Thursday, March 26, 2009 marks a defining moment in American History: the launch of the 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar taking place at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. The 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar commemorates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, inventor of the Braille system, a vital tool used by the blind to read and write. This coin is the focal point of a national effort to bring awareness to the Braille literacy crisis.

The average person may wonder why Braille literacy is such an important issue, especially in this modern electronic age when there are so many technological alternatives to “old fashioned” reading and writing. For the blind in particular, there have been some remarkable advances in what is known as “assistive technology” to provide electronic alternatives to reading.

The world of assistive technology and the world of Braille literacy seem to be antithetical. If a blind person can use a hand-held reader, wouldn’t that mean they don’t need to be able to read Braille?

As a user of both Braille literacy and Assistive Technology, I am able to share first hand the importance of Braille literacy in the technological age. I attended the proceedings in Baltimore, as an Ambassador for Braille Literacy for the National Federation of the Blind. As many of you know, I am also the National Sales Director for the KNFB Reader Mobile, the first hand-held device that a blind person can use anywhere to access the printed word.

The launch of the newly minted 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar is a perfect opportunity to dispel the misconceptions about the role of Braille and the importance of Braille literacy in America.

To appreciate why Braille literacy still important with all the new advances in assistive technology, one must first understand that Braille is a language. Electronic media such as audio books of all genres, whether educational, recreational, or artistic, are becoming increasingly popular ways to deliver content which enriches our lives, blind and sighted alike. But the primary basis for the information that is transmitted is language.

The process of language involves reading, writing, hearing and speaking. For a blind person, Braille is written language, the only way of engaging the reading and writing components of language. The literacy rate for sighted people in this country is 98%; the literacy rate for blind people is 10%. 40 years ago, the literacy rate for blind people was 50%.

The 2009 Louis Braille Silver Dollar will help the National Federation of the Blind raise money for Braille literacy, as well as raise awareness of the crisis. One of their most important objectives is to change attitudes about Braille. As educational programs fall under the scalpel, it would be easy to be lulled into false complacency, that technology will solve all of our problems. As a nation, we cannot overlook access to language as a fundamental human right.

For blind people throughout the world, regardless of their native tongue, Braille opens up their ability to fully communicate and contribute to human culture. Despite its rich history and almost quaintly poetic story of how it originated, Braille remains as vital and “cutting edge” as the latest technology, as it is essential to our use of language and ability to communicate.

At this historic launch of the first-ever U.S. coin to feature readable Braille, we should consider the words inscribed on the coin itself: “Liberty; In God We Trust, Louise Braille 1809 2009” Liberty is one of the founding principals of our nation. The preservation and perpetuation of Braille as a vital, living language, ensures liberty and equality for everyone.

When I am contacted by meeting planners, corporations, and members of Associations about speaking at their events I am most often asked if I can speak about teamwork and team building. As a keynote speaker I can tell you that this is indeed a subject which seems to be on the minds of company executives, workers, and to some degree most of us. We all seem to value highly the idea of working together. During companywide and executive retreats often times there will be some sort of “team building exercise.” Management constantly talks to staff about “the Team.” Many books have been written on the subject.

Paraphrasing Patrick Lencioni’s observation from his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, if teamwork is so important and we all value it so much why is it so hard to achieve? Good question! We work together, oftentimes more than we realize, but we seem to not be able to work together. We rely on each other in so many ways throughout the day, but we seem not to recognize this fact. For example, our automobiles are built by teams.

When Henry Ford developed our modern conception of the assembly line his efforts typified TEAMWORK in action. Unfortunately, many company executives feel they do not have great team relationships or, at least, they feel many of their employees do not have the “right team spirit.” The term has become almost trivialized and cliché. Most of us have lost sight of the value and strength of the human team. We have forgotten how to make and keep great teams going.

It is not surprising that people ask me to speak about teamwork since teamwork means something very personal and extraordinary to me. I have understood the importance and value of teamwork from the time I received my first guide dog, Squire, when I was 14 years old. But life’s school taught me a dramatic lesson about teamwork, when successful teamwork essentially saved my life in 2001 when my fifth guide dog, Roselle, and I worked together to escape the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, leading others to safety moments before the tower collapsed.

Teams must be grown and nurtured. Although one individual usually is the team leader all team members must do their part. For me, the team worked dramatically well on 9-11. That story will always be a part of my life and I enjoy sharing it.

I have another amazing story of teamwork I would like to share with you. It is one most people don’t know about, but it is one that has changed the lives of millions of people around the world. It is a story that has been 35 years in the making and will continue to unfold, creating a lasting impact for years to come. It is the story of how Teamwork can be an essential ingredient for technological innovation

In 1974 a young inventor named Dr. Raymond Kurzweil developed a process which would allow a special camera to take a picture of a printed page and convert the information that it saw into either voice or recognizable text which could be displayed on a computer screen or stored in a computer file. What made Ray Kurzweil’s invention so unique and exciting was that his device successfully employed for the first time optical character recognition techniques to scan printed or proportionally spaced material such as that which is found in magazines and books.

Ray had an interest in helping blind people read printed information. With this in mind he contacted the National Federation of the Blind with his first idea for an application of his device to see if there might be an interest in helping him take his “reading machine” from a prototype concept to a real production model reading device for the blind. As it was described to me, Ray Kurzweil told leaders of the NFB when he first spoke with them that he had a machine that really would read books and magazines out loud to blind people.

Many would-be inventors have approached the NFB with claims that they had invented devices which could do everything from help blind people see again to help them “read” books without the so-called need for Braille. Ray’s claim was met with a fair degree of skepticism. Even so, there was something different about him. As a result, some leaders of the Federation traveled to the Kurzweil laboratories in Massachusetts to see this incredible sounding machine for themselves.

It is hard to imagine the surprise and thrill that these blind leaders felt when they arrived at Ray Kurzweil’s facility and placed magazines and books which they brought with them on the reading machine and actually heard the system read their own pages aloud to them. Never before had blind people been able to independently read printed information at normal reading speeds.

Almost immediately Dr. Kurzweil and his team, and Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, then president of the National Federation of the Blind, and a team of Federationists began to develop a plan to fund the Kurzweil Reading Machine project. By 1975 it had been decided that the NFB would purchase five prototype machines at a cost of $50,000 per machine and place these machines around the country in order to test them and to provide feedback to Ray Kurzweil about what features needed to be in a real first model of the Kurzweil Reading Machine.

I officially joined the project in 1976; working under James Gashel, the NFB’s Director of Governmental Affairs, I was hired to coordinate the day-to-day activities and efforts of the NFB-side of the project. My job was to take the five machines purchased by the Federation and place them around the country in locations where blind people would have access to them. I had to train users in each location, ensure that the machines operated correctly, collect user data, and feed that data back to Ray Kurzweil and the leadership of the NFB. For 18 months I traveled around the country living mostly in hotels and visiting the various sites where machines had been placed. At that time the Kurzweil Reading Machine weighed several hundred pounds and consisted of a very heavy scanner and an even heavier computer processor, each housed in their own cabinets. To provide some sort of portability the machines were each placed on a heavy-duty rolling cart.

