#WeWishWeCouldGoBack #LOST

To commemorate the 6th anniversary of the series finale; I give you this year’s ‘Lost-aversary’ gifts

Lost figures

and my post from the 5th anniversary….

 

Happy Lost-aversary #LOST #WeHaveToGoBack (from May 23, 2015)Lost

It has been 5 years – 5 years since the LOST series finale. May 23, 2010 – Five Years! It does not seem that long.

LOST was one of the handful of TV shows that I always made a point of watching in real-time (Eureka and the Walking Dead are the others). First thing in the morning when I arrived at work the day after a new LOST episode *Al and I would discuss the entire show from beginning to end – theories, theories, theories. As soon as lunchtime hit, *Dustin would be in my office and we’d go through the whole thing again. *Al commented more than once that we needed a support group –  and looking back on it- we all probably did. Out of the office, the conversation always turned to LOST after our monthly Human Services Committee meetings with at least one and at times two of the Town Staff that were in attendance.

May 23rd – LOST-aversary, as it has come to be known is celebrated every year. Greeting cards are mailed and LOST gifts are presented.

This year I am away on vacation. I don’t know at the time I am writing this what kind of internet or phone access I will have.

So…. it is the 5th annual Lost-aversary and……

There will be no annual “Make Your Own Kind of Music”  and “Shambala” voicemail messages to kick off the day.

The greeting cards were not mailed because they would arrive much too early.

But….. the gifts have been purchased and this post has been pre-scheduled so with any luck *Cracker will see the post and it will remind him make his deliveries.

I am sorry I am missing it, but at the time this post is scheduled to publish, we should be having a Dr. Who Experience which almost totally makes up for missing the 5th Lost-aversary.

Many things, good and bad have been said about the way this show ended.

The only disappointment for me was never hearing or seeing Libby’s full back story and…… was Hurley’s imaginary friend Dave, really Libby’s dead husband? His name was David and…… it sort of looked like Libby was seeing him at the table with Hurley at the institution …… Yes, I still obsess and go right back into “theory mode”, when the subject of “LOST Unanswered Questions” comes up.

I haven’t watched the series again since it ended. I haven’t wanted to. There are some television series I can and do watch over and over again, like Eureka, Firefly, The West Wing, Homicide; Life on the Streets and Angel – all of which I absolutely love and there are others like LOST that I have no desire to watch again, not because I didn’t just love every single minute of it (with the exception of season two, The Tail Section season) but because I want to remember it the way I remember it. Maybe on the 10th Lost-aversary, but not now. I have watched the last episode over a good many times, though.

Say what you want about the way it ended, but……

(spoilers!!!)

These people left the island and went on to live their lives. One by one as in real life, they died – all at different times and at different ages and stages of their lives. Afterwards, they moved into a sort of ‘holding pattern’ where they lived completely different lives (Flash-sideways) oblivious to the life they once had and unaware that they were there, in this new life waiting for each other. They lived their new lives until all were there, united and were ready to remember – to remember their previous life, the most important part of their life and the people that they loved. They lived these lives until they were ready move on into the light….. together, as it should be.

Christian Shephard to his son, Jack: “Well, there is no “now”, here.  This is a place that you… that you all made together so that you could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people on that island. That’s why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.”

And I just love that.

“See you in another life, brother”

IMG_9189

5th Anniversary gifts

Happy Lost-aversary #LOST #WeHaveToGoBack

Lost

It has been 5 years – 5 years since the LOST series finale. May 23, 2010 – Five Years! It does not seem that long.

LOST was one of the handful of TV shows that I always made a point of watching in real-time (Eureka and the Walking Dead are the others). First thing in the morning when I arrived at work the day after a new LOST episode *Al and I would discuss the entire show from beginning to end – theories, theories, theories. As soon as lunchtime hit, *Dustin would be in my office and we’d go through the whole thing again. *Al commented more than once that we needed a support group –  and looking back on it- we all probably did. Out of the office, the conversation always turned to LOST after our monthly Human Services Committee meetings with at least one and at times two of the Town Staff that were in attendance.

May 23rd – LOST-aversary, as it has come to be known is celebrated every year. Greeting cards are mailed and LOST gifts are presented.

This year I am away on vacation. I don’t know at the time I am writing this what kind of internet or phone access I will have.

So…. it is the 5th annual Lost-aversary and……

There will be no annual “Make Your Own Kind of Music”  and “Shambala” voicemail messages to kick off the day.

The greeting cards were not mailed because they would arrive much too early.

But….. the gifts have been purchased and this post has been pre-scheduled so with any luck *Cracker will see the post and it will remind him make his deliveries.

I am sorry I am missing it, but at the time this post is scheduled to publish, we should be having a Dr. Who Experience which almost totally makes up for missing the 5th Lost-aversary.

Many things, good and bad have been said about the way this show ended.

