A Quarterly Publication of Guide Dog Users of Arizona
By River Forest, Editor and Member of GDUA
If you have comments, etc., please call 480-755-9830, or send an e-mail to terrih@asu.edu
Greetings everyone,
I just got back from a short 2 mile walk and Henna is happily stretched out on the cold tile floor, after a long drink of water. Well, I spent the better part of Spring and early summer remodeling my house. Wow, what a pain that was! I had my carport converted into a garage, paint inside and out, new granite countertops installed, carpet removed and ceramic tile put in everywhere except the bedrooms, and Pergo type flooring in the bedrooms. Remodeling is quite stressful, but now I am mostly done.
We are planning two up coming events this fall. First, lunch at the First Watch Restaurant 61 west Thomas road at 1:00 Saturday September eighteenth. This will be a casual get-together where we can relax and catch up with everyone. Also, we are planning a Fall conference that will be one day, Saturday November 20th, which is the day following the VRATE conference. We thought this might be convenient for those of you who don’t live here in the valley and who may be interested in traveling to the valley to attend VRATE and the GDUA Fall conference. The GDUA conference will be held at the Foundation for Blind Children at 1235 East Harmont in Phoenix (602) 331-1470. I’ll be sending out a conference registration and agenda in the third week of October. We are still lining up speakers and collecting door-prizes. This conference will be all about dogs! And there will be a lot of interesting info from our guest speakers.
I hope to see you all there!
Arriving later in the evening on July 4th to The Sheraton Hotel, at which the convention center in Birmingham Alabama was conveniently located, The Guide Dog Users Incorporated’s (GDUI) affiliate roundup was just finishing up. This year our affiliate liaison, Ginger Bennett was happy to introduce new affiliates to our GDUI family. One was the state of Alabama’s guide dog users.
I had already lost my husband Kevin to the ACB general session that was also going on.
On Monday July 5th, the GDUI convention started.
Each morning at 7:00 sharp guide dog users would congregate at the entrance of the Sheraton to go on what was called “The Breakfast club”. A nice walk to a close restaurant where we could work off the convention stress and the great breakfasts we all ate.
At one thirty that same day was the opening session for our GDUI annual convention. The outgoing President Debbie Grubb gave a short welcome to convention. Margie Donovan spoke on the relief situation as she has at other conventions.
Then at 2:00 was a session called “The Panda Project” where Ann Edie of New York is training a guide horse. Also with her were her horse trainer and a couple who owned a guide horse named Confetti. Ann’s guide horse could not be with her, seems the airline told her the horse could not fly with her since they did not believe it to be a legitimate service animal. After she spoke there was a question and answer (Q&A) session where members asked questions on guide horses and their training.
Directly after that session was another one dealing with massage to manage stress on our guides, not ourselves, although by this time it would have been nice to have a massage. Carla Campbell and Vicki Winslow shared this session put on by The Seeing Eye and I thought it very informative.
At 7:00 that evening was the next session entitled “How it all began”. This was where guide dog school instructors talked about the good old days and how it “all “began.
Then at 9:00 was the GDUI reception. This was put on by The Seeing Eye promoting their seventy fifth anniversary of the founding of that school. During all this, great door prizes were given. The door prize chairman this year was Pennsylvania’s Jeff Lukacsena. Guide Dog Users of Arizona donated a tee shirt and a $25 gift certificate from Petco.
At the GDUI reception Kevin and I had the honor of sitting with Ed and Toni Eames. Ed and Toni are great advocates in the service animal arena and Ed is the President of The International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP).
We also sat with a GDUI member from Ohio, A young lady named Patty Yarman. Patty had just gotten a guide dog protection law passed in the state of Ohio.
Kevin and Ginger Bennett had worked with her through the GDUI dog guide protection task force, sending her information in the beginning of this task.
The reception ended and we took Minnie and Lenny out for the last park time of the night. The convention center had a sky walk attaching the hotel to the center.
It of course was a long walk regardless. The reception was on the third floor of the convention center. we took an escalator down to the second floor and made our way out to the sky walk. We walked down the sky walk, of which went across Richard Arrington Boulevard back to the hotel. We stayed on the 14th floor of the tower side of the Sheraton. Once back in the hotel from the walk, we had to go down one more set of escalators to the main level. Luckily this was near the front doors of the hotel, where we slipped out and walked to the relief area and let Minnie and Lenny do their thing.
