At first light this morning I noticed a grazer enjoying the newly revealed fodder. Spring may be on its way after all!
Category: Personal
Feb 16
Segregation in the Berkshires in the Civil Rights Era
An article today in the Berkshire Edge reminded me of my experience in the summer of 1961. I guess my heightened sense of social justice came to me early in life. Within a couple of years, I would become a vegetarian, a pacifist, and a draft resister. What was it like to be an African …
Jan 27
Sensory Deprivation
I just took a long hot whirlpool bath, enhanced with Kneipp rosemary essential oil, to delight the olfactory senses, with a side benefit of helping to clear the nasal passages. It is a frigid snowy day today, with temps in the low teens. I walked through the falling snow to feed the horses, and was amazed …
Jan 10
$2 Bills and other forgotten currency
I recently came across an article entitled “The Curious Case of the $2 Bill” which was written by a student of Ancient History. I’ve long been a fan of “Toms” (as they are often called, since a portrait of Thomas Jefferson appears on the face of the bills), and judging from my experience a lot …
Oct 25
Growing Old Disgracefully: AS Connections 2014
Here is a blog-friendly version of remarks I prepared for delivery to the AANE Conference in Boston. I have tried to reflect some of the (less stilted, I hope) actual delivery, but not including some of the shoutouts I did to individual people who were in attendance. I have also added links to resources concerning some …
Jul 15
Whose Table Is This, Anyway?
My good friend John Robison has written an important and articulate piece on autism advocacy. He says … it’s time to recognize the primacy of autistic people in the formulation of policy relating to research, education, treatment, and services for our community and our people. We are able to express our own wishes and opinions, and …
Jun 15
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
On this Fathers Day, I think back on my own father. Dad to me, Gray to his family, The Gray Fox to many. He would be 98 years old today if he had lived beyond his 81st birthday. I still miss him. He was a lifelong Socialist and Pacifist, and (I now know) an Aspergerian. …
Mar 03
What is it like to be Autistic?
In an earlier post, I wrote a few comments about a definition of autism that I found appealing. The difficulty with coming up with any definition of autism is that it’s really hard to capture the essence of what it’s like to be autistic. Even the best definitions leave me hankering for more. Give me …
Nov 06
The Healing Power of Depression
Depression is a common experience. The word itself conjures up negativity, and has many definitions, none of which is particularly cheerful. Depression has been the subject of many wise and unwise words over the ages. “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold …
Nov 04
The Turing Problem
I just listened to a 20-minute radio segment that reduced me to tears. Alan Turing was a hero of mine long before I knew anything about autism. Once I discovered my own autism and began to be able to see signs of autism in people I knew, either personally or from reading about them, I …