How about… Dinner and a Show!

We were invited by the great nephew of Ralph R. Teetor, film producer and guest of Break/Fix podcast Jack Teetor to the premiere of the documentary “Blind Logic: The Ralph R. Teetor Story” which follows the extraordinary journey of Ralph Teetor from childhood blindness through his life of fierce determination and distinctive mental vision to become an inventive, insightful leader, and philanthropist. Ralph Teetor’s life spanned the entire development of the American automobile industry.

This film features renowned trailblazers Lyn St. James, legendary race car driver and 1992 Indy 500 “Rookie of the Year,” Franz von Holzhausen, the visionary Chief Designer at Tesla, Inc., Sarah Cook, the remarkable President of the Automotive Hall of Fame, and the illustrious Leslie Mark Kendall, Chief Historian at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Emmy Award winning host and narrator Mike Rowe is providing the narration and Emmy Award winning actor Jeff Daniels is voicing Ralph Teetor, among many other extraordinary actors voicing characters.

Born in Hagerstown, Indiana, in 1890, Ralph Teetor had normal vision until one day, his hand slipped while working with a knife. The blade penetrated his eye and within a year, he was completely blind. However, Teetor never let his condition define him. He quickly developed a highly refined sense of touch; a trait that would benefit him greatly throughout his career. 

In 1945, automotive engineer Ralph Teetor was responsible for creating the technology we now know as Cruise Control – one of the first steps towards autonomous vehicles. He accomplished this and many other innovations without the benefit of sight. 

The Automotive Hall of Fame, situated in Dearborn, Michigan alongside the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Valley was the perfect backdrop for the premiere of Blind Logic. If you get the chance to visit, be sure to check out the section of the museum dedicated to Ralph and an example of the original Speed-o-Stat (aka “Cruise Control”).

We had a wonderful time making new friends, and joining up with Break/Fix guests like Lyn St. James and Jack Teetor.

If you haven’t seen Blind Logic yet, through one of it’s many free screenings around the country, you won’t have to wait too much longer to be able to watch it on one of your favorite streaming platforms. But what about dinner? Well… Hors D’oeuvres are great, but we needed to kick it up a notch, check out our review of “Ford’s Garage” in the next article.

More photos available in the Vault!