March 28, 2012

The Christianville Spirit: PTLS Translations


The Christianville Spirit
The Sprit that Opens Your Eyes
March 28, 2012-TCS # 293
So, I know that there are a lot of questions coming in for PTLS Members wondering what in the world is going to happen to or what is happening with My Child. Well, again consider your questions answered! This question that I’m going to tell you about and is on if not near the top of the list and that is “What is My Child thinking when they stem?”. Now, in case you don’t know what I mean by stemming, stemming is when your child does something like rocking back & forth, pacing, humming, and finally the PTLS Trademark, the Lining-up of Objects. However, before I tell you this stuff and try to translate it, please know that NOT ALL PTLS Kids do these things. Now, the first one I’m going to translate in the PTLS Trademark, Lining-up of objects. The truth is that it can be for many different reasons, depending on the object. For Example, I loved lining up Matchbox Cars and in my head, it was a traffic jam. Of Course, to most people, they would see me rocking back & forth, humming strangely, and playing with my cars. Translation: The Rocking was me trying to picture a road with a real traffic jam or even a road with the worst traffic jam in the world, The Humming was me making the sounds of people yelling at each other saying that they needed to get somewhere and just to get out of the way because they were frustrated with the traffic, as with most people who have to commute everyday. Also, there were times when I would line the cars up facing them toward the door and that was because they wanted to get out of My Room and see the world. Another Thing I would do when I was really little and sitting in the bath, was that I would line up toys around the bathtub and that was “people” wanting to jump in and play with me. The Next Translation is the Pacing, which I’ll have to admit that it was one of my favorite things to do when no one was around and I started to get bored. I would find my place to start pacing and then, I would start to walking back & forth for a 4 feet each way and then, when I got really in to it, I added starting hi-pity-hopping and pacing. So, here’s the translation: I was thinking about driving on a road, seeing all the road signs, and hearing the noises of the grooves of the road. You See, here in Dallas, they put grooves in the concrete for traction during the winter and until I was older, I couldn’t explain or describe the sound of the road but, I knew what it sounded like in my head. When I finally got to talk and mention what it sounded like, the only way I could describe it was calling it, “A Holler Road” because it sounded like a lady was hollering at a high pitch. Anyway, to most people, when they would see me pacing, they would think, “What is he doing?” and they would see me humming, pacing (and, hi-pity-hopping as My Mom calls it, depending on how much I was into it), and looking down on the ground.  The Translation for that is the Humming was the sound of the road, Pacing was what got it started, and looking down to the ground in my head, was like watching a movie screen picturing the road, the signs, and noise of the road. The next translation came when I got a little older, I started rocking back & forth while sitting up, I’d do this a lot while I was ready to go to Bed and what I would do was once My Mom said good night to me and My Brother, I’d start thinking about roads and their noises, as well as other things and I would sit up and start rocking back & forth. After a while of me rocking, it would start to annoy My Brother and he would tell me to stop humming because it was just humming noises. The Translation for this was the same as the pacing back & forth, only sitting in my bed this time. There was a time that eventually, my humming stopped becoming roads and it’s noises to songs that I’ve heard before. That bring us the final translation, Humming. Now, Humming to most normal people and special needs people is very annoying sometimes. My Humming started as noises of the road and as I matured it turned more into Music. When my humming turned more toward music, I would hum a song and that would put My Brother to sleep. Sometimes, My Brother would say, “Christian, Hum me a song” and I would say, “What song do you want to hear” and, he would say, “anything” and I would just start humming a song and it didn’t matter what it was. Now, The Translation of this is simple: I would do it with I was happy and you could tell when I wasn’t because I wouldn’t be humming and If I really wasn’t happy, I’d make a face that My Mom calls,”The I’m concerned, something’s bothering me, or I’m going to be sick Face.”  Sometimes my humming would get annoying like when I hummed in school, people would tell me, “Christian, Stop Humming!” and I would tell them that I was happy and they would either just ignore it or they would tell me, “Then, stop being happy.” The crazy part is that through, My Ears, when I was humming, It would come out as words and it sounded more like I was singing. However, to most people it was Humming and flat noises to them. All in all, I hope this all answers at least some of your questions about why your child does what to some people think is not normal and I see it more as Unique. 
Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Everything happens for a Reason. No Matter how it looks or how odd it is.
   

