As the week winds down, we wind down with some tidbits for your information, education, health, and enjoyment.
Quote of the Week: “There is none so blind as he who will not see.†Ray Stevens (from “Everything Is Beautifulâ€)
Humor Break: THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM: A flight from Seattle to San Francisco was unexpectedly diverted to Sacramento. The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft the plane would re-board in 50 minutes.
Everybody got off the plane except one lady who was blind. A man had noticed her as he walked by and could tell the lady was blind because her seeing eye dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of her throughout the entire flight.
He could also tell she had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached her, and calling her by name, said, ‘Kathy, we are in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?’ The blind lady replied, ‘No thanks, but maybe Buddy would like to stretch his legs.’
Picture this: All the people in the gate area came to a complete standstill when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with a seeing eye dog! The pilot was even wearing sunglasses. People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, but they were trying to change airlines!
Stat of the Week: Today’s stat of the week is 2. There are people in this world who are absolutely clueless. How they survive is beyond me. Who hires them? Who befriends them? Who wants to work with them? Who even wants to be around them? They can be obnoxious, boring, rude, extraordinarily ill-informed, and sometimes just vile. Today we salute (with one or two fingers) 2 of those individuals — a Colorado taxi driver  who refused to let a blind woman bring her dog inside his taxi, claiming allergies. He demanded that the dog ride in the trunk. The second salute goes out to a manager and his staff at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Massachusetts who informed a blind customer her guide dog wasn’t welcome – twice.
Action Tip: When you see someone in your organization act in a “clueless†manner, step up and do the right thing — clue them in!
Volunteering: Today’s post is dedicated to my best friends Ken and Denise Nowack. They raise future guide dogs and will attest that the above stories ring true … and they have one or two similar stories of dealing with the clueless. You too can be a part of this greatest of volunteer opportunities by contacting Guide Dogs of America. (There are several ways to volunteer. Go to the Puppy Raiser section if you wish to actually raise a future guide dog.)
[tags]guide dogs, guide dogs of america, clueless, envisia, envisia learning, bill bradley, william bradley, bradley[/tags]
Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.
The first example of the pilot, sun glasses and guide dog is humorous; numbers 2 and 3 are shocking. Denise and Ken on the other hand inspire me…as usual, thanks Bill.