-- A 46-year-old blind auto mechanic from Cottage Grove, Oregon shocked everyone when he decided to put "disabilities aside" and hired a 17-year-old deaf student as his new employee.

Larry Woody, who lost his eyes in a car accident five years ago on Interstate 5, still works on various models of cars, has an interest in racing and recently bought his own shop, D and D Foreign Automotive, in Cottage Grove.

Woody, who handles the paperwork and billing with the help of a talking computer, hired Otto Shima, 17, an apprentice from Cottage Grove High School. Shima, who was born deaf, has never spoken directly to Woody but interacts through interpreter J.J. Johansson.

The Register Guard quotes Woody as saying, "He's just another student and I'm just another guy trying to help him. I kinda put the disabilities aside."

However, Shima admires the "never gives up" spirit of Woody, who after his appearance on CBS Evening News has been flooded with encouraging calls from people, some with various disabilities.

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