Latest / Blind Guys Chat / #104: The reluctant guide dog

Transcript

#104: The reluctant guide dog · Blind Guys Chat

• 0:13
  Welcome to blind guys chat, where this guy, Orin O'Neil. Hello. And this guy, Jan Bloom.
• 0:20
  Hello.
• 0:22
  Talk about the a to z of life. Well, hello, ladies, gentlemen, and you are very welcome to blind guys chat. Episode 104. And I just remember what we said the last. We're gonna try and get a jingle for. Wasn't there a Peugeot 104?
• 0:43
  Peugeot 104, yeah. Yeah.
• 0:46
  Just gotta make it up on the fly there, lads.
• 0:51
  Yeah. So very welcome. And those of you who would like to donate a Peugeot 104. Two blind guys chat would be most gracious.
• 0:58
  It's really a classic one, I must say. 104, it's an old momentous, to be honest.
• 1:03
  Soda doesn't like french cars because she thinks they break down all the time.
• 1:06
  Well, that's true. Well, they are also. Well, you know, the. How do you say this, farrowing or how do you say the oxidation?
• 1:15
  They rust. They're rust buckets.
• 1:18
  That's the same also, like, with, like, Citroen. You know, they are also the same.
• 1:24
  But they have this citron, though. They're always kind of quirky.
• 1:27
  And I like the old Citron.
• 1:29
  Yeah.
• 1:29
  With the DS. You know the DS, we call them that. We have a nickname in Dutch, the snook. But, you know, that's the fish. That's really. That they really come up, you know, from the backside. You know, they. They have this suspension system with air pressure or hydraulic. Yeah. And then when you park the car, it will go down in the rest situation. And then when it comes up, like a bus. Yeah. When I was in, I think in the 15 or 16 years old, we had a Citroen BX. Oh, yes, they're also the same. Yeah.
• 2:12
  I remember the BX because I could see at that point. And I remember us being in France with my mom and dad. Many like. This is in the eighties, maybe late seventies.
• 2:22
  Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was in the eighties, you're right.
• 2:25
  And we were driving to someplace. We were staying in a caravan park. And this, the woman who owned it was bringing us to. I can't remember where we were. My mother crucify for not knowing. But I remember being. She had a. This woman had a Citroen BX. And the. The Speedo was a little speedo. The speedometer was. It was a little red line, a vertical line, and the speed used to go. You know, it was like. It was on a little wheel.
• 2:56
  Okay.
• 2:56
  So, you know, it used to go from right to left, you know.
• 3:01
  Okay, okay.
• 3:02
  The faster you went.
• 3:03
  So it was not. It was a kind of digital already, kind of so not an analog?
• 3:10
  No.
• 3:11
  Yeah, it's kind of, I would say, very, very early digital type of speedometer.
• 3:16
  Do you remember the Renaults that had the. Yeah, the gear stick coming out of the dashboard.
• 3:22
  Exactly, exactly. And they had also a real good suspension, to be honest. You know, you were going up and down easily. It was another. And. And you had also. The front seat was going from left to right. You could see it everywhere, you know.
• 3:37
  Oh, yeah. There was no gap for the handbrake. Where was the handbrake then? Was the handbrake on the steering wheel or something?
• 3:42
  No, it was a part of the. You could. On the foot pedals. There was a brake system also on it. So you could pedal it? Yeah, you could click it. And then it was locked.
• 3:54
  Oh, it was like a little dot or something.
• 3:56
  Yes.
• 3:58
  Did you ever drive?
• 4:00
  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I don't.
• 4:03
  I know about the tractor.
• 4:05
  Yeah. And the tractor has also this hand clutching. You know, not all the ones had. Also, because on the tractor, you had this spoke in the middle of your feet, you know, in the middle, between your feet. And then the later models were the more exclusive one. They had it on your right. And then you had some models in the beginning had it also connected to the steering wheel.
• 4:32
  You know, the Massey Ferguson tractor, which used to be one of the most popular ones, was invented by an irish guy.
• 4:38
  Oh, really?
• 4:39
  Yeah.
• 4:39
  I love those tractors because they were really nice. They were really powerful.
• 4:44
  Yeah. Good, solid tractors.
• 4:45
  Oh, I thought you would have been a John Deere fella.
• 4:47
  John Deere.
• 4:48
  American, isn't it?
• 4:49
  Yeah.
• 4:50
  There's a program called Clarkson's Farm, and there's been two or three seasons or three of them.
• 4:56
  Yeah.
• 4:56
  Clarkson's farm.
• 4:57
  Clarkson's farm.
