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.  

The Christianville Spirit: Memory Lane Trip

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

January 25, 2012- TCS # 284

So, as most of you know, My Readers, based on what I’ve written many times in this newsletter, that I like to take drives to places. I love to take drives with My Mom to different places whether it’s up the road to see a new neighborhood, drive down a new road, check out new or changed road signs, or update myself on how a road or area is doing. Of Course, sometimes I like to venture out of the city and see what’s out there, which could be anywhere from a drive out a couple miles and then turn back home, or drive out of the city, up to 3 or 4 Hours. So, My Mom and I usually like to do our drives on Saturday. But, this past Saturday, we took a drive that was long-awaited for me, because the fact that it was 2 hours away and it has to do with our history. You see, back in what I call, “The Jeff Era”(or the time when we were living with Mr. Jeff), we had a Lake House that we would go to every now and then during the summer.  This Lake House was nice because it was in a secluded neighborhood in the country, I mean the nearest major city was Wichita Falls, which was around 30 Miles away. Anyway, in the “Jeff Era,” we had a lot of fun at our Lake House. Among the many things we did; we would go hiking up in the hills, spend a whole day out on the lake in our pontoon boat, and drive a go-kart around the yard and a field across the street. Of Course, Mr. Jeff and Michael loved to fish in the pond that we lived on. I, of course didn’t really like that because it looked gooey. Anyway, at night we would do bonfires and during the 4th of July, we would shoot off fireworks. Anyway, back to the drive, My Mom and I drove back to the lake house to see what it looked like now, since we haven’t seen it since the end of “The Jeff Era.” The First thing I noticed, was the street signs were Green with White Letters, when it used to be White with Black Letters. Of Course, The House itself now looks totally different, for example the new owners built a covered patio at the entrance, they also glass-enclosed the screen porch, that we used to love to sit in when it was really hot. The House’s color is now grey, when it used to be a Dark Green color. After we saw the house, then we went on the route we used to get the pontoon boat to the lake and as we drove along the pond, we were shocked at how dry it was and the main lake itself was really dry too. We drove past the 2 boat ramps that we would use and I walked down the one that we used most of the time, to see how dry it was. It was so dry that I could see the mud at the end of the ramp.  After that, we went back down to the main road, back toward the house and saw the changes again a little more up close but, not too close. We also found that the neighbors that we had across the yard from us were still living there. On one of the streets, we saw something amazing. There were water towers and on the 2nd water tower there were Hawks and Buzzards on every railing, lined up shoulder to shoulder, on the tower as well as on top and surrounding it. My Mom and I were so amazed by it that My Mom even took pictures of them. After that, we drove back out of the neighborhood where they still have someone at the manning the post at the front gate of the neighborhood. They have added more to the church and 2 speed bumps on the main road. My Mom and I wrapped up our drive by stopping at the Dairy Queen that we used to go to on the way home.  Yummy ice cream! All in all, we had a fun time reminiscing about all the fun we had at the lake house.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. We all have “Memory Lane Trips”. Take one and you might be surprised what you’ll find. 

The Christianville Spirit: Christian on Writing

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

January 18, 2012- TCS # 283

So, The subject that I’m going to write about in this week’s newsletter is something that to most people who really know me already know and normal people think, “Your doing this now?.” Anyway, I’m going to write about..well, writing. My Writing in particular, I’m calling this newsletter, “Christian on Writing.” Now, thinking back, I would think that I should have wrote this years ago as an introduction and to warn you about My Style of Writing. You See, I’ve been writing this way since I started writing my newsletter, The Christianville Spirit. I never really noticed the way I wrote because it just flowed naturally and to me, I was and still am, concentrated on the material of the newsletter, not necessarily that it makes sense, Capitols are in place, it’s not a run-on sentence, and punctuation. Of Course, most people think, “Christian, If you know the rules then why don’t you use them?” and I know, for Members of My PTLS Family who are new and don’t know me are concerned if I even know the rules. Now, to help you, I do know the rules, I just choose not to use all of them because to put it kindly, I’m concentrating on what I want to say and what I talking about. Also, sometimes My mind goes faster than my fingers can type. So, to resolve the issue of those rules, I have My Mom help edit the newsletter before it’s released. Of Course, when we’re editing (to the point, that I allow her to edit), My Mom jokingly says things like “Oh, Christian, the capitols!” and “Christian, your an English Professor’s Nightmare.” Now, what the capitol’s part of what My Mom refers to is that I put Capitol Letters on words that shouldn’t be capitalized and shockingly I forget to capitalize the first letter of a sentence sometimes because when I used to write on Microsoft Word, it capitalized the beginning for me. Of Course, again to calm the nerves of PTLS Members, I capitalize words, not because they need to capitalized but, because I somehow feel the need to capitalize the words. Also, It might have been that My Handwriting was and still to this day is, nearly all capitol letters. Actually, it took some time transitioning from my handwriting to a computer, this by the way was in the very beginning of My Newsletter, back when it was an email to My Family. At that time, I wrote in all caps, all the time even when I talked to my friends on IM or Instant Message on AIM. It took My Childhood Friend, Izzy to convince me to stop using all caps because it made it look like I was yelling all the time. Now, I don’t write in all caps anymore unless I’m angry (which is rarely) or I’m trying to put emphasis on something. I want to thank Mrs. Bachman for teaching me so much, I really did learn from you, I just like to write the way I do. All in all, that’s how I feel like writing and I hope it helps in getting to know me better.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Look at the content on the inside, don’t judge the looks on the outside. 

