Today is April 2, 2018. I cannot believe it has been FIVE years since my last entry on here; at least, my last entry on my "personal" page. I have used this site in the past few years for National Flight Academy to keep the parents involved in the day to day happenings as their Civil Air Patrol cadets (their children; our cadets) learn to fly in ten days.

So very very very much has been happening in the past few years. Mostly health issues with Alex and my mother. Declining health for her (long story); chronic (Chron's) for Alex. But, there have been good things happening, also. Katie got her own Guide Dog, Caleb (AKA Caleb-The-Magnificent), from Guiding Eyes for the Blind a few years ago. Katie's heart is still happily and healthily ticking along. Cosby-the-Amazing-Guide-Dog is still leading Alex where he needs to go. Alex and Katie have jobs they like.  I finally have my very own dog...Zoe. Pronounced as through there were a Y on the end, just not spelled with one because I thought it would be weird and different, just like her!! ha ha. She's my rescue puppy I got from the Bangor Humane Society back in August. My heart desperately needed my own dog...and I got her!!!!

As soon as I get a small block of time, I will have to start blogging again. At least every few days or weeks to get caught up.

So. Now that I have started writing again, let's hope I keep up with it. I realize it's just for my own satisfaction, and no one else will probably ever read it, but it helps me to keep my sanity to write things down.

More tidbits....

This month is going so quickly. I can't believe Alex has been at Guiding Eyes for two weeks already. He has less than 2 weeks left. The Thursday before Easter he will be home. Can't wait.

I was talking to him the other day about some paperwork needed to be sent in for his school loan deferment; of course, the conversation went in the direction of discussing The Amazing Cosby.  The people at GEB (Guiding Eyes for the Blind) have told Alex that Cosby has very expressive eyes.  Also, when he does something right or well, his face gets an "I'm amazing and I know it" look.  So funny!! I can't wait to meet him.  The other thing they have told Alex is when Cosby goes past a reflective window or a mirror, he likes to admire himself! Isn't that adorable!!!

So so so so cute! I hope Alex is going to update his blog soon. Usually Sundays are the "down days" because of no classes, etc...I will have to send him a text to give him a nudge and get his fingers flying across his braille keyboard so we can all join in his progress.

More Alex Communication :)

It's been a pretty good past few days for "communication".....relatively speaking.   Saturday Alex tweeted: "I'm not trying to brag, but it seems to me that Cosby is, hands down, the best dog of this @GuidingEyes class, and I've only had him 3 days!"

To which Guiding Eyes tweeted/replied: "@mehgcap we have always said we are good at matchmaking; it's our hope that every student thinks his/her dog is the best! :)"

Of course Guiding Eyes has to be "nice" to the other students, but we all know that Alex and Cosby are THE BEST pair of the class.

Yesterday morning (Sunday) Alex updated his blog to catch up on the past few days. I loved reading what's been happening. So wonderful.    http://cane9.wordpress.com   

This morning, Alex called (!!! Yes, called, not text, tweet, or email, but an actual voice-to-voice conversation!!) me to discuss something about Civil Air Patrol and his cadets.  It was so nice to talk to him again.  I asked him how old is Cosby.....he's just over 2 years. His birthday is December 26, 2010.  Who knew 2 years ago the Best Guide Dog in the World was born.... :)

While we were talking, we discussed Cosby's personality.  He and Alex are an exact match. It's so funny to hear Alex talking about him.....they are so much alike. So laid back. Calm. Not overly demonstrative for hugs. Other dogs got up because there was some noise or something, but Cosby stayed right where he was....didn't move....didn't care. I heard Alex say "Good boy", then he explained what happened. I started laughing because that's something Alex does.....doesn't care what others are doing.  It's so great to hear him so happy with The Amazing Dog.  Guess I can't call him CujoCosby anymore since he's such a good dog....and apparently hasn't tried to munch on my son! ha ha

I said I can't wait to hug Cosby, to which Alex replied: "Oh, he doesn't really like to be hugged." Yup....another point for matching.

Maybe I'll name him CutieCosby since he's turning out to be so great.  ChillCosby would be better, but it's not the alliteration I like, so....

I know I can't call him anything but his "real" name, but it's fun to have nicknames in my head. Working dog rules are very strict.

So, it's been a great few days for communication. Still very happy for technology!!!

Alex heard from....sort of....

Alex tweeted one thing yesterday: "Today was my first training walk with Cosby. It was very interesting. It will take getting used to though."

 That was it. No blog entry. No text message. No text pictures of Cosby--good thing I took screenshots of Cosby while Alex and I were talking the other day or I still wouldn't know what he looks like (and be able to share the pictures on my Facebook album!)

 I'm going to rename the dog Cujo---because I just know the only way Alex would pass up using technology to its fullest extent would be from being consumed by a mean, rabid, crazy, Stephen King horror story dog named Cujo. The tweet was probably the last missive sent before CosbyCujo clamped down on Alex's hands, then proceeded up the rest of his body to finish consuming him.  