Doodle Scoopers, a professional relief area and dog pooper scooper business was on the scene for the second year. They really did help the relief area stay cleaner then I have seen at most national conventions. We finally made it to our room and nodded off quickly. Interestingly enough the dogs seemed tired by this time also.
Tuesday July 6th was a very interesting day. Again the breakfast club met in the hotel entrance and made It’s way to breakfast. At 12:30 that day we had a session by Ms. Karen Overall, a world renowned pharmacological behaviorist. She talked on stress and how drugs may assist in relieving problems. This session had been requested and made possible by Dr. Ed Eames from California. As sessions and conventions go, the session ran a little long.
We moved on to the business meeting and election of GDUI officers, including a new President. Before this happened we had an ACB candidates caucus.
ACB candidates came and talked on what they would like to see and would do for the ACB if elected. Then we moved on to constitutional amendments, of which there was one, and it was tabled.
Now, on to the election of President. About two hours before the election, the nominating committee came to Kevin and asked if he would consider running for President. They told Kevin to let them know by 1:00. Kevin nervously agreed to run.
He originally was running for the second vice President position, of which he believed he would be nominated for. Kevin was nominated for President by the nominating committee and Sheila Styron, of whom Kevin thought would originally run for President was nominated from the floor. They had people talk for them. Kevin chose Ginger Bennett, and Sheila chose Becky Barnes and Debbie Grubb.
The election went very well for Kevin even though he did not campaign.
The vote went around 70 votes for Sheila and 50 votes for Kevin, so Sheila Styron is the new President of GDUI. Kevin and I know Sheila and she will make a new dynamic President to our fine organization. I told Kevin that for not campaigning he did a good job. Kevin was then nominated by the floor for second vice president by Margie Donovan and was voted in by acclaimation. Nancy Tryzinski was voted as secretary, running against Jeff Lukacsena. A new board member, Penny Reeder was voted in. Penney is well known in the ACB circle, guide dog user circle and previously was editor of the Braille forum. This session did run for hours and Becky Barnes was kind enough to cancel her session on advocacy. Becky’s session was actually put on first for The Arizona Council of the Blind and Guide Dog Users of Arizona state convention.
At 8:00 that evening they had a session that allowed guide dog users to tell some of their funnier stories. By this time I was exhausted and did not know if I could make tomorrow’s events. Minnie felt the same way.
On Wednesday I met up with Kevin and we made our way to the GDUI luncheon.
Mr. Thom ainsworth, a great advocate for us as guide dog users was the key note speaker, and he did a wonderful job. Mr. Ainsworth spoke on the good old days of respecting your neighbor and advocating for our community. Thom is retired now, but spent 35 years with Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael California.
Lunch was chicken and pasta with iced tea and a chocolate mousse for dessert.
Once again we got to sit with Ed and Toni Eames, who let us know that in January of 2005 the IAADP convention would be held in Phoenix.
Next I went to a session on how to incorporate food into guide dog training. This was done by Guide Dogs for the Blind and the speaker was Michelle Pouliott.
Kevin has used food as a motivator for Lenny and this session taught me a lot about this method. I was told this session was done at the O&M convention for AER in New Orleans last December.
After this session I was in the correct room and Lukas Franck of The Seeing Eye put on an informative session with Q&A on using head halters and scruffy collars… How the public perceives this and how they work.
Then the last session dealt with interacting with the Public during All Those Sticky Situations: Tips, role playing and town hall style discussion.
DeAnna Quietwater Noriega put this session on. DeAnna was also the GDUI delegate to the ACB convention.
Sheila Styron places a wedding ring on groom Bill Stephan during their wedding ceremony performed by Circuit Judge Caryl Privett in Linn Park on Tuesday. Both Styron and Stephan are blind.
As the late morning sun slowly raised the temperature in downtown's Linn Park on Tuesday,small groups of people and dogs began to gather on a Bench not far from the central fountain. They were waiting for a wedding party.
Soon enough, a man in a dark suit and a woman in a strappy summer dress emerged from the back door of the Jefferson County Courthouse. In the bride's hand was the leash of a Labrador retriever named Dorian. The groom walked alongside a stunning Australian shepherd named Logan.
In between the couple, a beaming red-haired judge in a black robe helped guide the couple past a long reflecting pool toward their friends.
