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Oct. 29, 2004 I hope you did enjoy the first of Gregory's Gatherings and there will be more to come, but I would like to divert a little bit to talk about my son. Gregory Forster, III. Last night I took my Dad, Gregory, Sr, myself, my son and Uncle Anthony to the last pre-season NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Sacremento Kings and we all had a fantastic time. The big suprise was my little boy who suffers from autism. Autistic children are on either side of the social spectrum, from being sullen and withdrawn to being loud and boistrous. The ironic thing about that, however, is that they tend to not like crowds, bright lights or loud noises. I was apprehensive at first, remembering the last Mavericks game I attended in 1994 at Reunion Arena where fans were very loud, pitifully attempted "the wave", and, of course, the announcer during the game with his voice shattering any hopes of "peace and tranquility" every time our team scored. But he insisted he wanted to go with me and his grandpa and uncle, wanted to spend time with his dad and do something fun. Knowing him the way I THOUGHT I did, I was full of concern for him, wondering how much fun it would actually be. But to my surprise he was all INTO the spirit of going to the game as we took the DART Light Rail into downtown, took the shuttle to the American Airlines Center, saw the "indecisive" water fountains that more splattered than showed any inkling of a water display, proudly flashed the four tickets and went into to be mesmerised by the overly-inflated prices for food and drink (And I thought the airport was bad). G3 -as I affectionally call him when I am in one of my hip-hop moods- had become the avid basketball fan, excited to be among people who came for the same reason he was there, commenting on the people with white and blue faces, the wild blue hair, the dancing girls on the court (The Dallas Maverick Dancers, oh my!), things being thrown into the stands, watching the Wheelchair Dallas Mavericks play at halftime, listening to The Mavericks Drumline, making noise when the Kings were at the free throw line, cheering when the Mavs made a basket, chanting "D-fense" when it was Sacremento's go at the basket. HE was doing that along WITH ME, the boy who used to never want to come out of his room or would put the hood up on his coat to keep himself away from the other kids. It just made me proud that he wasn't hiding, wasn't clinging to my arm or had his hands over his ears. He was part of that throng of fans who wanted nothing more than to see the Dallas Mavericks dominate on the floor! I said all that to say that if you take things one day at a time, keep the faith, say and think things positive in a world of negativity and doubt, miracles can happen. You just might see that child who couldn't tell a fork and a knife apart be one who demands he makes his own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! ------------ About the author: Gregory Forster Jr. is the author of the soon-to-be published book "The Lazy-Snooze-Button-Happy-Wait-'Til-The-Last-Minute Survivor's Guide" Due to hit stores Fall of 2005. Gregory resides in Dallas. Email: gforsterjr@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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