Thunder Dog - Michael Hingson [83]
Vision Loss: This term usually refers to a progressive decrease in visual acuity. However, it can refer to the sudden onset of substantial acuity decrease or total blindness.
Visual Acuity: This means sharpness of vision or the visual ability to resolve fine detail (usually measured by a Snellen chart). Visual acuity is expressed as a fraction. The top number refers to the distance you stand from the chart. This is usually 20 feet. The bottom number indicates the distance at which a person with normal eyesight could read the same line you correctly read. For example, 20/20 is considered normal. 20/40 indicates that the line you correctly read letters at 20 feet that could be read by a person with normal vision at 40 feet. The test is performed when there are problems or changes in vision.
White Cane: The Long White Cane was invented in the United States in 1930 by George A. Bonham. Its distinctive white length with a red band around the bottom is internationally recognized as a sign that the person using it is blind.
FOR FURTHER READING
Fink, Mitchell, and Lois Mathias. Never Forget: An Oral History of September 11, 2001. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. Personal stories by the survivors of September 11.
Flory, Susy. Dog Tales: Inspirational Stories of Humor, Adventure, and Devotion. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2011. Features seventeen true dog stories, including Roselle’s.
Jackson, Donna M. Hero Dogs: Courageous Canines in Action. New York: Little, Brown Young Readers, 2003. A journalist looks at extraordinary dogs and the role they play in the daily lives of humans. Features Roselle’s story.
Kurzweil, Ray. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. New York: Viking, 2005.
Lee, Nancy, Lonnie Schlein, and Mitchel Levitas, eds. A Nation Challenged: A Visual History of 9/11 and Its Aftermath. New York: Callaway, 2002. A detailed visual, graphic, and written account of the WTC attacks in 2001.
Matson, Floyd. Walking Alone and Marching Together: A History of the Organized Blind Movement in the United States, 1940–1990. Baltimore: National Federation of the Blind, 1990. Includes an account of the incident where Michael Hingson was forcibly removed from a commercial airline flight for refusing a bulkhead seat, page 529.
Mueller, Pamela Bauer. Hello, Goodbye, I Love You, 2003 and Aloha Crossing, 2008. El Paso: Pinata Publishing. Michael Hingson wrote the foreword to Hello, Goodbye, I Love You, aimed at children in grades 3–7. Seventh grader Diego raises a puppy named Aloha to become a guide dog for the blind. Diego meets Miss Kimberly Louise, a woman who lost her sight in a car accident, when Aloha becomes her guide dog. Aloha Crossing is the award-winning sequel.
Murphy, Dean E. September 11: An Oral History. New York: Doubleday, 2002. Murphy is a reporter for the New York Times. Features the story of Michael Hingson and David Frank, beginning on page 16.
Reporters, Writers, and Editors of Der Spiegel Magazine. Inside 9/11: What Really Happened. New York: St. Martin’s Paperbacks, 2002. Michael Hingson and David Frank’s account is featured beginning on page 97.
Sullivan, Robert, ed., and the editors of LIFE magazine. One Nation: America Remembers September 11, 2001, Fifth Anniversary exp. ed. New York: Time Inc. Home Entertainment, Time Life Books, 2006. Features a story on Michael and Roselle, page 132.
Sullivan, Tom. Adventures in Darkness: Memoirs of an Eleven-Year-Old Blind Boy. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007. Blind since birth, Tom lived in a challenging world of isolation and special treatment. But he was driven to break out and live as sighted people do. Tom is now a successful actor, singer, author, and producer.