Guide Dogs for the Blind is a school for dogs and people. This is the second program I am reviewing as my husband and I consider a guide dog for him in the future. We do have a golden retriever, our second golden since Whitey lost his vision, but she is aging fast, and we may be ready for another dog. If we do get a third golden, it might be wise to get a dog who is trained to help the legally blind this time. Our goldens have been wonderful companions, but certainly with more intense training, they would have been even more helpful.

Guide Dogs for the Blind has no cost charged to the new owner. The dog, training, air travel, and room and board are all included. This school is located on the west coast, and since Whitey would be in school for 3 weeks, the distance might be prohibitive, but I am impressed with their website and their facility.

It was interesting too to learn that over 10,000 people across the United States use a guide dog. They do make the point that a guide dog is not a well trained pet, but a working animal. That makes sense to me. The dogs go through thousands of hours of training.

This is also where I learned that there are actually 12 schools accredited by the International Federation of Guide Dog Schools in the United States and still more in other countries. The difference in the schools appears to be in philosophy and training methods, as well as support after the training is complete.

As I look at the different schools, I am looking at cost, location, follow up help, and the general attitude toward the dogs and the people. It is amazing how much you can discover by reading a website — looking for those friendly, loving and caring phrases. I know that none of the web reviews will be the same as a true visit, but I am learning with these reviews,and perhaps we will make a more knowledgeable decision. I pray so.

You can donate to Guide Dogs for the Blind and donations are tax deductible. As with other programs I have reviewed, the Guide Dogs for the Blind program does not receive government aid.

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Every dog who helps a blind owner is not necessarily a Seeing Eye dog. The Seeing Eye is a registered trademark for the now famous dog program started in 1929.

Dogs trained in other programs are called guide dogs. Guide Dogs for the Blind is another well known school for dogs and people.

The Seeing Eye program breeds its own dogs – German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers. When they are 8 weeks old, the dogs are placed in the homes of trained volunteers who provide basic training, socialization and lots and lots of love and attention. The dog then goes through another four month course at The Seeing Eye before it is placed with a blind owner.

The dog and the new owner go through 27 days of training together. You can easily see that this is an involved process, and is not as simple as most people think. The Seeing Eye program is not a government program, but is funded by private donations. The cost to the blind person is only $150 which covers the dog, the training, air fare and room and board for the training session. This fee has remained the same since 1934. The $150 can even be broken down into payments, if necessary. You can donate to the Seeing Eye Program online.

Tomorrow I will tell you a little about the Guide Dogs for the Blind program — but before I leave, a quick reminder, if you will –

If you see someone with a Seeing Eye Dog in a restaurant, hospital, shopping mall — do not be surprised or alarmed. The law in all 50 states allows these dogs to accompany their owners. Do not grab the dog, the owner or the dog’s harness. The dog is working. You can ask the owner for permission to pet the dog if you like. The biggest problem for dog owners is interference from the public. Please be aware of this problem and act accordingly.

More tomorrow –

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• Directing a Golf Tournament – Legally Blind, Part II (1)

When our children were very young, and Whitey still had vision, he required them to wake up and shout “Enthusiasm”. Our little five year old daughter would sleepily answer, “Fusiasm, Daddy, Fusiasm”.

Now we are grandparents, and this week, our grandson gave us the giggles as he told us he always shouts “Enthusiasm” when he wakes up. And of course he very loudly demonstrated exactly how he does it!

Yes, he had had some coaching from Poppy along the way, but we had no idea he was actually doing it. And I know his dad, our son, laughed and laughed the first time he did that! It is a joyful thing to see little traditions like that one passed on to the next generation.

The thing that fascinates me is that Whitey’s enthusiasm for life never faded with his vision. When I ask him about it, he refers back to good coaches and childhood athletic programs. All I know is that he has maintained that positive attitude and I am so thankful! Can you imagine living with a blind partner who complains all the time? Whew!

One of Whitey’s favorite writings is

Attitude

by Chuck Swindoll.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.

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• Directing a Golf Tournament – Legally Blind, Part II (1)

This is a continuation of details of my legally blind husband directing a golf tournament. At the present moment he is working on the Optimist Club tournament and yesterday I described how he keeps track of all the telephone calls required.