• 4:59
  From a previous program. A guy's called Jeremy Clarkson. He was. Himself and two other guys for years were hosting a show called Top Gear. So a few years ago, he bought a farm. He's called the farm diddly squat.
• 5:16
  Okay.
• 5:17
  And he's now been making this program for the last three years of him trying to be a farmer. Oh, he has. The first thing he bought, I think, was a. Was a Lamborghini tractor.
• 5:27
  Ridiculous thing with all the buttons. And he still, three years later, still can't drive it. It's the most ridiculous.
• 5:34
  And this is an arable farm or a dairy farm. What is it?
• 5:37
  Well, it's kind of anything he wants. It's a fantastic farm with beautiful land.
• 5:41
  Acres.
• 5:42
  It's mostly thousand acre farm, which is. I mean, I'm sorry now, but that's pretty big. Like, irish farms are smaller than that, mostly.
• 5:48
  Yeah. Yeah.
• 5:48
  He and Holland, it's really good land. So it's arable, but he can do whatever he wants on it. So he's had sheep, he's had pigs. He's a. Has he had cattle? He did have a few cattle.
• 5:57
  Okay.
• 5:58
  Not dairy, though. It wasn't dairy.
• 6:00
  It was not dairy. Okay.
• 6:02
  Yeah. So. But he hasn't a clue. And he's kind of gormless. He's kind of clueless. And that's, I think that's part of the fun of it, you know.
• 6:10
  So he's going top gearing with his Lamborghini over the arable fields.
• 6:15
  Yeah. And then he borrows these really expensive contraptions for, like, hedge trimming, and then he crashes them into a stone walls. And I don't know how he gets. He's just such a lula. He's what we call an Egypt.
• 6:26
  Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 6:27
  He really is. But anyway, but you can't help watching it. So if you do get a chance.
• 6:32
  Yeah.
• 6:32
  In a direction.
• 6:33
  It's on Amazon prime.
• 6:35
  Oh, it's Amazon prime.
• 6:36
  Sorry.
• 6:36
  Yeah, yeah.
• 6:37
  Okay.
• 6:38
  Yeah.
• 6:38
  Well, Kamira, I have a, I have to ask you a question because it's something that has been happening over the last few days. Well, not days, but a few weeks now. And again with, with Larry.
• 6:47
  What happens?
• 6:48
  One's guide dog. And I wanted to ask you this as a guide dog owner.
• 6:53
  Yeah.
• 6:53
  And user and anybody who's out there, please do email in on this question. Blind guys chat@gmail.com.
• 7:01
  Yep.
• 7:01
  Recently I have found that Larry is a little bit reluctant to put the harness on.
• 7:08
  Reluctant?
• 7:09
  Yeah, he backs away. Yeah, he backs away.
• 7:11
  Oh, he backs away. Oh, that is normal behavior of chef, you know.
• 7:15
  Really?
• 7:16
  Yeah, he did it from the beginning.
• 7:19
  So if you put down the harness, he thinks, oh, yeah, we're just going for a regular walk.
• 7:24
  Yeah.
• 7:24
  And so he's all happy, then he'll be all on for it. But if you pick up the harness, he's like, no, thanks very much.
• 7:31
  He runs into the kitchen or he runs into the sink.
• 7:33
  Oh, really?
• 7:34
  Yeah, he's chasing him around. So how do you get Chef to.
• 7:40
  I seduce him with some nice wheat, in a way. And I first put him on the leash, and then he is locked, you.
• 7:48
  Know, that's what I said. I said, put the knee down first.
• 7:51
  And then, you know, and then you still need to call him there next to you. And then I will tell Chef, come here, for example. And then he has to sit on my left hand side. So then he has to come. And then when he doesn't want to, then I pull him a little bit, you know, and then. Come on, Shev, better come on. And then in the end, he, he does it, but it's not his favorite action. And then he's always a little bit scared to put on the Hana. So he dives a little bit down under, you know, whether he thinks he. But I asked the school because he did it from the beginning. Is it then all right.
• 8:35
  Does he not want to work?
• 8:36
  Yeah, if you want to force, need to force him. But when he walks, you know, then he has his tail straight up or straight, and then walks happily. Yeah, but the beginning is always a little bit complicated.
• 8:51
  Putting the harness on, he doesn't like.
• 8:53
  Yeah, exactly. And I try because, you know that I have this system that you can release the steering, you know, the handle. Yeah, the handle of this harness. So sometimes I also remove the handle, and then I will put on first his. But still that you need to. That he needs to put his head through a circle, you know, through the harness. But what happened in the past? I don't know, Oren, but did something happen then with Larry? Did he bump into something?