Weddings, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Caryl Privett said later, are the best part of a judge's job.
In the presence of friends and a few of the park's regular residents, The nuptials went off without a hitch. At the end, well-wishers tossed tiny Pepperoni treats at the bride and groom, creating a moment of commotion among a couple of the dozen or so guide dogs in attendance.
For most of the casually dressed wedding guests, the exchange of ows by Sheila Styron and Bill Stephan broke up a day crammed with meetings at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.
Styron, 50, lives in Los Angeles, and Stephan, 51, lives in Kansas City, Mo. They'd been engaged for a while, but decided just last week to get married at the 43rd National Convention of the American Council of the Blind, which runs through Saturday at the BJCC.
"I wanted to have a fun wedding. I wanted it to be a really unique, fun experience, and because we ran off and had our first date in the Grand Canyon, I was having difficulty planning what I thought would be a fun wedding," the bride said in an interview the next day.
Because Styron, a vocalist and freelance composer, is planning to move to Kansas City next week, they needed a fairly simple plan for the wedding.
"It was a time when we would be together and we controlled the input," the groom said.
And the American Council for the Blind has special associations for the couple, both of whom are completely without sight. They met, by way of the Internet, through their mutual involvement in Guide Dog Users Inc., an affiliate organization of the ACB.
On Tuesday, her wedding day, Styron was elected president of the guide dog users' advocacy group.
"Bill and I met through legislative activities related to helping people with guide dog issues," Styron said. "When we decided we were interested in getting to know each other, we planned a trip to the Grand Canyon." The Grand Canyon turned out to be an ideal meeting place.
"First of all, there's not a lot you can do with a car there, which makes it a good place for blind people," Styron said. "We hiked, we went river-rafting, we took a train tour."
That was in November. Since then the couple got engaged and decided to live in Kansas City, where Stephan works as a contract specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Styron and Stephan knew that at the annual ACB conference they'd be in touch with their friends involved in advocacy for guide dog users. The conference, which began Saturday, puts more than 1,000 blind people in touch with each other and with marketers of new technology for the blind. There's all manner of computer equipment to enlarge type or make the Internet accessible. There's a descriptive video service, whose producers slip oral descriptions of the on-screen action between the lines of dialogue in films like "Bruce Almighty," "Finding Nemo" and "Cat in the Hat."
And Glenn Kristiansen, a sighted volunteer from Oregon, was there helping Kevin Stockton demonstrate "Blind Signs," a relatively new system of directional instructions that can be affixed to crosswalks.
Crossing the street safely remains a serious issue for the blind, so there was much interest in the system, as well as the audio crossing signals that have been installed in front of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, where Richard Arrington Boulevard curves into 22nd Street North.
Sighted volunteers from throughout the nation also flock to the annual conference to help the conference ttendees navigate the convention site and a strange city.
Vickie Burke, a wedding guest from North Carolina, had come to Birmingham as president of Carolina Paws: Guide Dogs of North Carolina. An issue in that state is a measure that would legalize left turns on red at the intersections of two one-way streets.
"We hope that doesn't pass, because we've already got the right turn on red, and it's awful," she said.
Crossing the street can be scary, a fact of life for the blind, about which the rest of us can always stand a little education. In downtown Birmingham this week, the ACB conference was about those facts of life - with some time out for love.
Copyright © 2004 Birmingham Post Co. All rights reserved.
Jane was a blind woman from Massachusetts who applied for a Seeing Eye dog after prankster kids spun her around one night while she walked with her cane. Peter was from Ohio who didn't want to follow in his accountant father's footsteps and became inspired by reading a book about the pioneer Seeing Eye dog school in North America.
The two people from different backgrounds ended up finding common ground at the Seeing Eye in New Jersey nearly 40 years ago -- and ended up making the school their life's work.
Jane and Peter Lang of Morris Plains were honored Friday at the school's 75th anniversary celebration gala in Morris Township. Both 61, the Langs received the Buddy Award, named for the first Seeing Eye dog and given to people who demonstrate extraordinary commitment to the Seeing Eye's mission and show genuine concern for the welfare of animals. But the Langs believe they should be doing the thanking.
Jane Lang, a Seeing Eye volunteer who delivers inspirational talks to groups and corporations, says Seeing Eye dogs have enriched her life and given her independence.