The Christianville Spirit: Those Darn Electronics

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

January 11, 2012- TCS # 282

So, among the cool things that My Mom, My Brother, and I did for Christmas, besides having an “Italian Christmas,” that was a candlelit dinner and playing with one of My Gifts. You See, for years I’ve had an Ipod Touch to play on and by playing on it, I mean I researched things on the internet and listened to Music. Of Course, I never downloaded any games on it because that never interests me. Anyway, for this Christmas, I got an Ipad and I love it now. I’ve gotten many apps, including a Living Earth app that tells the time and weather of a location. Let me tell you though that this Ipad is quite addicting to use, I mean just the Living Earth and now, the Google Earth app is hard enough for me to put it down. Ho Ho! Now, you know, like any young person, I’ve followed the technology a little slower than others but, I followed it. However, there are times when Technology can get in the way. You See, I’ve noticed whenever I’m out with My Mom and Brother, I notice kids and their families playing with their Iphones or Ipod Touch and not talking to each other at all. You know that scene where a family of 3 or 4 are sitting together, 2 parents and 1 or 2 kids, the kids are playing their Apple Devices while the parents talk alone and eat. You Know, I’ve never done that and never will. You See, when I was growing up, we didn’t have any Apple Devices to play on and not talk to my family. In my day, it was that we all sat at the table and talked the whole time, when it came to leaving the table, you had to excuse your self. Believe it or not, I survived very well without electronics, Why? Because we had a trampoline and kids in all directions to play with. I mean, I consider myself quite lucky to have the childhood that I did, with no fences between 4 Yards and a cul-de-sac. Now, I know most kids here in Plano don’t get that kind of childhood but, still. As far as any electronics, what we had was the TV and a Nintendo 64, at times all the Herrick, Barsis, and others wanted to play. Of Course, when we’d go out, we would all sit and talk, and if we were at Joe’s Crab Shack, we would go and play on the playground sometimes for a couple hours, it was awesomely fun. So, of course, I learned my Social Skills pretty easily between 3 Barsi kids and 3 Herrick girls and of course, our trampoline in our backyard. Now, of course, to this day, whenever My Mom, Brother, and I go out, we talk the whole time. And, yes I make sure not to bring my Ipad to the table unless it’s something I really want to show My Mom, other than that, I don’t bring it to the table at home or out. It’s kind of sad to see families that let their kids bring their devices to the dinner table because and it shows how dysfunctional electronics can makes us. I’m saying this because everyone should be able to talk with one another and as My Grandma Honey would probably say, “There’s no one or thing on that device that is more important than Family.” Besides, the best way for PTLS Kids to learn to talk is by imitating those around us who are talking, not texting or playing on a device. All in all, put down those electronics and get back to basics. if your excuse is to use it for entertainment to keep your kids quiet when they’re little, don’t expect them to converse with you when their older. 

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Be your kids’ entertainment, not the give the job to electronics.           