• 9:30
  What happened? I mean, he was okay with the harness to begin with, but the one thing he didn't like was what we call his halty, which is another little. No, it goes over his nose and.
• 9:47
  Oh.
• 9:47
  And it's to keep him in check that if he gets. If he looks left or he look, you know, he feels like. I feel like he's not actually looking straight on. Yeah. And I feel this little. The lead is connected to this band across his nose. And then if I feel he's kind of looking a bit left, I'll just give him a small little tug on this and lead on this. I don't know nowadays, actually. Actually, my trainer was telling me a good few, maybe last year sometimes that they don't actually use them anymore. But when I was training with Larry, they were using them. Most peculiar thing was when we were in work the other last week and we were going home, and he's always delighted to know, yeah, we're going home. I put his harness on him outside the office door because he wasn't. Same thing. He didn't want to put it on, put it on. That was all fine. And then it's usually, as you say with chef, everything's fine then.
• 10:43
  Yeah, yeah.
• 10:43
  But I need to go in and get my bag off the table before I lock the door and he wouldn't come in.
• 10:51
  He wouldn't come into the office.
• 10:52
  Wouldn't come into the office. Just like all he needs to do was just take a couple of steps just so I could grab my bag and no, I'm not going in. So, yeah, very strange. So I was wondering, was he, is he kind of feeling, I don't want.
• 11:05
  To work anymore now, that's what I hear sometimes as well, because I am also chef is now is his fifth working year and he has six to eight working years official. That is possible. It can a little bit less or a little bit more, but. And then I asked the trainer also, how do you recognize it? Well, sometimes, you know, when he has medical problems or leg problems or whatever, you know, he can be leaping or whatever, limping, but he can also refuse to work, you know, and it seems what you perhaps you need to take a nice piece of meat or sausage, whatever, and, you know, make it. Make it nice again. Or that's also when I came back from, from holidays, I collected chef at the guest family.
• 12:00
  Yeah.
• 12:01
  And I was with Tigo and Tigrault. Well, yeah, he got the instructions from Chantal to film the meet and greet, you know, and Tiro said it was not fun at all because she looked at you and he was not happy, you know.
• 12:21
  He was having too good a time.
• 12:24
  Exactly. So. Or he felt, I am not coming to you anymore. Hey, you left me here. And kids are like that too.
• 12:33
  If you leave them for a night, you know, with an aunt or something, and then, you know, they can be having a great time, but then the minute the parents arrive, they start crying.
• 12:41
  And it's all one person who has a guide down, a friend of ours who had a previous guide dog. And that was exactly it. She'd pick up the guide dog from a good friend of hers, but her guide dog wouldn't. Just wouldn't talk to her. No. Okay, wherever you need, you left.
• 12:58
  But when we came back, you know, then also one of the first walks up on the free walk where I always go. And chef was, he didn't want to come back anymore, you know, he was 1 meter or 2 meters away from me. And then when I approached him, he was walking steps backwards. And when he was coming, I was trying to get him, you know, with nice sweets, etc. With a ball even. And then, okay, my disappointment moment, you know, I had to call my family. Okay, Chantal, okay. You know. Okay, Tigo will come. Okay, well, Ticho come up, you know, walking there with. Yeah, like, I will do that, you know, not. And chef, but chef had the same appearance with him as well.
• 13:41
  Oh, wow.
• 13:42
  Yeah. So how do we do that? And then Ticho was throwing the ball and then because this idiot, you know, the chef, he was passing by, you know, between me on 50 cm, you know, just. But I was always too late, you know, because he is wearing a belt. Yeah, exactly.
• 14:01
  He's in stealth mode.
• 14:02
  Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a good one. Hey, stealth mode, yeah, yeah. But Tjo, he said he, he jumped on Shev, like really a goalkeeper, you know, on the ball. And that was the surprise for chef. So then he was expecting us, no, so we could get him, but. And then after that, I was really giving him nice treats with nice sausages, etcetera, and nice meat. And now he's doing a very good job at the moment. So we are friends again.
• 14:36
  Bribery is great.
• 14:38
  Yeah, bribery is great. I don't know whether, but that's also what the school is telling me then, you know, that you need to bribe him. Be nicer also sometimes. Yeah, he can be bored a little bit, but yeah, you can try that with Larry.
• 14:53
  I think he might just need a holiday, you know, I think he's also possible, you know, we're all a bit tired, aren't we? Yeah, because we haven't been on holidays for ages.
• 15:02
  That's true. But do you have then also a family guest where you, or a kind of host family where you can bring Larry?
• 15:13
  We do. We have his, his puppy razor, who lives in the west of Ireland and.
