Pressing Puzzles

Came in from a rainy Thursday on the avenue Thought I heard you talking softly I turned on the lights, the TV and the radio But still I can't escape the ghost of you What has happened to it all? Crazy, some'd say Where is the life that I recognize? Gone away But I won't cry for yesterday There's an ordinary world somehow I have to find And as I try to make my way To the ordinary world I will learn to survive Passion or coincidence once prompted you to say Pride will tear us both apart Well, now pride's gone out the window Cross the rooftops, run away Left me in the vacuum of my heart What has happened to me? Crazy, some'd say Where is my friend when I need you most? Gone away But I won't cry for yesterday There's an ordinary world somehow I have to find And as I try to make my way To the ordinary world I will learn to survive What has happened to it all? Crazy, some'd say Where is ...

Throughout many of my postings, I have highlighted news stories about people with autism/Asperger's and the plight they had to inure. This one honestly makes me very angry and sad because the end is one that was truly tragic. The story is that of the late Graham Gentles who had Asperger's Syndrome and he had found himself face to face with a traumatic situation all because of his condition. Below is the story from Yahoo news: Three days after Graham Gentles was fired without warning from the Pasadena Target where he worked last July, the 22-year-old committed suicide. Now his mother, Virginia Gentles, is calling for Target to take responsibility for its role in his death. In the wrongful death lawsuit Virginia filed against Target in L.A. she alleges that the company engaged in intentional infliction of emotional distress on her son, who had Asperger’s syndrome, negligence, and false imprisonment as part of a company practice that subjects employees to a “walk of shame” ...

Even though the news has been always the same, the method of which it is delivered has changed a great deal just within the last decade. I remember my oldest daughter being a person who didn't want to miss anything! And I mean a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g! Christmas, Birthdays you name it, she knew it...parties, presents everything. So in a small way, I really empathize with her like catching the news because I feel like if I don't then I might have missed something important. I realize there is a lot of negative feels when it comes to the news, but one usually should expect the 'bad' news. After word of mouth, we decided to put our news to print and for a very long time that is how we got our information. Then the radio came along and the news suddenly came a little faster than a standard newspaper because families would huddle around the radio for news or even entertainment. Movies came along soon after the radio where people could see news clips, but the one invention that r...

As I write this blog, there has been a series of unrest in several communities about violence that has occurred and there seems to be no justice or closure. In previous entries, I've addressed anger, stress, frustration, and conviction; but this goes a little deeper with most of the topics getting swirled together in this mixture. As an adult with Asperger's Syndrome, I'm not a robot and I understand the whole complexities of hate. I have admittedly hated situations, people, and even certain events that I completely disagreed with in the past; but this goes much further than my own little issues. Hatred is a natural, but incredibly dark part of our humanity. The best comparison I can think of is that of a tornado. A tornado is natural and is a part of nature, but we all know how deadly and destructive a tornado can be. Like hatred, a tornado just doesn't pop out of nowhere and starts to destroy things; it begins as a rotating vortex in the upper atmosphere of a thu...

I'm not aiming to sound like a typical "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book, but as the end of this year is upon us; I can't think of any better time to address the one thing most people look for in a New Year...Hope. I've spoken on several topics that directly relate to my Asperger's Syndrome and others that simply are observations in my life, but hope is one of those that will tend to cross over between the two areas and I have addressed in other entries. I have written on topics that generally tend to be sad and negative so for someone like me to talk about something more positive and tying with my Asperger's is a little unusual, but I am a human being and I do like to look at life in a way were victory can be obtained rather than simply falling in defeat. So I guess the first question could be why in the world is a guy with Asperger's writing an entry about hope when most of his stuff is on suffering and death? I think the best answer I can give i...

I realize Christmas is coming and coming soon. I've always heard that Christmas time is one the most depressing times in the whole year! I have no numbers or articles to back this statement, but I think we can agree that depression can run really high during this time of the year. As everyone else, I've always heard about it and I thought I understood it, but I think in some way I really didn't. I could recall on several occasions as a teacher when I felt 'down' and disheartened, but I wouldn't call being it being depressed. Before I even knew that I had Asperger's, I probably assumed I was in a chronic state of being depressed, but I can honestly say that was never the case. There were many times when I was highly stressed, but not depressed. At this point it would be a good idea to see how the Webster Dictionary defines ‘depression’:   a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a ...

  I learned a new word! Reasonable! I have learned that sometimes it takes me a little while to catch on to the meanings of terminology. You would think that since I use to teach debate that I, myself would be able to define the terms being used in an argument! The Webster Dictionary defines 'reasonable' as:   not extreme or excessive . If anyone is a working person and you have a disability then the employer has to make an effort to accommodate the employee in a 'reasonable' manner. In an earlier blog, I did make mention of the ADA (American Disability Act) and how it affected me in my situation. It just took someone to hit me in the face with the most obvious about the term reasonable because if I had never caught on then I wouldn't know how to proceed.   The funny thing about how I've looked at my work situation is I always saw things as what the job can do for me instead of what   can   the job do for me. Yes, I have Asperger's Syndrome and I realize...