Well, I guess CosbyCujo didn't actually eat his new human since Alex sent out an email this morning to his Civil Air Patrol cadets letting them know why he will be gone this month: Hello cadets: I wanted to brief you all on this last week, but the weather had other ideas, and so I am sending out this email instead. I will not be at any CAP meeting in March, and may miss the first one in April as well. While this should not impact you much, if at all, due to what I hope is assiduous use of your chain of command, you should know that Lt. Nesler is effectively in charge while I am away. 
As stated, you should be using your chain of command, but if anything has to be elevated to a senior member level, he is your point of contact. I will have cell and internet access, so you may still receive notifications from me (such as the Wing Conference - don't forget to sign up!!), but I will not be there in person. 
 In addition, I feel it only fair to tell you why i will be gone, so no one is overly surprised when I return. I am traveling to New York to receive my first-ever guide dog, and will undergo a four-week training course there. Obviously, this means that I will henceforth be bringing a (very well-trained) service dog to CAP meetings and events, which is why I wanted to give you all a "heads-up" in advance. Part of my training will include details on working around other people; put simply, though: I ask you all to not touch or interact with the dog in any way, as difficult as that may be. This is extremely important: no interaction at all. If any of you have a phobia of dogs or any other concerns, I invite you to pass them up your chain and I will do my very best to resolve them, though it may take me some time to get back to you. 
I welcome any and all concerns or comments, and there are no stupid questions, so please pass along anything you feel needs to be answered. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Again, I will be able to provide a more thorough briefing once I get back in April. Until then, Lt. Nesler is the acting DCC at weekly meetings, and aside from that everything should run as normal. I wish you the best in your academic and physical fitness tests this month, and I apologize in advance that I will have to miss March's promotion ceremonies. Regards, Capt. Alex Hall ME035 DCC/APAO mehgcap@gmail.com 
 I copy-and-pasted his email. 

 I just love the way Alex inserts "big words" into his emails to teenagers. I had always encouraged both my kids to use "big words" all their lives; I never used a "dumb" word in place of a bigger word. Now, it's pay forward/back (depending on your viewpoint!) as Katie and Alex use "big words" as a matter of speaking and expect others to understand. Good for them! However, I do applaud being able to insert the word "assiduous" into ANY sentence. 
So listen up, CosbyCujo......your commands might start sounding more like college essay words for "sit" "stay" "heel", etc. Since I can't think of any longer words to replace them, I'll just leave it at that. Time to check Twitter and his blog once again for any new updates....then off to work.

Waiting.....

Now we wait. And wait. And wait.

 The hardest part of being spoiled with technology and the immediacy of it is when the person on the other end of the technology base is not using it. No Twitter. No blog entry. No text message. No picture. I have not heard from Alex since yesterday after they had lunch and he was kind of dubious about Cosby liking him or listening to him.

 Alex is a huge dog magnet....I've never met a dog that didn't automatically love him. As of yesterday, Cosby was not fitting into that category. I think because he was raised as a worker and not a pet, so Cosby probably doesn't have that thought process of being "allowed" to be comfortable with any human he wants. Added to that is the fact of the handler being on premises so poor Cosby is looking for his what he perceives as his real owner.

Cosby kept going to the door and ignoring Alex yesterday when we were on Face Time; Alex said it wasn't much better at lunch when Cosby wouldn't stay still under the table, yet the dogs belonging to the two people sitting with him were behaving. He didn't sound too happy.....he sounded rather exasperated. Alex's way of thinking doesn't do well with things not going smoothly. He perseveres and eventually gets there, but he has a tendency to close himself off emotionally until he can figure it out. However, this isn't a math problem or a script for something on the computer; this is another living, breathing, "human" who can sense emotions and feelings. If poor Cosby is getting the cold shoulder from Alex because Alex is trying to assimilate the information, then Cosby is going to be confused. He needs the warm, fuzzy, love that he's used to.

I know Alex will get there, but in this team of human and dog, they might be more of a match than they think. I think the bond will get there, but it might take longer than the instantaneous reaction that we---as novice Guide Dog people--were anticipating. I hope this lack of technological communication is because he's so busy learning and bonding that he has no time/energy/awakeness to post. I sincerely hope it's not because he's so disillusioned that he's getting irritated.

Yup.....God and I have been having quite a few discussions lately. Well, actually, they are more me sending up the "please, please, please, please, let it all work out. Please, please, please, please, please, give Alex a hug for me. Please, please, please, please, tell Cosby to be good and love Alex. Please, please, please, please........*fill in blank*.... Definitely not my normal God discussions, but more of a mother's can't-go-in-and-make-it-right prayer. **sigh**

Cosby.....welcome to the family.

I have met the future....and the future is Cosby. Yes, I'm paraphrasing some movie, even though I have no idea the name of it, but it's a great opening. ha. And, of course, it's not really "the future", but "the present".

