The Christianville Spirit: How PTLS Families became PTLS Family

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

May 30, 2012- TCS # 302

So, For This Week’s Newsletter, I want to share a story with you about how My 3rd Family, My PTLS Family and how they became my PTLS Family. So, I was diagnosed with dup. 17p11.2(now known as Potocki-Lupski Syndrome or PTLS) at age 4. There was not much known about it, so MY Mom did the best she could and I just enjoyed life being myself. At the time when I was diagnosed, I was 4th in The World and 1st in The United States; I didn’t know if there were people just like me around the world, and even in my own country. So, as I got older More kids were being diagnosed and I started meeting Families with “People like Me” but, for the longest time they were addressed as “Families with PTLS Kids.” After more adding of more families, I changed how they were addressed because I starting growing attached to them. Because the families themselves had someone, who in My View, was “Just like Me,” they felt more like Family to me not just friends or people. Then, came My 23rd Birthday, or what’s now known as the first PTLS Gathering. You See, My Mom had this idea that we should spend My Birthday with My Smith Family in Atlanta and we figured while we were there, We’d see if we could meet up with other PTLS Families. So, I told, who we’ll call PLTS Member, Samantha Pennington, about it because she lived in Nashville which was a couple hours drive from Atlanta. Not to mention also, we could meet up again with The wonderful Pulleys there too. So, Samantha (or now known as Aunt Samantha; more on that in a minute) spread the word on the little Facebook group that we had, I was going to be in Atlanta that weekend and she said she wanted to come down and meet me. So, before long, it turned from just another birthday party to a Mini-PTLS gathering so people could come and celebrate My Birthday, and we could all meet. It was surprising who wanted to come and meet me. people were coming from as far away as Wisconsin and I told My Mom, “These People feel like Family to Me” Well, near the same time that I was going to go to Atlanta, My Dad wanted to go on a cruise, long story short, the cruise was moved to be during the weekend with My Birthday/PTLS Gathering which people from across the country were coming to see me. So, I had a very tough decision to make, go with Dad on the cruise for 7 Days or The PTLS Gathering. Now, for the record, the decision was tough because I don’t like to disappoint people and not to mention, I hate confronting people. and, one of his comments, let’s just say made the passion of PTLS Family and having PTLS burn! He said, “You’d rather hang out with strangers who you haven’t even met instead doing this(the cruise) with your dad/family” and I responded, “I may not have met them(and, some I have). But, they are My Family.” So, to prove My Dad and anyone else who thinks we’re not a “Family” wrong. I gave the PTLS Family Members that I’m close to, official Family Names like Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Brothers/Sisters. Of Course, People may say, “How can you be Family, if your not Blood?” and My Answer is that Family isn’t always blood, it can also be People you love. So, I guess in a way, You can pick your Family and This PTLS Family is getting bigger, I LOVE a big Family! Now, as for the Aunt Samantha thing, I call her that because I’m close to her as well as many others, including Aunt Beth, Christina, Aimee, Joey and Shelly. On the Uncle Side, I have Uncle Chris, James, and Brent. And, I forget anyone, I’m sorry. But, here’s a shout out to everyone. I really appreciate these people as well as many others because they keep in tough with me and really care about me, which is important in a Family. Now, Because the PTLS Family has grown, I Love to get to know about people and they get to know me. All in All, As You can see Family is very important to me, wether they are blood or not.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Cherish the Family you Have and Love the ones, you pick.

The Christianville Spirit: In Memory of Lynee Watson

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

May 23, 2012-TCS # 301

So, Yesterday was the 3rd year anniversary of My Awesome Friend, Lynee’s Death. So, I thought I would do a dedication to her. You See, in our lifetime, we meet people everyday that can be “Friends” to us and we have someone to talk with, that is the easy part of making friends. But, however, It’s the really great friends that you can tell anything to that really matter. Lynee was one of those friends but, remember that I was in Elementary School, so I wasn’t as social as I am now but, either way she still tried to understand me. Of Course, we know that sometimes we lose those Great Awesome Friends because they pass away or they disappear and you realize it too late, how great they were. Once we realize how great they actually are then it’s the greatest feeling in the world to realize that they were the friend that by the time, you become 70, they’ll be the one friend out of all the others you’ve been made that stood out, whether they are alive or dead. As for Lynee, I have comfort that I have her as My Guardian Angel, also I know that she can hear and see what I’m doing. If I’m doing the right or wrong thing, She sends me signs that tell me she’s around, stop doing what your doing or she’s just messing with me, as spirits do sometimes. Even though, I know that she’s around, I still miss her and I wish I knew that she had passed, so I could have paid my respects and tell her how I felt about her. I know now that she knows because like I said before, she watches over me. Now, I’m sure some of you are asking, “How do you know when she’s sending signs?” I know by feeling, things I see or hear, like the numbers 11 and 2. Back when I was obsessing about 11-11-11, I asked God to have me the Number 11 and 2 as confirmation that I’m doing the right thing or on the right path. Ever Since, I’ve been hearing and seeing the Number 11 when I’m on the right track. What I mean, by the way, about seeing the number 11 can be anything, in the time, something someone says, something on the news, and other times. All in All, Friends are easy to find, the Awesome True Friends are Priceless.   

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Cherish the True Friends that You Love because You Never Know.  

The Christianville Spirit: My 300th Newsletter!

