Day 1
I’m on my way to New Tazewell, Tennessee. Pronounced “taz” not “taze”. I flew from Houston to LaGuardia and then to Knoxville. New York always looks better to me when it’s covered with snow and it was today. I hope the weather in Tennessee is what I packed for, which was definitely NOT snow. Knoxville is not snowy, but it ain’t warm either.
I’ve got about an hour and a half drive to Middlesboro, Kentucky where my hotel is located, and I drive through New Tazewell on the way. My loyal readers may remember, I took a quick side trip to Middlesboro last summer when I was in Northern Tennessee for another client. Middlesboro is home to the Cumberland Gap National Park. It’s too late to visit the park today, but I’ll be sure to catch it tomorrow, as it’s supposed to be raining the rest of the week.
My GPS led me to Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and told me I was at my hotel, but there was no hotel in the KFC parking lot. I did a little detective work and found the hotel and a Kroger for some groceries just in time to see the final three quarters of the Superbowl, a game, for once, in which I wasn’t really interested, but it IS the last football game for a while, so I watched. The extremely nice hotel clerk even shared his pizza with me.
Day 2
Real eggs! There were real scrambled eggs on the breakfast bar. AND bacon! Boom. I’m gonna have to work really hard to have a bad day after that start. It’s about a 30-minute drive to Kathy’s home outside of New Tazewell, and I get to drive through a pretty groovy tunnel through the mountain that divides Kentucky from Tennessee. Now, I know I talked about curvy roads in my last blog about West Virginia, and they were, but Tennessee gives them a good run for their money. There were a couple of hills that came to such sharp peaks that, at the crest, I could not see the road beneath me. I’m a little relieved to get to Kathy’s home.
Kathy has Macular Degeneration, which means she’s losing her vision from the center out. It’s not a uniform loss in both eyes, and it seldom is, which makes it very hard to explain to other people. She’s also got scoliosis, which really complicates things all on its own.
She has a cane, but received very little actual training with it so we focus on the basics. I have three rules that I share with everyone when beginning to work with the cane, and it’s not rocket science:
- If you’re moving, the cane should be moving.
- Keep your head up. Because of her scoliosis, Kathy has a hard time doing this, but we focus on keeping her eyes forward as much as possible.
- Don’t get in a hurry. If you can do those three things, you can do pretty well for yourself where cane travel is concerned.
Kathy thought it was going to be a lot harder than that, but it really isn’t. Not to say it isn’t hard or scary to get out there and move about without vision. In fact, going anywhere without being able to see the world clearly is one of the braver things you’ll ever do. Those of you who don’t have vision trouble should try it. Just close your eyes and walk around for about an hour and see how you do. There’s nothing easy about it.
Driving back through Tazewell (there’s a Tazewell and a New Tazewell, in case you were curious.) I noticed a store named “We Might Have It”. Unfortunately, it was closed. I really wanted to go in and browse around. There’s a rumor going around town that the owner was involved in some nefarious goings-on around town. As you can see, I got the inside scoop pretty quickly. I think they like me here…
Day 3
It’s rained all night and is continuing this morning. I’m pretty sure I saw animals lining up in pairs outside my window. I’m glad Kathy and I have planned to work indoors today, or it could be an ugly day.
We’re focusing today on techniques for using the cane indoors in areas like Walmart or the grocery store while using a cart or a rollator (a walker with wheels). When talking about vehicles used in shopping, we have to discuss what you call it: a cart or a buggy. I’ve found that the deep south calls it a buggy almost exclusively, while the rest of the country usually calls it a cart. Regardless of what you call it, there are a couple of techniques that you can employ with your cane while using it: Using your cane like normal, you can pull it from the front, or you can put your cane in the basket, still fully extended, and use the cart as your cane. Either way, the fully extended cane is important because it is a signal to other shoppers that you don’t see as well as they think you do.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how many shoppers give you more time and more space because they see you with a cane. Get it out, take it with you everywhere, and use it. It really makes a difference.
We also worked with Kathy’s rollator, and she found she could do all three techniques without too much trouble. Way easier than she thought.
I’m leaving Kathy with some basics with which she can practice and gain more confidence in her independent movement. Tomorrow will be a travel day over on the other side of Nashville. I’m planning on an uneventful trip.
Day 4
It was uneventful for sure. It rained for the entirety of my trip, and I saw no scenery, or anything else for that matter. I got into town — Ashland City to be exact — shopped for groceries, got some fast food for dinner and settled in just in time to watch my Razorbacks barely beat an LSU team they should have beaten a lot more easily. Who knows what might have happened if I hadn’t been watching?