The Christianville Spirit: Happy New Year 2012

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

January 4, 2012- TCS # 281

Hello again, My Readers, and Welcome Back to another exciting year of My Newsletters, to Open Your Eyes, and for your enjoyment. But, first off, Happy New Year! and Welcome to what should be an interesting year of 2012. I believe that 2012 will be an awesome year, maybe filled with a bit of trial but, also, infinite possibilities and great opportunities. Anyway, to start the year of 2012, I’m going to tell you how I celebrate the New Year’s holiday. It starts once I get up at my normal time (which is 2:45 in the afternoon) I watch HLN News every hour to see footage of where the new year is at that time. Also, I check my “World Clock” app on My Ipod Touch to see where, as I say, “Midnight’s location is”. During the day, while I’m watching New Year’s around the world, My Mom and I take down our Christmas Decorations, because in my eyes It’s a sign of the old, past year and I want to go to a New Year. Now, I know those of you who know me are wondering, “Christian, if you love Christmas so much why would you take the decorations down on New Year’s Eve?”. Well, don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas with every thread of me, but, I like to move on to the New Year instead being behind in the old year. Anyway, after that is done I have to at least hear or read Lake Superior State University’s “List of Banned Words for the New Year.” Now, I have to say that this year’s list wasn’t as funny as I expected it to be. One of the words that wasn’t on the list should have been the classic phase from Charlie Sheen, “Winning!” or maybe (and, not to offend anyone), “Rapture” from the Rapture Scare. Anyway, then comes another one of my traditions which is to see the last sunset of the year, because it signifies the end of the year and it’s time to have fun and party. This Year, I got to watch it with My Brother on a hill behind Wal-Mart(there aren’t many hills here in Plano). So, that was really awesome that My Brother and I could do that together. I love bonding time with My Brother. I even hugged him to thank him for doing that for me. After that, we went back home and ate dinner with Two Friends, they ate Crab Legs and I ate Turkey Enchiladas, which were yummy. Later on in the evening, around 9:00 I like to watch “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin‘ Eve” because I like to watch the ball drop in New York City and I do that until the last newscast at 10 (The News is at 10 in Central Time Zone, everywhere else it’s at 11). Following that, is the 2nd half of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin‘ Eve. Now, because of a show called Big D NYE on Dallas‘ ABC Station, they broadcast that until 12:30AM and then they show the second half, when it used to be Dick Clark, The News, and Dick Clark 2nd Half until 11:15 and then, Big D NYE would cut in. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve waited a long time for Dallas to have a New Year’s show but, I don’t want it to take over the 2nd half of Dick Clark. So, the alternative is to watch “Anderson Cooper’s New Year” on CNN, which by the way is equally funny because Kathy Griffin is on there and the look on Anderson Cooper’s face when Kathy Griffin does or says something really funny or not-so-funny, his face is priceless. Anyway, After New York’s New Years’, I then flip back over to “Big D NYE” to watch the countdown of Dallas‘ New Year and it results in an awesome firework show. All in all, I Love New Years! Out with the Old and In with the New! Also, 12 Grapes for good luck will help.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Hope you have a awesome 2012 and let me know what you think of this year’s new tagline, “The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes”        