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

May 16, 2012-TCS # 300

Well, My Readers, Loyal Followers, and Subscribers, We have made it! This is the 300th Newsletter of The Christianville Spirit and I cannot believe I’ve written this many newsletters since I started in October 2006. I mean, who would have thought I would write a newsletter that started out as an Email to Friends and Family to become a weekly newsletter that I write every Wednesday. As for My Reader Base, since this newsletter started, it has grown, along with the adding of more PTLS Family Members, which I Love! Anyway, in honor of My 300th Newsletter, I’m giving you a treat and I think you’ll LOVE this one. So, There is this show on FOX on Thursdays called Touch, It’s a really interesting show about an 11 year old boy with Autism who doesn’t speak words, but he has a gift; of connecting people from all over the world, by using Numbers. It’s one of those shows though, that you have to follow from the Beginning and Concentrate on it all the way because if you miss something, you won’t figure out how the people on the show are connected. It’s a take on the 6 Degrees of Separation, only it’s more relatable to Life. Anyway, so one of the connections was about this girl named Celeste, who met this wonderful guy in Italy and after they met, she went off to Paris and The guy left a videotape telling Celeste to meet him at this place in New York, so this random girl, Natalie, finds the tape and spreads the word in her video blog to try and re-unite Celeste and the guy, Paulo. So, long story short, Paulo doesn’t meet with Celeste but, Natalie instead because they both “Believe in Love.” So, that inspired me to begin what I’ll call an “I Believe in Love Campaign.” Not only does this follow the inspiration of Touch but, also there’s a saying that most Romantics believe in that says, “As long you believe in Love, Love will always find it’s way in” So, I’m going with that also. Now, considering there are many different kinds of Love, I’ll be specific in what kind of Love I believe in. The first one is one that most people have, Self-Love and Unconditional Love (or the love, you get from Family), of course having 3 Families (Intermediate, Smith Family, and PTLS Family) it’s quite a bit of Unconditional Love. But, the kind of Love that I believe in is more Romantic like, Belief in Soulmates, Life Mates, Twin Souls, The Person of Your Dreams, and Love at First Sight. But, the best thing to believe in is that there is one person who is created just for you by God to find and be with forever. That’s where the terms, “The Right Person”, “The One”, and “The Person of Your Dreams” comes from. Now, for the record, Soulmates, Life Mates, and Twin Souls are mainly the same thing, although New Agers and Scholars will tell you the more complex version of it. Now, when it comes to falling in love with this person, the question always is “how do you know that the person is The One?” Well, from what I’ve heard, the answer isn’t explainable to everyone else outside you and that person but, the most simple answer is that, “You just Know” and you just have that feeling that it works. The next question, people ask is “how will you know when you’ve met the person of your dreams?” because you have this magical feeling that This is It, That person is The One, it goes by the term, Love at First Sight. So, with that, I have high hopes that I’ll meet My Soulmate, “The One”, The Girl of My Dreams. All in All, If you have been blessed to find your “Person of Your Dreams” hold on to them tight and never let go.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Thanks for Following and Reading My 300 Newsletters. I’ll make sure to keep them coming.           

The Christianville Spirit: About The Girl of My Dreams

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

May 9, 2012- TCS # 299

So, back when I was working at the Frisco Roughriders, back in the “Madison Days” I told Madison one night that I kind of liked one of these girls that I worked with and one day she blurted out to a girl with the same name but, the wrong girl that I liked her and while we were walking to our working position at the ballpark called the “Center Field Entrance” as we’re walking, it’s pretty awkward between us, not knowing each other and Madison blurted that out. Then, she says, “What do you want in a Girl?” and at that time, all I could say was “I want her to be Nice.” Anyway, so that brings me to today, lately I’ve been talking a lot about the so-called “Girl of My Dreams,” the lets just say Mystery Girl that I’m going to fall in love with and be with the rest of My Life. By The Way, I am quite a romantic so the idea of Soulmates and The Girl of My Dreams is quite normal. So, years ago as you remember, I wrote things that were specific about a girl I named Carol Holiday. Well, the Carol Holiday thing actually came true but, she was married, had 2 kids, and was “Younger” than me. So, apparently, I wasn’t that specific in who I wanted and what she was going to be like. Now, although I tried again to come with a name and a story, I’m going to go the route of describing what she’ll be like. For the sake of The Law of Attraction, we’ll call her Bridgett and yes, that is what I’m led to believe is her name; Of Course, if it is or not, it is left to God. Anyway, I’ll start with what Patti Stanger of The Millionaire Matchmaker calls “The Non-Negotiable’s” or the things you can deal without and according to Patti’s Rules, there should be no more than five. So, here they are, She Must Believe in God, have a great relationship with God, or at least be Spiritual; She Can’t Drink or Smoke because I don’t like Alcohol myself but, Social Drinkers if anything is OK and I do not want a smoker; She has to be Smart, know’s what she’s talking, and we can have good discussions about things like News, Politics, and Geography and how they all relate; and, two things about Family, the first is that Family is Very Important to Me and I want it to be important to her too, and this one for the average person is a deal-killer, that they have to come from a Classy Family. Why?, Because My Family is very Classy and we’re one of those families that have “Family Dinners” to introduce new romantic interests and with that comes with, passing the “Grandma Honey Test” and they don’t pass, good luck. Only the best for us Smiths. Anyway, that covers the NG’s (My acronym for Nonnegotiable.) And, now for The rest the description, I believe that she’ll be down-to-earth, she likes Romantic Comedies, General Comedy Movies, and that after My Mom and I teach her about all the things of PLTS that she’ll be able to understand me, will help spread the word about PTLS, and get involved with My 3rd Family, My PTLS Family. I’m led to believe that in Bridgett’s Family, they do not swear or nor allow it in the their house, but I think the Classy Family thing I mentioned above explains that. Anyway, The best summery of what person that a Classy Family guy like me should have is something that again is referencing Patti Stanger, “Beauty, Brains, and Class.” Now, as a note, the Beauty thing, she can be Beautiful but, looks don’t matter to Me. And, the big question, does she or will she have Special Needs, well in Bridgett’s Case I don’t think so but, like Beauty, it doesn’t matter wether or not she has Special Needs and, finally, she’ll be what I call “My Life Path,” meaning she doesn’t just live in the direction that I want to go, she lives in the city that I want to go. All in All, Having Special Needs doesn’t mean that I don’t dream of finding My Soulmate, I know she’s out there and it just matter of time.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Stay Tuned for Next Week’s 300th Christianville Spirit!

