John and I were in graduate school together (computer science, U Wisconsin - Madison). He was indeed a remarkable person. He was blind and deaf. He carried around a little mechanical Braille typewriter. To talk with John, you would type, and he would extend his hand into the device and feel the Braille impressions of what you were typing. He was not qualified for a normal seeing eye dog program because of the extent of his disabilities. So, he got a dog on his own and trained her. Her name was Sugar, and I can still hear John talking with and giving instructions to her. He was a living demonstration of the stunning heights that people achieve from time to time. I believe his PhD advisor was Marvin Solomon who was (is) also a remarkable and admirable person.