The Christianville Spirit: Christian's Year-In-Review 2011

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparks Your Heart

December 28, 2011- TCS # 280

 Ok, Everyone. It’s that time of year again, it’s getting close to New Year's Eve, Watching the ball drop, hearing Lake Superior State’s hilarious “List of Banned Words” and, saying Happy New Year. Now, of course, before we celebrate and yell “Happy New Year!”, I feel it’s a tradition here at The Christianville Spirit to review the past year of 2011. Now, 2011, I have to say, was quite a crazy year both personally and in the news. Of course, we all know that some of this year was quite a struggle for many people but, I know that next year will be even better for us. So, without further a due, this is “Christian’s Year-in-Review 2011.” So, as with any year-in-review, we start in January. So, My Year of 2011 started off great because as I love to know I begin with a clean slate. At the beginning of the year, I started with the change of my Christianville Spirit tag line, I call a subline. My new 7th sub line was “The Spirit that Sparks Your Heart,”  in my newsletters, which by the way, My Brother helped come up with. On January 8, the same day as the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, I got to be a greeter at the Grand Re-Opening of the Courtyard Campus of Collin College, because it was an open house to show everyone the new parts of it that they had been building. On February 1-5, was what I called the “Super Bowl Historic Monster Storm,” in the Dallas area, in which it iced several inches, along with Negative Wind Chills, and on Friday, February 4, it snowed 6 Inches on top of the ice that was already on the ground. By the way, this “Monster Storm” caused My Mom to break her right wrist, because she wanted to take the trash out and just so she could go outside. We had already stayed in our house for a week. Of course, February 12 was Super Bowl 45, right here in Dallas, and it was awesome to have it here. On February 16, I started writing the “My Heros” series which, told of all the people who are heros to me. In the news, this month, President Mubarak of Egypt stepped down on February 16, due to protests now known as the “Arab Spring.”   On March 11, in the news was the Big 9.0 Earthquake in Japan, which caused a tsunami and a radiation disaster. Now, besides, My Mom’s 50th Birthday and the scare of My Uncle Brian’s Heart Attack on March 31, March and April were both a quiet month. In the news, on April 29 was the famous “Royal Wedding” of Prince William and commoner, Kate Middleton, which Everyone around the world was really excited about. In Late April was, in many people’s opinion, “The Tornado that no one will forget,” the EF-5 Tornado that struck Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Alabama. Actually, I saw the destruction later on this year and it was a pretty amazing site. On May 1, in the news, was the moment that Americans were waiting for, The Death of Osama Bin Laden. People in Washington, D.C. went into spontaneous celebration. Of Course, in My World, I was caught up in what I’ll called “The Rapture Scare”; where a preacher thought the rapture was going to happen on May 21, 2011. So, in response, I lived and counted down the last things I was going to do like, the Last Time seeing International Flights coming in at The Airport, the Last Dinner, and the Last Saturday. After the “Rapture Scare,” The STW (Spread the Word to End the Word) Girls, which were 3 College Girls taking a trip across the country teaching people about not using The R-Word (which is so offensive to people with special needs). Of Course, The Reason I called them the STW Girls was because they represented the organization, Spread The Word to End The Word. On the week of June 10-12, was what I called “PTLS Week” because it surrounded the PTLS Gathering in Raleigh, NC, which by the way was Awesome. Of Course, a lot of things came out of going to North Carolina for the PTLS Gathering but, one of the many was that I got to try North Carolinian BBQ and it was great. Finally, on June 30, Fox News Channel’s show, “Glenn Beck” ends it’s TV run. Now, The Month of July was an awesome, but quiet month, because on July 20 I got to met Dr. Jennifer Arnold from TLC’s “The Little Couple,” who by the way is a really nice person and friend, because I was going to go through the PTLS Study at Texas Children’s Hospital. In My World, On August 11 was My 24th Birthday which was an awesome day because I got a homemade book filled with postcards from all 50 States coordinated by My PTLS Aunts, Samantha Pennington and Shelly Jones. On August 2o, was My Uncle Craig’s Wedding to his longtime girlfriend, Kellie. We took a great road trip to Ohio for The Wedding, along the way we met up with My PTLS Aunt Samantha Pennington and the next day, met up with The Suchlands for Breakfast. On August 20, I found out that we have a new PTLS Family Member in one of My Favorite Countries, Norway. In the News, The first ever Hurricane(which was a Category 1) named Hurricane Irene struck New York City with luckily, not to much damage. September in My World was quiet but, in the news, the “Occupy Wall Street” Protests started in New York City on September 27. Also, the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 was on September 11. On October 20, In the News, Dictator Mommar Gaddafi of Libya was killed by rebel anti-Gaddafi forces that were sick of him and how he treated everyone.   Back in My World, on October 26 was My Brother, Michael’s 23rd Birthday and I wrote an awesome tribute to him in this newsletter. Finally, to end October, On October 31, the Palestinian Territory became part of the UN. In November was what I call “The Matching Date of The Year”, 11-11-11 on November 11. Now, this year’s “Matching Date” didn’t come without controversy, for example they closed the pyramids in Egypt to prevent people from doing, let’s just say, not-so-good rituals. The following day, November 12 was an awesome day because I got to meet another famous person, Samantha Brown of the Travel Channel, at the Travel and Adventure Show at the Dallas Convention Center. It was so awesome to get to meet her and she is one of my idols. Of Course, on November 16-20 was The 7th Annual “Christian’s Best Friend’s Festival”. One of the Highlights was on the Introduction of Friends and Michael’s Girlfriend was introduced. My Thanksgiving was awesome because My Grandma Honey and Uncle Brian coming here to Dallas for Thanksgiving, it was awesome to have them here. Now, I have to say that the highlight of Thanksgiving or at least one of them was that Michael’s Girlfriend made a homemade, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie and it was to die for. Of Course, we finally round to December, the month of My Favorite Time of Year. In Early December, I found out 2 years too late that My Friend and First Crush, Lynee died. so, that kind dampened my spirit for a while but, then I was okay. In The News, which I’ve sure that you’ve heard that North Korea’s Dictator, Kim Jong Il died and that I’m sure many are happy about. Now, as I said before this has been a very crazy year with enough Court Trails to make you wonder including Casey Anthony, Dr. Conrad Murray, and Amanda Knox’s trial in Italy. Also, we’ve had crazy stories like Anthony Wiener, Herman Cain, and others. Now, of course the news it may sound a bit negative but, I will tell something in the news, an update if you will. Remember, the story I told you about Rep. Gabrielle Giffords? She was shot in the head on January 8 and people thought that she was going to die or just be severely paralyzed but, as of December she is talking, doing okay, and returning to as much of a normal life as she can. And that, My Readers, I think would be the most heroic story of the news and it is amazing to me how she did that. So, yes, Gabby Giffords, I consider you a Hero of This Year and Our Time. Now, I was going to tell you about My Mom and I lovely candlelit dinner for Christmas which I called an “Italian Christmas” but, I think here is good way to end this year. All in All, We all have heros in the news that we know nothing about but, I think Gabby Giffords is the most amazing hero in the news and she tells us that you can overcome struggle and triumph over it, even if it takes a year.

