(Repost) Poetry Packed Out: An Enduring Father’s Love

Dear readers, I know that this is going to be a very short post but I wanted to say to all the fathers out there to have a wonderful Father’s Day!

The above poem, Garryowen, is my late Grandfather’s signature poem and he’s the reason I want to be known as a poet. Garryowen is a poem that was framed inside his house, with pictures of his hometown of Limerick, Ireland, including a local tavern known as the Horse and Hound. It hangs in a place of honor there as it does in my families houses, including my own apartment.

To that end, I felt it fitting to record his poem for you all, if only to honor his memory. In fact, Garryowen, while not my poem per se, is the first poem I recorded and I hope that I was able to capture his delivery in doing so.

To my Father, my friends who are fathers, to all fathers and for those who work both roles, consider this post my thank you for all you all do for us. Thank you for being you, for sacrificing your time and efforts and thank you all for helping us…

Shine On!! Happy Fathers Day!!!!

The HopeCast: Let the Sun Shine and Hope Come In!!!

(Repost) Poetry Packed Out: Love Always Stands Strong

https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/xyV4t4avwGtKv4vz9

I know, Dear Readers, that I said that I’d give a break to Poetry Packed Out, but this poem which I recorded to SoundCloud was too special to ignore. 

The reason for this poem is because I wrote it for my brother’s wedding to my Sister-in-law. I felt that, as much as siblings will tease each other (and in fairness, I’ve done my share) this occasion was too special to not take seriously. 

During the rehearsal dinner, I was asked by a cousin to see if I could write a poem for the occasion. I scribbled down some notes on a piece of paper (or maybe a napkin) and, as I later told her, I’d “let these ideas simmer.”

The result was evident in the following poem, so I really hope that you all enjoy, never give up on love, and, as always….

Shine On!!

(Repost) It’s Never Easy but it’s worth it…

Well, another year has come and gone…

Another year of sky high dreams, some successes and some losses as well, but nevertheless, the lessons, the growing pains seems to have been worth it, even as it’s been challenging.

My friends have told me how much I’ve changed ever since I moved to my current home, how much I’ve mellowed out, how hard I’ve worked to grow into myself now, especially how I have begun to balance myself between work and socialization, which I’m still working on today.

Another aspect that I’m happy to say that I’ve matured about is mending my bridges and keeping my cool in difficult and stressful situations. I’ve had curve balls, twists, turns and everything in between and even though it was stressful for me and it felt insurmountable, with the support of my friends and family (and a little bit of faith) , I was able to deal with every obstacle and I was made all the better for them.

My point in saying this is that if I can overcome many things in 2017, and if you’re reading this and you’re going through your struggle, I just want to let you know that you can overcome it, but it’s not going to come without hard work and sacrifice and hard work. Change, as I’ve mentioned in the past, is hard for anyone to deal with, especially when you’re so used to routine.

I want to challenge you for 2018: change yourself, challenge yourself, ask for advice if you need it; go outside your comfort zone and face your fears.

It will scare you at first, but if you trust me and yourself, you’ll come out all the better and all the stronger for taking that first step. I promise you that if you challenge yourself to change, to push through the nay sayers, those who don’t understand you and write your efforts as futile, then you’ll find yourself in a position to really have a great New Year and to always….

Shine on!!

(Repost) Poetry Packed Out: One for the Teachers

This post is for those wonderfully creative and brave warriors that care about those they work with. Those heroes that live among us, yet they make an indelible impact on all of us. Those people that uplift during the weakest, the darkness points as well as the positive points of our lives.

Simply put, this post is for the teachers that impact our lives. These people are the hardest working people that I’ve had the honor to know as friends.

On a personal note, I know that impact firsthand as I know a family who is willing to help, to listen, to do everything that they can to improve their community. One of my best friends has been a teacher for over 30 years named Joe Defino, who has been the epitome of what a teacher should be and more, he’s been a coach, a mentor, a cheerleader, a husband, a father and so many other things, even the founder of a ground breaking event called Hope Rocks, which helps people with addiction of all kinds know that there is hope (the link is here: https://www.hoperocksny.com.)

For him and other wonderful teachers, I wish to share the following haiku set, which I titled, Work and Play, which not only honors and respects teachers, but also the students whose lives they daily touch, so without further ado, I unveil the following haiku:

 

Work and Play

 

-for all teachers-

 

Final bell peal

brings relief, sorrow in

hard work aftermath.

 

Teachers gather at

old playground, reminisce on

memories; old, new.

 

They laugh, play at what

gathered them here and how they

took heart; grew from there.