A lot of teamwork was required all around to make the project a success. It is not often that an inventor allows prototype models to leave the laboratory much less be taken completely out of their control. Never-the-less, that is exactly what happened in the case of the Reading Machine. A team of blind people ran the NFB project, maintained the machines, wrote training curricula, trained other blind people how to use the machines, and scientifically collected data which, in early 1979 led to the first production model of the Kurzweil Reading Machine becoming available on the open market.

Over the years Dr. Ray Kurzweil has often praised the team effort created when he joined forces with the organized blind to make his invention a reality. As far as blind people were concerned, the early machines were problematic since they did not read as well as blind people would have really liked them to. Some of us understood that this technology would go through many stages of evolution before a high degree of reading accuracy was achieved. Never-the-less, even the early machines allowed many of us to read books that were previously unavailable to us. We could also read magazines, papers, and other printed material which allowed us to remain current with our times. A whole new world had opened for blind people.

The success of that early team was due to the commitment of all parties to work together even though the various members were scattered throughout the United States. Solid leadership and good motivation from the tem leaders helped keep us all on track.

Fast forward in time to the year 2001. One of Ray Kurzweil’s dreams has always been to make his machine a truly portable device. Ray often talked to me and others about his goal to create a truly portable pocket-sized reading machine which any blind person could use anywhere. In the years between 1979 and 2001, the Kurzweil Reading Machine indeed went through several evolutionary changes. It became smaller and less expensive. In the mid-1990s the software driving the machine was ported over to the Windows operating system so that it could be run on any PC. In addition, scanner drivers were developed so that many of the emerging, less expensive scanners could drive the optical character recognition software. By 2001 the software costs $995 and the rest of the machine consisted of a typical PC or laptop computer with sound card and a scanner which cost from $150-$300. These newer systems costs much less, but they were not really portable.

Throughout the life of this project, Ray Kurzweil kept an ongoing dialogue and relationship with the National Federation of the Blind. In 2001 he approached the Federation with the idea of making a portable reading machine system. By 2001, Ray was acknowledged as one of the world’s foremost futurist, inventors, and forward-looking thinkers. Part of his methodology was to study technology and essentially predict where it would be in five, 10, 20, or even 50 years. In talking with Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind in 2001, Ray proposed undertaking the development and production of a portable reading machine by 2006. Ray believed it would take that long for the technology of handheld computers to progress to the point where it could support the processing requirements and speed of optical character recognition and speech production.

In 2005, prototypes of what would be called the new “KNFB Reader” were put in the hands of blind people for testing. 100 machines were provided for testing and evaluation to create the feature set that would go into the production model.

In July of 2006, the KNFB Reader was officially introduced for sales to the blind of the world at the national convention of the National Federation of the Blind. Again, as Ray Kurzweil attested, it was the success of the entire team of his developers and blind people throughout the United States which made the portable reading machine a reality.

The machine consisted of a small, high-end digital camera attached to a high-end personal data assistant or PDA. The system sold for $3,295. Although the system wasn’t really pocket-sized, it was truly portable. I recall traveling to Japan and around the United States reading material I had never read before including such mundane things as literature in hotel rooms and restaurant menus. The machine fit into my laptop computer case along with my computer, Braille note taking device called a BrailleNote, and other items I routinely carried with me on my travels. Reading truly became an adventure and it was available wherever I went.

Ray and the team weren’t finished yet. By the beginning of 2008, a new company called KNFB Reading Technologies, a joint venture between the National Federation of the Blind and Korowai Technologies, Inc., had been formed. Its first task was to develop a second generation of the KNFB Reader called the KNFB Reader Mobile. This time, the hardware platform was a high-end cell phone, making the reader a truly portable, pocket-sized device.

As usual, a well-rounded team of beta testers was recruited to take prototypes out into the world and to test them everywhere they could. Later in 2008, the new KNFB Reader Mobile went on sale for $2,195. By the end of 2008, due to cell phone cost reductions and encouraging initial sales, the price of the reader dropped to $1,640. Now, for the first time in history, many blind people could afford the technology that would allow them to read most printed material in a truly independent manner.

Ray Kurzweil has a future vision for his “reading machine” to do even more than just read print. There is no doubt a great future for this device as it evolves, but we will have to wait for the technology to catch up to Ray’s ideas.

The dream and the idea began with Ray Kurzweil, a rare individual who possessed the technical expertise to create the machine itself which allows blind people to read printed material. There is not doubt, however, that the technology would not be where it is today if not for the teamwork created between the inventor and the thousands of blind people who have partnered with him to make the machine a reality. This teamwork, evidenced by the development, production and evolution of the Kurzweil reading machine technologies, is a true demonstration of how many people can work together for a common goal, transcending diverse backgrounds, diverse experiences and expectations to achieve a transformational result.

Companies desiring to increase the effective outcomes of teamwork in their own organizations could take lessons from the Kurzweil project. It took the leadership of only two people, Ray Kurzweil and Kenneth Jernigan, to get this incredible project off the ground, with the added leadership of Marc Maurer to keep the successful momentum going – OVER 34 YEARS! Every step of the way, team members across the country, both inside and outside of Ray’s company, remained focused on collaboration to achieve the ultimate unifying goal and end result. And the collaboration, passion and vision continue.

As I said in the title of this article this team is as good as it gets. The accomplishments have been and continue to be tremendous. Those of us privileged to be involved with this project, in my own case from its very earliest phase, hope to share this model of success, innovation and inspiration to help other teams striving to make the lives of others more rewarding and enriching. Where successful teams thrive, the future is a bright and hopeful place.

For more information about the new KNFB Reader, please visit: http://knfbreader.michaelhingson.com

Early February, I had the opportunity to visit Washington DC as a part of the largest group of blind people in the nation who visit their senators and representatives annually to talk about current national issues affecting blind citizens. This year, there were three major issues of concern which we discussed with the 111^th Congress.

The first issue is the growing concern about quiet and hybrid cars, which are becoming an increasing danger to blind and other pedestrians.

The second issue concerns a “Technology Bill of Rights” for the blind which would mandate that manufacturers of technology build in accessibility when designing and constructing their products.

The third urgent item is a work incentive issue for blind persons which we are urging Congress to pass which would change the Earnings Limitations Requirements for blind people who are presently receiving SSI and other welfare benefits.

Please see the separate posting of the fact sheets we distributed to all 535 members of the 111th Congress: Congressional Fact Sheets, Feb. 09

Over 500 blind members of the National Federation of the Blind descended on Washington beginning on Friday, February 5. I arrived on Saturday to begin preparations for our visit with legislators and to begin my new role as the National Sales Director of the KNFB Reader Mobile sales program of the National Federation of the Blind. The Federation was recently asked to become a national distributor for the KNFB Reader Mobile by KNFB Technologies.

Note: the KNFB Reader Mobile deserves its own article, which can be accessed on my site. Suffice it to say that this device offers a totally portable way for blind people to read a significant amount of printed material using certain cell phones and special software. You can learn more about it by visiting http://knfbreader.michaelhingson.com. I spent most of my week in Washington demonstrating this wonderful machine, as well as helping people upgrade to the second generation of reading software. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Anne Marie Laney of the NFB National Blindness Center in Baltimore Maryland. Anne Marie worked tirelessly helping with all aspects of our sales efforts.