• 15:20
  Oh, yeah, he was at the show.
• 15:24
  Yeah. So he's potty about her and her husband Paul. So he would go there, no problem.
• 15:31
  That's his childhood home, like all his nasty memories.
• 15:33
  But she can also then try probably, you know, without you trying to give him the harness again, you know.
• 15:40
  Oh, that's a good idea, actually.
• 15:42
  Yeah, because then there is no pressure from you anymore because then he does not really link it up with you, but he links it up with Deadra.
• 15:49
  What is the situation with when chef is to retire? Is it the same as it is here in Ireland? Can you give him to somebody or can you keep him if you want or can you give him back to the guide dog trainers and they could find a family for him or what happens?
• 16:11
  All flavors are there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The same, same. And of course, when you talk now to Chantal and the kids, you know, they, Rosalie and Tjo, they say, no, chef cannot leave, you know.
• 16:21
  I know.
• 16:22
  No, he is part of family. But then I play the other side of the table, you know, then who will take care of him, you know, because Chantal is sometimes on working days. Yeah. Even when I have travel or whatever, when I go to work, I cannot carry two dogs on a conference or to work. You know, that is a little bit too much.
• 16:50
  Irish guide dogs say, essentially, if you want to keep the dog, because they usedn't in the old days, if you even just up to a couple of years ago, if you had a guide dog who was coming up to retirement age and you wanted another dog, the older dog couldn't stay in the same house. Now they've changed that now that you can. But what happens is that the, an adult, another adult in the house has to. Not has to, but adopts the dog, the older dog, so they become their dog. So in our case, it would be me, I would adopt Larry and he would become my dog.
• 17:24
  Okay.
• 17:25
  And I, you know, I'd be delighted to do that. But the thing with Oren, and he doesn't want to talk about this, we're not going to push it. But I'm saying to him, like, really? Larry is eight now, so.
• 17:37
  Eight already. He's one year older than chef then.
• 17:40
  Yeah, it's June. Yeah.
• 17:42
  Oh, yeah.
• 17:43
  I suppose the way he's been the last little while, we've been wondering, is it that he doesn't want to work now? I don't think it is. Because if I walk behind them and I see him, he loves working.
• 17:54
  Yeah. His tail is really wiggling. Or straight up, you know, it's not down. It is not down.
• 17:59
  I think he's just trying to kind of, come on, let's just go for a regular walk. Let's just have a fun.
• 18:05
  Or he just want to tease you also. Or to play games with you. Because they are also not stupid. They're also just little kids sometimes.
• 18:14
  So it's just a bit of fun, I suppose. Maybe as well.
• 18:17
  Yeah. But then you need to be firm in a way. Or also. Yeah, but also try to be nicer.
• 18:25
  And make it a fun thing. We're going to go for a walkay.
• 18:30
  I do do that, but he's just. I don't know if he's. I actually don't know. I mean, if I say to him, come on, we're going for a walk, he's like, what? We're going for a walk.
• 18:41
  Fantastic. Brilliant.
• 18:42
  Okay. And then you say, okay, but now you have to put this thing on. And he goes, no, I'm not putting that on.
• 18:48
  No.
• 18:48
  So I don't know what I. But I don't know if it is like, oh, yeah, I really want to go for a walk. I'm so excited that if you, if you want me to put this thing on, that's going to take even more time to put on, so can we not just go? I don't know if that's in his head. I just don't know.
• 19:04
  Let's stop messing up.
• 19:05
  But is he refusing even when you come up with the Hannah's, is he's bending his head away or whatever?
• 19:12
  He backs away.
• 19:13
  He backs away.
• 19:14
  So if you catch him, then he's fine.
• 19:16
  Oh, yeah, yeah.
• 19:16
  If you hold his collar, then he's fine. He won't.
• 19:18
  Is it not a game then that he plays?
• 19:21
  Maybe it could be.
• 19:22
  Maybe it could be, you know, catch me. Nah, nah.
• 19:25
  Because I do the other thing, which is what I, what I do is we have a door that leads into our hall.
• 19:33
  Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 19:34
  And then we, you close it. Little porch. Close that. And then, and then I opened the whole door and he runs immediately. And he's like, he's at the, he's at the porch door and he's like, well, where are you going? You're not going anywhere without me, are you?
• 19:49
  Yeah.
• 19:49
  And then sometimes, then if I open that, that door, he'll come in and then I can close the door so he can't escape and put the harness on him and that's fine. But maybe he's just been cheeky, as you say. I don't know.
