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Sightless delight

To: "Friends of Triumph" <fot@autox.team.net>,
Subject: Sightless delight
From: "John Macartney" <jonmac@ndirect.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 01:45:55 -0000
Friends
As some of you may have noticed, my signature file has included a URL for the 
last few
weeks regarding a Triumph Charity Run taking place this year in May. We're 
hoping to raise
$16,000 from sponsors to train one guide dog. We'll be covering 850 miles in 24 
hours and
16 cars have currently signed up.
Today the national fund raiser for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association 
visited me at
Gaydon to talk through the project - and *see* some Triumphs. He's been blind 
since birth
and turned up with "Nixon" who was a more than friendly six year old labrador. 
When
"Nixon's" harness was taken off, he knew he was off duty and underwent an 
interesting
character change. One of these is that he gets more than a little jealous of 
what his
owner does and it seems "Nixon" is more than enamoured with riding in cars. 
He's not too
fussy about the make but he got positively bitter and twisted when 'Dad' sat in 
the
driving seats of all the Triumphs on display. This was demonstrated on a number 
of
occasions by some lusty and meaningful barks that conveyed a comprehensive 
message of the
greatest discontent. By the time we reached the last Spitfire made, Nixon was 
almost
hoarse, couldn't bear it any longer and promptly went in through the driver's 
door, over
Dad's lap and plonked himself on the passengers seat. I never knew a Spitfire 
hardtop made
such a noise with a labrador's tail thumping it from the underside!
As a result of this sudden canine lunge, the dog's lead got tangled round the 
Spit's door
handle and pulled it closed as Nixon surged inside with size fourteen paws. Has 
anyone
ever tried to rescue a blind person trapped in the unfamiliar surroundings ofa 
spitfire,
not knowing how to get out and with an guide dog licking his face and belting 
him in turn
with a long tail? Amusing and touching as that event was - I was greatly 
humbled by the
enthusiasm and interest of a young man who knows nothing but darkness, gently 
running his
sensitive fingertips over body contours, fingering switches and unaware of the 
real
differences between yellow, red, blue and green - but obviously having the time 
of his
life. As we parted company later in the afternoon, his thanks were profuse in 
the extreme
for "letting me see and really enjoy such delightful cars." I truly wished he 
had been
able to see them because I see them everyday and I take too much for granted the
information given to me by my eyes. He never will and as we all know, he's 
missing so
much.
We've promised to do one thing before the Run sets off from Gaydon on May 6 at 
11.30am.
Barry is going to have his first ride in a fully restored Triumph and "Nixon" 
will be on
the back seat with the window wound fully down for a wet nose and ears flapping 
in the
slipstream. I really hope he doesn't bark on that occasion - or the driver 
might have
heart failure!

Jonmac

Triumph Charity Run in 2000 (in UK): http://www.toolbox.ndirect.co.uk/stories/


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