Jane Lang, was at first averse to the idea of getting a Seeing Eye dog. She was annoyed by the occasional trash can lid that whacked her in the knee when she walked on it, but she was content with using a cane while she lived in Boston.
Then, one night in Massachusetts, she was walking home from work when a group of teenagers grabbed her cane and twisted her around several times, causing her to become disoriented. When she didn't come home on time, her mother called police and they found Jane 45 minutes later, only 100 yards from her house.
In June 1965, she decided to take a chance and try out a Seeing Eye dog. With her dog, she can go where she wants, including the Bronx for a game with her beloved New York Yankees. She's a fan who loves to hear the sound of a ball on an ash bat and a leather glove at a baseball stadium. She puts her sense of humor to work at Yankee Stadium, shouting to umpires who blow a call: "Oh, c'mon, I could have called that one better!"
She doesn't have to wait for someone to take her to the game, not when she has Laramie the golden retriever, her fifth Seeing Eye dog. Before Laramie, there were Matthew and Willy the golden retrievers and Sandy and Fifi the German shepherds, who were replaced when they either died or retired.
"With a dog, it's a very close relationship," said Lang, who was born premature and lost her sight when she was in an incubator. "It's even closer in some ways than being married with somebody. When I am out with Laramie, my life is in his paws, and how many people can you say that about? I always like to say, without Seeing Eye my life would be in mono. With Seeing eye, my life is in stereo."
Peter Lang, who oversees the training of 300 dogs and 24 students at the Seeing Eye, was a disenchanted college student in Ohio in 1964 when he read a book by Morris Frank, the Seeing Eye founder and the first person to have a Seeing Eye dog. The book, about how a Seeing Eye dog helped Frank go from being a second-class citizen to a participant in the mainstream of life, inspired Lang to write to the Seeing Eye, then in Whippany.
He was an instructor at the school when he saw a pretty student from Boston named Jane in 1965.
The night before she was to head back to Massachusetts, they sat next to each other during a chance meeting at a class Sunday picnic. Jane thought Peter had a friendly voice and said her "heart jumped" whenever she spoke with him. Peter was so smitten with Jane that he learned Braille so they could
communicate by letters.
Three months, and too many dollars in phone bills later, they were married. The Langs have three children, Sharon, 36, Danny, 32, and Billy, 27.
Rosemary Carroll, director of development and public affairs, said the award is chosen by the Trustee Development Committee. The Langs are the fifth and sixth people to receive the honor and the first couple.
Carroll said Peter Lang earned the award through his "extraordinary accomplishment over 40 years" to working at the Seeing Eye.
"His dedication to our mission is unquestioned," Carroll said. "He holds our students and graduates in the highest regard."
Carroll said Jane Lang has given public speeches on the organization's behalf and become an "ardent voice" of the Seeing Eye over the past 10 years.
Also Friday, the highest award bestowed by the Seeing Eye, the Dorothy Harrison Eustis Humanitarian Award, was presented to Robert G. Scott of New York City.
Peter Lang said the relationship between a dog and its owner is what makes the Seeing Eye dog system work. "The most important thing is unconditional love," he said.
Southeastern Guide Dogs, Inc. has announced a reduction in staff positions in order to trim operating expenses. Southeastern cited the continuing economic slump and dwindling donations
as reasons for the staff reduction.
"Letting go of valued employees is not easy," stated Bob DeBusk, Executive Director, Southeastern Guide Dogs. "However, Southeastern faces the same challenge as non-profit organizations across the country. The uncertainty in the nation's economy has severely impacted the fund-raising ability of organizations that rely upon philanthropy to maintain daily operations."
DeBusk continued, "Nevertheless, our primary commitment, above anything else, is to serve our blind and visually impaired students by providing them with the gift of mobility, and that has not changed. We will continue to focus on this mission by relentlessly enhancing the quality of our dogs, our
training, and life long service to our graduates. We're confident that today's action will allow our projected revenues to cover operating expenses."
The restructuring, effective today, affected 11 individuals representing every department within the organization.
"Today's action, while painful, is a necessary step in order for us to remain the leading guide dog organization in the southeastern United States. While we cannot make any guarantees, it is our hope, at least, that economic circumstances will improve so that Southeastern will be in a position to serve the increasing numbers of blind and visually impaired people in this country," DeBusk concluded.
