[nfb-talk] [Blindtlk] Refusal To Use A Cane

Tue Dec 18 05:25:25 UTC 2012

When I decided to get Holly, I wondered how life would change.  Well, not 
much except for the need to carry blue plastic bags!  And to move a lot 
faster!  But, we can still get up to lots of no good just like always!  And 
also, sometimes some good as well!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Evans" <drevans at bellsouth.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2012 11:40 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] [Blindtlk] Refusal To Use A Cane


>
> Dear Sheila,
>
> I changed to a dog as I had some new issues in my life that I thought that 
> the dog could help me with.
> I was right.  I am now pretty much totally blind and have only the 
> slightest light perception.
> I was having trouble and tend to curve to the left as I walk and I wobble 
> a little as well.
> I found that I was having allot of trouble even finding a building, much 
> less the door to them and the dog can do this for me.
> I travel allot and even teach others to use our Transit systems that 
> include trains, buses and Para-transit.
> I even worked for the transit system here.
> I have learned that there are some barriers to using a guide dog and not 
> everyone looks forward to seeing you and your dog show up at their door.
> I understand this better now and some of it I accept and some of it I 
> don't.
> Some people don't like Jack to come in their house, their car or their 
> business.  Some of this I accept as people have a right to keep their 
> houses clean, free of dog fur and without dog nails scratching their 
> polished hardwood floors.  As for the businesses, as long as the Public is 
> invited, I and my dog have a right to be there too and I will exercise 
> that Right when and where I wish too.
> I stick up for the Rights of guide dog users, under the ADA and the Fair 
> housing Laws, to go where I want or need to go and to take my guide dog 
> with me.
> I have had businesses try to throw me out a few times, but I know my 
> rights and how to exercise them.
> I try to educate rather than litigate, but I can do both and as there are 
> criminal penalties here in Florida for those that interfere with a guide 
> dog team as well as civil ones, I win my point most of the time.
> NAGDU and FLAGDU are both NFB Divisions and we promote guide dog access.
> Jack has helped me get around in Washington D.C. and we have flown to 
> California and back several times without much problem.
> If the NFB were anti-guide dog, it is not coming from the organization but 
> from some individuals who just don't like guide dogs or see those of us 
> who choose to use a dog as less capable.  A false notion for sure.
> I always carry my cane with me, even when I am using Jack.
> There are just some places I don't want to take Jack, such as some to the 
> restrooms I must visit occasionally.  I don't want him to lay down on 
> those dirty old floors after all.
> I try to take the good with the bad and just accept what I can not 
> control.
> The NFB has helped me learn to be a better person and I can not ask for 
> more than that.
>
> David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack
> Former Nuclear/Aerospace Materials Engineer
> Builder of the Lunar Rovers and the F-117 Stealth Fighter.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Sheila Leigland" <sleigland at bresnan.net>
> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, December 17, 2012 9:46 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] [Blindtlk] Refusal To Use A Cane
>
>
>> Thank you so much for your response to my post. This is why I chose to 
>> subscribe to this list because I need and want to understand better the 
>> philisophy of the nfb. We have a new chapter in Montana and I'm glad to 
>> see it come. I'm a cane user turned primarily a dog user now due to 
>> changing circumstances and my own readiness to find out if i would like a 
>> dog. I do like your decription of what independence is and am glad that 
>> we have the right as well as the responsibility to make choices for 
>> ourselves as blind people.
>>
>> Sheila Leigland
>>
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>
>
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