A Walk with Vivi

Surely it would be easy to get a good video of Vivi working?  I didn’t realize at the time how many things can interrupt, from the sudden presence of a car between us and the camera, to Vivi’s curiosity at a new smell on our route, to her interest in the videographer.  Trying to get one inside is even harder, so this thought was abandoned as I thought of how many people would stop and smile, to which Vivi would smile back.  She’s a real show stopper no matter where we go.   This means I have to work hard to smile when I say something like:  “I would really appreciate it if you didn’t pet her, but thanks for wanting to,” or “thanks so much for not petting her,” to “I’m gonna have her bite you if you don’t stop it.”  Of course I have never said the latter, but have only wanted to when children with lollipops and sticky fingers pop out of the woodwork like a swarm of yellow jackets all over her.  Mostly however it is always a pleasant experience whether walking with her outdoors or in the malls or restaurants.  Without her harness Vivi gets lots of petting. 

I do hope this video will give you a little idea of what it is like to walk just a little space with a guide dog.

                                 

Monster Trucks

Throwback Thursday from Journal


Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Today was a beautiful day, sunshine, temperature predicted of 84 with a dew point of 0.  It started out with my cleaning lady friend bringing me and Mego a great breakfast, then I took a long walk with Mego and Jonathan followed by a short trip to the mall.

Plans were underway for a trip to my favorite pizza place for lunch, Brixx, all the way across town.  Two of my grandchildren, Jonathan and Taylor, both age sixteen, sat in the front with Taylor driving.  Mego and I sat behind, Mego already showing signs of sleep before we ever got onto the noisy, busy road of Capital Blvd at noon with lunch hour traffic.  I have heard that Capital Blvd is the second busiest street in North Carolina, bowing to Independence Blvd in Charlotte.  The children had the windows down with cool air pouring in all four, radio blasting, and Mego loving it while my hair did a wild and crazy dance all its own.  Trucks whizzed by and I felt the beginning of a nerve jumping out of place, soon to be joined by other nerves until they began having a wild dance inside my head just like my hair was doing on the outside. 

My mind wanted to once more be back into the little safe play room in my house, with Taylor and Jonathan playing quietly, very good babies in spite of all the marks they put on my walls.  Brittany was with us then but today she was at Wake Tech, probably wishing she was in the car headed for Brixx still with us.  In those pre-school days I and my guide dogs Holly and Mego, took all three of them to McDonald’s, Target, local ice cream parlor, drug stores, and Dollar stores.  I taught them how to look and listen for traffic, when to cross, and when to walk two blocks farther away where there was a light making it easier to cross.  How many streets have we crossed together?  Yes, they were good and careful children.  The nerves began to settle down.   Then we turned off Capital onto the Raleigh belt line.  

This was about the time the monster truck pulled up.  I have no idea what it looked like but it sounded like a jet.  My foot automatically pressed the imaginary brake in the back seat.  My favorite song came on the radio, “I can only imagine,” by Mercy Me.  I began to sing along with the song hoping to stay calm, just as the monster thing pulled right outside my window and blew its mighty horn, which scared me silly.  It felt like both Taylor and the truck sped up and all the other traffic pulled alongside the open windows on the other side of the car.  Somehow the children heard me over the trucks, the cars, the wind, the GPS and the radio. 

“I’m not happy!!! I can’t see, I can’t hear, and I think I’m fixing to be dancing with Jesus sooner than I thought,” I shouted. 

The windows went up, the truck pulled ahead, and all I heard then was the GPS, Mego snoring, and the teenagers laughing. 

It seemed to me that somebody had moved Brixx until we realized we were headed for Brixx in Chapel Hill and were almost there.  Taylor pulled off the highway at the next exit and pulled up at a Red Roof Inn to reprogram the GPS.  We were back on the trail to Raleigh.  

“Which way do I turn?”  Taylor asked Jonathan.