Since 1982, Southeastern Guide Dogs, Inc. has provided the gift of mobility at no charge to the blind and visually impaired. Southeastern is one of only nine guide dog schools in the nation recognized by the U.S. Council of Guide Dog Schools, and the only one in the southeastern United States. The school is situated on a 23-acre campus in Palmetto, Florida, and maintains outreach
facilities in Georgia and North Carolina. Through its Gifted Canines Program,
Southeastern also provides dogs for companion therapy, emergency and law enforcement, and other service work. Southeastern's operations are funded entirely by gifts from individuals, foundations, service clubs,
bequests and fund-raising events. No government funding is received.
WASHINGTON -- ProHeart 6, a twice-a-year time-released heartworm medication used to treat millions of dogs, was recalled Friday at the request of the Food and Drug Administration after thousands of animals suffered adverse reactions.
ProHeart 6 was the first, and only, product approved by the FDA to be administered once every six months to treat heartworm disease in dogs. Its active ingredient, moxidectin, has been administered without problem to horses and cattle.
The time-released version caused few problems when given to dogs at higher doses in clinical trials. Health and safety problems quickly cropped up, however, when ProHeart 6 was used to treat dogs after receiving FDA approval.
As of August 4, the drug agency received 5,552 reports of adverse reactions after dogs received heartworm shots. About 500 dogs died, though the agency said many deaths were not directly attributable to the product, manufactured by Fort Dodge Animal Health, based in Overland Park, Kan., a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Wyeth.
Some dog deaths were linked convincingly to the heartworm medication, which prompted the recall, said Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine.
Dog owners were urged to consult veterinarians about other medications to prevent heartworm.
The agency had already asked Fort Dodge to revise the drug's label and to issue notices to veterinarians and dog owners pointing out safety questions associated with the product.
"Despite all of the things that have been done, we continue to see these adverse events at approximately the same rate," Sundlof told reporters late Friday.
The problems suffered by dogs include sudden lethargy, uncontrolled bleeding, vomiting, diarrhea, heart and liver problems and such nervous system abnormalities as seizures.
"We don't really understand why this product is causing these problems," Sundlof said. "It affects dogs of all sizes and, apparently, dogs of all ages."
Fort Dodge Animal Health is cooperating with FDA's request for a recall but has "concerns about how the agency interpreted these complex data," the animal health product manufacturer said in a prepared statement. "Based on a thorough evaluation of FDA's data and consultation with independent experts
In veterinary medicine and epidemiology, Fort Dodge Animal Health stands behind ProHeart 6."
The FDA will convene an independent scientific advisory committee to review the matter. Heartworm disease is caused by a parasite transmitted to dogs via mosquito bite. Roughly 250,000 dogs develop the potentially fatal ailment per year. Fort Dodge Animal Health said it has sold 18 million doses of ProHeart 6 to veterinarians since FDA approval in June 2001.
This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet.
My patient was a 56 pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix who ate half a cannister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4 :30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7AM. I had heard somewhere about
raisins and grapes causing acute renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the
subject.
We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me---had heard something about it, but....Anyway, we contacted the
ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give I V fluids
at 1 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours. The
dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and
creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney
function in the bloodstream. We placed an I V catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At that point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary
catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care. He started
vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have continued to increase
daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn't control his vomiting.
Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220. He continued to vomit and the owners elected to euthanize.
This is a very sad case-- great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins
could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very
serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins could be toxic. Many people I
know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats. Any exposure should give
rise to immediate concern.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville, Ohio
Sour Grapes: This episode of Internet Rumors, Fact or Fiction, is devoted to the latest rumor that has been flooding our inboxes. The first topic concerns how toxic grapes and raisins are to dogs. In the testimonial on the internet it states that as few as seven raisins could be toxic. It won't be long before the panic phone calls concerning "my dog ate a raisin (or grape) that fell on the floor" start coming in.
Please understand I am not an internet basher, as it is a very useful tool for finding authoritative information. A quick search found an original report, as a Letter to the Editor, in the Journal of the American Veterinary Association, Gwaltney-Brant, et al, May 15, 2001. The title was "Renal failure associated with ingestion of grapes or raisins in dogs."