The tournament will be played at Pinetuck Golf Club near Rock Hill, SC at the end of March. The date was set and the golf course arrangements were made months ago. From this point on, Whitey and members of the Rock Hill Optimist Club will continue to recruit players, sponsors and gifts. The members will make the sponsor signs and have those ready to post on tournament day.

Before the meeting next week, Whitey and I will create a typed list of all sponsors, gifts and players. This will allow the club to review progress and to ensure that members do not call on people that have already been contacted.

On tournament day, Whitey will welcome the players and go over the rules before the shotgun start. A picnic lunch will be served this year in lieu of the barbeque after the tournament and during the auction. Most items will be up for silent auction and the silent auction clipboards will be on tables around the pro shop when the players arrive.

Whitey will play in the tournament, and they will all have a wonderful day. They always do! After the tournament, the remaining items are auctioned.

My job for the next few weeks is to read, type or drive as needed. I do not direct golf tournaments! But we all are looking forward to a successful fundraiser for the Rock Hill Optimist Club.

PS The Optimist Club of Rock Hill has its own Squidoo lens! Stop by and say hello!

Photo courtesy of Erskine College — Thank you, Erskine!

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Whitey, my legally blind husband and former golf professional, often directs golf tournaments for local charities. Right now he is working on the local Optimist Club Golf Tournament, a tournament he has directed for 6 years or more. So how does a legally blind fellow direct a golf tournament?

First, it is important to know that Whitey has a huge list of golfers, friends and acquaintances that he who are serious golfers. A list for Whitey is a stack of 4 x 6 index cards. Whitey writes on the cards with a
20 20 pen which is a very bold point pen. The 20/20 pens do not have the terrible odor associated with normal marking pens. Each 4 x 6 card contains a name, a phone number and some very special “Whitey code”. WCB — means he left a message and they will call back. Of course they will! A check mark and date indicates that he talked to them about the tournament. YES means that the golfer has agreed to put a team in the tournament.

The next project is to find sponsors for each hole. Local businesses make a $50 donation and the club posts a sign on each hole. Again, Whitey has a stack of cards, his list. This includes businesses that have contributed in the past or new businesses that we have heard about through the year. Name of Business, name of contact and a phone number all written with the trusty 2020 pens. And of course, the coding at the bottom of the card indicates the responses.

As his vision has deteriorated, many times throughout the day he brings cards for me to read. This is frustrating for him, I know, and we simply need to research a better system. But for now, it works.

He also finds businesses to donate gifts for the auction after the golf tournament. Tomorrow for instance, one of the Optimist members is taking him on a “pick up gifts” run. They will call on businesses who have agreed to donate a gift for the auction. These gifts are also found via Whitey’s now famous telephone cards.

Of course, we often have businesses who need to receive an invoice or proof of Optimist Club sponsorship, and I email those addresses to the club treasurer and he sends out the bills.

To be continued tomorrow…..

PS The photo was made during a golf trip to Scotland last year. But that’s another story. We just needed a bit of humor in this dry post of details.

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I got this from my email today and loved it, so have to share with you. The message — don’t mess with the old folks! We have been around a long time and we know a few things! Right?

HOW TO CALL THE POLICE
WHEN YOU’RE OLD
AND DON’T MOVE FAST ANYMORE.
George P , an elderly man, was going up to bed, when his wife
told him that he’d left the light on in the garden shed,
which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened
the back door to go turn off the light, but saw that there
were people in the shed stealing things.

He phoned the police, who asked “Is
someone in your house?”
He said “No,” but some people are
breaking into my garden shed and stealing from me.

Then the police dispatcher said “All
patrols are busy. You should lock your doors and an officer
will be along when one is available..”

George said, “Okay.”

He hung up the phone and counted to
30. Then he phoned the police again.

“Hello, I just called you a few
seconds ago because there were people stealing things from
my shed.. Well, you don’t have to worry about them now
because I just shot and killed them both, the dogs are
eating them right now.” and he hung up.

Within five minutes, six Police Cars,
a SWAT Team, a Helicopter, two Fire Trucks, a
Paramedic, and an Ambulance showed up at the Phillips’
residence, and caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the Policemen said to George ,
“I thought you said that you’d shot them!”
George said, “I thought you said there
was nobody available!”

(True Story) I LOVE IT!
Don’t mess with old people.

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As baby boomers and senior citizens, we need to get serious about our mental exercise, as well as our physical exercise.
Research has shown that working crossword puzzles, playing trivia games, or anything that forces us to think, exercises our brains and is good for us!