     

The Christianville Spirit: The Meaning of MMMBop

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

May 2, 2012- TCS # 298

You Know Something that people don’t notice or care about anymore?, the Lyrics to the songs that we hear everyday on the radio and in TV Commercials.  Over the years, the “Lyrics” to songs have gotten less clean and have less meaning now then ever. You See, back in the old days, before my generation and during my generation, The word “Lyrics” meant more of a poem about something that happened in your life, someone that you really loved, or dedicated songs to someone. Now-a-days, not necessarily, Now, Of course it depends on the artist whether it’s dedicated to someone like family or a person you’ve always loved, a few songs of Lady Gaga’s are dedicated ones to Family and for the person you’ve always loved there’s “You Belong with Me” from Taylor Swift. But, never mind that. I mean those songs like (With all due Respect to the artists) “I’m Sexy and I know it”, a song called “Hot Problems” about the fact that pretty girls have the same issues as we do (they say it’s worse than Rebecca Black), and of course Rihanna’s recent songs. By The Way, people thought that Rebecca Black’s “Friday” was bad and it turns out to be good; I’d think of it as one of the songs to play on our way to work and home singing “It’s Friday!.”  But, anyway, what about those good meaning songs or songs that have a meaning that no one notices until you listen to it real carefully, songs like Hanson’s Legendary song “MMMBop.” Now, for those readers of mine outside The US, Hanson was a good boy band that was as good as The UK’s “Spice Girls” and for those here in The Us, this song is about get into your head again, after you tried so hard to get it out. Anyway, this song “MMMBop” isn’t just about what sounds like messed up lyrics but, the words in between that matter. So, it starts like this, “You have too many relationships in life, Only one or two will last, you go though all this pain and strife, and life is gone too fast” they continue “and, it’s gone so fast,  yea” and now, here’s the important part, “So, hold on to the ones who really care, in the end they’ll be the ones who will there, when you get old and start losing hair, can you tell me, Who will still care?” and then comes the funny lyrics, “MMMBop pa-du-pa-dop...” and finally sing “In an MMBop, their gone. In an MMBop, their not there” and “but, you don’t care.” Anyway, I would have to copy and paste all the lyrics so you know the whole song, but I’m pulling the important lyrics that I know by heart. So, What do the lyrics mean? Well, like most art as My Brother will tell you is subject to one’s own interpretation but, I believe it means, stick by the friends who really care about you and you care about them, no matter what they say or do and stick with them. Because even though you maybe going different directions in your life, you should still care for them. And, the weird thing is that you care for them but, they don’t for you that much, they will realize that they do care and they’ll be standing there next to you in the end. All in all, that’s the true meaning of being “Friends” with someone. 

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. MMMBop through Life.         

The Christianville Spirit: God's Church

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

April 25, 2012-TCS # 297

So, You Know what I really haven’t written about in a while? Church, or anything about that wonderful church I went to years ago. So, This Week, I’m going to write about it. You See, In My Life, I’ve gone to churches of many different branches of Christianity. I’ve been through many of them, Catholic (because My Mom was Catholic), Episcopalian (something different from Catholic), United Methodist (both here and in San Antonio), and Non-denominational (which was the church I had gone to years ago).  But, the sad part about all this was that except, the one that we go to for the Annual “Special Friends Christmas Dinner”, there aren’t many churches that are accommodating to People with Special Needs. You See, the one that has this Christmas Dinner is first of all, the largest church known in Plano. We have alot of Mega-Churches here in Texas. This church has their own separate area where they can watch the service on the TV Screen or do something else. But the church that we went to, in the way of services was beyond amazing. In Fact, most of it’s congregation referred to it’s services as “Shows”; as in, “are you going to the 8:00 Saturday Night show or the 11:00AM Sunday Morning show” it was that good. How the service would play out was you’d walk into this room that looked like you were attending a rock concert. After you sat down, you’d look at the screens on either side of the stage and it would show a countdown to when the service was ready to start and once it did, that’s when the awesome part came. The band would start playing Christian Rock Songs that got you ramped up to worship God, I mean your hands were in the air, Clapping along with the music, Standing up, and just plain peppy. it was just awesome! It was not like any church service I’ve ever been too. Anyway, after a couple songs, one of the pastors would come out and introduce the announcements of what was going on at the church, following that then, Pastor Keith would come out and do the sermon. Now, the sermon was more relatable to our everyday life and how we can relate to it. Which brings us to the not-so-great part. You See, I though it was going to be awesome if I brought My Friend of mine who worked with me at the local Baseball Team, Frisco Roughriders. I brought so that he could experience this awesome church service and besides, he hadn’t been to a church service in a while so, I decided to take him. So, everything went well until the sermon came and let’s just say, we got a little over-excited. Now, I don’t remember what the whole sermon was about but, I think it was about living the life you want and what to do about it. The thing that got us so excited and by the way, “Pastor Keith” brought this on him, by getting you excited by saying things like “Dance like No one is watching”, “Care less about what other’s think”, and the thing that got us excited, “Love like You’ve never been Hurt!” and then he said from a bible verse, “Follow Me” My Friend and I thought that we were supposed to repeat it and we hollered, “Yeah!” and “Follow Me”. Now, keep in mind though, that during this time in My Life, I was dealing with Madison in “The Madison Days.” Anyway, I thought everyone was going to shout along with us because he said, “Shout it out!” and we did. After that, the whole congregation and Pastor Keith went silent, A second later he says, pointing toward me and my friend at that time, I was about 20 or 19; he asked “who old are you”, I was silent and My Friend answered “I’m 17” and he said “you and your 16 year Old friend, we are supposed to follow you?” I would probably list that moment as one the most embarrassing moments and My Mom was really upset. So, after that, he moved on with the service and at the end, one of the ushers came to meet up with us asking “How old are you”, “What makes you interested in our church”, and stuff like that. From that time on, we stopped going to that church, we spent a couple sundays watching it online and he mentioned us twice in the services afterwords. After a while, My Mom went back to the church and My Mom explained the situation and inquired why they don’t welcome those with Special Needs to the church, as it turns out, we weren’t the only ones who this happened to. So, we stopped going and watching it online and we moved on. This whole  thing leads me to believe that if church is called, “God’s House” then, why don’t they except people with Special Needs and I figure that as long as you have a close relationship with God, you put him first, and you pray daily (however many times a day you want, because he’s always listening) then, you don’t have to go to a Church building or at least one that doesn’t except you. Now, of course that doesn’t stop me from going to the Christmas Dinner because I know full-heartedly that they will except me there. All in all, God knows who He put on this earth and he loves me alot.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Stand on your feet and shout out praise, regardless of those who agree or don’t.       