 

For all parents, teachers, and students who worked hard to be the success that they are, that also hung tough during the tough times (especially during this year, with all we’ve dealt with in 2020), thank you all for being hard-working, thank you for being creative in tough times, and never forget to always….

 

Shine On!!!

Saugerties: 30 Years and Still Rolling Along!

https://woodstock94celebration.com

This annual Summer Celebration, Dear Readers, makes me so proud to be a part of Saugerties and an Autistic artist. This year marks 30 Years since Woodstock 94 (yes, that Woodstock event.)

I want to highlight the “groovy” buses that fellow artists created that will be displayed all Summer long witb the following pictures. The last bus means a lot to me, as you’ll see.

This last bus, created by Willy Neumann of The Love Knot fame, highlights several notable Saugertiesians, including Nina Schmidbaur of Cloverlea fame.

As well as Bob Siracusano, Barbara Bravoj and my late adopted Mom, the late Carol Zaloom, whom is second from the left.

These buses, as the link above shows, are part of a wonderful celebration, but as an Autistic artist, I like to think that let the public in on the talent that fellow artists have shown.

I know that this is a short post, but I hope that this post shows the talent that art and artists are important to our community.

Until next post, Dear Readers, stay safe, stay strong and, as always….

Shine (or Ride) On!!

(Repost) Once again, Who Listens to the Listeners

Recently, I’ve been watching classic TV, particularly Star Trek simply because I wanted to change my TV habits up a bit. I must admit that I’m a Trekkie, perhaps deep down, I’ve always been a fan and never realized that until recently. The fact that Dr. Temple Grandin is a fan of the classic Star Trek, my hero in the autistic community, helps me so much and, looking into it, it’s not hard to see why, how so, read on….

Inside the Trek universe, there are so many people who I can relate to, that I can say that there’s a part of me in all of them. In Capt. Sisko, I feel the tension that he felt every day, having to keep the peace of so many different species, making those choices that we might flinch at and how he had to keep up appearances as a religious icon and a Commander (later Captain) inside Starfleet.  Thus far, I see myself in Sisko, though I have a passion for the arts so much that I can see Picard in me as well.

In Chief O Brien, there’s the obvious connection with our shared heritage and how he had to fix Deep Space 9, a Cardassian space station with Federation technology, not an easy task, which required him to be creative and flexible in his role as Head of Operations, something I’ve had to do countless times in my own work, similar to him and Voyager’s Neelix.

In Voyager’s EMH, known simply as the Doctor, he was a person, an entity which I felt for, simply for the fact that he wanted to belong and his struggles mirror my own, both the triumphs and pitfalls. I also see Data in myself as well for the same reasons, both the Doctor and Data fought for the person (entities, perhaps?) that they are, fought for the respect that they deserved, much like I do to this day.

There was one character that really stood out to me, with Quark being a close second, Guinan, from the Next Generation, it maybe because of the fact that she simply listens. I saw her and felt a connection because, as a former bartender’s son, I’ve always been known for being a good listener. It’s a family trait, I’m feeling, as all of my wonderful brothers are known for being good listeners.

It’s gotten so much so that, when friends have their problems, we are the first people that they can talk to, because like Guinan, we seem to be good at listening. I admit that I’m working on giving advice, but I feel like if listening helps the person vent out possibly pent-up frustrations, then I’m happy to be a help, no matter how small.

It just goes to show that, whatever you find yourself a fan of, you can always find someone to look up to in a postive light, especially when the news is full of bad characters nowadays. That said, in life, there’ll always be the people you can look to for advice, a shoulder to cry on and a character that you can’t help but root for, but with them by your side, you won’t be able to do anything but be like a star and…..

Shine On!!

(Repost) GRASPing at Hope Through Autistic Eyes!!

Well, dear readers, I have some great news to report to you all, my first book is finally getting back on track, all going to a fantastic cause. The cause in question is the Global and Regional Asperger’s Syndrome Partnership, or GRASP for short. 

But first, there’s a confession I need to make, I’m with GRASP, as their Board Outreach Coordinator, it’s a recent responsibility that I was asked to undertake. Those who know me know that I take my responsibilities seriously, so I’m honored to be a part of this wonderful organization. To be clear, the following post comes from GRASP, but I’m reposting their post to help the cause, so please check out the following link. 

I know from firsthand experience how important GRASP’s impact on the autistic community, so I’m very happy that I can let this out to you, my readers, so please support this cause by donating for a copy of my first book, Through Autistic Eyes, and as always….

 

Shine On!! 

 

We are excited to announce long time Autism Community member and self-advocate, Brian J. Liston, to GRASP’s Board of Directors as Board Outreach Coordinator. In 2016, Brian was recognized by GRASP with a certificate of achievement for his contributions to the Autism Community. He has recently published his first poetry book and we are proud to offer them to our community!