My favorite site right now for brain exercise is Sporkle. Sporkle is free and is filled with super fun games. There is no sign-in or registration. You simply play games. Can you name the United States? All of them? I like this game because as you type in a state, the name floats to the proper place on the map of the USA. That really helps when you have left out just one — and cannot remember it! Seeing the blank state on the map jogs my mind!

Can you name 8 body parts with only 3 letters in the spelling?

Can you name the European countries? All of them?

Can you name all of the presidents of the US?

Go have a little fun — and challenge yourself! Don’t let your brain get sluggish!

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Whitey has been reading Ben Hogan – An American Life this weekend — on tape and provided by the State Library for the Blind. Last week he read a book about Satchel Paige and one about Tiger Woods. The State Libraries in the United States offer an excellent service for the blind and visually impaired. LIBRARY SERVICES FOR THE BLIND A BRIEF REVIEW AND OVERVIEW says that “When one talks about the “library for the blind,” generally reference is made to one of the fifty-six regional libraries that are the primary delivery source of books and magazines for blind Americans. While there are other entities involved, the basic unit of the library system is the regional library. Currently, most regional libraries serve a geographical area defined by the state in which they are located.”

What I can tell you is that we have certainly enjoyed the services of the State Library for the Blind in South Carolina. They not only provide books on request or per interest, but they also provide the equipment to play the tapes. South Carolina is now switching to digital books instead of tapes, a process that will take two or three years. Last week, I requested that Whitey be put on that list too, and now we have a wonderful little digital player that actually speaks the instructions when a button is pushed. “Volume Up” and “Volume Down” and “the machine is now off”. This is even better than the tape player!

Today I put some oldies (1950’s music) on a little thumb drive, put it in the machine, and Whitey was able to operate it with ease! I am thrilled at the prospects of what I will be able to do with that little machine. I am sure it will provide many hours of reading and music pleasure.

PS I was unable to find a complete list of state libraries for the blind, but if you search “state library for the blind in YOUR STATE”, you should be able to locate them quickly.

Happy Reading!

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Making a journal of the grandchildren’s cute sayings is a fun project. Of course, since Whitey is legally blind, we do this a little differently.

When one of the grandchildren says something cute, sweet, delightful, funny or wonderful, Whitey makes a note with his 20-20 pen and a legal pad. (We think everything they do or say is precious!) Then, later, when we have a quiet time, I will type what he has written. Whitey does have to be with me because his handwriting is not easily read. Between us, we remember those special moments (using his reminder notes) and we get them typed up. Then on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, we give that special list to their parents.

Of course, I must share the latest example. We have a golden retriever named Hogan. Whitey often calls her Hoganmeister, as a sort of nickname. Yesterday our grandson asked, “Poppy, why is Hogan’s last name Meister?”

Now, you know we have to write that one down and hold on to that precious delightful moment! Are you journaling the precious words your grandchildren say? Our grands are early elementary now, but even looking back to when they were 2 and 3 is great fun. These little journals of ours will be a treasure to them one day, and it is a very simple thing for us to do for them.

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We went to a dance tonight. The Rock Hill Shag Club had a huge dance with the Coastline Band performing! It was a super group and a fun party. And of course, Whitey, my legally blind husband, was excited about going. We both enjoy dancing — shag and country line dancing. With predictions of terrible weather, I was a bit anxious, but we decided to go on. I am glad we did.

In the 1950’s and 1960’s, high school students of the Carolinas flocked to Myrtle Beach — actually they still do. But back in the 50’s and 60’s, everybody danced the Shag or the Carolina Shag, as it is sometimes called. Wikipedia says The Carolina Shag is a six count partner dance done mostly to moderate tempo music (100-150 bpm). During the dance the upper body and hips hardly move as the legs do convoluted kicks and fancy footwork. The Carolina Shag is the state dance of North Carolina and South Carolina.

For some reason, those high school students of the 50’s and 60’s have never let go of those happy, carefree days. Perhaps because it’s such a perfect dance!

Dancing is a great way to celebrate life! What is the custom where you live? Do the seniors in your area still dance the dances of their high school days like we do? We certainly do not dance as well as the professionals, but this video will show you how the professionals do the Carolina Shag. Just click and the video will play right here in this blog. And thank you for visiting!

Carolina Shag Professionals

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