The only disappointment for me was never hearing or seeing Libby’s full back story and…… was Hurley’s imaginary friend Dave, really Libby’s dead husband? His name was David and…… it sort of looked like Libby was seeing him at the table with Hurley at the institution …… Yes, I still obsess and go right back into “theory mode”, when the subject of “LOST Unanswered Questions” comes up.

I haven’t watched the series again since it ended. I haven’t wanted to. There are some television series I can and do watch over and over again, like Eureka, Firefly, The West Wing, Homicide; Life on the Streets and Angel – all of which I absolutely love and there are others like LOST that I have no desire to watch again, not because I didn’t just love every single minute of it (with the exception of season two, The Tail Section season) but because I want to remember it the way I remember it. Maybe on the 10th Lost-aversary, but not now. I have watched the last episode over a good many times, though.

Say what you want about the way it ended, but……

(spoilers!!!)

These people left the island and went on to live their lives. One by one as in real life, they died – all at different times and at different ages and stages of their lives. Afterwards, they moved into a sort of ‘holding pattern’ where they lived completely different lives (Flash-sideways) oblivious to the life they once had and unaware that they were there, in this new life waiting for each other. They lived their new lives until all were there, united and were ready to remember – to remember their previous life, the most important part of their life and the people that they loved. They lived these lives until they were ready move on into the light….. together, as it should be.

Christian Shephard to his son, Jack: “Well, there is no “now”, here.  This is a place that you… that you all made together so that you could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people on that island. That’s why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.”

And I just love that.

“See you in another life, brother”

IMG_9189

5th Anniversary gifts

The CALL TO ACTION – A Memorial for Avonte

Call To Action

Call To Action

– Co-written with Gizelle Tolbert

It has been close to 10 months since Avonte Oquendo left his school, unsupervised, past security guards, through an unlocked door. It has been almost 7 months since the devastating conclusion to the search for Avonte.

I do not live in New York, I did not know this beautiful child. I do not know his family, but this story hit he straight in the heart and I did anything I could do from where I live to help in the search. I remember the fear, and the worry, wishing I could do more than just donating flyers, postage or posting and reposting his information –  and finally, I remember the heartbreaking, overwhelming and shocking feeling when he was found. All of it……… too close to home.

When Gizelle contacted me a few days ago asking if I would help in the effort to build a memorial for Avonte, all of those feelings came right back up to the surface.

As it has been said, Avonte, brought an entire city together. His disappearance brought an often, very separated Autism community together. It cast a spotlight on the problem of wandering/elopement of Autistic children and adults.  He has raised awareness to the issues that many families face in trying to keep their children safe. Our children should be safe, at all costs…………. Avonte should have been safe in school.

– Avonte Oquendo should be memorialized, in any and every way possible.

A Call to Action
Please read below and lend your support to Avonte’s Memorial

– written by Gizelle Tolbert

– “The one year anniversary of Avonte’s disappearance, October 4, 2014,  is less than three months away. #AvontesLaw may finally pass this week, but Avonte’s Memorial at Gantry Park  has stalled.  We need to come together to be sure that both of these items are approved.


That being said, we ask that you to share, post, call and write (have your friends and family do the same) the necessary people who can help make this happen.

Please e-mail, mail, tweet or phone your thoughts to every major network, radio station, newspaper and magazine.

Ultimately, Mayor Bill de Blasio will be the person to approve or not approve, therefore, let us post to the other media entities but more-so to the mayor’s office. I have provided the contact information for his office, Twitter and FB Account.

I would like to thank everyone in advance!

It has also been rumored that a song will be released on the anniversary day as well”.
Contact:
Mayor Bill de Blasio
City Hall
New York, NY 10007 Phone: (212) 788-3000

On-Line Contact Form: http://www.nyc.gov/html/static/pages/officeofthemayor/contact.shtml

Twitter: @billdeblasio
FB: https://www.facebook.com/mayordeblasio

New York City Media Contact List  http://www.nytix.com/Links/TV/articles/newsmediacontacts.html


Additional Contact and e-mail addresses missing from the above list:
CBS News – Chris Ender – VP –  cender@cbs.com
60 Minutes – Kevin Tedesco – Director kev@cbsnews.com
NBC – http://www.NBC.com (on-line form)

 

If you would like to contact Gizelle, you can contact her on Twitter @candi_kizzez  or e-mail takeanotherstep@yahoo.com

 

Please let us all join together once more in Avonte’s name and memory…………

Just Who Is This DC That You Speak Of ? – One Year Anniversary

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary

It has now been full year since I began writing this blog. Over the course of this year, a few friends have asked, among other things, why I call my son “DC”.
DC is not my son’s name. This is confusing to my friends because I do post this blog on my personal face book page. Obviously my friends on my personal page know my son’s name, they know our last name, they even know where we live. BUT because this blog is public, and is shared on a number of accounts and networks via WordPress (not via my personal page), I do not use his real name, our last name or our location.

