Piece #104 - The Royal Championship Shock Wave

As I'm writing this entry, my Kansas City Royals (baseball team) have won the 2015 World Series for the first time in 30 years! I realize as you read this it may not matter to you because when I look to see who have been reading my posts, many of you are not only from other parts of the U.S., but a lot of you are from all over the world! I can't tell you how humbling that makes me feel. The reason why I wanted to bring this topic to your attention isn't the fact that I was actually at game 7 of the World Series in 1985, or that afterwards we were the jokes of late night shows because we were awful after that, but what the win has done in general for the whole city.

Since I'm seeing this through Asperger eyes, I've noticed a lot of 'small' things that might not mean much, but I believe have a larger impact as I write this. The parade for the team will being on Tuesday November 3, 2015 and schools are actually cancelling classes for the parade. Back in 1985, I never recall any school closing for the parade. The Kansas City Police department reported ZERO criminal incidents based on the win from the game versus the rioting that happened in San Francisco last year when they beat us in 7 games. When a news reporter was interviewing a very pregnant wife of one the Royals players (Ben Zobrist), Julianna commented by saying how amazed she was for the warm reception her whole family received from fans when her husband was traded earlier this year; like I said before...the little things.

I guess the bigger feeling is that sense of pride, and I don't mean in a sinful way, I talking about that feeling of being proud of the city, the team and the people that live here. If you think Hollywood is out, think again. Paul Rudd, Eric Stonestreet, Rob Riggle, Don Cheadle, Eddie Griffin, Jason Sudeikis are all proud Kansas Citians and HUGE Royal's fans. The media always loves to interview any one of these stars about their loyalty toward our sports teams. I believe this gives us that 'identity' that we seek, where we are a 'somebody' versus a 'nobody'. (Although, Erin Andrews really needs to brush up on her geography.) Kansas City is considered a medium market team versus that of the New York Mets which is a large market team; meaning they can shell out the big bucks for players where we have to develop our talent in the farm system.

As for the parade, because of my Asperger's I really feel unsure about going because of all of the people, but I still want to show my support. The funny part was when we won game 4 and I yelled at the television toward the Fox announcer Joe Buck because he showed a huge bias against the Royals. Of course, Joe Buck did hear anything I had to say, but from the other part of the house my wife did. I will have to admit that if Joe Buck was standing in front of me, I really doubt I would have yelled in his face all the things I said. I have to be honest and tell you that it was very difficult to watch the game so I would leave the television and follow the game on Yahoo sports until there was a moment when the Royals would start to rally and I would rejoin the game. The emotion rollercoaster of a sporting event is rather difficult to process and enjoy because of all of the unknown variables! These games would drive me crazy.

Again, if you’re not associated with the Royals or baseball in general, I understand, but I would encourage you to go online and check out all the highlights. The Mets really tried to win and should have won more games, but the Royals exposed too many of their weaknesses. You could even check out last year’s series even though we didn't win, there still was some great ball games. At least now and going into the 2016 season, the Kansas City Royals are the World Champions!

[UPDATE: A rough estimate on the number of people that came out to the parade was 800,000 people!!!]

[UPDATE: Julianna Zobrist had her baby...ON MY BIRTHDAY!!! (Nov 6th)]

Song of Inspiration [Check it out on iTunes or Android!]:

Song: "Let It Out"

Artist: Switchfoot

Album: Fading West

I'm sorry. There was no video or lyric video for the selected song so this is just the song with a nice picture:

Piece #111 - First Impressions

"You already know that making a good first impression can go a long way. But forget all the advice you've received about dressing to impress or putting on a cheesy smile. Turns out, the true secret to building a lasting connection reaches much deeper than what you wear." "According to Amy Cuddy, a Harvard Business School professor who has researched first impressions for more than 15 years, everyone (consciously or subconsciously) asks two questions when they meeting someone new: Can I trust this person? And can I respect this person?" This quote comes from Reader's Digest and I actually found this rather compelling because I never really heard of this before. I've addressed this topic of first impressions in the past but, I have to admit that this idea is interesting. I guess since you hear a lot of things from a smile, the outfit or what you say make the difference; however these two questions have me a little perplexed. I think it depends on the ...

Broken Piece #2 - Susan Boyle

For those of you who are not sure who is Susan Boyle, she was the second place winner to the show "Britain's Got Talent" in 2009. She sang the famous song from Les Misérables "I Dreamed the Dream". Since the show, Susan had been making guest appearances on a variety of shows and recorded several albums. Susan's first album alone broke several chart-records and was very well received around the world. I believe why she had such incredible appeal was because she was a perfect representative of all the 'regular people' in the world. She didn't come in flashy or striking but, modest and humble. When a person like Susan is thrown into the whirlwind of concerts, parties, media, and money, it's very difficult to stay grounded and not having your own personal world torn apart. Sadly for Susan Boyle, her tiny universe is crumbling. First, she did have a health scare when she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes that prompted her to lose weight. Se...

Piece #1 - The Beginning

I guess like embarking on any puzzle, it must always starts with the first piece. So to begin, I have Asperger's Syndrome, in other words I'm Autistic, and so this literature will be about my struggles with this disorder as an adult. I was first diagnosed back in the summer of 2004. If it wasn't for my twin daughters, I might not have ever known all the questions I have ever had in life; to them, I will always be in their debt. Growing up, you are never really aware of any differences until the judgment years...6th thru 12th grade of school. A time when one always tests their own humanity against others; meaning, how will I measure up against other students. In my eyes I seemed to be just like them; two arms and legs, ten fingers and toes, head and body...nothing unusual. Yet, for some reason, I was treated a little different than everyone else. That's one of those things that you can't quite put your finger on, but I observed on many occasions how kids would talk...

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