On the first day of August I
finished packing my clothes before we drove off to Colorado. As we drove there, I worked on my letter to
Alpha Xi Delta about their support of Autism Speaks, then my travel plans to
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and then my letter some more. I realized as I read my Lonely Planet books
on the region about how these port cities in western India were probably how
Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, just as the Silk Road allowed
Buddhism to spread to China, and at one point, the Mauryan Empire must have
been the center of a global Buddhist community.
I drove on the highway for about an hour we munched on McDonald’s. Then I worked on my letter, then my Art of
War for the Autistic Advocate, and then my letter some more. We went to Whole Food’s where I helped with
the shopping before we ate dinner from their salad bar, from which I had some
delicious jerk chicken, and got a new bottle cap for my collection. Then we drove on while I continued working on
my letter, until we finally arrived at our cabin.
Soon after I got up the next day
I trimmed and sprayed the dandelions and grass growing between the planks on
our front porch. Then Dave and I went to
Safeway where I found several bottle caps to use for my snake and other
projects, got a new bottle cap from my drink there, and found a new bottle cap
for my collection in the front of Safeway, that is if I can get it back into
the shape it was in before. I got back
and messaged Teigan about the JCCC Autism Across the Life Span Conference,
asking her if the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network of Kansas City would like to
participate in it. I also did a few more
changes to my letter to Alpha Xi Delta.
We went to the Boon Festival in
Leadville where I enjoyed a delicious meal of hot wings and chips, while I
heard Teigan respond that they would love to participate though they will need
as much information about it as possible.
Dave and I then went to a bar where we tried shots of whisky and Cowboy
Coffee. We bought some kettle corn and
then went to see Paula Poundstone perform in the Tabor Opera House. On the way back we saw a deer. After that I got back and added some of the
finishing touches to my letter. Then I
made another coaster from receipts, while I thought about Autism Speaks
stranglehold over the conversation on autism, but then remembered Winston
Churchill’s quote, “When you thing you are going through hell, keep going.”
The next day cut and sprayed
some dandelions for Mom and Dave. Then
we went to the Boon Festival where I enjoyed a brisket sandwich and chips and
then bought a Peruvian flute and shaker at one stand and a hand drum at
another, and picked up and recycled several recyclables. I got back and made several flowers and beads
from straws I found on the ground. Then
I practiced my flute for half an hour and sort of invented a new slightly
different fingering notation that worked better for me.
I made three more coasters from
receipts and during dinner, the subject of Autism Speaks came up between Mom
and I and to my intense relief, she said she agreed with what I thought of
them, though she said she thought I ought to get my message across in a way
that wasn’t angry, which was fair enough.
I also told her about my letter to Alpha Xi Delta and she said she
thought I should do that. I then
finished two more coasters. I realized I
must have been quite helpful to the autistic struggle by getting all these
autistic people together at JCCC; a lot of good can come about when autistic
people get together; look at the Silicon Valley. I also realized that it was probably people
with disabilities who first conceived the idea that racism and other sorts of
inequality stem from our societies intolerance of difference, thus helping to
quash racism, and helping our society to pay it forward with ethnic minorities,
proving that disabled people are not simply economic burdens or charity cases
as some think they are. The next day I
communicated a message from Sean about the JCCC Autism Conference to
Teigan. Afterwards I made three more
receipt coasters and started on five more.
The next morning I had a dream
that I saw the citadel of Minas Tirith, only it looked much different in my
dream than it did in real life, but I realized that. After that I wrote in my dream journal,
during which time I realized that in my dreams, I’ve realized things are
different than they are in reality. Then
I delivered a message from Teigan to Sean.
Later I started on eight more receipt coasters. I went into town and bought six more Native
American postcards and a crotchet needle.
I got back and finished two more receipt coasters. The next morning I combined several receipt
coasters into two more coasters afterwards.
Then I sprayed some dandelions for Mom.
After that I helped plant some grass.
After that I took a walk along
the tracks where I took several more photos and was inspired to do more
photography. I got back and worked on my
letter to Alpha Xi Delta. Later I went into
town and got a fish fossil to frame and hang on a wall at a mineral store and a
crossword puzzle book at the bookstore.
Then I went to a coffee shop and got a two-scooped cone of dark
chocolate chip ice cream and an Orangina, from which I got a new non-crown
bottle cap for my collection, and ate and drank them while I worked on my
crossword puzzle book. After that I went
to the antique store and bought two more Native American postcards. Then I went to another coffee shop and had a
lemon crumb bar while I did some more work on my crossword puzzle book. After that Mom, Dave, and I ate at the Grill
where I got Mom to agree to send my pocketknife home in the mail. Soon after we got home, Dave’s mother and
sister Brenda arrived at our cabin. The
five of us went on a train ride the next day up the mountains where we were
given a guided tour of the area. I got
several pictures on my way back, and before we went home, we went to the taco
truck, where again, I got a new bottle cap from my drink. Later I sanded the back door frame for my mom
and collected some firewood, before walking down the tracks and going to the
old warehouse and collecting some green, red, and gold leather, which looked
almost red, yellow, and blue, to make braided leather autism awareness
bracelets for the silent auction. I made
one for myself and soon afterwards ate dinner with my mom, Dave, Brenda, and
Mrs. Dingley. I told them all about my
coasters and what they were for, and Mrs. Dingley suggested making a video
showing how to make them, so people would be more likely to pay the price for
them after seeing all the hard work involved in them. I also enjoyed talking to Brenda, who was a
major travel enthusiast herself, about my own travel plans to places such as
Tibet, Turkey, and Central Asia, and was amazed at how much she knew about the
regions herself.
The
next day, my mom took me to the shuttle car that would be my first ride on the
way to the airport, giving me a bag that had a present for my upcoming
birthday. My grandparents would pick me
up at the airport and bring me back home.
I got on the shuttle car that led to the next one, tipping the driver
and getting on the next ride. I tipped
the next driver after I got to the airport and tipped the driver again, before
getting through security and soon learned my flight would be half an hour
late. I called my grandparents to let
them know. Soon afterwards, my flight
boarded, and I made it to Kansas City, and was picked up by my
grandparents. They took me to get a meal
a Winstead’s through the drive-through, and then I made it home and made
another leather bracelet. I called work
to ask them when I worked next. They
said I didn’t have any hours that week, but I figured that was ok, because in
the next week, I would be going back to UCM.
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