The Christianville Spirit: The Bridge to Nowhere

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

April 18, 2012-TCS # 296

So, over the past couple months, The City of Dallas has been hard at work coming up with the next awesome thing to make our city a bit more attractive than it is already. You Know, Every City needs to have to a makeover every now and then, so they started with introducing and voting on a Project called “The Trinity River Project,” where they redo the entire riverfront on the Trinity River, along areas surrounding Downtown Dallas. So, their idea, out of many, where to build a tollway along side the Trinity River from West of Dallas into Downtown, add really cool parks to it, and finally rebuild and build new bridges to cross the Trinity River. Well, as far I know, the “Trinity River Project” isn’t doing so well due to funding and flooding hazards, especially the “Trinity River Tollway” and it’s awesome parks. Also, that and the fact that most of the “area of concern,” we’ll call it, which is just Northwest of downtown is a very industrial and poor area. Anyway, they decided to go with the building of existing bridges like the I-30 and I-35E Bridge, which if your from around here, are very old. However, that brings me to the new bridge that they’ve been building. You See, again The City of Dallas thought that it would be smart if they built a new bridge with an awesome design as sort of an extension of Woodall Rodgers Frwy., which runs as a connector highway from those who are trying to get from I-35E to US 75 to reach northern suburbs like Plano and Mckinney, it’s a road the at runs the northern half of downtown; if you are from around here, you know what I mean. Also, it connects Woodall Rodgers in Downtown to Singleton Blvd. in what they call “West Dallas.”  Anyway, they started building it and wanted to have it done to shine off for the Super Bowl that was here last year. So, because the Super Bowl came before it was done, they had a lighting ceremony to show that it was there and it was going to make the skyline look even better. However, this bridge named the “Margaret Hunt-hill Bridge” has had a lot of issues in the way of the weather (Severe Weather, Crazy Drought, and Crazy Severe Weather), Being Struck by Lightning, in The more official Lightning Ceremony; the lights took a while to come on (which by the way, was really funny to watch it on the news as it happened), and changing the opening date twice. Now, of course My Mom will tell you that the building of this bridge, “Wasn’t supposed to be there” because of all the problems that it has encountered and in her eyes, if it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen naturally. Because, as I told you of all the problems, if you force something that you want to happen and it seems like it’s happening, your going to have “Epic Fails” along the way. I know it’s not related but, as My Mom’s former boss, Kelli said about her move to Arkansas, “It happened Naturally, I didn’t have to lift a finger.” Anyway, the bridge finally opened on March 31, two weeks too late and yes, knowing me, My Mom and I drove across the first day it opened. By the way, the bridge looks really good for a bridge that goes to the poor and not-so-good part of town. Of Course, the next part of the project will be when it get interesting, The Re-Building of the I-30 Bridge and I-35E Bridge. I’ll tell you though, that I think those bridges are meant to be built because the existing bridges have been there for a long time and there is more traffic then there was when it was being built. Also, the view coming in on the I-35E Bridge will be really awesome with a new design. So, I’ll leave you with an update on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge’s Epic Fails, there’s been a lot of accidents at the “West Dallas” end of the bridge because people are driving too fast and they don’t realize that the bridge dumps onto a not-so-thoroughfare street; now, you tell me, Is it meant to be there or not? All in all, like I said, If things are meant to happen, then they will, naturally.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit.  Let things you want come Naturally, otherwise be ready for the Epic Fails.               