On Wednesday, February 11, I spent time on Capitol Hill visiting two California legislators. In the morning I met with Congressman Wally Herger, (whom I had the opportunity to meet in 2004 while on a speaking trip to Redding California. Later that year he and his chief California aid, Fran Peace, arranged for me to meet President George W. Bush in the Oval Office). I, along with several other California residents, spoke with Congressman Herger about the earnings limitation issue as well as the proposed study on quiet cars. Congressman Herger stated that he was very supportive of the proposed changes to the earnings limitation structure, so that blind welfare and SSI recipients would lose only one dollar of their government checks for every three dollars they earn should they join the workforce. It is our hope that Congressman Herger will become a co-sponsor of the earnings limitation bill.

Congressman Herger said that he would study the quiet car issue. As he stated, while he is concerned about pedestrian safety, he wants to better understand the issues surrounding the dangers posed to pedestrians, (blind and sighted alike), by quiet and hybrid cars.

Wednesday afternoon I had the opportunity to meet with Senator Barbara Boxer during a town hall meeting that she organized for Californians who are visiting the Capitol that day. Although this was not the private meeting I desired, I did have a few moments to spend talking with the senator during a photo opportunity at the end of the meeting. Senator Boxer was one of those who supported and secured passage of the bill creating the Louis Braille coin which will go on sale on March 26 of this year to help turn around the Braille literacy crisis in this country. I had the opportunity to thank Senator Boxer for her efforts on our behalf.

She is supportive and concerned about the quiet car issue and will explore being a part of the effort to secure the Department of Transportation study which is already proposed in the House under HR734. Other members of the National Federation of the Blind of California delegation met with her staff on Tuesday to discuss our other issues.

Here is one of the pictures taken that day with Senator Boxer.

The Washington trip was successful in every way both for me and for the legislative efforts of the National Federation of the Blind. It is always heartening to be in Washington, to participate in the education process for our legislators, to bring them current on important issues which we hope they will address. Over 500 blind people comprised this vital effort, working with Capitol Hill in a very organized and professional way. It is amazing what teamwork can accomplish when everyone is on the same page.

I will keep this blog up to date with the results of the efforts we began in Washington. Your comments and feedback are welcome and very important to our success.

As I sit here at my desk feeling the anticipation and joy at the prospects of the New Year – 2009, I cannot help but wonder what the history books will say about this past year that just ended – 2008.  It was a year of great strides in medicine, advancements in technology and space exploration, and it was the year in which the United States elected its first African-American president, with the one of the highest recorded turnouts in American voting history. 

No matter what future history books may say I think our overall perspective today is that 2008 was a bad year for the world.  As the bottom dropped out of the economy, many people lost their homes, with more to follow in 2009; rising oil prices made the cost of driving prohibitive for many and drove home our helpless dependence on the capriciousness of foreign oil; and a few individuals manipulated the worsening situation to their advantage at the expense of most of us.  People were driven to do things that only a few years ago they never thought to do including declaring bankruptcy, seeing their lives spiral out of control.

In September 2008, the home mortgage crisis became real for all of us.  At best, many Americans live paycheck to paycheck and can barely keep their mortgage commitments. Because of greedy bankers and lenders who created and provided inappropriate mortgages many lost their piece of “the American dream.”  Today thousands of families are still attempting to work out ways to keep a roof over their heads.

With all the bad news that we have had thus far, there are those who anticipate the coming of a second mortgage crisis. In October of this year I watched a television interview with a well respected member of the financial community who said that the “second mortgage crisis” will consist of people who simply decide to walk away from their homes and their mortgages even though they earn enough to make their payments and keep their commitments. This financial expert predicted that people will walk away from their homes simply to leave home payments behind, declaring bankruptcy even though they have no specific financial reason to do so. This person’s opinion was that many may consider it easier to simply avoid their obligations, rather than striving to meet them.

My wife Karen did not see this interview. However, the same day I saw the interview, she observed to me that she wouldn’t be at all surprised if “people just decided to walk away from their homes and their mortgages and leave it to the banks and government to sort out the mess”.

What a scary thought! Reasonably solvent people just walk away to avoid payments? Have we lost so much confidence in ourselves or have our standards degraded to the point where people will decide to simply not honor their commitments without negotiation or just because they don’t like the agreement?  Where have our ethics gone?

I have heard my parents and my wife’s parents say that they grew up in a simpler time than the children of my generation.  I have heard their parents say the same thing.  I have heard people refer to the 1800s as a simpler time yet.  Also, I have heard people of my generation say that today’s world is more complicated than it was even 30 years ago.  All these remarks were made to explain why decisions were harder to make today and why perhaps children of the “modern generation” have a harder time keeping promises and commitments.

For my part I am sure that there are many things about “today’s world” which are more complicated than the world of 30, 50, or 100 years ago.  The question we really need to ask ourselves is does the “more complicated”, and perhaps more stressful world of today justify violating the ethical standards passed down from generation to generation which requires that we keep promises and commitments?

I think not.  President Jimmy Carter once said “we must adjust to changing times while holding to unwavering principles.”  We live in a world today which indeed presents us with stresses, complications, and challenges perhaps more difficult than any humanity has faced in the past. With the advent of subsonic and supersonic air travel, communications through the Internet, radio and television, and even free cell phones, our world has become a very small place where the actions of one can affect the lives of persons many hundreds or thousands of miles away.  The products of our “advanced civilization” should be encouraging us to make careful decisions and to be prepared to live with the consequences of those decisions. The message we should be hearing from our public officials and representatives, our friends, and even our own hearts should be one of encouragement to be prepared to keep commitments, and even look out for the other guy.  Furthermore, our leaders should lead by example especially where promises and commitments are concerned.

Whether or not the “next mortgage crisis” really is one in which people will simply decide to walk away from their houses and house payments one thing is certain:  through the media and possibly even through our own experiences we have encountered situations where some people have made decisions which go against the ethical and moral teachings we have made the rock and fabric by which we live.  At times these bad decisions and actions such as those we have seen in recent months in the banking, housing, and American automotive industries have affected many people and become the headlines of media stories and seem to show the “easy” way to go.  Often times the people who make these questionable decisions attempt to hide behind the law or distance themselves from the problem before the press and the public discover what was really going on.  “People at the top” seem to think they can act with impunity and can get away with anything.

The unfortunate result of the bad and often unethical decisions made by leaders which lead to the economic crisis we face today has caused many people to lose their jobs, their homes, and even their life’s direction.  The lack of ethics and propriety of a few have shaken the confidence and faith of many.  Thus far we have not seen these individuals punished for their actions.  Some have even received significant bonuses as they resigned or were forced out of their jobs.

It does not, however, have to be this way.  If we choose, we each can decide to hold ourselves and those who lead us to the higher ethical standards and commitments we claimed to endorse.  Barack Obama was elected by people who see change and a better life than the one we’ve experienced over the past eight years.  I think deep down people want a leader who they feel demonstrates a higher ethical standard than the one we have seen from our current economic and government leaders.  What we must keep in mind is that Barack Obama is only one person in that each of us needs to make a “higher ethical standard” a part of our own lives.  The bottom line is that we can bring about ethical change if we first make and keep ethical commitments within ourselves.

Each New Year people make “resolutions” about how they will change during the next year.  Most often these promises are unrealistic and are made without a plan to fulfill them.  A resolution to live a more ethical life will not be easier to keep because of old habits and the pressure to keep doing business as usual.  Neither Wall Street nor Main Street can or will change overnight.  It will take resolve from each of us to make a reality the vision and dream Barack Obama promised on election night.  The bottom line is that we have to start somewhere.  How about right now?