“Right,” he said.  Of course my directionally challenged genius meant the other right.
 

As Taylor took a sharp left the truck in back of us laid on his horn, blowing it as far down the highway as I could hear.

(Epilog 04/24/14): 

Taylor may read this blog and can verify this little story; however, I must add that when she is not working or in school at Wake Tech she is my frequent lunch partner, Cracker Barrel trip taker, and best shopping buddy, plus a very safe little driver.  Jonathan is in graphic design school at NC State, and it is my dream for him to illustrate a book of children’s poetry with me one day.  Brittany wears a beautiful engagement ring from the boy she plans to marry soon after her graduation when she will become a dental assistant.

Sometimes I think I still hear a monster truck passing me on life’s highway; its name is “Time.”

 

Vivi's House

Traveling with a guide dog can be an interesting experience in so many instances.  Once while leaving the grocery store with my black lab, Mego, I lovingly said:  “Come on Sweetie,” to which a shopper passing me answered:  “Okay Honey, where are we going?”   Once when at Chic Filet with my first guide dog golden retriever, I said “Holly, find a seat.”   With my tray in hand, Holly proceeded to find me a seat.  I was surprised when a person across the table from me said:  “How are you today?”  Vivi, my new current guide dog, has her own experiences to make, and so far it is hard to keep people from resisting petting her pretty head, especially since she surely is smiling at the world as she works.  However, some experiences can be a little awkward.  Just last week I was with a friend.  We walked into a facility, going up some steps to the door.  I was not quite inside when the receptionist said:  “You cannot bring that dog in here.”   Vivi and I did not miss a beat but kept going forward as I explained she was a service animal and definitely could come in.  The lady suddenly became very adamant as she seemed to stand behind her chair as if to physically push us out the door saying that no way were we coming into the office.  This is the first time I have had to remind someone of the laws in quite a while. 

The most interesting phenomenon I have come across lately is someone thinking the dog never gets to play, and to work her is cruel.  I guess that’s animal rights in reverse, as Vivi goes places other dogs just dream about.  Without her harness, Vivi is just a dog, a very well-mannered girl, yet a playful, clothes snatching, food stealing, ground sniffing well-bred Labrador.  Watch her playing with my granddaughter’s dog Luna.  

     

Come to My Table

I would like to share one of my songs with you today!

Come to my Table by Myra DeBruhl

Song is inspired by...
The Last Supper
Matthew 26
Mark 14
Luke 22

Holy Week

One week out of the year Christians seem to be permitted to openly be passionate about our beliefs and faith in God without criticism.  I have noticed that during the seasons just before Easter or sometimes Christmas there are several faith-based movies and shows on TV.  By the same token, many times while channel surfing, I run across some bits of news or commentaries designed to prove why it is all just a myth.  Once historians were calling Mary a woman who knew scriptures and manipulated them to make the New Testament fit with Old Testament prophecies.  There are those who have reminded me that in almost every account of creation that has ever been there is a virgin birth story, except Darwin of course.  There are efforts to prove true or false the Holy Grail or the shroud of Christ.  This year’s prize is two words on an old parchment “my wife,” to indicate Jesus was married. 

Even though often Christians are accused of taking a few words out of scriptural context to make a certain point, we seem to be expected to jump on the parchment wagon over two words.  I have often been told that in order to prove a negative there first had to be a positive.  Does this mean someone believed in God first and proceeded to try to prove there is not?

As you can see, I am no debater of scriptures or history, but am convinced in my heart that Jesus Christ is alive and well in heaven and in the hearts of believers, of which I am one. 

It is not a ministry of mine to preach on a street corner or hit someone over the head with legalism and rigidity.    It is my ministry, however, to spread the joy inside my heart to all who will smile with me as we walk through our earthly journey. 

Whether walking down the street with my guide dog or singing a song in the shower, I believe life is a spiritual experience and I know where my joy comes from.  It is always my hope someone will ask about it. 

