FREEDOM FOUND
7 Seeing Eye Miracles
by
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Tim S. Moncrief, co-owner of Bartlett Real Estate Group in Texas, writes: "I still have a laminated ad of yours in my wallet from the La Jolla newspaper I have carried with me for 12 years. When I get down, I look at the ad and say to myself, 'there is a blind Real Estate Broker who is kicking my tail.' I get so tired of whiners who think they have obstacles they can't overcome. You cannot imagine what an inspiration you have been for me and can be for thousands upon thousands, if not millions of people." In the final chapter of FREEDOM FOUND the author writes, "This book is not about me. It is about the miraculous freedom thousands of blind men and women have found via their Seeing Eye dogs. FREEDOM FOUND is about the courage of 7 Seeing Eye dogs and the faith of one man to follow the pull of each of his Seeing Eye dogs. It is the story of a young man who lost his eyesight in a nearly fatal auto accident at age 19. Within weeks of a triumphant return from Seeing Eye training, he reenters college with his new Seeing Eye dog. Before graduation, the man falls in love with and marries an attractive, intelligent coed he meets at the university. It is about college graduation and beyond. FREEDOM FOUND tells the story of how a blind man and his faithful Seeing Eye dog enter into a most improbable profession and succeed despite all odds to become “The Wonder Boy of La Jolla Real Estate Sales.” FREEDOM FOUND tells the real life story of a man who dared to reach for the unreachable star; to dream the impossible dream, to run headlong in the wind out where only dreams have been. Throughout this book the reader will walk with the author and his faithful Seeing Eye dogs as they risk life and limb each and every time they set foot into any street, lane or road. Readers of FREEDOM FOUND will experience multiple dog attacks, a wedding, two births, and, the determination of a blind man who gets up, suits up and shows up at his Real Estate office each and every day. Over the span of more than 45 years you will notice how the accepted terminologies of the times change. This book tells a story which spans the Presidencies of nine men; Lyndon Baines Johnson, Richard Milhous Nixon, Gerald Rudolph Ford, James Earl Carter, Ronald Wilson Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, George Walker Bush and Barack Hussein Obama. Although FREEDOM FOUND begins May 21, 1967 with a freak auto accident that left the author blind, the history of The Seeing Eye began in 1929 with the founding of The Seeing Eye, Inc., a 501C3 not-for-profit philanthropic organization. This book is a portion of that history. In July 1976 the author met Morris Frank, one of the Founders of the Seeing Eye. Morris Frank died November 22, 1980. He leaves behind a legacy of fearless courage for all Seeing Eye students to emulate. For more than 45 years the author has been asked numerous questions about Seeing Eye training. The questions most commonly asked are, “Do you really have to fly back to the East Coast just to pick up your new dog? Can’t they bring it to you?” The short answer is, “Each student has to be matched with a Seeing Eye dog and they must train together for three or four weeks and graduate.” FREEDOM FOUND takes the readers into an entirely new world. The program of training has been honed for many decades. The program and the dogs must be malleable enough to adapt to an ever changing world. Of the 24 Chapters in the book, FREEDOM FOUND contains 7 chapters which focus on training; one chapter for each of the author’s 7 Seeing Eye dogs. Throughout these seven chapters different portions of Seeing Eye training are highlighted. With each successive training, changes are noted. When a graduated team returns home, the real world challenges begin. Every Seeing Eye graduate is able to attest to the fact that the comprehensive training prepares each graduated team to be able to resolve any real world problem it may encounter. Whether the challenge is circumnavigating the Palomar Observatory dome on its cat walk, showing Real Estate to prospective purchasers, regularly traveling the one-mile from home to the office and vice versa in eight minutes, contributing to a Pastor’s sermon, flying North to Alaska and back, riding the monorail at Disneyland, meeting the new Mayor of San Diego, or, meeting President Jimmy Carter, a Seeing Eye graduated team is equipped to do all of these things and more in the ordinary course of a day’s work. Close your eyes and imagine, as best you can, that you are holding onto a Seeing Eye harness in your left hand, that you have a new leather leash wrapped around the middle and ring finger of your left hand, and, a Seeing Eye trainer instructs you to give your dog the forward command. You pause, remind yourself to give the accompanying hand signal, stand erect and say, “Juno, forward.” Instantly, upon hearing the command, your Seeing Eye dog accelerates straight ahead and you are fast pacing along on a Morristown sidewalk. Now open your eyes and feel the wonder of it all. It is time for you to join thousands of readers in this adventure to a special place where endless possibilities unfold monthly and people truly experience a new FREEDOM FOUND
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About the Book
FREEDOM FOUND tells of one man’s struggle in his search for independence, for the freedom to be all that he could be, to reach the unreachable star. FREEDOM FOUND tells the story of the author’s achieving independence with dignity with each of his 7 Seeing Eye dogs. This is a book about a man who dares to run headlong in the wind out where only dreams have been with is courageous Seeing Eye dogs. In this book, the reader will also meet Morris Frank, one of the Founders of The Seeing Eye, Inc. and the Seeing Eye trainers, all of whom demonstrate the highest professional excellence and do so with elan and good humor.