Marc Maurer
President, National Federation of the Blind Braille Reader

Terry Bradshaw
Hall of Fame Quarterback

Michael Hingson
Motivational Speaker
Braille Reader

Dr. Abraham Nemeth
Professor Emeritus
Inventor of the Nemeth Code
Braille Reader

The Honorable Pat Schroeder
Executive Director, Association of American Publishers Former Member of Congress

Dr. Geerat Vermeij
Professor of Geology, University of California at Davis Braille Reader

View this message as HTML in your browser

December 15, 2008, Issue #4

A Note from Dr. Fred Schroeder

In just a few short weeks, the world will celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, the man who, in his too short life, gave so much to blind people everywhere. For thousands of blind people, this landmark day will be a powerful reminder of the far-reaching impact this young visionary had on our lives when he developed his code so many years ago. We will pause and reflect on how so many of our accomplishments have been possible because of the miraculous invention of Braille, and we will be thankful for the opportunities it has given us.

For billions of sighted people, however, Louis Braille’s birthday will be just another January 4. For many of these people, Braille is a curiosity and a momentary fascination, not a vital component to the success. They occasionally glimpse Braille in a public place, and they are briefly intrigued, but most of them do not know that for thousands of blind people, Braille is the critical link to independence—the sole factor standing between success and failure.

Louis Braille believed in the capabilities of all blind people, and he designed his code so that we could be given the chance to succeed. He understood the critical role that being able to read and write plays in being able to function in society, and he knew the benefits that increased access to information would bring to his fellow blind people. Today, his remarkable invention enables many to achieve full independence in society. From participating fully in the work force, to achieving top marks in school, the benefits of Braille can be seen everywhere.

But for many blind people, the benefits of Braille literacy are not being realized. Our children are not taught to read Braille at an early age, and so they struggle through school, forced to strain their eyes to read print they can barely see, or taught to read and write only by listening to pre-recorded books. For many who lose vision later in life, Braille is described as being too difficult or too cumbersome, and they are kept from regaining their independence and securing meaningful employment.

We in the National Federation of the Blind are aware of the necessity of Braille, and thus, we will continue to work to insure that all blind people are given the chance to be literate. We will continue to work to spread awareness of the staggering illiteracy rate among the blind, and we will continue to work to pass legislation that mandates the teaching of Braille to all blind students. This has been our mission for many years, and it will continue to be our mission until our goals have been met.

Our work cannot simply be accomplished in the halls of Congress, however. It cannot be achieved solely in meetings with teachers, parents, and school officials. In order for us to be most effective, we must work with the entire public as partners and friends. We must demonstrate our love for Braille and the independence it brings, and through our commitment, spread that passion to everyone around us.

On January 4, 2009, the National Federation of the Blind will be holding events all across this country to commemorate the birth of Louis Braille. We will meet in bookstores and libraries, churches and homes, and we will demonstrate through our enthusiasm and commitment just how important Braille is to our success and independence. The public will see blind children reading Braille books, and they will understand that Braille can be just as effective as print. They will see Braille labels and clothing tags, and they will learn how Braille can help us to participate in everyday activities. They will see the blind writing on Braille notetakers, and they will realize that even as technology advances, Braille is still key to our empowerment.

Sadly, when Louis Braille invented his code nearly two hundred years ago, it was not seen as the revolution it truly was. Today, however, we understand just how important Braille is to so many people. On January 4, we intend to spread that understanding to our friends and community members. We will share with them the knowledge that Braille is not just important, but crucial in our quest for independence, and we will demonstrate on a grand scale that Braille readers truly are leaders.

How You Can Help

Give the gift of literacy. Although the Louis Braille Commemerative coin is not yet available, you can download a gift card to give to recipients. Then when the coin becomes available in 2009, you can buy it from the U.S. Mint.

As always, please encourage people to join this campaign list . This campaign is an excellent vehicle for us to build our list of individuals who want to learn more about Braille, want to help with Braille literacy, or are interested in buying coins. Every new subscriber is another opportunity for us to share our message, a message that carries with it the hopes and dreams of a future filled with equality and opportunity for every blind American.
Cut and paste this link to join the NFB-Braille Commemorative Coin & Literacy Campaign: http://tinyurl.com/6jdajq .

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate through e-mail and texting quick frequent answers to one question: what are you doing? Now, when you are asked, “what are you doing?” you can answer, “making Braille literacy a reality for all blind people!”

The Impact of Braille

Do you know a Braille reader who is a great leader? If so, please let us know. You can e-mail your stories of Braille readers who are leaders to emakowske@nfb.org .

Watch the video Braille: Unlocking the code . In this the exciting new video, the history and importance of Braille is explored with commentary and insights from successful Braille readers.

Coming Up

Look for the Louis Braille events in your area. Plan to attend and participate on the January 4 events, then tell us about it. Send an e-mail to emakowske@nfb.org and let us know about your experience. We want to hear all of your stories.

Also

Need Braille Books? Want to get rid of some old Braille books but cannot find anyone to take them? Wondering how to build your Braille book library? Want to help get more books into the hands of blind children? Never fear, the ShareBraille revolution is coming. . .

Photo: Blind girl reading Braille

Jim Portill assists Tim Kelly on a Braillewriter

Photo: Blind girl reading

A child reading a Braille book

NFB Braille Readers are Leaders logo

Visit Braille.org Visit the U.S. Mint

National Federation of the Blind
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
410-659-9314 * Fax 410-659-5129

Forward this message

Change your email preferences

Powered by Convio.