March 21, 2012

The Christianville Spirit: RV Dreams


The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes
March 21, 2012-TCS # 292
So, Last Tuesday, the day before Newsletter Day, I did something that I had always dreamed of doing. You See, My Neighbor, Woody, for the past couple months had an RV in his driveway that he’s been fixing up so he could sell it. So, over the those months, I would look over and see it and thought, “Man, I’d love to ride in it to see what it’s like inside.” So, I asked him if I could ride with him and he said that the next time he drives it back to his shop or anything like that, that he would take me. So, months later, after he moved it back to his shop and it came back again, he decided to take me on a short drive to put it somewhere else instead of in his driveway. Anyway, it was so awesome riding in it. Now, this by the way, wasn’t the only time that I’ve ridden in an RV before, because there was a time in the Jeff Era that I rode in Mr. Jeff’s Mom and Dad’s (or Grandma Mike and Grandpa Reno to us) RV to drive from Oklahoma City back down to Dallas, but, I don’t remember it that well. Anyway, riding in Woody’s RV was a refresher to what it felt like, what it sounded like, and all that stuff. Not only that but, also it was awesome being high above all the cars and be high enough that the street signs were more at Eye Level, than in a car. You See, there’s something to be said about taking a road trip in a car that is bigger and has more room to move around instead of sitting still for hours. The best road trips we took were the ones in Mr Jeff’s big van and yes, we had to stay in our seats but, we also could roll the back seat back into a bed and sleep. Anyway, back to the RV thing. That would be so much better to get to take a road trip in an RV that everything you need is right there and that is something that I dream of doing someday. The only things that you have to get used to is the rattling noises in the back of the RV and the dreaded Sewage Pump that you have to empty every time that you stop at an RV Park. However, on the up side, you certainly meet interesting people along the way, in fact I heard one story of a family on ABC’s 20/20 who home schools their kids on the road and teach them everything by the road, what they see, and where they stop. For Example, for Reading, they have them read the billboards and road signs; for Writing, they have them write down in a journal about what they saw or have them write down what a sign or billboard said; Math, they have them add up how many miles to go to the next town or to the next destination; and, finally, History, they visit historic sights and have them read the plaque of the historic place. Anyway, there are lots of things to do in an RV and make sure to bring another car, so that you can venture around the area where you are at. All in all, it was awesome riding in Woody’s RV and it would be awesome to go on a road trip on one.
Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Head on the road on RV and see the world through a different eye.   

