Pressing Puzzles

If there was anyone that can smell out something odd about you...it would be a bully. They all had this uncanny knack of being able to zero in on anyone that might be a little off from the rest of the pack.  ThePostGame.com   had this to say about bullies: "Experts say that more than 150,000 children miss school every day because they are afraid of being bullied. More than half of all schoolchildren have witnessed a bullying incident and three of every four students say bullying is a problem at their school." I'm a teacher and even that surprised me! I knew it has aways been an issue, but I think this is the first time experts have actually studied this problem. The report did go on to say: "The bulk of bullying occurs from the fourth through the eighth grades, although it can continue through high school and even in the workplace. Bullying is intimidation or domination toward someone perceived as weaker, a way to establish superiority through coercion or ...

If there was one program I was truly grateful for my parents signing me up in, it was the Boy Scouts of America. I'm sure the next question you're thinking is did I earn the final badge that is given...Eagle? The answer is...heck yeah! I'm very proud to say that I'm an Eagle Scout, since 1986! ( Man, I'm gettin' old !) The other cool thing is that my brother is one as well! They were able to provide so many experiences and interesting times. One thing I wished I knew was how many times my wife and I had crossed paths as we were growing up. There is one thing I can say though; every year our local mall ( Metro North ) would host the Boy Scouts exhibition. My troop, 314 ( Sponsored by the Platte Woods United Methodist Church – My old church ), would do the Indian dancing in the middle of the mall for literally, everyone to see. Jaimee remembers the times when she would watch us dance and make funny comments about the outfits...or there the lack of! It was more f...

Anger is a learned behavior. When we come into this world, we comprehend how to react to things by watching others. One of my many...many weaknesses has always been my anger. As you can tell I enjoy writing and whenever I've written in my characters for a story, at least one would have an anger issue. The story I'm currently writing now called Horizon, the main character Miko has problems with her rage. It's something she'll have to deal with throughout the entire story. I guess in many ways it's a reflection on how I've had to handle it. Early in our marriage, I had warned my wife that I would need her help in making sure I wouldn’t let the anger get ahold of me, for the main reason...the kids. I love my girls way too much for them to pick up the same bad habit. Yes, I obviously understand that we all get angry from time to time. ( Even Jesus got angry when merchants were selling their items in the temple .) I'm talking about an extreme anger when in many ...

I still remember a television news interview that my wife did about our youngest girls where she told them that we ( Jaimee and I ) don't call Christen and Sarah 'the twins', but only refer to them by name. I have to laugh at that because not only do I call them 'the twins' ( on many occasions ), but so does my wife as well! ( So Piece #11 is titled Christen and Sarah - and not "The Twins" ). Like I mentioned back in the very first Piece, those beautiful girls had finally answered all the lingering questions I have ever had about myself. In another light, they were also a miracle because before they were ever born; my wife had lost three other babies before them. Please don't get me wrong, I really love all my girls, but the older two don’t have Asperger’s. They were born on July 6th, 1995 through a C-section because Sarah was in the breach position. When Jaimee had told me they were twins, I had really hoped they would be identical and...they are! I w...

When I was growing up, I always thought of myself as a person who would 'fly by the seat of their pants'. Anything that changed was new and exciting for me. On some accounts, that still holds true today because I do like new things; new music, new movies, new games, etc. There are even cases where I really hope others will change and my situation as well because I hate having a talent that I'm really good in, but it can't feed my family. ( That really sucks !) I will have to say that as I've gotten older, a routine is not necessarily a bad thing. It's been helpful to the point that it helps me remember certain things on a daily or weekly basis. I remember asking my students if a routine is bad and most said yes; but when I asked them how it could be beneficial, they didn't really know. I think we forget that routines can help prepare us for the day so when we have to tackle certain obstacles, we'll be ready for it. As an adult with Asperger’s, I've n...