Well here we are day 8, the final day of in-home training. Time sure flies! It’s a sad day, and it’s a happy day. It’s a sad time because it will be the end of our time together with Todd. Todd lived up to his reputation of being the best. As I said before I have never trained with Todd although he was the one who trained Roselle. I could not have asked for a better person to help Africa and I begin our journey together.
On the other hand, it is a happy day because of all that Todd has done to prepare Africa and because of all the work that Todd, Africa, and I have had the pleasure of accomplishing together over the past 8 days. Todd has helped lay a great foundation which will allow Africa and me to have many great adventures and wonderful travel experiences for many years to come.
You guessed it, Todd arrived promptly at 9 AM to begin this last training day. Africa was so excited to see him that I decided it would be a good idea to do a little bit of obedience work to refocus her before we left the house. I wrote in previous entries about the way obedience exercises can be used to regain a guide dog’s focus.
After obedience we left the house and headed into San Francisco and the Embarcadero area. We arrived near the Embarcadero at around 10 AM.
I should take a moment and explain what the Embarcadero is. It is a large complex of four sizable buildings which make up one of San Francisco’s premier shopping centers and office complexes. There is also a Hyatt Regency Hotel in the Embarcadero Center and there are several other major hotels in the general vicinity. In all, the Embarcadero Center and the surrounding area is quite a bustling place.
We parked a few blocks away from the Embarcadero so we can get in a nice walk and a train ride before going to the center itself. After leaving our van we walked about a block and then took a flight of stairs down into an open park. We decided to do some obedience exercises in the park to see how Africa would react around the hundreds of pigeons who made that area their home, at least during the day. Every so often Africa took a brief look at the pigeons but was not bothered by them at all. They did not prove to be any kind of distraction during her obedience work nor at any other time during the day.
I forgot to mention that before leaving the van I helped Africa on with her booties. Since we would be doing some escalator work that day the booties were called for. Africa seem to do a little better today with the booties although I have never felt that they really bothered her.
After leaving the park we walked another few blocks and finally reached the nearest Muni station where we planned to catch the subway. After going on a nice long escalator and walking through the turnstiles we waited for the train to arrive. While waiting Todd showed me how Africa had been trained to avoid the drop offs on subway platforms. I was aware of this, but I appreciated the reminder. Also it is good to see how much more subway platform training has improved.
The idea here is to make sure that when on a subway platform the blind handler is not put in danger of falling off the platform and onto the subway tracks. The student guide dogs are shown the edges of the subway platform and they are encouraged to look down onto the tracks to see how far they and their handlers would fall if they remain too close. The training of the dogs includes the use of clickers and food rewards to make sure that the dogs stay far away from the edges. Now the training goes so far that when a blind handler commands their dog to go forward and in so moving they might come close to or walk off the edge of the subway platform the dog physically turns the team away from the platform at least two or 3 feet before the team gets to the edge. When possible the dog will turn so that it is between the blind person and the platform. Of course, if there is a train in the station and the handler tells the dog to go forward toward the edge of the platform the dog will do so by going to the nearest door which would lead onto a train car. A dog properly trained will even distinguish between doors into the car and the space where two cars are coupled together. In all this training is quite extensive and is certainly gotten better over the years. I think that this is in part because more and more blind people are out in the workforce or are out traveling about cities and other areas where subways and trains are present.
After the train arrived and we boarded we took a short ride, (probably about six blocks), and then disembarked for our walk back to the Embarcadero Center. What we in fact did was traveled from one side of the Embarcadero Center to the other. This would make it possible for us to walk through the Embarcadero before returning to our van.
After leaving the train station and going up another long escalator we traveled two or three blocks before reaching the Embarcadero Center proper. We entered the center by going through a revolving door. Yes, the dogs are trained to do that. The easiest way to go through revolving doors is to drop the harness handle, heal the dog on the right side of the handler, and then walked together through the turning door. This keeps the dog on the inside of the turn as we go through the door and thus keeps it safer and less likely to have any part of it caught in the door. In effect, the handler is somewhat between the dog and the revolving door. There are some large revolving doors, such as the one at Portland airport, that permit the dog and handler to walk without the use of any special techniques. There was also a door like that at the Marriott World Trade Center. That revolving door was so large that it actually had a small flower gardens mounted to the insides of the doors so that as people were entering and leaving they got a nice view of some flowers to brighten their day.

After entering Embarcadero 1 we decided to locate a Mexican restaurant called Chevys for lunch. Chevys was located on the third floor. To justify the use of Africa’s booties we used escalators to get up to the restaurant. I was curious to see how Africa would do with her booties during the down time of our lunch period. I wanted to learn if she would get bored and try to take them off or whether she would even care. I was pleased to see that she left him alone and just decided to take a nap. Meanwhile, Todd and I had some nice fragrant quesadillas which Africa ignored. Good for her!
By the time lunch was over it was about a 1:45. We walked back to the van, going through the pigeon park on our way, and made it back to our vehicle by around 2:30 PM. Since Africa had worn her booties all day I took them off before we left San Francisco. We arrived back in Novato a little after 3 PM. In all it was another great training Day. It was a perfect end to our training and to our work with Todd.
I cannot end the discussion of this part of Africa’s and my adventures together without once again acknowledging Todd Jurek and the wonderful job he did with it for us and that he does every day. He is a master trainer who deserves the high accolades and great reputation that he has. I saw it with Roselle and I saw it again with Africa except that this time I got to be a part of the training process with Todd. Todd deserves and has my highest praise. I must say that he is not alone, however. I have found that all of the trainers at Guide Dogs for the Blind are excellent and much attention is paid in the training department to ensuring that they all have good people skills. They are great teachers.I urged anyone who wants a guide dog to consider Guide Dogs for the Blind as the school they attend. With leaders such as Todd Jurek, Adam Wasco, and Terry Barrett you can’t go wrong.
Now, our training is over. However the adventure has just begun. I will write again soon about Africa’s and my first weeks together. I’m sure the time will pass quickly and it won’t be long until December 4 and we fly to Minneapolis for a speaking engagement. This will be Africa’s first time on an airplane. Check back again soon for our next installment.