• 20:02
  And in fairness, he has developed, like, he's developed a few little games that he plays repeatedly. Like, literally, you'd be sick of it. And he will never get tired of it. And he just keeps going where he has his towel and he takes his towel off the stool that it lives on. It lives inside the door so that we can wipe him down if it's been raining. And he will take it and run with it. But the whole trick is you have to chase him.
• 20:28
  Yeah, of course.
• 20:29
  And then he runs around the city. He pops his head out into the hole and you pop your head out into the hole from the kitchen and then he runs again. And it's just like he can go on for half an hour in this game. He loves it.
• 20:41
  That is big fun. So he's fit enough. He's still. Whatever. Yeah. Always fit as a fiddle, you know. Then I would say, you know, put in a nice piece of meat, you know, and try to. And then put it on first, then the leash or the lead and then he cannot escape. And then. Come on, guy. I'm the boss and you need to follow me. Come on. Time for a. Time for a game that was. But now it's work.
• 21:07
  Go on. I'd love to hear from anybody else has had this experience of your dog not being too happy with going on the harness or whether you've actually kept your. I only know one person so far that did keep their guide dog. Okay. And they got another dog, but they have lots of animals. And so it wasn't the case that the guide dog who was retiring was going to be on its own all day. And I think either her or her husband are always in the house. So either she's working from home a couple of days or he's working from home, so they're never alone. So the dog. So. But I think it's a big undertaking to have two dogs in a house.
• 21:51
  It is. And you need to have a big house as well, you know, because it is quite full. You know, they are not small dogs. They're not chihuahuas. Come on. And you need to have then two beds. Beds for them, you know, each separate. So you cannot really give one or that they need to share or whatever.
• 22:12
  You can email blindguyschatmail.com or tweet us at blindguyschat if you have any comments or questions.
• 22:20
  Hey, but how is the weather going in Dublin these days? Is this still summertime?
• 22:28
  It's still summertime, but right now, today we've got a storm coming up from Bermuda and it is really, really. It's unbelievably windy. But the funny thing is the temperature, it's. What was it, like, 1920 today, 20 degrees.
• 22:43
  Okay.
• 22:43
  Yeah.
• 22:44
  And it's evening. Like, it's quarter to eight in the evening. So that's eight for.
• 22:48
  Is it Sandy also? Does it carries a lot of scent or is only wind?
• 22:53
  Okay, sometimes we do get that Sahara.
• 22:56
  Yeah. Sahara sound. Yeah.
• 22:57
  No, this is coming up for. From a hurricane in Bermuda. Overdose Lake last.
• 23:04
  Ernesto, isn't it?
• 23:05
  Ernesto, yeah.
• 23:06
  Ah.
• 23:08
  Weather people say it's just the tail end of him.
• 23:11
  There's no damage or anything. He's just be a bit. He's just, mind you, if it's.
• 23:14
  If this is the tail end of it, you know, the way these storms do come.
• 23:17
  Yeah.
• 23:18
  To us. And it's still blowing pretty, pretty hard. Imagine if you hurricanes, you know.
• 23:24
  Oh, my God. Yeah.
• 23:25
  I don't know how they cope with it, to be honest.
• 23:27
  And then I heard about this poor ship that sank off the coast of Sicily this morning because of a freak. Well, they said a freak tornado, but I don't know if that's, if they actually meant hurricane.
• 23:42
  Yeah.
• 23:42
  It was a big 73 meters yacht that was half a mile out from Sicily.
• 23:50
  Yeah.
• 23:51
  And they know one person has died, unfortunately, and they're looking for six others.
• 23:58
  Okay.
• 23:58
  I don't know if they found them yet. I haven't listened to the news for a little while, but I. Yeah, it's a freak.
• 24:08
  A pretty luxury yacht in that way.
• 24:11
  Yeah.
• 24:12
  Yeah. Which is frightening.
• 24:13
  And so there was an, by coincidence, bad weather then, or.
• 24:20
  It'S not the same hurricane that's coming up from Bermuda. It was just, it seems to be completely unexpected.
• 24:29
  Okay.
• 24:30
  And what is slightly odd is the fact that the ship was, like, less than half a mile from the coast, from the shore.
• 24:39
  Yeah, it's still close.
• 24:41
  56 meters. Is it?
• 24:42
  Yeah.
• 24:43
  Okay.
• 24:43
  What's that? That's over 100 foot, wasn't it?
• 24:45
  Yeah, it's quite big. Well, also, there's a party going on in the United States now because I learned that Madame Harris is really. Yeah, she's catching up or even progressing more and more. And Mister Trump does not really know how to treat her.
• 25:05
  Calling her names, basically.
• 25:06
  They call all kinds of stupid names.