March 14, 2012

The Christianville Spirit: History and Geography go Together


The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes
March 14, 2012-TCS # 291
So, this Past Sunday for those here in the US was a switch that I and many people hate known as Daylight Savings Time. You See, though I’m not sure if they have it in other parts of the world but, here in the US it happens every spring and fall. What happens in Daylight Savings Time is that in spring, we move the clock one hour forward and in the fall, we move the clock back an hour. In order for us to remember, they have the saying, “Spring forward, fall back” and yet it’s still a surprise to many people, especially this year. Even my Mom was surprised and exclaimed, “Sunday is Daylight Savings Time?!?” and I said, “Mom, it’s on the calendar”. Even though it’s on the calendar, mentioned on the news and weather and I’m prepared for it, I still hate it.  Anyway, all this stuff with Daylight Savings Time and even Time Zones have to do with History. When I was in school, History wasn’t at all my favorite subject because I thought that History and my true favorite subject, Geography were very separate subjects. To me, History was all about the dates of when events occurred and Geography was all about where things are, maps, and direction but little did I know that History and Geography were tied together in different ways. I learned about the relationship of the two by talking with a friend of mine and watching a show on The History Channel called, “How The States Got Their Shapes.” There were 2 major things on this show that caught My Attention, one thing was about Time Zones and how  the great City of Atlanta came about. The first thing I want to tell you about is why we have Time Zones. You See, back in the day (by that I mean, The 1800’s) people wanted a way to transport goods along with them selfs long distances. By the way, this was before roads and interstates were built. So they built railroads across the country. Now the schedules and the clocks were based on using the sundial and as the railroad network started to grow, the trains began to go off schedule and not arrive or depart on time. For example, the train would leave at let’s say 12 Noon on The Sun Dial from Los Angeles and didn’t arrive until 6 p.m. on the sun dial 3 days later in New York City when it should have arrived earlier. So, in response to the inaccurate schedules, Congress created 4 Time Zones across the US. They are the Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones. After the creation of Time Zones, the trains finally got on an accurate schedule and that’s why we have Time Zones. Next thing I’m going to tell you is how Atlanta was built and why it has a big flaw in its design. You See, back in the days of the railroad, as they built the tracks, the railroads met at a junction and so that the trains could connect to other railroads. So, when the railroads coming from 4 different directions with the end of a rail line leading to the Midwest, they built a city around the junction known as Atlanta, Georgia. Little did they know that the once small railroad meeting town would burn to the ground and regrow into a thriving metropolitan area. The city now has roads going every which way and having some of the worst traffic. Now that brings to the 2 fatal flaws of Atlanta, both of which they live with today. The first and most important is that the founders of Atlanta didn’t know that it was going to be such a big city. This is true because the one important thing that they have but, don’t have enough of is a water source. I mean, I looked at the map (using Geography Sense) and found there are only 2 lakes in the area. They are north of Atlanta and the one being, Lake Lanier is Atlanta’s Water Source. So, what does this have to do with How Georgia got it’s shape? Well, it turns out that the original observers who drew the line between Georgia and Tennessee mistakenly drawn off by a mile because it was supposed to be drawn on the 34” degrees Longitude line. So, to this day, the government of both Georgia and Tennessee are fighting because of Water and it’s Sources. You See, if Georgia is correct, then they get some “Water Front Property” on the Tennessee River, bringing more water down to Georgia's capitol of Atlanta. Tennessee doesn’t like this because they feel Georgia is trudging on Tennessee’s Land and technically it’s the other way around because it was not drawn correctly. The next flaw, though it didn’t have a lot to do with History, but Atlanta lacks major thoroughfares. These allow traffic to go in and out of the city with greater ease. I mean they do have some but, not very many, which causes major traffic in the Atlanta area. All-in-all, as you can tell everything in Geography has something to do with History and vice-versa.
Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Don’t judge History because it’s boring. It just has to be told in a way that makes it interesting.
         

March 7, 2012

The Christianville Spirit: My View on Drinking


The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes
March 7, 2012- TCS # 290
So, You know I’ve noticed that in my writing over the past couple weeks, I’ve been writing things that should be part of a series, so that My PTLS Family can refer to this in the many questions they have about their child. But, the problem with this realization is that it would be like watching TV, discovering that your favorite movie is on and it’s an hour and 30 Minutes into it, and like in most of your favorite movies, you want to see it from the beginning. So, enough of my rambling, I’ll just have to continue as I was. Now, this week’s newsletter, I have to warn you may scare you, just by the thought of it. It’s one of those things about being a parent, let alone being a parent of a PTLS child. But of course I’m not a Parent, I’m actually a Young Adult with PTLS, so I know a little about this. The thing I’m going to tell you is Drinking, as in Drinking Alcohol. Now, I’m going out-front on this one but, I have had a couple tastes (little baby sips) of Alcohol and I hated it so, rest assured I don’t drink and I don’t plan on it. The times that I have tried it were Innocent, an Accident, or I didn’t know what it is. The First time that I tasted it was, (as My Friend Johnathon would put it, “Alcohol touched my tongue”) was the one time I wanted to try the wine at church, more as just something to wash the “bread” down because, which I’m Sorry to say, is an element of Church that isn’t my favorite thing to do. After I tried, I cringed from the taste of it and I decided that I really didn’t like it. The second time was when I was at a New Year’s party at my dad’s house. There were kids tasting the champagne and told me it was ok to drink because it was apple juice. It was really bad! The last time I tasted it was out of curiosity that I took a sip of a beer. ICK!!! That really tasted bad! As for when I turned 21 or when Most People expect that your going to drink and party, I didn’t and My Mom was extremely thankful for that. You See, I didn’t and still don’t care to drink alcohol and I was one of the people that, unlike others when they turned 21, I had a more clean party which was a really fun time with Johnathon, Karleen, a friend of hers and I spending the day bowling and ending the day going out to dinner with My Family. All in all, Since that little curiosity, I haven’t drank anything. Not only because I hate the taste of it but, I’m not interested in it, I don’t care about it, and I choose not to do it.
Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Having a child is truly a blessing in disguise. Cherish it what you have.