( For the last time in 2011)

    

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. I hope you have a great year of 2011 and I’ll see you back here for another year of exciting, thought-provoking, and maybe even touching newsletters in 2012. See you then!

The Christianville Spirit: The Spirit of Christmas

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparks Your Heart

December 21, 2011- TCS # 279

OK, My Readers. It’s that time of year again and this time I mean it in the positive way. It’s a time of year that everyone knows, it happens on the last week of November, starting on Thanksgiving Day and lasts until New Year’s Day (though in some locations, like in Europe, it goes until January 6). Anyway, this time is year is known as The Holiday Season which also is my favorite time of the year because I love all the happiness and cheer, the lights, the music, and the children’s giddy excitement for Santa Claus. Now, about Santa Claus, if you asked people what they think of him or if they still believe in him, they’ll give you different answers. Some will say that they believe in him, which by the way I still do. Some will say he’s just a title card to America’s Commercialism and yes, a bit of that is true but, not all of it. And, others of course, will tell you that Santa isn’t real but oh my readers, he is real. You See, Santa isn’t ALL about Gifts but, he’s also GIVING, the Spirit of Giving and The Spirit of Christmas, that’s what makes him Santa. Of Course, if everyone just got gifts for themselves and not give to others, then there wouldn’t be Santa Claus or even Christmas, my favorite time of year. In fact, it would probably be the end of the world for me if that happened. But, here’s what I was thinking for the believers of Santa, we all know that Santa comes magically across the world on one night and when we wake up Christmas Morning, we find presents from Santa to Us. But, remember what I said about The Spirit of Giving?, well here’s my question, what does Santa get for Christmas? Most people will think,“Gee, I don’t know” and us believers would say either “The Gift of Sleep”(from traveling the world in one night), “His Wife, Mrs. Claus”, and “A 6 month Vacation”. And, yes those are all wonderful but, does he get any presents? because that would be weird if The Elves made him something from his Toy Work Shop. So, what does he get for Christmas, generally or from us? In most of Santa Movies I’ve seen, I know that he gets a lot of Santa Letters from kids and on Christmas Morning, he enjoys watching us open our gifts and watch the giddy laugher of kids opening their presents. but, for him, as depicted in the movies, that’s good enough. But, I think that he should get a real present, just like we get from him because remember isn’t all about presents, it’s also about Giving and if your a Christian, there’s also Christ’s Birth and that, My Readers is what Christmas is all about. All in all, for the record, you don’t always have to use “Happy Holidays” and I’ve came up with a greeting that respects everyone, “Merry Christma-Hanu-kwanza” or “Merry Christmas-Hanukah-Kwanza”

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Merry Christmas-Hanukah-Kwanza 

The Christianville Spirit: My Fascination of Airports

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparks Your Heart

December 14, 2011- TCS # 278

The thing that I’m going to write on this week, is something I’ve wanted to write about for a while. As most of you know, I love to Travel and everything about Travel so this is no different. This is about what I’ll call “My Fascination of Airports”. Now, of course, it’s not only the airport itself which can be amazing in it’s own and that’s just many of the fascinations. But, the first Fascination is it’s connections, which airlines do and don’t fly there, and which to use for certain routes. All of this comes from reading countless of logs in the “Airlines and Destinations” section of a Wikipedia article about airports that I’m interested in. Now, the route’s that I love are the many airlines and routes to Oslo-Gardermoen Airport (considering how much I love Norway) and two months ago, the fact of Air France flying from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Cancun, Mexico. Anyway, on the Oslo front, I could tell you the 4 ways to get from Dallas to Oslo. They are as follows..

