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A Tough Day For Eccentrics

Beatnik celebrity poet, singer and Greenwich Village resident Tuli Kupferberg died at age 86. As did pioneering comic memoirist Harvey Pekar at the age of 70. The hell? Guess it is a good time to point out The Pekar Project:

Harvey Pekar’s been mining the mundane for magic for more than 30 years in his autobiographical American Splendor comics. Now he has teamed with SMITH and four remarkable artists — Tara Seibel, Joseph Remnant, Rick Parker, and Sean Pryor — to create his first ongoing webcomic series. New stories appear every other week, with interviews, creator spotlights, and behind-the-scenes goodies.

Other Pekar-related stories: A recent interview with Juxtapoz. A farewell from his hometown of Cleveland. And the National Post. Lastly, his David Letterman appearances were so earnest and sincere. He was completely impervious to pandering and not at all impressed by celebrity.

Also bursting my bubble today? The barefoot bandit has been apprehended in the Bahamas. The teenage anti-hero, Colton Harris-Moore, has become something of a folk hero…building up a cult following after pulling off a non-violent crime spree spanning the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. All, apparently, while shoe-less.

But really, the worst part of today was the call from the boy’s summer camp (and its aftermath). Informing me that my generally nice, sweet son has been acting out in surprisingly unsettling ways. Like spitting on another camper at lunch and shouting “I hate you” at camp counselors. WTF? This had better not be a taste of autism in the pre-teen & teen years to come because I don’t know if I can hack it. The kid is currently in a little heap in his room after an uncomfortable exchange. From which all I got was that he was “out of control” and is very sorry. And I am sitting alone, in silence, utterly baffled…and a little bit alarmed.

my son, hogging the umbrella

3 Comments

  1. Vanessa wrote:

    Oh buddy. Teen years could be rough but I don’t think for a single second you couldn’t hack it. You are TUFF. I hope things get a lil easier for ya soon! ;)

    Monday, July 12, 2010 at 5:21 pm | Permalink
  2. em wrote:

    That’s very un-Little Manish! Maybe it’s just now sinking in that he’s in this day camp for the long haul, so he’s acting out a bit? The thing that I do notice with some older autistic kids I’ve met is that since they are older, their frustration and embarrassment at THEMSELVES when they act out is more pronounced, which alot of times makes things worse. They can’t handle the fact that they can’t handle their emotions. It’s hard going through that time for anyone, I can’t even imagine what it’s like for someone who needs a very clear and concise view of the world to feel comfortable. Email me if you need to talk about it at all! ::hug::

    Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 1:17 pm | Permalink
  3. Sharyn wrote:

    Thanks ladies!

    And yeah, Em, that is exactly it with the boy. He is most definitely frustrated and upset with himself more than with anyone else so he doesn’t exactly want to talk or hug things out at this point, which leaves me wondering what I can do to help him out…

    Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 1:29 pm | Permalink

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