TomHarrington
05-25-2009, 02:54 AM
Dear friends,
And the implication of that salute seems to be that if you’re not my friend, you probably shouldn’t be reading this, as you are not the intended recipient. I understood this implication only moments after having written it. I had to wonder: Why had I written thus? I don’t know who’s going to read this. It is a public forum; anyone could read it.
Was I being exclusionary? Or worse, was I being presumptuous in assuming anyone reading this would be happy to accept my friendship if only I’d offer it? And why did I use the word “thus” in the last paragraph? I’m not a 19th century poet. Trying to sound smart, I suppose. The irony, if you can call it that, is using words that have fallen so far out of common use as to distract the reader by their unaccountable appearance in the context of contemporary language, actually makes you look quite stupid. Dear friends, if I can call you that, please allow me to start anew.
I learned recently that I have an Autistic Spectrum Disorder called Asperger’s Syndrome. When I learned this, two things occurred to me right away: 1) Asperger’s Syndrome, when spoken aloud, sounds like a some kind of unsightly posterior skin condition. 2) My name isn’t Asperger, so how did I inherit this shit? Mom has got some explaining to do, I thought.
It turns out neither case is true. AS is actually a neurological disorder that differs from other ASDs in that speech and language are not delayed, but are in some cases even accelerated. There are, however, social and general learning problems to contend with. And for the record, my mother maintains her fidelity has not been compromised.
The reason I’m possibly oversharing here is that I wanted to explain some things that I’ve only recently come to understand myself. Disclosing my particular autistic variant helps a great deal in doing so.
To say that I post here erratically would be an example of what’s called an understatement. I typically don’t reply to other peoples posts, most often because I don’t know what to say. For the same reason, I don’t play your little reindeer games that usually take the form of what I would call an impromptu screenplay, where the actions of the poster are placed in brackets or parentheses.
Like this:
Hey guys! [Picks nose and eats retrieved materials]
I tend to over analyze everything. I think way too much than is good for anyone. I’ll give you an example of my dilemma:
Say I write something that a forum member finds amusing. What? It could happen. Do I reply and say thanks? Just saying thanks seems a waste of a post to me. This isn’t a chat room. I feel that if you’re not posting something substantive, you just shouldn’t post anything.
So do I not reply at all? Now I feel like a dick. Someone pays me a compliment and I let it go unacknowledged? I really thrive on that shit, too, if I’m being honest. So it seems I should at least say something.
What to say then? How do I translate the sentiment of “Thanks, man!” over the course of three paragraphs? And what if two or three other people say something in kind after I’ve responded to the first reply? Do I write an essay of thanks to each? It seems only fair.
I can go on for hours like this in my head.
Now the other issue: Why don’t I let someone know in reply when they make me laugh ( which many of you do)? Me and Uncle Albert, we love to laugh. So that’s something I’m going to work on. It just never occurred to me that somebody else might appreciate some feedback for their good works, despite how groovy it makes me feel when I’m recipient of same.
I should wrap this up before it reaches novella proportions. But I wanted you to know how much I really do appreciate you guys. I’m going to try to be more social, more interactive as the kids say. It’s gonna be hard, but only because you’re all so damned sexy! Until next time.
Toodles,
Tom
And the implication of that salute seems to be that if you’re not my friend, you probably shouldn’t be reading this, as you are not the intended recipient. I understood this implication only moments after having written it. I had to wonder: Why had I written thus? I don’t know who’s going to read this. It is a public forum; anyone could read it.
Was I being exclusionary? Or worse, was I being presumptuous in assuming anyone reading this would be happy to accept my friendship if only I’d offer it? And why did I use the word “thus” in the last paragraph? I’m not a 19th century poet. Trying to sound smart, I suppose. The irony, if you can call it that, is using words that have fallen so far out of common use as to distract the reader by their unaccountable appearance in the context of contemporary language, actually makes you look quite stupid. Dear friends, if I can call you that, please allow me to start anew.
I learned recently that I have an Autistic Spectrum Disorder called Asperger’s Syndrome. When I learned this, two things occurred to me right away: 1) Asperger’s Syndrome, when spoken aloud, sounds like a some kind of unsightly posterior skin condition. 2) My name isn’t Asperger, so how did I inherit this shit? Mom has got some explaining to do, I thought.
It turns out neither case is true. AS is actually a neurological disorder that differs from other ASDs in that speech and language are not delayed, but are in some cases even accelerated. There are, however, social and general learning problems to contend with. And for the record, my mother maintains her fidelity has not been compromised.
The reason I’m possibly oversharing here is that I wanted to explain some things that I’ve only recently come to understand myself. Disclosing my particular autistic variant helps a great deal in doing so.
To say that I post here erratically would be an example of what’s called an understatement. I typically don’t reply to other peoples posts, most often because I don’t know what to say. For the same reason, I don’t play your little reindeer games that usually take the form of what I would call an impromptu screenplay, where the actions of the poster are placed in brackets or parentheses.
Like this:
Hey guys! [Picks nose and eats retrieved materials]
I tend to over analyze everything. I think way too much than is good for anyone. I’ll give you an example of my dilemma:
Say I write something that a forum member finds amusing. What? It could happen. Do I reply and say thanks? Just saying thanks seems a waste of a post to me. This isn’t a chat room. I feel that if you’re not posting something substantive, you just shouldn’t post anything.
So do I not reply at all? Now I feel like a dick. Someone pays me a compliment and I let it go unacknowledged? I really thrive on that shit, too, if I’m being honest. So it seems I should at least say something.
What to say then? How do I translate the sentiment of “Thanks, man!” over the course of three paragraphs? And what if two or three other people say something in kind after I’ve responded to the first reply? Do I write an essay of thanks to each? It seems only fair.
I can go on for hours like this in my head.
Now the other issue: Why don’t I let someone know in reply when they make me laugh ( which many of you do)? Me and Uncle Albert, we love to laugh. So that’s something I’m going to work on. It just never occurred to me that somebody else might appreciate some feedback for their good works, despite how groovy it makes me feel when I’m recipient of same.
I should wrap this up before it reaches novella proportions. But I wanted you to know how much I really do appreciate you guys. I’m going to try to be more social, more interactive as the kids say. It’s gonna be hard, but only because you’re all so damned sexy! Until next time.
Toodles,
Tom