Thus far my work and bonding with Africa have been progressing well. Already we have had many adventures. Yesterday Todd informed me that today our first route was to be the infamous “independent route”. It is a route that is considered “independent” because the trainer does not walk with the student and dog. Usually, the student is told their starting location and then, when dropped off, they are asked to make their way to the Guide Dog lounge.
The route is not overly challenging to anyone who has good mobility skills. In a training center where blind people are learning to walk as blind people they will travel many independent routes including some where no instructor is observing them. These are true independent routes where blind people are expected to gain confidence in their own ability to travel from place to place. The GDB independent route is designed to get the dog used to walking without their former trainer nearby. The route can be a bit of a test of a blind person’s orientation and mobility skills. However, GDB is not really providing orientation and mobility training so it is expected that blind students are already capable of walking routes independently especially one of the difficulty of the kind Africa and I traveled.
Once again Todd arrived at 9 sharp. After discussing Africa’s adjustment and behavior from last evening, (no problems), off we went to downtown San Rafael and our walk. Todd dropped me off at third and Lootens St. it was my job to get to the GDB downtown lounge while Todd did his best to stay out of Africa’s sight. To explain further, at this point in our training Todd is still a security blanket for Africa. She knows him better than me. In a sense she relies on having him around and although I am the one giving her commands she has not totally made the transition of loyalty from Todd to me. During our first six days of training Africa would look around from time to time to see if Todd was close by. Today would be something different as Todd would not be in sight, or at least that was the theory.
To get from third and Lootens to the lounge all I had to do was to walk up Lootens to 4th St and then to walk up 4th St until I got to the lounge which was located between E. and F. I brought along my BrailleNote Sendero GPS system in order to do some experimentation toward developing some possible GPS training for GDB.
Before starting out I notified Todd that I would be stopping at RadioShack along the way. RadioShack is located between C. and D. streets and thus it was right on my way to the lounge. With all the preliminaries out of the way I embarked on this latest adventure. Of course, on principle, I had programmed the route into the GPS system so I allowed it to tell us where we were and how to get where we needed to go. I even had it tell me when we got close to the RadioShack.
The trip went well. When I was in the vicinity of RadioShack I asked a passerby to help me locate the specific door. As often happens in such cases the person I asked said “I don’t know where that is”. When asking the question I indicated that I knew it was close by, but as usual, people don’t seem to pay attention to that part of my question. I informed the person again at RadioShack should be within just a few feet and finally the person looked around and, what a surprise, saw the store, one door away.
Anyway, I went into RadioShack and purchased a small speaker which I needed. I then left the store and continued on my way to the lounge. As I walk toward D. street Africa began looking around for Todd. She had done a little of this during the first part of our walk, but now she became more intense about it. With some encouragement and praise I refocused her. We continued to walk past a D. toward E. Street. Again, Africa looked around for Todd a bit. Todd informed me later that he had a real hard time keeping completely out of sight and that Africa spotted him more than once. I figured as much. It is almost like a game of cat and mouse between Africa and Todd. However, Africa needed to learn that Todd was not the boss and that she had to focus on my commands. She really did a pretty good job. She is a very bright dog and I think she got the message.
After crossing E. Street we continued on to the lounge without incident. I don’t think Africa looked around for Todd once on that final block. When I got to the lounge I discovered that there was a GDB van there with some trainers and some applicants engaged in a multi-day assessment. One of the wonderful programs offered by GDB is a process by which some potential students can come to GDB for a three day assessment of whether or not they would be good candidates for using a guide dog. Most people only go through a home interview and a telephone interview. Some people have more challenges which require a more in-depth assessment on both sides. These people come to GDB and spent some time working with a guide dog as well as doing Juno work to see how well a guide dog will fit their needs and lifestyle. I think there were four students at the lounge when we arrived.
About a minute after I arrived at the lounge Todd appeared. He was very pleased with the walk and Africa’s behavior, Africa searching for him notwithstanding. The important thing was that Africa re-focused when I asked her to do so. Todd and I both felt the walk was good, Africa’s guiding was good, and that we were progressing well.
We decided to walk back down 4th St and find a place to have lunch. Eventually we settled on The Broken Drum, a microbrewery between and B streets. Although a bit noisy, the place wasn’t too bad. It was a little bit of a different experience for Africa, which is why we decided to stop there. She was not bothered by the noise and distractions at all, no surprise to me.
After lunch we returned to the van and traveled to GDB for a consultation with the veterinarian staff. Every student has a vet consult to learn about the medical history of their guide.
All of the reports on Africa were very good ones. The only interesting thing that I learned was that Africa has swallowed a couple of socks in her lifetime. No surgery was required to remove them from her system, however. Meeting with the vet staff is always good because we learned much about our dog’s behavior and habits from the puppy reports they share with us. Forewarned is forearmed. Now I know that Africa is a potential scrounger. And she looks so innocent too!
After the vet consult we returned home and called it a day. I must say that if all of our training progress sounds too positive and too good to be true it isn’t. Sometimes things go extremely well and sometimes they do not. Sometimes progress depends on how the student reacts to unexpected behaviors of the dog. As I said before this is as much a training time for the student as it is for the dog. It’s a time to sharpen our skills and to be reminded of how to encourage the best behaviors out of our new guides. I’m very pleased that training is going so well with Africa.
I remember a time with my third dog, Klondike, when he showed a fear reaction to walking in downtown San Francisco. It took a lot of work to encourage him to do his job. We worked through the problems and then Klondike guided for 10 years. For my part, I learned a lot from the challenges I faced with Klondike during training. Terry Barrett, now GDB Director of Training, Admissions, and Graduate Services, was the training supervisor during my class with Klondike. I will never forget Terry’s encouragement and wisdom. His ideas and suggestions stay with me always and always come to mind whenever I faced a training challenge. It is good not to have major difficulties at this point in our training, but I know that if they occur GDB and I have the tools to surmount them.
Tomorrow is our last day of training! Todd suggests that we go back into San Francisco where we can ride the subway, called the Muni, and then walk around Embarcadero Center. It sounds like a pretty full day with lots of distractions and lots of good guide exercise for Africa and me. Come back tomorrow to read the results.

Today was one of the most extremely informative, if not most fun, times during the training and formation of a guide dog team. Today we did traffic checks.

One of the most important jobs a guide dog must perform is watching for traffic whether it is moving, standing still waiting for a light to change, or whether an individual car might be blocking our path. Any pedestrian should always be alert to the traffic around them. For those of us who choose to use a guide dog the dog can help us a great deal to address the issues regarding traffic. Here are a few scenarios.

1. Suppose you are walking down a sidewalk and suddenly encounter a car sitting in a driveway with the engine running. How do you determine what to do next?

2. As you’re walking down a sidewalk you come to a driveway or small side street. As you begin to cross suddenly a car races around a corner in front of you or shoots in front of you from the driveway or side street. Do you have time to react? What do you do?

3. You are crossing an intersection or driveway and hear a car coming toward you from one side or the other. You are walking appropriately, but the car doesn’t slow down. The driver is timing his or her street crossing to go just behind you. (Make no mistake drivers do that.) Again, do you have time to react? What do you do?

4. Now, how do you handle any of the above scenarios if the vehicle happens to be a quiet or hybrid car?

These are only a few of the situations that any pedestrian will encounter while walking anywhere around cars. Blind people whether they use dogs or canes have to answer these questions just like anyone else. We use our hearing and strive to be at least as aware as other pedestrians of what is around us.

The hybrid question is a very serious one for those of us who happen to be blind. It is our belief that hybrid vehicles should make a sound that will allow them to be monitored by blind pedestrians, cyclists, and others who may not be looking directly at a hybrid vehicle when it is near them.

No matter what the circumstances both dog and cane users are able to walk on our streets and sidewalks successfully and competently. Although I travel well with either a cane or a guide dog I prefer the guide dog especially when it comes to traffic issues. “Traffic checks” are the processes used by guide dog instructors to teach dogs how to handle any traffic scenario they might encounter including hybrid cars. Schools such as Guide Dogs for the Blind that have been using traffic checks extensively for years have found that hybrid cars, although a challenge, are not really harder for the dogs than standard vehicles. I’m sure instructors would agree that a little more vigilance is in order and so they work to make sure that their guide dog charges watch as best they can. It is still a team effort when dealing with traffic checks. The guide dog user must let the dog do its job, but it is still important for the user to be aware of what is going on around them. Read on and you’ll see how Africa and I handled a variety of different traffic scenarios today.

Guess what, Todd arrived at 9 a.m. sharp. It was off to San Rafael for our date with Adam Wasco and the GDB hybrid car. At 9:45 we were at the Guide Dogs lounge and ready to go. We turned right out of the lounge on 4th St heading toward F Street with E street behind us. We had walked no more than a few feet when we encountered a car sitting in the driveway blocking our path. Of course, it was that crazy driver Adam Wasco. Africa stopped a few feet away from the car just as she was supposed to do. I hopped her up to the car so that I could see in fact that it was a vehicle blocking our way. She got lots of praise for stopping a few feet before we reached the car. The reason for stopping early is that we would not know the intent of the driver if in fact a driver was in the car at all. If she went right up to the car before stopping and the vehicle began to move we might be clipped or worse.

After determining that the car was stationary and not planning to move in the next few moments I commanded Africa to go forward and we went around the car and on our merry way. After reaching F Street and crossing it, now headed toward G. We had walked no more than a few feet when suddenly out of a driveway shot a car right in front of us. Africa stopped and moved back quickly pulling me with her. This again is exactly as what she is supposed to do. Lots of praise and food rewards were the order of the day. It is important not only to tell Africa that she was doing a good job but to heighten her sense of desire to be especially vigilant concerning traffic. There’s nothing like a good food reward to help make this possible. Madman Wasco shot out of the driveway and turned right and went on his hopefully not so merry way. Where is a cop when you need one?

We reached G where we prepared to cross. Just as we started across, you guessed it, here came our ever vigilant Adam to race across in front of us forcing Africa and me to move back. We finally made it across G and went down toward H.

