My wife and I were outlet shopping last weekend and I was relaxing on a bench when a man approached me with what looked like a "service" dog. Well, since I am in the business of needing to know about service dogs I asked him about his dog. The dog was a black lab/German shepherd mix (a beautiful animal) with a red harness and instructions printed and placed in a clear insert in the harness. The gentleman was Australian and it seems his identical twin grand daughters both have autism. After a few minutes the two little girls, probably about 6 years old came out of a store with their Mother and Father. The service dog is trained to go after them because they have the alarming propensity for just running off and disappearing at a moment's notice! They were darling little fair blond girls and seemingly acted otherwise quite normally. The Grandfather said they have undergone extensive therapy and have improved dramatically to the point that they are now mainstreamed into public school. All this to say that I do not know a great deal about autism and the many-many variations of this syndrome. Experts have tried to explain the root cause through environmental factors, behavioral factors, and toxicity factors. Here are IDENTICAL twins that manifest almost exactly the same degree of autism so is there indeed a HEREDITARY/GENETIC factor to also consider? It is still another reason I'm here: To seek answers/understanding so I can more effectively and compassionately interact with individuals who have autism.
Since I've already been accused many times of being an "incurable romantic" I just HAD to watch some of the Royal Wedding this morning. I get up at 5 AM anyway to get ready for work so turned it on. Why my interest in this?
My son-in-law is English, my ancestors came from ancient Rutlandshire, I have distant relatives near Edinburgh (sheep farmers) my late Mother's very English maiden name was Palmer, We have visited England and loved it so much we didn't want to come back, I'm a bit of an English history buff, and am an avid reader of Regency era literature. There is also some parallel interest due to "The King's Speech" which everyone should see. King George VI is Prince William's great-grandfather and was the subject of this Academy Award winning movie.
It was all (sigh) so glorious, joyful, totally beautiful....the ultimate celebration put on by the world's leading champion of tradition, ceremony, and pageantry: England! The bridal gown worn by the now Duchess of Cambridge was a grand-slam, worn with style, class, and dignity. The world would be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful bride. I truly wish them well and hope their marriage is a faithful and happy one like Queen Victoria and her Prince Albert enjoyed. Jolly spendid!
As some of you may already know, I'm a huge football fan. However, if there is any sort of strike or labor stoppage as a result of the owners and players not arriving at an agreement, I'M DONE WITH THEM!! Many years ago, after major league baseball had a strike, I swore I'd be done with them too and I have kept my promise. I used to be a big major league baseball fan but no longer pay any attention to them. I simply can't get my head around two groups of millionaires who are whining over money and work rules! Most of us can't even afford to buy a ticket to an NFL football game anymore. What's wrong with this picture? If the NFL owners and players trash the season over their inability to arrive at a settlement, I'll dump them too. I can always enjoy a good high school football game and the best football games I ever saw were my son's 135 lb rec league games. They played their hearts out for the joy and fun of it! Hold my feet to the fire and call me to be accountable because I promise to hold the NFL accountable as well! Your comments are always welcome.....
rainey (478)
Finetooner (52)
Gypsylady4eva (37)
kippy1 (21)
jaybird (19)
dennis3301 (19)
txtrulady (17)
Chipster (16)