The Christianville Spirit: Transitions and Crossroads

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

April 11, 2012- TCS # 295

So, For This Week’s Newsletter I’m going to talk about something that is more personal to me that has been going on. We’ll call it, “Transitions & Crossroads.” You See, unfortunately we have what I’ll call, “Transitions & Crossroads” in our life where things start to change a little bit for the better and although, you don’t see it that way at the first; when the phase is over, you’ll wonder why it didn’t happen sooner because it pushes you. Well, that’s what has been happening to me in some way, where you start to lose contact with your high school friends (and, the really good ones, you keep) and of course, you start making new friends that last into your adulthood. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m used to people “Moving and Shaking,” (making big changes). I mean my friend, Karleen, alone has moved to 8 States in her life, so she’s used to it. And yes, she is moving again and for what I believe is a good reason, it’s quite daring but, that’s not what this is about. The Fact is that I’m losing or have lost some of my really good friends recently. For example, I know I’ve already written about this but, it still bothers me sometimes of My really good friend, Lynee, dyeing. Now, as I’ve mentioned before that I had a crush on her and she was a really good friend, but, I’ve realized just how important she was in my life. How she would hang out with me, talked to me, and yes, she did understand, or at least tried to understand, the things I was saying (because my speech was not very clear and I was hard to understand), and she liked me for who I was. The second time that I saw her, back in Jasper, it took me a long time to get up the nerve to say hi to her and try to jog her memory about who I was and our memories together. Then, when I think about the date of when she passed away, I wondered “What was I doing then, in May of 2008.” I asked my friend, Karleen, that and she said, “Probably crushing on Madison.” Although I think she thought I was referring to 2006, when Lynee’s Friend died and Karleen’s Dad too, she was probably right. However, As much fun as I was crushing on, holding hands with, and kissing Madison, I would have loved to seen Lynee one last time so I could pay respects to her and thank her for being so awesome with me and understanding me. Of Course, it also might have helped to tell her how I felt about her and now, she knows because I said, “I Love You too, Lynee” in my prayer when she died and on top of that, I’ve assigned her to be My Guardian Angel so she can watch over me. Anyway, enough about Lynee, there is also another friend that I’m losing. Now, this friend is a more recent friend from High School. I’ve mentioned him several times in my newsletters, his name is Steven. Steven is moving for the first time in my life and I mean, really moving. Now, the first couple times he’s moved were to the temporary group homes in San Marcos, Sunset, and Tyler. But this is very different because he’s moving out of Plano. Now, rest assured he’s just moving to Dallas, which is just down the road a bit, but that’s not what bugs me. You See, he’s had a love for and a dream to finally be with Tigger (the disney character, that he sees in his mind and has given him great comfort for many years). He’s always said, in his deep passionate voice, “One Day I’m going to able to bounce with Tigger by My Side!” and I believed him but, I didn’t know how he has going to do it, but I knew somehow he would. Now, keep in mind here that Steven and I have been through a lot in both the “Ali Days”, “Madison Days,” and Job Crew ( which was a program at school) which was my favorite time and he stuck with me through that. Then, he started dipping his feet into a new thing called Second Life ( which is a game on the computer). Now, when he first started Second Life, I warned him to be very careful of the kind of people that are on there. He just ignored me and went on, he and I, however, have slowed down our communication, fewer calls, fewer IMs(although I don’t IM that much anymore), and fewer emails. Well, recently he emailed me, telling me that he was moving to Dallas, that things with the furries (or Furrsuiters, to be correct, people who he has met that wear fur suits) is going well, and that he’ll be much closer to the “Furrsuiter Convention.” but, when I emailed him back to ask him, where he’s moving and everything like that, he gave me a very unlike Steven response telling his whole “Tigger Dream Story.” and saying that his dream has finally coming true. Now, don’t get me wrong, I believe in following your dreams but, he wrote to me as if I were someone else, as if I were one of the furries and not his best friend. Anyway, we still say, as we have for many years, “Love you like a Brother” as we’ve always said so, that’s all right but, I’m concerned that he’s turning into a different person then what I’ve know him to be. However, ending this newsletter on a more positive note, I met a new friend named Danielle who has become a sister to me because she has PTLS also. How awesome! All in all, this tells you that in life, friends come and go but, whether friends stick around or not is up to Fate, because as I believe, “Everything happens for a Reason.”     

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit.  Cherish The Friends You Have, While you still have them.      

The Christianville Spirit: Texture Issues

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

April 4, 2012-TCS # 294

So, For This Week’s Newsletter, I’m going to continue to help answer questions on PTLS. Now, This Question is actually another trademark to PTLS, just like the Lining-Up of Objects and Pacing back & forth. Anyway, This is something that effects more aspects of Life of kids with PTLS and that is Textures. Before I start, here’s My PTLS Disclaimer, Not ALL PTLS Kids have this particular Behavior. So, back to Texture Issues. Now, our issue with Texture is not just with Food, it can be Objects, or things that we hear about or see. As for me, I’ve had Texture and Appearance issues since I was younger. When I was Younger, I actually didn’t eat that much or many different foods because I didn’t like the way they appeared or the fact that it didn’t look good to me and I didn’t like the Texture of it. According to My Mom, I didn’t even eat the meat baby food when I was a baby, but I would the Fruits and Vegetables. As I got a little older, like in the Child Years, I loved to eat things like Mac N‘ Cheese, Grilled Cheese, Pasta, and Yogurt. In Fact, that was nearly all I ate until My Mom figured that she’d put something that I liked like Honey or Cheese, on top of a New Food and then, I would eat it. Also, when we’d go to this Mexican Restaurant named The El Norte which was down the street from our house back in the “Jeff Era”, one of them would get something that had a Texan Staple called, “Guacamole” or Avocado smashed together, every time I would start gagging because I didn’t like the Light Green color or it’s appearance because it reminded me of a putty called “Gak”, more on that in a minute. Anyway, after a while, I started gaining new foods to eat because I started to find them more appetizing that I did before. But, there are some foods that I still don’t eat like French Fries because they looked gross to me when I was younger. However, weirdly enough, I’ll eat French Fries if they had Cheese on top or as an alternative, I’ll try Sweet Potato Fries because they taste really good. So, back to the “Gak” thing, I don’t like it at all; I don’t like the appearance or even the sound of it, it makes me gag and get sick sometimes. The same thing goes with Silly String, Silly Putty, and Slime, all of them are tied together, I get the same feeling with all of them. Now, My Mom and Brother will tell you, the ultimate signs that I don’t like something is My “I’m Concerned about Something, Something’s Bothering Me, or I’m going to be Sick” expression on my face. You’ll know when this is happening because I start becoming quiet, being less talkative than I am usually am, and I do what My Mom calls, “Shutting Down.” So, the next time your child turns down eating a Food or being near an Object, check to see if it’s a Texture thing. All in all, Don’t worry about your kids not eating because they will eventually eat more than they do now.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. What we feel, taste, and see does make a difference.              

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.

   

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.   

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.

         

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.   

