A Big Thank You to My Wonderful Partner Steph and Postscript

Before I post anymore stories, I want to give a big thank you to my wonderful partner Steph, whose idea it was for me to write this book. Others have since backed her, but it was Steph who told me one Sunday morning that I should write my story. We had been talking over breakfast and I was telling her one of my many experiences and when I was finished, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed "You should write a book! I know people would read it. Nobody that I know has had your life." At first I was skeptical and thought "What's so special about me? Why would anyone want to read about my life?". But I thought about what she said and I began to think about the stories I could tell. The more I thought about it the more I realized she was right. Steph initially wanted to be the one to write it, but I told her that I wanted to do it, and she agreed to help me.  We eventually kicked around ideas for a title and Steph said "It is as though you have lived three lives". I immediately recognized how astute her suggestion was. So we had our title: Three Lives Lived. I am completely indebted to her for her insights and creative suggestions.

These three stories all illustrate the sense of adventure and deep curiosity that I had for the world around me. Eventually, fear of authority and punishment would dull much of my curiosity, but for my earliest years, I was really quite fearless. "Down the Manhole" is really a story about our sensitivity to certain stimuli: sounds, smells, tastes and sensations. As aspies, we are either not sensitive at all to these things, or we are hypersensitive. Until very recently I was completely unaware that my reactions to loud noises, crowds, and clothing when I was little, were anything other than completely normal. I had to be a father myself to realize that not every child wants to run around naked. I had to be home a few months ago and have the alarm system go off with us in the house to notice that I was the only one freaked out by the sound of the alarm. Finally, I was on a date with Steph at a music festival when she pointed out that I really can't stand crowded places, and that I shut down after a few hours at them. I hadn't realized until she told me this why I hate Walmart and shopping malls so much. This realization was one of the ones that really convinced me that I really am on the spectrum. I did take a few online tests, which were designed by academic researchers in this field and those tests confirmed what I had long suspected: that I am on the spectrum, but am not a full-blown Aspie. Rather I am a mix of an aspie and a neurotypical, which I believe puts me in a unique position to write about my experiences in a way that many people can relate to.