So apparently Pam Anderson is seeking an annulment from hubbie Rick Salomon after just two months of marriage. By itself, that’s not really news to me, given how fragile celebrity marriages can be - if Pam Anderson and Rick Salomon can even really be considered full fledged celebrities any more - but what really summed up for me why Pam’s marriages just never seem to work out is the following statement:

I paid off a poker debt with sexual favors, and I fell in love,” Anderson said. “It’s so romantic.

Yeah, because nothing says romance like prostituting yourself to pay off a $250,000 gambling debt.

According to a cost estimate by the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Division of Executive Budget and Finance, the cost of health insurance coverage for autistic children whose parents already have insurance is about 10 million dollars.

That’s right, 10 million dollars is all it will take to make sure the therapy for each and every autistic child is ensured of being covered under their parents’ health insurance coverage. Now sure, 10 million dollars is a heck of a lot of money, especially considering our state’s current fiscal situation, but let’s put that 10 million dollars into perspective.

• Seven million dollars could get paper mill reopened in Park Falls, the largest community in the district of Republican Representative Mary Williams of Medford.
• Four million dollars could buy one - just one, no more than that - brand new soybean crusher for the district of Republican Representative Brett Davis of Oregon.

So sure, 10 million dollars is a lot of money, but so is the 11 million dollars in “persuasion” that some Assembly Republicans got in the last state budget. I know I’m biased, but if I had to choose between spending 10 million dollars on providing health insurance coverage to autistic children for the therapy they need or spending 11 million dollars on pet projects to get Republicans to vote for the state budget, I choose health insurance coverage for autistic children.

• South Milwaukee is getting a Dunkin’ Donuts. As someone who loves a donut with my coffee in the morning, this couldn’t be better news, especially considering there’s no Dunkin’ Donuts between my house and my office(s).

• Valentine’s Day was amazing. I took Alexis to “A Night of Love” sponsored by the Alma Center, which is the domestic violence treatment center where I have an office. Perhaps the highlight of the night (besides winning a raffle prize of a $750 gift certificate to a local furniture store) was the fact that I found out my wife had written a dedication to have me included in Men We Love, a photojournal celebrating men who inspire others and make them better people. I am truly flattered and honored that my wife chose to dedicate a page in the book to me.
• I scored a new all-in-one printer/scanner today. It’s an HP C5280 All-in-One, and it’s beautiful. It’s not brand new; my father in law bought a new all-in-one because someone spilled chocolate milk on this one, so rather than him throw it out, I took it thinking I might be able to fix it. Sure enough, I was able to clean enough of the dried on chocolate milk off the internal workings of the printer to get it working again, and after printing a test page it seems to be working just fine.

the silhouette of a sculpture
a concrete, metal & glass masterpiece
a glorious monument
an electric balance of sex & aesthetics

Today’s To-Do list:

• Grocery shopping
• Random cleaning
• Laundry
• Hang out with Nick

Yeah, such is the life of a domestic dad. Ironically enough, I actually enjoy doing housework. Cleaning is relaxing, and despite my aversion to folding laundry, I know it needs to be done. However, my favorite weekend activity would have to be hanging out with Nick. He and I enjoy our “guy time” together, and to be completely honest I wouldn’t mind being a full-time stay at home dad.

As I was surfing across the interwebs, I came across the story of the Kirton family - John and Robin and their six autistic children. As the parent of one autistic child, I know how difficult and challenging everyday life can be, and so I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it must be to raise six autistic children. I’ve read through the Kirton family’s blog, and I’m amazed at how well mom and dad Kirton have handled their unique situation. After all, one autistic kid can be like a tornado of activity and energy - six must be like a constant hurricane.

Patti and I are blessed that Nick’s high-functioning, and though some might think having a child with autism is less of a blessing and more of a burden, not a day goes by that I don’t thank God for giving us Nick. He’s an amazing little boy, and each day he makes me smile.

If it were raining right now, it’d be like a monsoon outside. Not only is the snow coming down hard, but it’s being blown around thanks to thirty to forty mile per hour winds. Add to that the fact that we live within 400 yards of Lake Michigan - and get all the lake effect snow as well - and you can imagine what it’s like outside right now.

However, in case you were still wondering, here’s a few pictures…
(more…)

As a sidenote, I’ve updated the media section with a few more pictures of the kids.

Here’s a link to an article I found a few months ago but never got around to posting. Collin Brusnahan is a sophomore cross country runner at Shorewood High School, which isn’t remarkable on its own, but what is remarkable is the fact that Collin is autistic.

Brusnahan had a doctor’s appointment and could not make practice. On the way home, he and his mother were passing by the course the team was running. Brusnahan saw them and spoke.

“Collin is a man of little words,” his mother said. “But he told me, ‘Pull over, mom,’ and he started getting out of the car to catch up with the team. He was in his street clothes.

“I sat there and was just astonished.”

It was shocking because Brusnahan and many autistic people rarely show affection for something in that way.

After reading the article, I did a little research on google, and I came up with the story of Anthony Crudale, another young man with autism who runs marathons. What struck me about the article was the single-minded devotion Crudale shows towards his running.

“I’m glad he’s good at it; it’s gives him confidence,” says his mother, who attends his marathons. “But I don’t like the ritual of it. It’s like when he used to spin things for hours. It bogs down his life.”

As someone who used to run cross-country in my younger days, it’s great to see how running can be used to give autistic individuals a chance to find their niche when it comes to athletics.