• 25:10
  And whatever child, that man, he really is, isn't he?
• 25:13
  What I learned from these statistics is that Kamala Harris has now 49 and Trump's 46 or something.
• 25:22
  Well, I have to give notice. Note a comment from our dear friend Nora Nagel in Boston.
• 25:31
  Ah.
• 25:32
  Who I was emailing yesterday, and she wrote an email back today to me, and she said she was traveling at the moment, but that she had just passed a Trump superstore.
• 25:47
  A Trump superstore.
• 25:48
  Yes. And her words were, I've just passed a Trump superstore, comma, disgusting.
• 25:55
  Disgusting.
• 25:57
  No better woman.
• 25:58
  So I don't know what a Trump superstar is.
• 26:00
  I am some. I'm now also subscribed to some right wing podcasts just to get. Just to get the news from their perspective. And I am sometimes laughing, but I'm also crying from. You are really childish. Then I learned also that Mister Trump has his own wine.
• 26:27
  Oh, does he?
• 26:28
  Yeah.
• 26:29
  Where does he?
• 26:31
  California, somewhere in the states. He bought a very posh winery, and then it is now run by one of his sons, in a way. And this podcaster, you know, he's very fun, I think, of Mister Trump, of course, and he bought a bottle of wine. And then I must really praise then also honesty. The wine was also disgusting.
• 26:56
  Trump winery. I've just looked it up. Trumpwinery.com. it's in Charlottesville.
• 27:00
  Oh, really?
• 27:02
  Yeah.
• 27:02
  Virginia. Yeah, that's correct.
• 27:04
  Charlottesville, which is where my beloved aunt used to live.
• 27:06
  It is really a very posh place, mister, from Mister Trump, I must say.
• 27:12
  1300 acres.
• 27:13
  Yeah. It's very big.
• 27:16
  Eric Trump apparently is running it or something.
• 27:19
  Yeah, yeah. One of his beloved, you know, fence. His sons. One of his sons.
• 27:24
  And they do cider. Yeah.
• 27:26
  Yeah.
• 27:26
  Well, I'm not going to be bothering buying a bottle to put money in his pocket.
• 27:29
  No, not at all. No, no, no. But, but it's funny to see that, you know, we thought at first that it was already decided, you know, with Mister Biden, etcetera, you know, the game was taken, but now I think it's still open, you know.
• 27:44
  Yeah.
• 27:45
  They were giving out this morning on the radio about Kamala Harris, actually. I don't know. Is it Kamala Harris or Kamala, or.
• 27:53
  Kamala, rhymes with Pamela. Yeah.
• 27:56
  They were giving out this morning on the radio about her not taking any interviews. And the excuse that the guy was saying this morning was that because she hadn't been elected as the democratic nominee for the presidential election, they were giving that as the reason that she wasn't giving any interviews to journalists or reporters and that once she's confirmed at the end this week, then she will start doing interviews. But I think she's in the middle.
• 28:29
  Of the Democratic National Convention. She's a little busy, in fairness.
• 28:32
  Yeah, but I mean, she's been running, she's been doing that for 21 days now. She's been on the campaign training.
• 28:37
  Is it not day one?
• 28:38
  No, no, no.
• 28:39
  Was today not day one? No, no. She was of the convention.
• 28:42
  Yeah, but I mean, she's been running since, for 21 days and she hasn't done any interviews. And she hasn't done any interviews. I don't quite understand the american obsession with being in the service because we're rewatching at the moment my favorite drama of all time. Of all time, the West Wing starring Martin Sheen on channel four, best president ever. Best president ever. That never was. Yeah. But there are a couple of episodes where they mention, and they're kind of these army guys, or they're Republicans who say, you know, he never served a day in uniform. I don't quite understand why that's so.
• 29:28
  It's a different culture in the states, I think about the army. Do you guys have national service in?
• 29:34
  Not anymore. Not anymore. No.
• 29:36
  See, we, like, we're a neutral country. We have an army. But it's small. We have a navy, but it's even smaller. We have an air force. It's not even an air force. It's called the air. What's it called? Or I can't remember. The air corps. No, no, no. The Air corps is tiny, tiny propeller planes. Yeah, they have a few helicopters, but, like, it's small. And, and, and, you know, we're a small country anyway. And, you know, it's just so we just don't have that affinity with, and like, generally, if our, if our army people are going anywhere, they're going as un peacekeeper force, you know, we're never, at least not for a century, we haven't been involved in any conflicts. Yeah. So I think we're just really not into that as a culture. We're not into that. So. But over there, they do. And they have, I think they do. They have national service or they don't at the moment. Moment.
