Thu Nov 20, 2008
sous-chef?
The other night Sean took out a box of cake mix. That didn't surprise me. The attractive cover of devil chocolate looked pretty damn appealing to me.
"Later pal. Your mom is the pastry cook around here." was my response.
I didn't pay too much attention as he continued to fuss around the pantry. Simply assumed he was looking for a substitute treat.
Then I looked over at the counter and he was slowly, systemically pulling out all the required ingredients.
He had taken out an aluminum cookie sheet.
He got out the vegetable oil.
He pulled a chair over to the refrigerator and was in the process of getting out two eggs when I realized what he was up to.
I talked to Susan about it and she said she noticed that Sean watches with great interest as she prepares his beloved fried chicken.
So who knows, maybe the boys has a future as a short order chef or perhaps he will become the first seriously autistic pastry chef. Maybe he is a savant when it comes to desserts.
I’m not above trying to cash in on his autism if the bourgeoisie elite want to pay a premium for it. It’s only fair that he treats his old man to a lifestyle I could very easily become accustomed to.
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Fri Nov 14, 2008
Economic Realities
I had lunch yesterday with two old college friends who have day jobs as an architect and master contractor, respectively. Quickly, the conversation came around to how we were doing with our small businesses. I told them I was off about 10% and they both admitted they were dead in the water. We all had to let people go recently and none of us were foolish enough to thing that prosperity was just around the corner.
But what really struck me was this article from Kim Stagliano who writes an autism blog for The Huffington Post. Her post hit close to my heart because it concerns her husband and his noble attempts to make a living for his family (which includes three autistic girls) during these extremely difficult times.
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KIM STAGLIANO - THE HUFFINGTON POST
"Hi, Kim here. By now, you know my husband Mark and I have three girls with autism. Our life is more difficult that I could convey to you in a book the size of the Bible, let alone a short post. One hour ago, my husband lost his job. This is the third job he's lost in seven years.
Isn't that shocking?
Was your first thought, "What a deadbeat!" No, he is not.
Was your second thought, "Is he a lazy-good-for-nothing bum?" No, he most certainly is not.
He's a talented, hard working, college-educated sales professional in the houseware and giftware industry. He's a good husband and a wonderful father to three little girls who will depend on him for the rest of their lives (how's that for pressure?) who works 60 hours a week and is honest to a fault.
And he's out of work." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-stagliano/wheres-our-bailout-3-kids_b_142719.html
Bottom line, we in the autistic community are on our own. It would be great if we could form a support network because God knows ain't no one else sending us a life preserver.
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Thu Nov 06, 2008
Happy to be Home
Which I'm not. I'm at a conference in Chicago, a town I like very much. By the way, if you travel near the lakefront, I definitely recommend Volares on Grand Avenue near Michigan.
Missed the Obama shindig by a day, but everyone here is telling me I also missed all the traffic.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, Sean continues to deal with emotional issues. Michael continues to stay under the radar and Douglass Outreach continues to send me $2,500 monthly invoices that I simply can no longer afford.
So tonight I'm just vegging, ordering room service, watching TV and thinking about how I can make things better at home.
The last eight years have yet to produce a eureka moment, so I feel I'm due.
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