So, usually, I am the one responding to threads here, but I had an interesting experience this past weekend that became rather troublesome and perhaps even offended other people, but really couldn't help myself in this instance.
Situation: My wife and I were visiting my brother-in-law in Traverse City, Michigan. He is a recent widow, a retired engineer, and previously had let his wife be the "social director". Well, now, it's his first time entertaining guests in his home. We were to spend two nights with him. At any rate, one of the evenings, he had purchased tickets to a local theater play. Fine, I haven't actually sat down and watched a play since, well, elementary school, some 45-50 years ago. Sure, I am game. Let's do it. Something new.
We get to the theater and find our seats. Decent seats up in the first row of the balcony overlooking the stage. The play starts, and so, I am thinking I am going to see stage acting. Well, it was a bit more, it was a musical, and that's when my autistic brain processing began to act up. Background: I have never understood the concept of "singing dialogue", so throughout my life I just avoided it because "I didn't like it." Well, here I am, stuck shoulder-to-shoulder in a small community theater, it's a packed venue, thinking I was going to see a play, not knowing it was a musical. The music is loud, the singing is loud, neither are very good, but it's local theater. Then, here is the thing, my brain got locked in on trying to follow the story, but because there was singing and dancing, I couldn't follow along because the actor's diction was hard to process, and why would anyone sing and dance the dialogue? Words that might otherwise could be understood, were now being sung, and I couldn't understand what was being said. Now, I started to think that it might be just part of the experience, but then the audience was laughing and clapping, and really getting into key moments of the presentation, and I just sat there like someone from a different country who didn't understand the language. I was looking around confused. Everyone else was understanding. I wasn't.
I can't move out of my seat. I have a physically-disabled, elderly couple to my left. I have an entire row of people to my right. I can't move without disrupting things for everyone else around me. So, I sit there with a rather painful, confused look on my face while everyone else is smiling, laughing, and clapping at things I have no idea why. Intermission, Thank God, finally arrived. I had to get out of there. My brother-in-law left to get a drink and visit the restroom. My wife followed me out to the front, I gave her a kiss, and said I will wait in the car. So, I sat out in the car, in the dark, scrolling through my Instagram for another 90 minutes.
Well, the following morning, we get up, I had some time to explain to my brother-in-law that I have autism (he didn't know), what it is, what my daily experience is like, and why I had to leave the theater. He was good with it all, at least I think. We went out to do some hiking and then we took him out for a nice lunch at an expensive restaurant, sort of as a peace offering.
So, I thought I would share one of my "autistic moments" with all of you.
Situation: My wife and I were visiting my brother-in-law in Traverse City, Michigan. He is a recent widow, a retired engineer, and previously had let his wife be the "social director". Well, now, it's his first time entertaining guests in his home. We were to spend two nights with him. At any rate, one of the evenings, he had purchased tickets to a local theater play. Fine, I haven't actually sat down and watched a play since, well, elementary school, some 45-50 years ago. Sure, I am game. Let's do it. Something new.
We get to the theater and find our seats. Decent seats up in the first row of the balcony overlooking the stage. The play starts, and so, I am thinking I am going to see stage acting. Well, it was a bit more, it was a musical, and that's when my autistic brain processing began to act up. Background: I have never understood the concept of "singing dialogue", so throughout my life I just avoided it because "I didn't like it." Well, here I am, stuck shoulder-to-shoulder in a small community theater, it's a packed venue, thinking I was going to see a play, not knowing it was a musical. The music is loud, the singing is loud, neither are very good, but it's local theater. Then, here is the thing, my brain got locked in on trying to follow the story, but because there was singing and dancing, I couldn't follow along because the actor's diction was hard to process, and why would anyone sing and dance the dialogue? Words that might otherwise could be understood, were now being sung, and I couldn't understand what was being said. Now, I started to think that it might be just part of the experience, but then the audience was laughing and clapping, and really getting into key moments of the presentation, and I just sat there like someone from a different country who didn't understand the language. I was looking around confused. Everyone else was understanding. I wasn't.
I can't move out of my seat. I have a physically-disabled, elderly couple to my left. I have an entire row of people to my right. I can't move without disrupting things for everyone else around me. So, I sit there with a rather painful, confused look on my face while everyone else is smiling, laughing, and clapping at things I have no idea why. Intermission, Thank God, finally arrived. I had to get out of there. My brother-in-law left to get a drink and visit the restroom. My wife followed me out to the front, I gave her a kiss, and said I will wait in the car. So, I sat out in the car, in the dark, scrolling through my Instagram for another 90 minutes.
Well, the following morning, we get up, I had some time to explain to my brother-in-law that I have autism (he didn't know), what it is, what my daily experience is like, and why I had to leave the theater. He was good with it all, at least I think. We went out to do some hiking and then we took him out for a nice lunch at an expensive restaurant, sort of as a peace offering.
So, I thought I would share one of my "autistic moments" with all of you.