• 30:33
  No, I don't think so. They are.
• 30:34
  But they have this whole, you know, thank you for your service thing. Like, it's a big, you know.
• 30:39
  Yeah. The VA is really in, the veterans are really, it's a huge organization. Yeah.
• 30:45
  And they get discounts on everything if you served, you know, you get. And everybody says thank you.
• 30:51
  They're also a big customer, you know, for the Vi devices and also software, you know, with, because there are a lot of injured soldiers. I guess that's also what you hear now in Ukraine, you know, that they have a lot of what they need for accessibility, et cetera, you know, wheelchairs and all that kind of stuff.
• 31:14
  We've had a few american listeners who were former army people who have been injured and have lost their sight as a result of their army.
• 31:21
  Yeah, for sure. And they are treated like heroes, you.
• 31:25
  Know, and I mean, I get, I get it. I do.
• 31:28
  Of course I do.
• 31:29
  It's a really tough thing to go through, and I completely appreciate that, but.
• 31:33
  Like, but I just don't understand why it's a prerequisite, so. Almost become a prerequisite for president.
• 31:39
  Yeah.
• 31:39
  Yeah. And I think Mister Trump, did he surf anything or whatever? Exactly. You know. You know, what the heck, you know? So, so it is really, it is so, so childish also, the whole. Yeah. Political situation there in the, in the US. It is really.
• 31:58
  Anyway, have you got any emails before we close shop?
• 32:01
  Oh, are we already closing? Okay.
• 32:02
  You want to hear the thing?
• 32:03
  Which thing? Yes, I do.
• 32:05
  Oh, yeah.
• 32:06
  Jingle size it the last time.
• 32:08
  Well, I'm just still not used to it. Let me, let's have another batch. Come on. Right there.
• 32:13
  Okay, time.
• 32:18
  For emails.
• 32:24
  You see, it's just not as upbeat as the other one.
• 32:27
  Yeah.
• 32:29
  It'S a tad. It's a tad on the accent trick side, but I'll take it. I've been without a. I've been without one for so long that I will take it.
• 32:37
  You write me one.
• 32:38
  I will. Yeah.
• 32:39
  Okay. Okay. Okay.
• 32:41
  I'm saying that in the cork way. Oh, yeah. Which means. Now, this one, this email came in a couple of weeks ago, and we didn't have time for it, so.
• 32:51
  Oh, dear.
• 32:52
  Okay.
• 32:52
  Yes. So this is from Sarah and the subject I love. Sometimes they'll subject aren't good, but sometimes they're hilarious. Now, I am not a person who can do accents, so I'm not gonna do that. I can't do a canadian accent, so I'm not gonna do it. But if you do, go ahead. But the subject is a blind guy's chat. How about a visit to how boot? A visit to Canada.
• 33:16
  Okay, so her boot.
• 33:19
  I can't do it. No, let's not, because we don't want to offend her. Dear blind guys chat team, greetings from the land of poutine. Maple syrup and friendly folks.
• 33:29
  Maple syrup.
• 33:30
  Poutine.
• 33:31
  Poutine. Now, I'm glad you asked that, because I did look it up, and I think I may have closed the thing. It's a. It's, um. Oh, I'm gonna look it up again. Hang on. I want to get this right because it's important.
• 33:40
  Yeah.
• 33:41
  It's not illegal whiskey, is it? Like, we have put.
• 33:44
  No, it's not. It's poutine. It's. I don't know if I'm pronouncing it correctly. It's a dish of french friesen, which you're into french fries. I know that. Cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec in the late 19.
• 34:00
  Brown gravy, maybe, but not the cheese curds.
• 34:02
  Cheese curds. Like, I don't know, is it, like, just.
• 34:05
  Are they from Iraq, the curds or what?
• 34:07
  No, don't be silly.
• 34:10
  Oh, okay. Okay.
• 34:11
  You're not as funny as you think you are.
• 34:15
  We have a dish in Holland that's called capsalon. That is really like a hair saloon in a way. And that is. That is a shawarma meat, you know, fried shawarma. And then with some salad and then also french rice on top of it. And then also a layer of cheese. And then in the oven.
• 34:40
  See? Yeah, but cheese, though, I'm not gonna complain. The cheese, but cheese curds. I don't know what cheese curds are. Is it like cottage cheese or something? I don't know. Anyway, greetings from the land.
• 34:53
  Perhaps we need to go there.
• 34:54
  Then we'll have to bring her and ask her. Greetings from the land of poutine, maple syrup and friendly folks. I'm a teacher at the W. Ross McDonald school for the blind in Branford, Ontario, and my students and I are big fans of your podcast. We were chatting. Yeah, we were chatting, pun intended, and wondered if you have any. If you have any plans to go on tour. If so, how would you feel like visiting the great white north, specifically our school? I think we're getting invited to Canada, ladies and gentlemen.
