Thunder Dog - Michael Hingson [68]
Forward.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
MICHAEL HINGSON: So many people, blind and sighted alike, went into making this book possible through their involvement with my life that it is hard to know where to begin to name them all. While many of them are mentioned throughout the book, some deserve special attention.
First Susy Flory, my author colleague, has spent countless hours in learning about the world of blindness in order to help me articulate my story and to give you a more accurate picture of what it really means to be blind, which is much different from the traditional stereotype held by most people.
I wish to thank my parents, who stuck to their guns and didn’t allow society to dictate how they should raise a blind child. Without the philosophy they gave me, I never could have survived and thrived in this quirky world that doesn’t understand that it is okay to be different. Thanks also, Dad, for the many hours of stimulating spiritual talk and for reading me the Baird Spalding books and other stuff.
I wish to acknowledge Richard Herboldsheimer, whom I met in my sophomore year in high school. He showed me that teachers are people too. Herbo, you are as much an inspiration to me now as you were in 1969. Your discipline and strength have stayed with me.
I wish to thank the late Dr. Fred Reines, my college academic physics adviser. Dr. Reines, you helped me see and prove that blind people could succeed at the study of physics just as much as anyone else. I am glad you finally got the Nobel Prize for Physics; you deserved it.
Thanks to the three great presidents of the National Federation of the Blind, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, and Dr. Marc Maurer, for your inspiration and strength in leading the NFB and so many of us into a better place.
I wish to acknowledge Ginger Crowley for her efforts to help me become a better public speaker and storyteller.
I also wish to thank Joanne Ritter, director of marketing and communications at Guide Dogs for the Blind, and her cohort in crime, Morry Angel, for making all this possible by seeing the value of telling my story to the world after 9/11.
I wish to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of all those who gave of their time to be interviewed for this book. Your contributions are great!
Thanks to all who read and commented on the drafts of this endeavor. You have made this a better story, and you have taught me a lot.
Thanks to Chip MacGregor, my agent, who guided me through the muddles of the literary publishing world. You truly are a wizard, and I am with you—Mark Twain is the best American author, bar none.
Finally, thanks to Bryan Norman, Brian Hampton, and all the wonderful folks at Thomas Nelson Publishers for listening and for agreeing to take on this project. I look forward to working with you in the future. Let’s do it again.
SUSY FLORY: It’s been a wild and crazy year. In the spring of 2010, I was recovering from breast cancer treatment, including two surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation. During those weeks of radiation, I began work on Dog Tales, a book of true and miraculous dog stories. One of the dogs I wrote about was Roselle. When I first sent Mike an e-mail, he graciously agreed to a phone interview. After twenty minutes on the phone, I had chills. “Have you ever thought of writing a book?” I asked. He said yes but that he also wanted a collaborator. More chills. I found out we both love travel, books, and dogs. And we live less than an hour apart. We decided to work together, and I spent every Monday over the summer at his beautiful home on the Marin Peninsula, just across from San Francisco. I fell in love with his wonderful wife, Karen, and their three yellow Labs: Fantasia, Africa, and Roselle. The dogs mob me every time I walk in the front door, and I love it. Michael, thank you for the privilege of working with you on Thunder Dog. It’s been a blast.
My love and thanks to Robert, Ethan, and Teddy. You are Team Flory, and I love you. Thanks for believing in me and listening to all my dog stories