For the rest of the route which took us up to H, over to 5th, and then back down to and across F Street Adam performed every kind of scenario imaginable to cause Africa to react appropriately to keep us safe from his vehicle. Finally we turned right on F and headed back down to 4th St. where we turned left and returned to the lounge. What was most noticeable about Africa’s behavior was that she did a good job of looking around her for cars. On many occasions, she saw Adam his vehicle long before I heard it and began to react. Since Africa’s job is to react to conditions around her it is my responsibility to let her do her job and follow her if she feels that we are in danger or that there is a problem. The result during this walk was that we stayed well away from danger. Africa kept us safe.

I must stop and make one comment here about dogs versus canes. Could a cane traveler do the same things that I was able to do with Africa? The answer is yes. I am not sure that in some of the situations we faced, I, as a cane traveler would have been able to react quite as quickly or at least as far in advance as I was able to do with Africa. It is all a matter of me being aware as much as possible of what is happening around me. The problem is heightened, as I said earlier, by the concept of hybrid cars. If I can’t hear them I can’t react to them.

I don’t want to leave the subject of traffic checks without acknowledging Adam Wasco for his part in our training. Adam is a great guy with a wonderful sense of humor which brings out the best in us all. He is fun to kid since he gives is good as he gets. He is a longtime veteran of the Training Department at Guide Dogs for the Blind. He knows his job and does it well. He is one of the best trainers I know second only, of course, to Todd. The fact that he is able to drive a vehicle so well and in such a safe manner that he is able to perform the traffic checks we required is a testimony to his skill. I very much appreciate his efforts in helping me and all those who receive guidedogs from Guide Dogs for the Blind.

After we returned to the lounge and sent Adam off on his evil way, Todd and I decided to further Africa’s training by teaching her to target traffic light poles in general and the buttons on these poles in specific. It is very helpful if a guide dog can point out the location of the button to change the traffic signal so that the user doesn’t have to spend a long time hunting for the pole. This is best accomplished with the use of the clicker.

We left the lounge and went to the corner of C and 5th St. which is frequently used during guide dog class training to accomplish the training we had in mind. The process is very similar to that which we used in teaching Africa to find the elevator. First, I would click and reward Africa every time she found my hand which was resting on the pole right below the button. Over a short time we moved back longer distances and I rewarded Africa every time she found the pole first with a click than with food. Again, within about five minutes she was targeting the button on the pole like a pro. We will have to do this more than once, I’m sure. However, we laid the foundation and I’m sure Africa will pick up the new technique in no time.

We returned to the lounge and headed off to Novato for a wonderful Chinese lunch and a short walk around downtown before heading back home. We accomplished a lot today both with traffic checks and with the new light pole training. It was a busy day for Africa and I’m sure a somewhat stressful one although she handled it well. Africa and I spent the rest of the day playing ball, being silly and in general bonding. She’s doing well around the house both with Roselle and Sherlock, the strange cat. Africa and my wife, Karen, seem also to be bonding well. Africa has no fear of the wheelchair and I think if given the chance would love to take a ride on Karen’s lap. That isn’t going to happen, however.

Tomorrow we get to take an independent route where Todd will not be walking right behind us. This will be Africa’s first time of walking without Todd there as her security blanket. She is very used to Todd and I think relies on having him around. It’s time to start breaking that tether. Come back tomorrow to see what happens.

Today was another gorgeous day around the bay at San Francisco. I haven’t mentioned the weather we have experienced during our training. In a word, the weather has been great! California has been experiencing drought conditions for some time. I hope that we will move beyond them this winter. However, for late November and needing to be outside training with a guide dog I must admit I can’t complain about the warm sunny time we are experiencing. The temperature has been in the 70s and 80s during the day. We’ve had little cloud cover but rather lots of sun. Southern California has been facing many severe wildfires which we hope will soon be under control and out. All of us in California fear the severity of fires during the dry conditions we are experiencing. I hope we get no more fires this year. All I ask is three more days of sunny weather and then let the clouds open and the rain poured down.

Todd informed me this morning that he expected that we would be done with our training by this Thursday evening. As I said earlier in-home training permits a lot of flexibility. Todd feels that by Thursday we will have covered everything we could possibly study and that unless something unexpected happens there is nothing else that he can do for us during the formal training process. Of course, Todd is always available to answer questions. Guide Dogs for the Blind also has an excellent Graduate Services Department directed by Brian Francis. In the first entry of this journal I mention Marc Gillard who is a member of the Admissions and Graduate Services section of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Marc works for Brian. Brian’s Department is always available to help graduates throughout the United States with any issues they may be having. I think it is great that GDB has such a good support network.

Once again Todd arrived on the dotted 9 a.m. Our plans for the day was to go back into San Francisco and work around Union Square, a major shopping, dining, and hotel area in the city. After that we would return to Marin County and do some work on streets with no sidewalks.

With our plan in place Todd, Africa, and I got into the GDB van and headed off to San Francisco. We arrived in Union Square just a bit after 10 a.m. Before we started on our route I helped Africa on with her booties. We expected to do some escalator work this morning and as I explained earlier the booties protect her paws from the escalator treads. I don’t think that Africa is a great fan of these booties by the way she walks in them, but she tolerates them pretty well. The booties would also be good protection during extremely hot weather and on snow-covered streets.

Our first destination on this route was the park in Union Square. When we arrived workers were installing the lights on San Francisco’s Christmas tree. In addition, the outdoor ice skating rink was in full operation. Go figure…ice skating in 80° weather in November. I’m sure no one expected this kind of weather which is why the rink was open.

While in the park Africa and I practiced a few obedience exercises. These exercises are one of the first things students learn at GDB. The idea behind them is to have a routine of commands which allow us to put the dogs through some basic paces every morning as kind of a warm up and a method to help them focus. Obedience consists of having the dogs perform a series of “sit” and down maneuvers. We then have the dogs stay while we walk away a few feet to the end of the extended leash. After waiting at the end of the leash to make sure that the dog remains where we told it to sit, the handler returns to the side of the dog and provides lots of praise. After doing the “stay” we begin another “stay” but this time rather than returning to the dog we called the dog to us with either the “heel” command or the “come” command. “Heel” in this case requires the dog to move to our left side and sit. “Come” tells the dog merely to come and stand in front of us.

Doing obedience in the park gave both Todd and me an opportunity to see how Africa worked with lots of distractions around. I should explain that these obedience exercises are a great way to regain a dog’s focus was being distracted any time. Many times during the day while I’ve been walking and my guide dog became too distracted by other things going on around him or her I use this obedience work to get the dog back on track. It works really well.

After obedience, which Africa performed very well, (what else), we left the park and walked over to Macy’s department store. We walked through the crowded aisles in this four-story building, as well as traveled up and down two floors on the escalators. As soon as I could hear the escalators near me I told Africa to ‘find the escalator”. True, she may find the down escalator when I want the up escalator, but it’s my job to determine the right one to use, not her. The point is that she gets me to the escalators for me to then make the right determination. Also, it should be noted that I need to be near the escalators for her to expect to find them. “Near” means we have to be close enough for me to hear the escalators and for her to see them. It is not practical for me to simply walk in the door at Macy’s and suddenly say “find the escalator” which may be at the other end of the store. I’ve seen some blind people who think this, but they’re not correct. Of course, I’ve encountered some sighted people who think that the dog does everything and never listens to discover that I’m giving the dog commands. Africa and I are a team. We each have a job to do. The best teams consist of members who understand each other’s jobs and who respect the abilities and skills of all the team members.