• British Airways: Dallas to London-Heathrow, London to Oslo
• Continental Airlines: Dallas to Newark-Liberty and Newark-Liberty to Oslo
• Air France: Dallas-Atlanta, Atlanta-Paris, Paris-Oslo

So, if you ever want to fly that route, now you know how. Now, when reading the connections of the airport and figuring out different ways to get somewhere, I have phrases for how many connections you have to make to get to your destination. Of Course, we all know that, “Direct Connection” which is easy as pie (which I learned in my figurative language class) but, for example with flying from Dallas to Oslo, there’s usually more than one connection. For one connection, I use the phrase, “One-fer” like the Continental route is “one-fer” because you just have to connect in Newark. The phase I use is for two connections is “two-fer”. An example of that would be Air France or Air Canada flying Dallas to Toronto-Pearson, to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and finally to Oslo. After, “Two-fer” is “three-fer” but, I try not to exceed a “two-fer”, because that’s too long of a trip just to get somewhere. I’m sure, you can tell that I know a lot of the names of the airports which also fascinate me because it tells you about the culture and language of the city or country. Now, I can also tell you the names of the major airports in Europe except for Amsterdam’s which I would rather call, “Amsterdam Airport”. The ones I can tell you are London-Heathrow, Rome-Fiumicino(I call it, Roma-Fiumicino because I like to say, “Rome” in Italian), Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Oslo-Gardermoen, and Stockholm-Arlanda. Of Course, driving on Google Maps Street View to Airports is fascinating to because not only do you get to see the entry signs but, you also get to learn the layout of the Airport and act as if you’re going on a real trip. I think the most fascinating airport is Paris- Charles de Gaulle because of how large and big Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport is. It’s because they have 3 Terminals with Terminal 1 being a work of art and Terminal 2...well, good luck finding where your flight is, because Terminal 2 has separate terminal buildings that are all connected that go from 2A to 2F. Terminal 2G is the only one that doesn’t connect with it’s other sisters of Terminal 2. In fact, in Wikipedia, I read that you have to ride a bus to the other sisters of Terminal 2. So, I’m sure Paris-CDG as they call in shorthand is very confusing but, it is by far, fascinating. Of Course, if you want to see the airport of your dreams, according to Anthony Bourdain, check out Singapore Airport because it has a pool, movies, a media room to watch TV, a spa, and much more. In Fact, Anthony Bourdain says that, “Singapore Airport is worth getting there a couple hours early for.” So, as you can see, Airports are more than just a place that planes fly into and people walk through to get to their destinations. All in all, all Airports are fascinating is one way or another, you just to have to look.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Airports are about Connections, Get Connected!                 