The Christianville Spirit: Driving and Dating

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

February 29, 2012-TCS # 289

So, I know that for many PTLS Family Members, particularly new ones but sometimes the not-so-new ones, have many questions about what’s going to be ahead for their child. I mean, if I were in their position, I’d be worrying about the bigger things beyond the childhood age, such as Puberty, Dating, Driving, Drinking, and Marriage...just to name a few. So, I’m going to answer the Driving and Dating questions from My Experience. Now, as with any person there’s those minor-crushes that we have in both Elementary and Middle School like I did with Lynee, Lauren Anderson, and of course Ali. The first real girlfriend I had was a girl named Madison. Now, before I get into talking about Madison, I know PTLS Members are secretly curious whether the people I had crushes on and had as girlfriends where girls who had special needs or not? Well, honestly I don’t pay attention to that because it doesn’t matter to me. But, for Reference, Lynee had some kind of Special Needs, Lauren didn’t, and Ali had Down Syndrome. Anyway, the first girlfriend I had was Madison.  Now, Madison, to put it nicely, wasn’t the most liked girl at school in both High School and Senior High School. She was the girl who got made fun of and if you got on her bad side, well good luck, being in her presence. Anyway, one day I was IMing with My Friend, Kristen; Madison asked her for my screen name and so she gave it to her, then madison asked me out over the internet. I was a little hesitant about it because of who she was and the fact that I never gone out with someone before. So, finally I was like “Ok, fine, it’ll be a good trial run” So, we went out for 4 Months and it was a pretty good 4 months, I mean we would celebrate each month together and I would count the days we had been together. Of Course, the way it ended, today I’m not very proud of. You See, I’ve said many times that I don’t like to see people in distress and I didn’t really want to tell her that I wanted to break up with her and watch her get upset so, of course, I asked My Friend, Mark to do it for Me, I know it was dumb, but at that time I was really nervous and scared. After that we were still friends and we dated on and off while we worked together at the Double-A League Baseball stadium called the Frisco Roughriders. Anyway, on the Fourth of July I wanted to see the fireworks but she was not feeling well and wanted to go home. We ended up getting into a big argument and decided to call it quits. The end of the baseball season came and I decided to quit working there because like I said before, if you were on her bad side, it wasn’t good. Now, of course If you know me well enough, I wrote a newsletter about the whole quitting deal that wasn’t so nice about her because I was upset and yes, I called her a bully, which in a way, she is but, I never got to write about what I liked about her or what I learned. With anything in this world, Everything comes with a lesson and everything happens for a reason. Not all the things I learned from her were good things but, some of them were. Like for example, She thought me all about dating and how it felt to have a girlfriend. As well as the typical behaviors like Hugging, Kissing, Cuddling, and Holding Hands. My favorite memory of her was a time I was walking toward the school and I saw her start to run and excitedly yelled, “Christian!” She ran up to me and gave a big hug. Now, of course, having Madison as a girlfriend was really fun and quite a learning experience about Dating and the Art of having a girlfriend. Of Course, My Mom will tell you, the whole thing nearly gave her a heart attack when I kissed Madison in front in My Mom while saying good night to her.

      Moving on to the driving part of this segment. The thing about Driving is that I know how to drive things like Go-Karts and Golf Karts because in the latter years of “The Jeff Era” I grew up driving around the yard of the Lake House and the Field across the street. However the problem is that if I were to drive on the road, I would want to look at the signs and surroundings because they interest me which would lessens my attention to the road and what the other drivers are doing. Not only that but, My Reaction time isn’t that fast enough for me to react to someone cutting me off or someone slamming on their brakes. My Mom has always said that with me driving, “I would be more of a danger to the other drivers than they would be to Me.” Now, of course this didn’t stop My Brother from pulling the car over in the neighborhood and letting me drive down the street; yes, that did happen. It Happened on the way home from School, we turned onto the street that leads us home, and he stopped the car and said “I’m going to let you drive us home” and I freaked out thinking, “I’m going to crash this car”, luckily though, if I did, it was an old beat-up car. So I got into the drivers seat I pressed the gas accidentally thinking we could go but, Thank God it was in Park. So, I switched it to Drive and I drove around the neighborhood. I also drove by a park that had a ton of kids and other cars parked, luckily I didn’t hit any. Then, when we drove down our street, My Brother called My Mom and said, “Mom, Come Outside I want to show you something!” and she saw me driving up the road and her eyes were so big. I then, turned in the driveway and My Mom was probably thinking, “Please don’t hit My Car” and “Oh My God, Christian’s Driving!” and, then that was it, we were finally home. That was the only time that My Brother let me drive his car. So, as for Driving, It’s not that I can’t drive because I can drive Go-Karts or Golf Carts but, for My Own Safety and the Safety of Others, I choose not to drive. So as for getting around, I’ll have others do the driving for me. All-in-all, I hope that answers your questions on Driving and Dating. Now, Remember that these are My Experiences and Not All PTLS Children will have the same situation. So if you have any questions or comments please let me know.      

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Be Grateful for the things that Someone can do, Not what they can’t do.

The Christianville Spirit: College Adventure

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

February 22, 2012-TCS # 288

So, Just this morning, My Brother decided that he would take me to school with him so, I could see the school that he goes to and see what it looks like. Well, let me tell me you, it was very interesting experience. Now, the things I’m going to tell you, are purely what I think and how I see the world, so don’t hold it against me. Anyway, it started at 10 am when My Brother and I arrived at where my brother goes to school, the University of North Texas or UNT for short. Now, a funny point, it’s actually rare (well, not THAT rare) so see me up before noon. So, when we got there, he showed me to the building where his class was at, for a reference for me to where he was going to be and it gave me a reference point on this large campus. And, it was a very large campus, I mean it makes Plano Senior High look like a really small college campus. By the way, Plano Senior High had 5 separate building organized by letters A-E. UNT, however had buildings by subject name which there weren't many that said, “This is the Science Building” or This is the History Building.” This place had buildings named like Sycamore Hall (which, by the way is the secondary library) anyway, I walked around past and through many halls until I got into the main center area of the campus. Now, Of Course, I enjoyed walking through the Music Hall which was nice because I got to hear students practicing their music. Anyway, the first thing I saw the young Ron Paul supporters trying to get votes for him. So, I talked to these 2 girls that where standing at the Ron Paul booth. I started talking to one of them who said she was a “Fiscal Conservative” and she told me how Ron Paul wants Small Government which between I and Glenn Beck want for our country. So, I talked with her for a little while about why Ron Paul is better than any of the other candidates but, it took a while to convince me. Anyway, next I wanted to talk to the people that wanted to legalize marijuana and I wanted to tell them my views about it and taxing it. So, I asked the guy to pitch it to me and he said, “Why should I? If you don’t support it, I have enough people who do.”

