John and the Lynchburg Labrador
John Pastorius '13 strides across campus with his dog Houston by his side. Except for an occasional hesitancy at sidewalk intersections, it would be easy to think he and Houston had been roaming the Dell for years.
John, however, is a freshman, and Houston has only been his seeing-eye companion since July. They have both learned the lay of the land quickly. "I haven't had a hard time transitioning to college," John said. "Lynchburg College is so accommodating."
Braille has been added to drink machines in the dining hall and Westover Room and to signs in John's residence hall. "Jaws" software reads e-mail for John, as well as content from LC's website. More importantly, an LC student is earning work study pay to transpose John's music into Braille.
For John, learning how to read music in Braille is a new skill, which has opened up a new career aspiration for him. "I think I want to be a Braille music teacher," he said. John, who has perfect pitch and is a music education major, has always played by ear. And he has always loved music.
"I can't do anything without music on," he said. "I love country and western, which is odd seeing as how I play the French horn."
John is one of seven students who play French horn in the LC Wind Symphony and a member of the eight-member Brass Ensemble. He is also learning piano. "It's a little easier than I thought it would be," he said.
"One would think an adjustment time between John, Houston, and the Music Department would have been inevitable," said Dr. Oeida Hatcher, associate professor of music. "We could not have been more incorrect. John and Houston are just regular music majors. Well that's not exactly true - John has perfect pitch and hears the nuances in music we try and teach our other majors, and Houston has been caught falling asleep during lectures and rehearsals. But then again, we have other freshmen who do the same thing. John is just one of our many music students - fun loving and full of mischief."
While freshman year is usually a tough transition, John said he was well prepared for leaving his Smithfield, Virginia, home thanks to summer camps at the Colorado Center for the Blind. He learned how to cook, go grocery shopping, clean his apartment, and even get to and from a job at the Denver Art Museum. At that time, John got around with a cane, a skill he started learning at age four. John, who has been blind since birth from nerve damage caused by leukemia, can make out a few colors, but not much else.
Houston, a beautiful yellow Labrador, came into John's life last summer and has quickly become a campus favorite. In fact John thinks he could make a case for changing the College's mascot from the Hornet to the Lynchburg Labrador. "Everybody just loves Houston," he said.
Students, however, understand that Houston is a working dog and that he can't be interrupted while at work. When it's time to let him off his leash and run around the Dell, however, there are usually several students ready to romp with him. "That's what I love here," John said. "The students all try to help you. They all try to help each other."
Not that John needs a lot of help. "I don't consider blindness a disability," he said. "It's just an inconvenience to me."