With Macy’s behind us we started off for the van and the return to Marin. Along the way we decided to make a stop at another crowded store, the Nike store. I didn’t even know one existed in San Francisco much less had I ever been there. It goes to show what I know.

We entered the store to the blare of loud Christmas music. This time, the escalator was right near the entrance and so I used the command “find the escalator” to tell Africa where I wanted her to go. We went up a long escalator to the second floor and then took another one to the third floor. After walking around a bit and not buying anything we return to the escalators, descended to the first floor and left that noisy cacophony of sound. It was a good experience for the team even though Nike didn’t make a dime off from it.

On our way to the van as we traveled through the park we stop for our traditional tea and coffee at a small outdoor coffee shop. Hey, what else is there to do on a bright sunny day in San Francisco? Less you miss the point of stopping for coffee and tea every day I should explain that it is a good way for the dog to unwind after doing very complicated and stressful routes. Make no mistake; this job is very stressful to a dog. I talked about this in an earlier post. Although I do not like to stress out my dogs it is important to keep up their work and practice. Going to places like the Nike store and walking a successful route through it and then conveying my pleasure to the dog is a great way to keep up her level of confidence.

We returned to an area near GDB in Marin to work a sidewalkless route. This kind of route is just what the name says. We had to walk in the street because there are no sidewalks alongside them. Also, there are usually many cars parked along the streets so it would give Africa a good opportunity to practice going up to cars, letting me find them, and then working around the car in order to get back on route. Part of the reason of doing a sidewalkless route is to make sure that the dog stays right near the edge of the street rather than walking out in the middle of it. Personally, I don’t need to do many sidewalkless routes, but they sure are good practice for the few times I am required to walk one.

The only challenge Africa had on this route was that there was a place where two cars were parked very close together. Rather than simply passing both cars and then regaining the route she tried to walk me between the two cars to get back to the curb as soon as possible. There wasn’t enough room so I was smushed against one of the cars. No one was hurt, but it was a good experience for Africa. She is a bright dog and I believe she won’t do that again.

After this walk it was time for lunch. We went up to Novato to the Vintage Oaks shopping center where we had lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. Vintage Oaks is also the home of Costco and Target. After lunch we decided it was time to call it a day. Todd, Africa, and I returned home around 2 p.m. Sure we could’ve walked more, but training is in part about good quality bonding time. It is not all about simply walking routes and keeping the dog in harness all day. The value of doing in-home training is that we get to spend our quality time at home so Africa gets used to our home life.

Tomorrow we get to do traffic checks. Come back to read what that’s all about.

Saturday, November 15, 2008, 8:21 PM

Today was the fourth day of training for Africa and me. In a regular class environment training occurs Monday through Saturday. There are a few exceptions. Students arrive for class on Monday. The actual training process begins on Tuesday. First-time students come for four weeks graduating on the fourth Saturday of class. Retrain students come for two, three, and sometimes even the entire four weeks of class depending on their needs and desires.

In-home training is more intensive and lasts for one to three weeks. This training also permits the focusing on specific areas of interest to the handler as well as working with the new guide dog in the more realistic home environment. Of course, since in-home training requires a dedicated instructor spending time with only one student is more expensive for GDB to provide. Students with active lifestyles involving work or school often find that in-home training is the most viable option. I’m very glad that GDB began offering it a few years ago. For me, training with Africa at home has allowed me to spend more time observing her in our actual environment. I think that we have been able to begin a more effective bond since I have the opportunity to begin training her right from the outset here in Novato. I am very blessed that in-home training was offered to me. Besides, if we were training as part of a regular class we would never be able to go on some of the interesting routes we have seen and will see over the next week.

Todd showed up as usual right at nine o’clock. We went off to Novato and Costco. There were a few purchases I had to make, but the main reason for going to Costco was to observe Africa and to give us the opportunity to work together in a very busy store environment. It doesn’t get more active than Costco with all the hustle and bustle and people going every which way not necessarily watching where they’re going.

We arrived at Costco at about 9:30 a.m. We walked around the store quite a bit. Along the way we picked up the things I needed to buy. I had no concerns about Africa’s ability to guide in the store. What I was more interested in seeing was how she behaved while walking behind a shopping cart. Rather than using the harness and letting Africa guide I asked Todd to steer the card from the front while African I pushed from the back. Africa had no fear of the shopping cart nor did she deviate in order to snag any loose items of interest from the floor. She heeled well and worked exactly as I would expect her to in that kind of environment.

After Costco we drove to downtown Novato for another visit to Dr. Insomnia’s coffee shop. Again we walked around downtown with no difficulties and finally arrived at Powell’s candy store. This shop has very narrow aisles and is usually crowded as well. Today was no exception.

Africa did a good job of working through the store and waited patiently while we scooped and bagged some malted milk balls for me, some gummy bears for Todd’s wife and daughter, some candy fruit slices for Karen, and some chocolate covered pretzels for emergency purposes. The reality is that most of the candy will end up in our freezer and stay there for months. In our house out of sight really is out of mind.

We paid for our stash and then return to the van for the trip back home. After relieving Africa and Roselle we were ready for our next sortie. Todd, Karen and I boarded our minivan for a trip to our favorite winery, Gloria Ferrari. We didn’t expect this to be a strenuous trip nor did we expect it to be very challenging for Africa. What was unique in Africa’s experience was that she would be spending time walking beside a power wheelchair. Karen uses an electric wheelchair both in home and when she travels outside. If the two of us go somewhere together mostly I will walk behind her chair holding onto handgrips on the back of the chair. Typically I would not expect my dog to guide but rather to walk it heel. My interest this trip was to see how Africa handled the presence of the wheelchair outside the home. She had, of course, already been around the chair since her arrival last Wednesday. This would be her first time walking with the chair.

Before going to the winery we stopped for lunch at a restaurant and small tourist area across the street from Gloria’s. Lunch was enjoyable and Africa behaved well as usual. I am very impressed with the fact that she does not like to pick things up off the ground. I should say that even if she does like to pick up and eat things she resists temptation well. This is a direct result of good food rewards practices.

After lunch we spent some time walking around some gardens near the restaurant. It was then time to go off to the winery for a little wine tasting.

Gloria Ferrari makes regular wine and sparkling wine sometimes called champagne. If we are to believe the French the only sparkling wine that can be called champagne comes from the Champagne region in France. However, many of us reject the notion that champagne has to come from France. As members of the Gloria Ferrari wine club we get complimentary tastings of a number of their wines. We especially like one of their champagnes. We each stuck with only one glass and thus did not imbibe to excess. Africa did a good job of working through the winery and avoiding obstacles.

We returned home a little after 3 p.m. having spent another good productive day of training. Since we get Sunday off Todd informed me that he would be at my door on Monday at 9 a.m. sharp as usual. He continues to say that he’s very pleased with our training and our progress. For my part I am quite pleased. Next week should bring some other interesting adventures. I know we will be spending more time in San Francisco. We will also be practicing some rural routes.

I hope that you who are reading this find my experiences and journal interesting and informative. There is plenty more to come. Stay tuned.