so, I just continued walking around because I didn’t want to get in trouble. Anyway, then I checked out the Radio, TV, and Performing Arts Building which was quite fascinating. I got to see the workings of a radio channel that broadcasts from there. I got to talk to the Radio Producer to ask what she does out of curiosity and she told me the things that she does. Following that, I continued walking around in a loop until I got to the Ron Paul table again to see what they were doing now. By the way, by this time, it’s almost noon and I was looking for a place to eat. So, I talked to the same girl I did earlier only this time, there was a Homeless Guy with his dog, who was selling beads and the UNT police was giving him a ticket for selling things on campus and I asked the girl what she thought and she said “It’s our constitutional right that you can do that”(referring to the homeless guy selling beads). Anyway, I walked more toward the center area and sat with my bag and ate my lunch to the sounds of young men dressed as pirates to try and get people to join the UNT Sailing Team saying things like “There’s a Sailing Team at YOUR School!”, “Give Up for Lent, not sailing on the sailing team!”, and “Sign up before I lose my voice!”. After Lunch, I went back to the Ron Paul table and talked to the people there when a person with a History Major who was talking about small government and issues with our current one. So, him, another guy, and I started talking about all the stuff we’ve learned from many sources until, that is, someone who was very interesting came up to the table. The first thing I noticed which was nice was that she had a big cross on her shirt. So, she comes up and she began with saying that Ron Paul doesn’t support women and everything associated with it. Also, she started talking about how Ron Paul isn’t telling the truth and he has two sides of him. Then, she said something that floored me and believe me, it wasn’t the first. First, she used, let’s just say, very “Colorful Language” about Ron Paul and us wasting our time. One of the people responded with “Why are you wasting your time with People wasting their time?”. Now, let me remind you, I don’t support anyone but, I just wondered up to the table.  Then, the next thing that floored me, one of the people asked “So, what kind of Government do you want to have?”, she responded, “Anarchy” and I thought, Oh My Goodness! I thought about the things Glenn Beck said about how the left is indoctrinating young people in our schools but, I had never seen in real life before and today I saw it, from this anarchist to signs on the bulletin board saying, “Join the Socialists.” Anyway, I kept listening to the anarchist-cross-girl and then, she said, “Join the Radical Left!” and things about the Radicals and how Ron Paul of course is Radical also, which according to the Ron Paul table he wasn’t. Anyway, after she left, I continued talking to this historian about everything that I’ve heard and he told me his opinion about what I was telling him plus the stuff that he knew about the subject. I did help assure one of the people at the table who was bothered by the anarchist-cross-girl and I told him about the Abe Lincoln quote that came from an inaugural speech of his, “Malice toward None, Charity toward All.” Just then, I looked over and saw the homeless guy’s dog knock over the box of beads that was perfectly organized, so I went over to help him; I talked to another girl who was giving out a booklet stating, “25 Reasons to become Vegetarian” which was interesting but very depressing to read. I ended my day with visiting the library, I read for a while, and then, I met up with My Brother and we drove back home. All in all, the people there were all interesting, colorful (both figuratively and literally), and most of all, Welcoming.        

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Life is always  full of Colorful People, You never know where You’ll find them. 

         

The Christianville Spirit: Infectious- A Love Story

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

February 15, 2012- TCS # 287

So, It’s that time of year again, A Time for Luuuv and My Favorite kind of Movies, Romantic Comedies. This “Time for Love” is known as Valentine’s Day. However, with Valentine’s Day, people have different views of it, some people love it like crazy and others, of course some people hate it. My Mom calls it names like “Single’s Awareness Day”, “Unconditional Love Day”, and “Heart Day”. People who don’t like it call it “The Day of Evil” or “Empty The Wallet Day.” Anyway, then comes My View of Valentine’s Day. I don’t have that big of an issue with it, as far I know it’s a day for Lovers to be Romantic, A Day (or in this year’s case, a weekend marathon of Romantic Comedies) and A day where Card Companies become richer. Of Course, there’s also the aspect of Flower Companies getting rich too but, I’m okay with that because Flowers are at least, in my opinion, More thoughtful than a card. and, The Flower thing brings me to the story of this Newsletter. You See, back in High School (in most places, it’s considered Jr. High) when I was crushing on a girl named Ali; At lunch and before school everyday, starting at the beginning of February, they started selling roses that you could buy and have sent to your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day along with a serenade. So, each day I would walk by or watch what they were doing at lunch and before school. Of Course, it didn’t bother me because I thought it was cute what they were doing because the money helped them with something, I don’t remember what it was for. I even thought of getting some for Ali, but at that time, she didn’t know how much I liked her. But, Anyway, when Valentine’s Day came around and I watched them bring out the flowers and serenade people. And, it wasn’t just the girls that got them. So, I watched them deliver flowers and stuff to the guys and the girls (at least as far as I remember) and I was hoping that I would get something. Anyway, I kept watching and as Lunch went on I started to feel bad because no one was bringing anything to us at My Friends and My Table. Finally, at the end of Lunch, neither one of my friends (or myself) got anything. This was the only year that they sold Flowers at school besides once at Plano Senior High but, that one wasn’t much of a big deal. Now, of course, in Valentine’s Day History, I had many good Valentine’s Days. In the 2nd grade I got to hand out valentines to kids in my class and I got some from them. So, don’t think that just because I have Special Needs, known as PTLS, that I didn’t get to enjoy the day because I did. Of Course, My Mom will point out that there was one Notable Valentine’s Day in Middle School where I made a Valentine for Ali (yes, that’s the same girl) only this year I had just a crush on her. Anyway, on the day of, I was so nervous about giving it to her that I threw up (not in front of her luckily). I really believe in Loving Everyone and Love in General, one year I went to My Mom’s Office and I gave out Free Hugs to whoever wanted one. And, this gave me an idea this year, because the rose story in High School, I started thinking about spreading love to everyone and getting a pile of Roses and giving them to Random People. I think that would be fun and you can do it too. All in all, Valentine’s Day isn’t just about Couples but, it’s about the whole aspect of Love.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Spread the Love to Everyone on Valentine’s Day.            