My personal face book page is set for “friends only”. Nothing I write about is anything that my friends don’t know or haven’t heard about DC. I am very proud of my child, as I am sure my friends are very aware of. 😃

As for my other accounts; they are set all up using my first name only, no location. I am sure if one tried hard enough, they may possibly be able to figure out what state we live in, but really not much else.

My Instagram account is not only first name and no location, but it is also private. 95% of my followers and the people I follow there are other autism parents and CharityMiles friends. Quite honestly, they are all wonderful people and I really would not have much of a problem divulging our location or last name to most of them. A few do know Dc’s name and that is fine with me. There I see compassion, camaraderie and the support of each other, that I really don’t see anywhere else. We all seem to have different opinions, but we all seem to embrace our differences instead of attacking each other.

Another question that I am asked every so often is why I write a blog.

I never really intended to write a blog. My blogging began one day when I was writing an extremely long response to a blog post that I had just finished reading. After I hit “post” I decided that writing a response to this post on someone else’s blog was not going to make me feel better about the topic being discussed. I opened an account with a local on-line news publication and pasted the response I had just written onto a blog page and published. After a month or so and only a couple of posts; finding the local publication blog not-so-very user-friendly, and because it was local, I felt I could not share it anywhere else and still remain somewhat anonymous,  I moved to Word Press. I was so worried that I would never have enough to say to sustain a blog, but I went for it anyway. It turns out that I do have a lot to say. I don’t know how many people care to hear what I have to say, but I say it anyway.

Originally, I did not even post the blog on my personal Face Book page, only on my “community page”. Before posting it there, I went through 3 years of posts on the community page and it’s accompanying website , deleting anything that could be considered too “local” of a story.  I wanted to be sure that our location was not too apparent AND that the names and locations of the people featured in these now deleted local stories were also not on display.

(I have just discovered that there is a way to post local news and events on that community page to a specific audience, so I can begin posting local events and news again.)

I did begin posting the blog to my own page at the urging of a friend. No, I am not naïve enough to think that private postings or ‘friend only’ postings are really 100% private, but I have taken all of the precautions I feel that I can and I am always looking for others.  I will continue to call my son, DC and write about “a local theater”, a “local college”, a “local baseball league” or a “local ice cream shop”.

I read many blogs as well. Many of the blogs that I do come across are written by parents of younger children. Most are wonderful and very informative. There are many that I absolutely love,  but I always feel that the parents of adult children do not get to have an equal voice in this community. We are cast aside, or worse, berated. I am not in any way saying my blog is the voice of parents with adult children, I don’t think there are enough people that actually read it, in the first place, to even consider that, but I am ONE voice and ONE opinion in a sea of blogs and opinions that do not seem to make room for the parents that have been at it  for many years now.

I was very tired of being preached at by those who have not reached this point in their child’s life and constantly being told how to feel. I understand where they are coming from and in turn I believe they can or should try to understand where I am coming from. Whatever else you might have to say about me, I  have done a good job of raising DC.  Of course there was help along the way but as a single mother going on 21 years now, most of it fell to me alone.  I truly resent the fact that we, as parents are being made to feel as if after all these years,  we’ve got it all wrong.

I’m hoping a little insight into what comes after “school age” may go a long way in getting people to stop and think before making blanket decisions, accusations and statements that may not affect their child the same way it will affect mine (more about this at another time). There has got to be some give and take. Everything is not good for everybody.

Having said that, I have learned quite a bit from other parents by virtue of this blog. I don’t always agree with every opinion and my readers, I’m sure, do not always agree with me, but I truly believe writing this blog and getting some of the feedback has helped me see some issues a bit differently or at least why some parents see things the way they do. I can only hope I can and will be afforded the same courtesy; and so far I have.

Life tends to be very different when your child “ages out”of the school system and at other times, it is exactly the same. When you are waist deep in school, therapies, programs and IEPs, what happens after 21 is not high on your priority list. Of course it is a priority and of course it is in the back of your mind but, the here and now takes precedence. There are so many new and different issues to consider, and it all comes to hit you in the face much faster than you expect. Your views and opinions can change dramatically from what you hoped for when they were young and what you hope for now. Your life changes drastically, while not changing at all.

In an earlier blog I wrote:

“If I were to live forever, I would not change a thing about my son. He’s happy almost all of the time. He loves his life. He is in his own little happy world, but he won’t always be able to live in his own world, he will someday have to live in the real world. Then what?”

He will, someday have to live in the real world without me.

So I will keep writing with the hope that a few people might read and think a little bit about the future. I would never say that spreading awareness is not a good idea, it IS definitely necessary, but…..

all of the awareness in the world is not going to keep DC safe and happy when I am no longer here to protect him…..