Alright, I'll start again.... I have met the present and the present is Cosby. That will work. Especially since the present is a gift from God, and Cosby is definitely a gift from God.

 Cosby is the amazingly beautiful yellow lab that will now function as Alex's eyes. Around 8 AM Alex called me to see if I were going to be around WIFI after 10. I said I was going to be home. That's when he informed me that after they receive their Dogs, they are to stay in their rooms and bond with the four legged wonders, so he was going to call me and we'd use Face Time so I could see the new baby. I was so excited!!!

About 11, he called and Katie and I were in Alex's room where it was quiet.....Cosby is so gorgeous! I, of course, started crying but tried my best not to blubber. I am so so so so happy for Alex. He has waited for this day for so long. While we were chatting, I was taking screen shots of the precious Dog so I could add them to the album I have.

 Cosby seems pretty laid back, just like Alex. This will be a big transition for Cosby as he goes from his second set of "handlers" to yet a third---but last. From the puppy raisers for a year, then the GEB trainers for 8-12 months, now their new person. These Dogs are amazing. Such wonderful, precious gifts. I can't wait until Alex takes pictures and texts them to me. It all becomes real now that the people and Dogs are paired. I love that his name is Cosby. The name fits him. Reminds me of the fantastic comedian Bill Cosby. One of my all-time favorite people.

 Welcome to our world, Cosby....welcome home.

Technology....I LOVE it...!!

The wonderful world of technology. I used to be very resistant to the whole idea of such vast and different ideas; I didn't understand the whole scope of what it all means.

Back in the early 1980's, VCRs were just starting to become a household item. I remember a day at work at Westinghouse (making the radars for the Department of Defense, mostly Air Force) and I was talking to another young-at-the-time person who was really into technology. He was trying to convince me that VCRs and VHS tapes were the wave of the future; I said he was crazy and that there was no way people would stop going to the movies to stay at home and watch the same thing. To me, movies were "dates"; to him, they were things to watch and if it could be viewed on a piece of "new" technology, it was great. I thought for sure I was right. Ha!! No. In fact, I was even more wrong than I ever thought I'd be!! ha ha
 That young man (we were both in our very early 20's) was like the forerunner of Alex.....so many times Alex will say something about the "new and improved" tech stuff, and it reminds me of Wayne and our conversations.

 Now, 30 years later, in my early 50's, I LOVE technology. I can't imagine being without my iPhone 5, my laptop, my home printer (wireless, too!!), Facebook, text messages, Twitter, my digital camera, etc etc etc..... The immediacy of everything is great. With Alex being at Guiding Eyes for the Blind for such a momentous event, I hate not being there with him. However, he is keeping a blog, sending me texts, posting to Twitter, and texting me pictures that he has taken of things at GEB.

Because we all have iPhones (Alex and I have the 5; Katie has the 4 because her old phone died and she couldn't wait the few months until the iPhone5 came out), all pictures get backed up to iCloud. Once I transfer the pictures from the text to my Photo Stream, I then copy them into the folder I have of him for this Occasion. Once they are in that folder on my desktop, I go to Facebook, open the album pertaining to the Guide Dog experience, then upload the new pictures to Facebook. And, of course, I have posted the address of his blog so everyone can keep up to date with him.

 Yes, technology is awesome. The other amazingly great thing about technology is how much of the world is opened up to a blind person. As many strides technology has taken in the past 30 years or so, I have to say that Apple got it right first and the best with their Voice Over technology. It's amazing. When Apple first came out with a "talking computer" (to put it in my words; Alex would cringe) they were horrible. This was back in the early 2000's when Alex was still in Junior High. He was part of the demo team in Maine to see how well it worked.....it didn't. He swore off of Apple products at that time, badmouthing them at every opportunity. He stuck by JAWS and Windows based stuff. As he got older, he started to explore other operating systems, and whatever else they are called (gee....not much has changed for ME in the past 30 years.....).

Then Apple came out with their new and improved VoiceOver. It was amazing. It made things accessible that were never that way before. He bought a Mac Mini from someone online. He learned everything about Apple products. He joined Forums online and on Twitter about them. He started answering questions from people around the world (love Skype and chat) helping them with their Apple questions.

 Then---cue the Hallelujah chorus---Siri appeared. She was a golden voiced goddess in digital form. She was the missing piece to VoiceOver for phone accessibility. The iPhone 5 was the best of the best. He researched, learned, and listened to others for answers. Yes....nothing yet can beat the Siri/VoiceOver combination for a blind person. He loves the whole realm of technology....especially the Apple products....that in his blog from today he mentioned that two of the other students were having trouble with their iPhone and Mac that he is going to tutor/teach them. He's so incredible.

 Because of the awesomeness of the iPhone 5, he can take the pictures, then send them to me via text where I, well, I've already explained the process. VoiceOver and Siri....making this mother happy one megapixel at a time. :)