I hope you’ll visit the OTL site. Founder Patty O’Machel’s video provides a great description of the program.
I’ve been AWOL from the blog for a long while now. That’s owed to a number of things, including some health issues (which have largely resolved). I have managed to continue leading memoir classes, though less frequently, and I’m delighted to report that Luna and I are again visiting schools through the terrific Educating Outside the Lines (EOL) program. EOL connects people like me with grade schoolers to help them learn about people with a variety of disabilities.
Last Friday, March 7, EOL brought my dog Luna and me to Braeside Elementary School in suburban Highland Park. Our neighborhood friend Ellen picked us up in Printers Row and drove us to the North Shore.
Luna and I were scheduled to do a presentation for third-graders at Braeside Elementary, but halfway there we encountered a major snowstorm. Undaunted, Ellen pushed through and got us to Braeside just in time.
I made a point to keep my presentation short, showing the third-graders how Luna’s harness works, how I hold on to the back of the harness when she is guiding me, and how different she acts when the harness is off. This gave the kids lots of time to come up with their own questions, and they had some doozies! Here are some of my favorite questions from the kids:
- Let’s say there was a storm or a tornado. Would your dog be able to take you down to the basement?
- Can you dance?
- Let’s say you woke up one morning and your dog came to help you but didn’t have the harness on. What would you do?
- Can your dog climb stairs?
- Does your dog like her job?
These questions are always my favorite part—though some questions pop up repeatedly, there’s always a new angle from each class. And this time I couldn’t help be tickled by the student who used the “Let’s say” phraseology.
Anyway, hope to see you (so to speak) back here at the blog more regularly!
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