(FREE) People of Ponca Series: Ron Hammock
Article and Interview by Morgan Murphy / Ponca City Monthly Intern
The “People of Ponca” is a limited series featuring stories of local Ponca City residents. New stories will be featured every Friday. Be sure to sign up for Ponca City Monthly Plus to get emails every time we post a new story!
Ron Hammock - The Valley, July 12, 2024
Who's your little buddy?
Jack is a rescue dog from the local Humane Society. I've had him for eight years. He is half Jack Russell, half some type of terrier, and totally blind. Having a blind dog is a challenge sometimes, but it's still very rewarding. I'm a seeing-eye human, so I have to be careful to make sure that he doesn't run into things. Jack has helped me improve my attention span, and he also helps me very much with my temper control and emotional control because if I get upset in traffic or something, he thinks it may be directed at him, so he reacts. So he's helping me in a lot of different ways. I get a lot more out of it than he does. Anyway, we're good buddies. We go to as many places as we can together. Jack’s been to all kinds of events, and we've been thrown out of a few, but I like getting him out and letting him instead of sitting home and being bored and blind, just getting some different experiences, and it's pretty cool.
How did Jack become blind?
He was very, very active before his accident. Jack chased a car and caught it. That's what happened to him. He was the kind of dog that would climb up somewhere and jump out my window if I didn't watch him. But he's had to calm down quite a bit since those days. Jack was four years of sight, four years without. Yeah, you know, I think, I guess if you have to go blind, to me, it would be more humane to have some sight for a while so you could, you know, have all that learning occur and know what things actually look like. And so even though they don't change, you'd still have them in your mind's eye.
What is something that you learned recently?
Something that I've learned recently? Well, that's a good one. I've learned things all the time. I've learned that just the beginnings of some AI stuff on some art and some writing skills that are in one sense remarkable and, in the other sense, kind of make you a little apprehensive because you wonder where all this stuff is going, you know. So I just put the chat GPT on my computer and play around with it. In fact, I just put it there today, and I'm learning a little about layman's views on AI. I always said that spell check, GPS, and now AI have raised my IQ by about five points apiece.
What has been the hardest part of your life?
The hardest part of my life? Well, let's see. I lost a son when he was about 10. I had been divorced from his mother. He perished along with her in a fire in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the hardest thing that ever happened to me. His name was Shannon. He was a blond-haired, nice-looking fella. He was only 10 when he passed. He had a lot of potential. He liked art. He was very, very outgoing. He had a great personality. But they're not quite sure exactly what happened, but it's been a long time since he perished. He was a good kid with a lot of potential. I do have another son. His name is Seth. He's actually in the process of opening The Alley, a new venue for art and music and a place where people can rent or lease space for activities.
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