Day 5
I’m in town to work with Doug, a former Leader Dog user, and hopefully help him brush up on his cane skills. Doug worked Leader Dog Dapper Dan for ten years before retiring him. That’s a good, long life for a guide dog.
I talked to Dog Guide Mobility Instructor (GDMI) Katie Wattles and she remembered Dapper Dan fondly. She called him a “good, good boy”. Doug agrees.
Doug worked at Walmart here for 25 years and just retired before Christmas. Being Nashville adjacent, Doug had Mel Tillis come through his register, and Louise Mandrel came through quite often and asked to see Dapper Dan every time.
Being Nashville-adjacent, one must run into the “stars” on a regular basis. I’m pretty sure they don’t all live in town next to the recording studio. My best friend Brian had a Mandrel Sisters obsession, and I developed one from being with him so much. He even went to college with Barbara’s son and used to read his mail over his shoulder while sitting behind him in the chapel. Now he didn’t go to college specifically to follow Barbara’s son, but he was always convinced that it was God’s will for his life…
Day 6
Doug and I spent a lot of time yesterday scouting out some routes in downtown Ashland City that he can use for practice in getting better with his cane. He also needs what Leader calls “purposeful routes” for his potential next guide dog. Dogs need to go specific places and find specific things. They need to make decisions. In short, they need to do what they were trained to do. Otherwise, they can forget what their job is and become a very expensive, well-trained pet.
If you’re considering a guide dog as your travel tool, you need to need one, not just want one. Walking around the neighborhood for exercise is great for a dog, and they need that too, but it doesn’t need to be the only thing they do. I can go with you to the shelter and help you find a dog who will walk around the block with you and will be your best friend, but if you want a guide dog, there needs to be a real need. OK. I’m done preaching now.
Doug and I started working on a route to a Senior Citizens Center he visits on a regular basis. It’s not an easy route, with heavy traffic beside him the whole way and some intermittent sidewalks, but he is able to do it, there and back, a couple of times today. He improved as the day went on. I was able to back up and shut up a lot more on the second route, which is my goal for every lesson: back up and shut up.
Lots of rain is predicted for tomorrow. I hope we get a window to get some outdoor training done. Mostly because I want Doug to get more practice with this route. But also, because I don’t want to pack wet clothes in my bag. Although, it’s supposed to rain all over the southeast for the next few days and I’m flying back through Atlanta.
If you’ve ever seen what a “hurry” the baggage handlers get into when loading baggage onto the plane on their little conveyor belt, you know your bag spends a bit of time in the weather. All my stuff may be water-logged before it’s all said and done. Did I mention I’m in the market for a new bag? One that’s waterproof, maybe…
Day 7
I thought it rained hard earlier in the week. We had flash flood warnings all over the area, all around Ashland City. I hope Louise Mandrel lives on high ground because the Cumberland River is rising fast. In an attempt to wait out the weather, Doug and I decided to delay our start for what the Weather Channel says will be a break in the rain this afternoon.
It just so happens the Razorbacks were playing an early basketball game, and I got to watch the majority of it. Unfortunately, the good guys didn’t pull it out, but they made it close. Who knows how things would have gone had I not been watching?
Hoping to assuage my disappointment, I went to get Doug for one last lap around Ashland City. Before heading out, however, I spent a lot of time talking to Doug’s family about how to best help him. This is a big part of what I do, especially because I’m in folks’ homes all the time. The family usually wants to know what they can do to be helpful, but not too helpful. I think we cleared up a couple of things, but it’s a fluid situation with Doug’s vision changing all the time.
We tried to get our route done before the rain started again and we almost made it. We got mostly sprinkled on, and splashed by one car on the lowest part of the route where the water had overflowed the street. Despite getting soaked below the knees, Doug was a trooper and wanted to finish.
He performed just like I would expect from someone who is working to improve his skills. He did more on his own and I was able to back up and shut up more than yesterday. My work is done here, but his work is just beginning. He’s got to get out there and keep up the training. If you don’t use it, you lose it.
I’m home next week, then off to Kansas to see folks I had to reschedule because of their most recent blizzard. I can only hope that the hotel staff are as nice as they were this week. I had hotel staff from both hotels chase me down in the parking lot to return a phone or computer charger I left in the room. You don’t see that everywhere.
I realized that I’ve been asking folks for food recommendations for my next trip, but y’all don’t read this at least until after I’ve been to the next place. While I would still welcome any food ideas out there in the country, I’ll have to wait until I get there the next time. One I don’t have to wait for is a gas station/restaurant on my way to the airport that Doug recommended. Reportedly, they have a fried bologna sandwich that’s worth writing about.