I am by no means super anything; my heart is simple.  There have been many times in the past where I cried and felt like I had my own Gethsemane, only to realize no matter how awful things may be, no one can out-suffer God.  Neither can anyone out-give nor out-love God, but I bet it makes Him happy to see us try. 

As I continue learning, I find myself in another new place.  It has been over a year since being laid off from work and prospects look slim.  No longer can I see pictures as I once could.  Colors fade together and every day my small light and visual perception are less than the day before.  It is not easy.  However, on Sunday morning it is my plan to join with the choir and truthfully  sing with joy that cantata as though I just won the lottery.  

 

 

Throwback Thursday from Journal

 

Throwback Thursday, November 12, 2006

Out of the Box

I was looking forward to ordering a pizza for dinner.  All day I had planned to eat very little so I could enjoy it without feeling guilty.  Finally it was 7 PM and I called in my order.

While waiting for the delivery, I sat down at the keyboard and began working on music, thrilled that I felt a brand new song taking form in my mind.  I became totally absorbed in cord progressions and words filling in their appropriate places.  Suddenly the doorbell rang and I wondered who might be visiting me when I already knew where most of my friends and family members were on Sunday night.  Reluctantly I left the keyboard and went to the door.  Evidently I looked a bit frightened and surprised as the delivery man said questioningly:  “Did you order pizza?”

Once I wrote a poem about how I can turn down almost any food in the world but pizza.  Now, here I stood, red faced and shocked at the fact I had totally forgotten my order.  So as not to let my embarrassment show to the delivery person I turned around and yelled over my shoulder to the empty house:  “Anybody here order pizza?”  At that point I went to get my purse and paid for my dinner. Oh my goodness!  It Isn't like me to forget pizza!  What is going on in my silly head!

 

Everyday Blind Things

 

To  give a brief overview of some things you would never think about unless you are blind or partially sighted, spend a little time with me.  This is not meant to criticize, just to invite you into my world. 

 

Try to cross a street that does not have a light, depending totally on your ears while someone close by is mowing a lawn or using a leaf blower. 

 

Call to get through to a technical support for your computer.  Chances are that you won’t get past the prompt that says:  “Tell me what lights are blinking on your modem.”

 

Go into a totally crowded room and ask someone where you might find a seat and inevitably they will say something like:  “Right over there.”   Be sure you check out which way the seat is positioned because mistaking the back of the back for the front of the back can have some very interesting consequences. 

 

“Right over there” is the usual answer when you ask a clerk for directions, even if they are looking at, or secretly petting your guide dog.

 

Be prepared when you hand a clerk your money if you are with a friend.  Even as you stand there holding out your hand toward the cashier, that person will inevitably try to give your change to the one who is with you instead of you.

 

Know that people in restaurants  will look at your friend and say things like:  “Does she want some more water?”  or “May I pet her dog?”

 

I went outdoors to get my trash container from the street.  It was a bit cloudy.  I have some light perception and contrast vision, so it appeared that something white was in the middle of my yard.  On walking over to investigate I  found it was a paper towel dropped from the trash.  While searching out the paper towel somehow I had gotten turned around in the yard and found myself wandering around searching for the trash bin.  This large container is at least four feet tall, big and square, but green like the grass.  Finally I touched a trash bin only to hear my neighbor call from down the street that it was hers.  She came walking up to get it.

“How could you find that paper towel and miss the trashcan?” she asked.

 

I , a blind person, was at a furniture store promotion and registered for the door prize.  The crowd was growing, standing and waiting, hoping they might win.  I heard a soft collective “What?” sigh when I won the TV.

 

A friend told the story about getting on a city bus in Raleigh in about 1980 something.  He was feeling around for the place to drop in his money.  He found what appeared to be  a sloping sided area and dropped it in.  “You just ruined my “bleep” coffee!” the bus driver growled.