Thunder Dog

TL;DR Blind people can do more than you think they can. Also, if you get to pick your parents, make sure you get supportive ones who encourage you to do all you can (vs the mollycoddling kind).

I feel disappointed, and I almost feel like I should apologize for it (but I won't). I expected a book titled “Thunder Dog” to, you know, deal a bit more with the dog. Instead it was a long motivational speech. With occasional God silliness and OBTW I walked down the stairs on 9/11.

Hingson has a chip on his shoulder. Understandably ... but he claims to speak for all blind people, and that's just not reasonable or even fair. I kept flashing back to Mr. García, my high school physics and calculus teacher. My mentor. One of the best men I've known. Also blind. Also proud (deservedly so). But I feel confident that Hingson does not speak for Mr. García.

Ultimately, Hingson's message is lost: he asks “don't treat us any differently” while also prescribing “here's how to treat us”; meaning “how to treat me”. That's fine if I happen to meet you, Mr. Hingson, but the world is not one-size-fits-all. Each creature I meet, blind or deaf or blonde or crinkly-nosed, will have different desires in how to be treated. Let us listen and discover one-on-one.