• 35:22
  Yeah.
• 35:23
  Oh, excellent.
• 35:24
  What was it, Ontario or something?
• 35:25
  Yeah, Brantford, Ontario.
• 35:29
  Yeah.
• 35:29
  The W. Ross McDonald's.
• 35:30
  We don't have to speak French, do we?
• 35:31
  No, no, you can do it. Quite.
• 35:43
  Delightful. Faker, Baker, husband. Our students would be absolutely thrilled to meet you and listen to your insights and stories in person. Plus, steady, steady now. Plus, it's a great excuse to join to enjoy some Tim Hortons now. Tim Hortons. I looked it up as well.
• 36:00
  Must be beer.
• 36:01
  No, it's coffee and doughnuts or. And you'd be a fan.
• 36:05
  Oh, donuts.
• 36:06
  Yeah. Yeah, coffee.
• 36:07
  That's good.
• 36:07
  Yeah. Tim Hortons, it's a big canadian brand. And they're in some garages in Ireland, apparently, but I haven't seen them yet. And maybe even a hockey game. Age question mark.
• 36:18
  Don't want to see it.
• 36:19
  So that's. That's a canadianism that I don't really fully get, but there you go. Let me know if you'd be interested in arranging a visit. We'd be honoured to host you and show you some truly canadian hospitality.
• 36:29
  Now, first of all, we need to do a virtual connection, you know. Shall we invite them for a nice interview? Would be a nice.
• 36:35
  Yeah, yeah, sure, yeah.
• 36:37
  Looking forward to hearing from you and keep up the fantastic work on the podcast. Best regards, Sarah T. W. Ross McDonald School for the Blind, Brantford, Ontario.
• 36:44
  We would be delighted to go to Canada, but just bear in mind and thank you very much for the invite we will take you up on.
• 36:52
  I don't think she's saying she's going to put us up in her house or anything.
• 36:55
  Well, bear in mind that chef and Larry do need to fly first class and Jan and I would have to be with them at all times.
• 37:03
  Yeah, exactly.
• 37:04
  Yeah, yeah. I'll just put up with economy. I'm not that fussy.
• 37:08
  I don't know. We'll put you in business class.
• 37:09
  Oh, thank you. That's not quite as good as first class. I don't know. Anyway, there is a P's. And the P's says, we promise not to subject you to an over enthusiastic, overly enthusiastic rendition of O Canada unless you really want us to. I actually love. I actually love. Do you know during the olympics. I really love. It's a great song. Their anthems are really, really cool because, you know the way. Some are great, some of the country anthems are fantastic, and some of them are just really kind of nothing.
• 37:40
  Yeah. Yeah, that's true.
• 37:43
  Canada has a really great anthem. I love it.
• 37:47
  I don't know it from the head. That is.
• 37:49
  I don't know. I can't really. Yeah, it's not. It's not a tune at home.
• 37:52
  You'll have to cut it in there.
• 37:54
  Yeah, I'll have to put it in there.
• 37:55
  Yeah. And. But anyway, there you go. So thanks for that email. That's a brilliant email. I don't know what the story is. I suspect our budget won't stretch to it, but you never know.
• 38:05
  Well, we've been invited to it. The word invite was specifically mentioned in that email.
• 38:10
  Now, I would suspect that the school for the blind is not. Has not got a budget to put us hairy people up.
• 38:16
  Oh, I'm sure they do.
• 38:17
  I bet they don't. But anyway, it was a really nice ad, you know, I just thought it was nice of it.
• 38:24
  That was lovely. Yeah. Thank you very much. We'll see you next week.
• 38:27
  Okay, brilliant. So there you go. That's our email. Listen, send in your emails, lads, and your invitations to come and visit. Yeah. Blindguyschatmail.com and your recipes for weird cheese curd things.
• 38:42
  I really am tempting. I have no clue, but it sounds really good.
• 38:48
  You can try it first.
• 38:49
  It can be Grady. Greedy. You know.
• 38:53
  I wouldn't be a fan of gravy.
• 38:55
  No, no. But it's always good to taste, you know?
• 39:01
  Yeah.
• 39:02
  All right. Keep it open, mind. We gotta go. Thanks for listening then.
• 39:05
  Yeah, for sure. I'm hungry. Guys, dinner time.
• 39:13
  Okay, we'll see you in two weeks. Time for episode.
• 39:15
  Thank you very much. Okay, bye.