The Christianville Spirit: The Parting of a Friend

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparks Your Heart

December 7, 2011- TCS # 277

So, Last Night, I found out something that struck and shocked me. You See, as I was looking up things on the internet, like the Lauren Scruggs thing, since I thought I went to school with her and because her name sounded familiar. But, when I couldn’t figure it out, I looked in my elementary school yearbook for her picture. Then I asked myself, “I wonder where Lynee is now?” You see, Lynee was one of my very best friends in elementary school. In fact, I had a crush on her. So, I googled her and then, I found something I really didn’t want to believe. It turned out that she died 2 years ago on May 23, 2008, when she was 20. Now, for those of you who don’t know who I’m talking about, I’ve mentioned her before in previous newsletters. You see, back in the great childhood days at Harrington Elementary, I had the biggest crush on Lynee and in fact, it was My First Crush, but I never told her. I would talk and hang out with her at school but, at that time, I wasn’t as Sociable as I am now so, we were just good friends. She and I met in the 4th Grade and she had to move in middle of 5th Grade so, she didn’t get to graduate from elementary school with me. I remember when we had our 5th Grade class picture. I remember now, just from looking at the picture in the yearbook, and I requested that I HAD to sit next to Lynee. I remember the times, while jumping on the trampoline, telling My Brother, Izzy, Alex, as well the Herrick Girls about how much I had a crush on Lynee, and they would playfully shout “Lynee, Lynee, Lynee” and I would blush. After she left Harrington, I was pretty upset about her leaving. Anyway, it was several years later at Jasper Junior High School, sitting in an Aqua Science Class, when role was being called the teacher said, “Lynee Watson” and I thought, “Lynee Watson...?” It took a minute to register in My Head and I looked behind when she said, “Here.” I thought, “Wow, it is her, the girl I crushed on, was my best friend, and went to Harrington with”. So, when I got home, I told My Mom. She asked, “Did she recognize you?” and I told her that I didn’t think so. After getting up the nerve to talk to her days later, I went up to her and told her who I was to jog her memory, and she DID remember. After that, I don’t remember if she was in class anymore, she just disappeared and that was it, I never saw her again. So, I think a couple years ago, I looked her up online and it just gave me her Myspace page but, at that time I wasn’t into Myspace, I was more into IMing friends (by the way, IM means Instant Messaging). So last night when I found out that she had died, it took me by surprise. Of Course, how I found out was that I found an Obituary that said Lynee (middle name) Watson but, the problem was I didn’t know her middle name, however, the picture looked like her. When My Mom saw it, she said that it was her. So, it left me pretty bummed and sad about it because like I said, she was my first crush and she was Very Important to me. What is sadder is that I never told her that I liked her. 

So, when I went to Bed, I said My Prayers and I said, “I Love You, God and I Love You too, Lynee”. So, Now she knows how I felt. All in All, Lynee will be missed a lot.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Never let a moment slip by without telling others that you Like or Love them.

The Christianville Spirit: Thanksgiving 2011

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparks Your Heart

November 30, 2011- TCS # 276

Hello again, My Readers. I hope you had as much of an awesome Thanksgiving as I did. Yes, I had an awesome Thanksgiving; that’s why I didn’t write last week. You See, My Thanksgiving was awesome because of what we’ll call a rare chance. Usually, in our family because of the distance of them living in Atlanta and us being here, we usually go to Atlanta for Thanksgiving or Christmas because The Family is more close by and we can have more people in the family come. But, however there are those glorious once-in-a-blue-moon times when they actually come here to Dallas instead. Also, another special treat to it, was not only was Grandma Honey coming (which usually it’s just her) but, Uncle Brian came as well. Now, the last time that Uncle Brian came to Texas was when My Brother and I were little  and the other time was when My Dad and Mom got married. So, this was his first time in Dallas. Anyway, so they came in on Tuesday Afternoon and once they got here; we hung out, talked, and showed them where My Brother Worked for them to see what it was like. On Wednesday was the fun day (Well, at least for me) because My Brother and I took Uncle Brian on a tour of Downtown Dallas to show him the city and he thought it was really cool. When We toured the city, we showed the major places like Deep Ellum (Uncle Brian is a music guy and My Brother is an art guy, it’s a perfect combination for both of them), The Arts District, Where JFK was shot, JFK Memorial, The West End, and the American Airlines Center. On the tour, He noticed something in Downtown that I just would overlook, he said, “There’s a lot of Construction happening down here” and he’s right, there is a lot of Construction down in Dallas. Of Course, also on Wednesday, Grandma Honey got a massage from Kathy, My Mom’s Business Partner since they do Medical Massage, which made her feel so much better and has kept her out of pain to this day. On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, we watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and even Miracle on 34th Street (Which I had never seen before) and then, after My Brother and Paula got off from work, they came home and we had dinner. So, we had Thanksgiving dinner with Our Friend, Carol, Michael and His Girlfriend, Grandma Honey, Uncle Brian, and I, it was a lot of fun. I think the highlight of it was that I tried a pie that I’ve never had before called Strawberry Rhubarb Pie homemade because it’s a tradition in Michael’s Girlfriend's Family to make it and she decided to share it with us. Of Course, after dinner, we Skype’d with my Uncle Bruce and Uncle Craig so they could meet Paula.  All in all, I hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving and for My Readers who live in Countries that don’t celebrate it, You were thought of at our table.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Thanksgiving is about giving Thanks. Be Thankful for What You Have.