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Show hfr I JIoL J I - , . ' 1 1 MK' r-- , Scott Tullis, New Castle, stands in front of the opera house in San 1 Fransisco, druing one of this trips to San Rahel.'Calif ., to obtain a seeing I eye dog. J When faced with choice, Scott chose the better one When Scott Tullis discovered at age 25 he was losing his sight, he had one of two choices: He could be bitter, constantly con-stantly in anguish over the turn of events which led to his blindness; or he could learn to live with his handicap and live a full life. Scott, a native of New Castle, chose the latter. As an example of how he has lived up to his committment, Tullis, 57, has read over 2,000 books, besides magazines and that 2,000 count was made 10 years ago. Computer course Another example might be the computer programming course Tullis took in 1967 at Santa Monica, Calif. The course consisted of two years of computer classes crammed into nine months. All students involved were partially or totally blind. Tullis modestly reveals that his computer program was first from the I class to be run successfully. Tullis also still owns and keeps in touch with his farm just east of New 1 Castle which his nephew now manages. Other examples are present in Scott's life-just ask his neighbor and sister-in-law Mary Tullis. "Scott is a very independent person," Mrs. Tullis said. "He does his own cooking, house cleaning, laundry and repairs. One summer he even bottled his own peaches, without any help. And, in fact, his peaches looked better than mine." j She Exaggerates Tullis however, said Mary exaggerates and states he likes to live life "one day at a time." "There is not a bit of use being any other way but happy," Tullis said. "I was not bitter at first like some. I did feel left out and sometimes like a monkey in a cageit was kind of a letdown. "It took a while to leqrn that that was the way it was going to be." Tullis said he has had many people come into his life, including other blind persons he has had acquaintances with, who have boosted his life "and been a great hel p " Arthritic condition As a young man, Tullis was originally j beset with arthritis. At age 12, his wrists became slightly affliected and by age 16 it would come and go in his wrists, knees and shoulders. The arthritis ar-thritis presently causes a good deal of discomfort in Tullis feet, "but overall it is not as bad now as it has been in the past," he said. After attending a technical school in Chicago in 1941, Tullis returned home and soon thereafter underwent a thyroid operation. Tullis said he is not sure if the operation had any effect on his vision, but after the operation he was never able to see properly again. Cataract operations followed with limited success, Tullis being able to see "spots' of light" for some time. His vision now, however, is completely com-pletely gone. "I lived here with my mother until she passed away," Tullis said. "I wasn't sure I could live alone, but once I got started it wasn't bad at all. Lions make donation "I'm awfully glad I tried, so that now I don't have to be dependent on someone else for everything. If I had . closed the house up when mother died, I'm not sure I would have had the guts to open it up again." In 1965, the Escalante Lions Club rallied behind Tullis and paid his transportation to San Raphel, Calif., where he was able to obtain a seeing eye guide dog. Scott describes the dog, a female German Shepherd, as "exceptional." "ex-ceptional." Tullis and the dog went everywhere together, he said, and the dog would even guide Scott around mud puddles after a storm, always commited to serving her master the best she could. The dog was killed two years later in an unfortunate accident while playing with some youngsters. Spends time reading A second dog was also given to Tullis after another trip to San Raphel, one he was able to use for 10 years. Now Scott spends a lot of time reading-listening to records of books or typing on his Braille typewriter. He said in the past he particularly enjoyed reading science, medical and law books. "I don't think there is anyone around who is more informed than Scott, "Mrs. Tullis said. "I have often thought ' of the things Scott could accomplish if he could only see." |