The Christianville Spirit: "Da-World" Though My Eyes

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

February 8, 2012- TCS # 286

So, I’m going to give you another helpful view through the eyes of PTLS. You Know, those Disney commercials where the parents surprise their kids saying, “Guess what Kids, WE’RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!” and The Kids hoop and holler about the idea and thought of “Going to Disney World.” It’s not always the case with us PTLSers. You Know, It reminds me and bothers me because, I remember when My Dad told me that we were going to Disney World, I don’t remember getting thrilled about it. In Fact, I remember that I was nervous about it. You See, I’ve actually never really got excited about going to any theme parks, the only reason I’d go was because everyone else was going so, I had no choice but I still got anxious. Growing up, I didn’t really enjoy riding on rides, I just did it because my parents had me do it to help with my fear and teach me what it felt like. Now, don’t get me wrong, I did like those kiddy rides like the mini coaster or the ride where you drive on a course at Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. and, of course there was that tall wooden coaster named The Rattler, that I was afraid to get on and eventually, it turned out to be My Favorite Roller coaster. Anyway, theme parks didn’t and still don’t thrill me like it does to Normal Kids. When I saw things that were big, to me, they were really big and scary. When you put a lot of activity, big objects, and loud noises; it is really overwhelming and causes me to be Anxious, lose focus, and have a hard time shutting my brain to shut down. I remember crying the whole time with My Dad at Universal Studios because he didn’t understand my perception of things and I couldn’t explain it to him because of My PTLS. Now, that I’m older and I’m able to explain things and even just communicate, I can tell people what I’ve been feeling and how I see The World. My Mom understood a lot but, is still learning. She never knew to what extent these activities really did to me. Now, don’t get me wrong, PTLS does have some disadvantages but, we really don’t if you see the world through our eyes, not your eyes. One Thing that I believe that PTLS blessed me with is  to get the chance to meet and talk to PTLS Family Members from Around The World that I would have never met or visited with. Also, with My Geographical Mind, I learn new things about places around the world. All in all, I thank you all for coming into My Life and me coming into yours.

Thanks for Reading the Christianville Spirit. Color Your World though the Eyes of PTLS.               

The Christianville Spirit: The PTLS Highway

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

February 1, 2012-TCS # 285

So, as I meet an increasing amount of PTLS Family Members, I start to get more questions about my childhood with PTLS like, when I did such and such, how I felt when this happened, at what age did you do things like talking, walking, or eating different foods, the list goes on... Anyway, I know that along the journey of PTLS or what I’ll call, “The PTLS Highway”. Parents of kids with PTLS are concerned or worried about what is further ahead up the road, and you know what they say, “A Highway is full of surprises!” meant both literally and figuratively. Also, parents do get antsy about what is on the road ahead because of fear of the unknown, kind of like I do when I drive on a road I haven’t gone on before on Google Maps ‘ Street View. So, to help you, My PTLS Family Members, I’m going to put what I know into what I know best, Geography. You know, when you take road trip, and of course you have to connect one large city to another and in between seems like an endless amount of towns before the major city? Sometimes, it takes so long to get to the next city. You start thinking, “Uggh!, When Are we getting to the next city, it’s taking Forever?!?!” and by the time you see the sign that says “Next City- 20 Miles(32 Km)”, your about ready to give up and next thing you know, your finally in the next city. Well, in a nutshell that’s when the big milestones and changes occur with PTLS, in the next major city. Now, I don’t remember well when I started talking and other things, but I do remember this, All major changes and milestones occur on the 5’s, meaning ages on the 5’s like 5, 10, 15, 20... Anyway, now as I told you that the changes happen on the 5’s in Geography terms that would be 5 Miles(8 Km). but, to PTLS Parents 5  Miles seems like 100 Miles(160 Km). and, the truth is that it seems like that because our brain development goes in big spurts with a long time with nothing which is like a huge exciting attraction and then, nothing for miles. Anyway, back to my geography analogy, so your a PTLS Mom driving on “The PTLS Highway” anxiously watching the road signs that say, “Next Big Change-50 Miles (80 Km)” along with the name of some town that you could care less about. So, the exit to this “no-one-cares” town comes and your watching the signs that say, “PTLS Hwy. North:--Walking-Talking-ville” and then, when cross the bridge of the road that leads to “no-one-cares-ville”, you look over towards the town and you are surprised by something little occurring down that road. Of Course, you think, “Oh, that’s nothing” and “We HAVE TO get to Walking-Talking-Ville!” so,out of curiosity, you turn around back to the little town to check it out. So you go down that little road and you discover something. A Sign that says “Welcome to Eat-A-New-Food-ville”, you get to the town center, and you notice something that you would have thought would be further on up the road; your child is eating a new food. Then, your pleasantly surprised and just for a time, you forget about getting to “Walking-Talking-Ville” and you spend the night here in “Eat-A-New-Food-Ville.” After the night in town, you get back on the road and the same process continues until the next city, changes happen, and then it’s back to square-one with the towns again until the next city after that. Anyway, the point here (and, this is not just for PTLS) but, life isn’t about getting to the next city, it’s about stopping in towns of all sizes and exploring and enjoying it because you never know what your going to find. All in all, Life is an adventure and the adventure isn’t getting there, it’s the journey on the way to get there. So in my geographical mind; it doesn’t matter where you are on the journey of life, just take your time and take one town at a time. Remember to stop and enjoy each little town along the way. You might just find a wonderful adventure or surprise hidden there.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Adventure isn’t about getting somewhere. It’s about the journey along the way to get there. So get your maps out and open your eyes to the wonderful PTLS journey.