Brian states, “I have been called an honest poet by many fellow poets and the friends that I’ve made. I must say that I’m flattered when they say that. For me, constructing this book, as well as writing poetry in general, is a labor of love. The love which I feel is a stark contrast to those people who have told me that my dream to be an author was just that- a dream. However, so many people encourage me to keep writing, reading, and going to poetry readings.”

Brian’s poetry has been featured in the Chronogram, the Post Star, and Poughkeepsie’s The Awakening. His poem “Autistic Superkid” was recently features in Riverine: An Anthology of Hudson Valley Writers.

Brian has generously donated proceeds of the book sales to GRASP to provide much needed services, support, and resources to our Autism Community! Please visit http://paypal.me/GRASPorg to purchase a copy for $12, which includes shipping.  Please be sure to include your address. Thank you for your support!

(Repost) Being Open…

The hardest thing one can be in daily life is being open about your life, being open about your victories and your pitfalls. Even as can be scary to do so, for fear of the consequences, the struggle to answer your critics can be overwhelming for even the most experienced person, Spectrumite or not. From day one, I’ve always been open about me being a Spectrumite, even as I’m aware of the struggle for those who decide not to disclose.

That said, though, there’s more that people may not be aware of whom I am, even friends that know me to be an optimist by nature, who is creative and kind. I’m not afraid to share my demons on my blog, if I need to do so, if it can help others in need, i’m not afraid to share the help I’ve gotten, but need to preface this by saying that just because it worked for me, it might need different things in anyone’s circumstances. Everyone’s different so that means that what I write about this isn’t a “one size fits all” deal.

But first, some context is in order, I just came back from a friend’s funeral and my friend’s Mom told me that her son dealt with drug abuse which was compounded by very bad bouts of depression. It, honestly, hit home for me in so many different ways mostly because of the fact that I personally deal with depression and it’s not something that easy to talk about openly, so I figured that this is as good a time as any to do so.

I’ll go into detail only if needed, since there’s a lot to cover and so much that’s unknown when it comes to depression, it could be personality, societial expectations, but the one thing I wish to say about depression is that it’s okay to talk about to anyone you trust, friends, family, co-workers, so long as you trust them. You’re not a weak person to do so, because talking about your problems and your life can help you find solutions to them. Another thing I need to say about depression is that  You are important, you are unique and you mean so much to others, perhaps moreso to those who care about you and your well being. If nothing else, I hope you know that much, it may be hard to believe, but trust me when I say you mean so much in the world. If you need more convincing that there’s hope, then late this month (on my Birthday, in fact) Hope Rocks will be having its second annual festival, founded by a beacon of hope, not only for his community but for myself personally, Joe Defino. The Website is listed here and I really hope you consider coming: Www.morserocks.com

Hopefully, you can be hope for the world, or can find hope in your darkest time and find your own way to..

Shine on!!!

(Repost) Taking Time out for You..

For someone on the Spectrum, being overwhelmed can be jarring, disarming and just chaotic, especially when people want so much from you in a short amount of time or when they ask you to hear about their problems.

Sometimes, I like to hear it but there are times where I just need to be alone. I’m sure the same can be said for all of us at one time in our lives. The most prominent example of someone (or in this case, somepony) whom I relate to so much is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic‘s Starlight Glimmer, especially in light of a recent incident.

(Warning for those who haven’t seen Season 9, spoilers ahead!)

In the recent episode “Student Counsel”, Starlight, in her role as Twilight Sparkle’s Friendship School, relishes her job as guidance counselor, but being so gung ho at her job divides her time between that and spending time with her friends, particularly the Great and Powerful Trixie.

This becomes evident as the Great and Powerful Duo (my name for Trixie and Starlight) prepare for a party hosted, not by Pinkie Pie, but her sister Maud and her boyfriend Mudbriar, two other ponies I can relate to, but more on that later.) Starlight, during a picnic with Trixie, explains that she enchanted a bracelet to go off when somepony knocks on her door.

It starts happening throughout the episode and the conundrum becomes evident when she misses time with Trixie to devote herself to her student’s problems. It’s this part where I relate to her the most, with people asking me all the time for advice, also known as the Bartenders Conundrum.

It’s never easy to be the person that people can unload all of thier problems on, but it’s something to be proud of. That said, neglecting friends, as Starlight did before (and she learned in this episode) can make one feel like they aren’t important enough.

It was the same for Starlight as it is for all of us, we need to find a balance between work and pleasure; to set boundaries when they are needed (or wanted) for ourselves if nothing else. Only then can we function, contribute in our communities and in the long term, really…

Shine On!!