was fine.  I don't know if the dog arrangements are different
>>> at
>>> Blind Inc.  They have always appeared to me to be the most anti-dog of
>>> the
>>> bunch, but that's my opinion.
>>> I wouldn't do it myself, but others have and it's been OK for their
>>> dogs.
>>> Tracy
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
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>
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