A Blessed Life
Autobiography of a Traveler to Emmaus
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To see how much more independent I really could be with Vincent, Gary, the Mobility instructor, started working with me to practice the subway route to and from work. Once Gary thought that we were ready, Papa would drop me off at Crystal City, and I would take the Blue line into Washington, to Metro Center. At Metro Center, we would change trains and go to Union Station, which was the closest stop to my office. To go home, we would reverse the route. Although we had some adventures (such as getting into a returning train instead of the elevator up to the Red Line level or taking a wrong turn inside the station and ending up at the wrong escalator or elevator,) Vincent learned the route inside the subway system very well. He was also very good at cutting in front of me as we approached the edge of a platform, to let me know that we had open tracks ahead of us, and we should turn either left or right. On a few occasions, I thought the door that was opening was my train, but Vincent wouldn’t move. It turned out to be the train on the other side of the tracks that was going the other way! The tricky part was that we had to cross some busy intersections between the Union Station Metro stop and my work building. I tried to follow procedures as instructed by the school and sought help of other pedestrians. I had only limited success in getting such help and a few scary incidents. On one memorable occasion, for example, I thought that I was walking across the street “sighted guide” with someone. He dropped me in the middle of the intersection and went another way, leaving me groping for my dog’s harness handle and praying! After that, I never dropped my dog’s handle again with a stranger. These difficulties made me think that Vincent, if at all possible, needed to learn more in order to help me cross streets safely. Another problem that we had was that Guiding Eyes at that time did not teach their dogs to use escalators. However, because the elevators in the Metro system sometimes were not working, we needed to learn to use escalators. Papa undertook successfully to teach Vincent to use escalators. I heard that Pilot Dogs, in Columbus, OH, was already teaching their dogs to use escalators, and we were fairly sure that it could be done. The problem that made the schools generally avoid escalators was the danger of dogs hurting their paws or catching their toenails. The danger point is the place where the moving part of the stairs encounters the stationary surface at the top and bottom. Vincent was aware of this problem and would jump off at the end. Our biggest challenge was to teach him to wait just long enough to jump so that he would not pull me. A few times, I had to let go of him if he jumped too soon. He would turn around and joyfully greet me when I came off. When I would tell Papa that he was jumping too soon, Papa would say to Vincent, ”Do we have to go back to school, boy?” and he would work with him some more. Eventually, both Seeing Eye and Guiding Eyes decided to teach their dogs to use escalators, with care.
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About the Book
For once, I intend now to write strictly about what I know best, my life and its circumstances. I want to tell the story of what it has been like for a middle-class American descended from Italian and German immigrants. It is the story of a girl who grew up and found her law vocation during the 50’s through 70’s and who happens to be blind and hard of hearing, and who now has used a series of wonderful guide dogs as traveling companions. I have referred to my life as blessed in the title, because the hand of Divine Providence has been at work since my conception in shaping me and promoting whatever goodness or success I may have attained, both directly and through the human beings in my life. The imperfections and errors that remain, which I hope to continue to remedy with His help, are the evidence that this Divine work is, as Benjamin Franklin said in his epitaph, a work in progress, being continually revised and corrected by the Divine Author. The sub-title comes from the theme of the discussion group in which I participated during my Cursillo retreat, Travelers to Emmaus. Like the two discouraged, disillusioned pilgrims who fled from Jerusalem after the death and still disbelieved resurrection of Jesus, I am still in the lifelong process of finding the Lord.
About the Author
Linda A. M. Schneider was born in Washington, D.C. and has lived in Arlington, Virginia all her life. She teasingly calls herself “one of the natives”. After graduating from Trinity College (Michigan Avenue, Washington, D.C.) with a B.A. in English literature in 1974, she received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1977. At present, she works for the SEC as an attorney. Ms. Schneider’s other published books include two fantasy novels, The Unbroken Circle and Heir to the Dragon King, as well as a science fiction novel, Diary of an Unwitting Explorer. She has compiled four short story collections: Slice of Life, A Second Helping, Cream Puffs and Other Goodies, and A Walk in the Park with Friends. Her Poetry collection is entitled The Ivory Pyramid. Her other avocations in spare time include knitting and sculpture. Ms Schneider lives in either a one or two-dog household depending on whether she has a retired guide dog. Her present working dog is a black Labrador retriever, named Teddy, with black Lab, Gemma, in retirement. If you want to know more about her, this autobiography is the rest of her story.