Of the 10 dogs found in the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center computerized database, which is quite large, the amount of raisins or grapes ingested was known in four dogs. The amount ingested ranged from nine ounces to two pounds. All of the dogs began vomiting within the first few hours of ingestion.
There are a few major points we can learn about this report. The most important is never feed anything to your guide dog other than the normal diet unless you have checked with your veterinarian first. If your guide dog consumes anything in excessive quantities by mistake, immediately contact your veterinarian.
And finally, as long as we are talking about food, enjoy the Internet, but take the testimonials with a grain of salt.
Swiffer Safety:
Several of you have contacted us recently after receiving reports that the Swiffer WetJet cleaning product presents a health risk to dogs and other pets. After looking into the matter, Guide Dogs is confident that the use of this product is entirely safe. Contrary to the rumors circulating via the internet, the Swiffer cloths and WetJet liquid do not contain antifreeze or any ingredient similar to it. The safety of these products has been confirmed by the ASPCA, as well as independent veterinarians and scientists.
San Diego - The Jewel on the Enchanted Island of California - January 25 through February 2, 2005.
California excites interest, envy, and longing throughout the world. It is a beacon for innumerable refugees, immigrants and tourists from all quarters of the globe, seeking freedom, excitement, or improved economic opportunity.
This tour is titled "San Diego - The Jewel on the Enchanted Island of California" and it draws thematic inspiration from those ancient, commonly-held dreams of myths associated with ideal islands, especially those through to be rich in gold, precious gems, and obliging women. The myth of the "island of California" has persisted ever since California's discovery. Anyone who has felt the irresistible pull of California will feel some affinity with this fascinating tradition. Though the dream didn't/couldn't - literally come true, California remains symbolically an enchanted isle.
California is often compared to a lodestone, or a magnet, or the moon drawing tides. On occasion, California is fancifully described as an enchantress - Circe, or one of the Sirens or the Lorelei. Every utopian name imaginable has been applied at some time < Atlantis, Arcadia, Avalon, the Garden of Eden, El Dorado, the Elysian Fields, the Garden of the Golden Apples, the Happy Valley, the Isle of the Blest, the Land of Milk and Honey, the Land of Prester John, Mecca, the New Jerusalem, the Pleasure Dome of Kublai Khan, the Promised Land, the Terrestrial
Paradise, and Treasure Island.
These exotic names may sound like fancy metaphors to people who think the romantic appeal of California is found in the make-believe world of Disneyland, the glamour of Hollywood, the fun-and-sun cult and the glitter of a highly sophisticated modern state. But many of the above descriptions are far from being mere journalistic hyperbole. They are vestiges of dreams seriously associated with California. These dreams
date back to a time long before the lust for gold and the hunger for land attracted newer kinds of dreamers into the state in the middle of the nineteenth century. In fact, they were part of the intellectual and emotional freight brought by Columbus and other explorers to the New World.
The focus and location of this program will be San Diego and environs where the California dreams began, then grew, flourished and took root. The dreams of the early explorers brought men like Cabrillo to weigh anchor in the harbor of San Diego which he described as "a very good place." The Spanish dreamed of empire and founded Old Town and Franciscan missionaries dreamed of a Christian empire and founded 21
missions to pave the way. Nineteenth century dreamers planned San Diego's Balboa Park and enthusiasts built a marvelous organ at its center. Entrepreneurial magnates constructed a world-class hotel on Coronado Island from where an aviator set out on his dream to fly across the Atlantic. On this tour of San Diego we will experience the fruits of past dreamers - now more reality than mere dreams.
You are invited to experience San Diego with us on this special program to see the unseen, to catch the wave of excitement that this dream island and jeweled city inspires in all who stand on her shores. This program has been designed for Blind people and individuals with low vision, their family and friends. To meet the special needs of our travelers, this program has been carefully crafted to provide a rich educational experience unavailable on regularly scheduled sighted trips. This program offers many unique opportunities for relaxation and socialization. This program will be limited to nine participants. Sighted guides will accompany the program.
Deadline for Registration: November 1, 2004.
THE CAMPANIAN SOCIETY, INC.
P.O. Box 243
Rhinecliff, NY 12574-0243
Telephone: (845) 876-0303
Fax: (845) 876-2037
E-mail: campania@one.net
E-mail: campania@hvc.rr.com
Website: http://www.campanian.org
Robert M. Wilhelm, Executive Director