PaisleyPlace

Three years after learning I was going blind, I discovered the guide dog school in Smithtown, New York. It is on Long Island and called The Guide Dog Foundation. Prior to attending the guide dog school in 1998, I was using a cane. After attending the April/May class, I came home to North Carolina with a new guide dog and a renewed sense of independence I thought was lost forever.

My first guide dog, Dori, is currently retired and living the high life in the country but my current guide dog is still working away in this small rural town my guide dog friends refer to as Mayberry Incarnate, North Carolina.

The photograph was taken in the dorms of The Guide Dog Foundation. It is a picture of my retired guide dog and me while we were working toward becoming a guide dog team. I had 6+ years of independence with this wonderful addition to my family.

Buras will always be a special place for me because family and close friends in the area once promised a young girl that her abusive biological father would not follow her there or hurt her with his abusive nature ever again. Those friends and family made and kept their promise. The entire time I lived in Buras I felt safe. My bio father never came after us there.

The people of Buras and the surrounding areas are terrific people. Those who survived and those who died during Katrina will never be forgotten. All the memories of the Orange Festivals held at Fort Jackson and life on the houseboat where we lived across from the Fort are tucked away in a special place in my heart as are the numerous excursions into the city of New Orleans where my cousins and I ran up and down the streets of the French Quarter and spent time on Bourbon Street enjoying great food, great friends, and excellent music.

I am including a picture a sweet woman online sent me following Katrina when I was trying to find any information about my former home. The Fort was underwater as was everything in the area. My heart aches even now because so many good people did not survive. I am grateful for those who did but will keep those who did not in my thoughts. I was thankful to hear Mardi Gras went on as planned even following such a horrible event as Katrina. Louisiana would not be the same without the Orange Festival, Mardi Gras, or the Saints!

It was the happiest time of my life and the only time I can recall, other than now, having a real family experience. I lived with my mother, step-father (he’s my dad regardless of genetics), and our two Siamese cats from the time I was an infant until I was about 7 years old.

Dad still lives in the area. He is retired and instead of working as a police detective, he works for the fire department as a fireman. He’s a tough fellow even if he is 70+ years old. He’s my dad! I love Georgia.

Even after all these years, I still retain the Georgia accent and it seems most men adore it. According to a former college professor, the reason I retain it is because it is where I learned to talk. My youngest child has the same accent due to my being a SAHM. She picked up my accent albeit her accent is not nearly as strong as mine but it is there.