When he was in 8th grade general science, Husband and class studied about the human heart, which he thought was fascinating.
He came home that afternoon to find his mother cooking a cow’s heart for dinner.
He thought, “Yuck! If I have to eat that, I only want a tiny piece of it.”
Later when his younger sister asked what Mother was cooking, he told her, “I’ll give you a hint. You can choose the right ventricle or the left one.”
Mother scolded him. “Don’t tell her that; she won’t eat it.”
I don’t know how the other siblings felt about eating beef heart, but it was the last time she fixed it, even though it was only $.39 per pound.
Later Husband told me that the heart was about twice the size of a human heart and quite tough. Mother didn’t even clean the inside of it (the clots), but she did fix a dressing side dish for it.
I commented to him that she needed training on how to stretch the limited grocery budget Father-in-law set for her. I felt sorry that she tried hard to stay within her limits since I understand the implications of her possible ADHD.
Husband said, “Instead of thinking of this as water under the bridge, think of it as a sewage that continues to back up.”
He always, and I mean all the time, comes up with clever and comical comments when I attempt to be serious.
Our friends Patty and Gary have told me how much they like my husband.
“He is so funny, kind, and caring. He is interesting to talk with.”
What they say is undeniably true. Something about him makes his behavior all worth their while in many ways, and it seems to be that way with other people as well.
People accept things from him that would totally offend if they came from other people.
Like the time he asked a waitress, “Can I switch this chair for another? I am afraid this will not hold my fat ass.” She laughed aloud, and said he had made her day.
Or when we were in college and he belched and then told me “Excuse me; I usually fart.”
He is exceedingly outspoken when an occasion warrants it for him, and he can do it without flinching. Where others likely would get angry with me, they laugh or receive his comments without resentment
The problem is his low self-esteem. Often tells me, “I don’t have friends. Nobody likes me. People like you better than they like me.”
You’re kidding me, right?
How about when we are shopping and people will speak to him before they even remember my name?
What about Guy and Willa who would begin to smile every time he came into a room. They bragged on his way with babies and small children.
Or there was Hattie who loved it when he said. “God gave me the talent of cooking” to which she retorted. “Wonderful! He gave me the talent of eating.”
And all the adults with developmental disabilities will call his name after several years of not seeing us. I was the one who did all the work for them, but it is his casual and practical acceptance they recall as well as his no-nonsense way of helping them control their behavior.
Once he watched a group of cognitive challenged guys watch an X-rated movie. “You shouldn’t be watching that trash,” he said. “But we like it”, they retorted.
He in turn asked, ” What do you know? You’re retarded.”
He totally did not care if it was politically correct or not.
Those same guys seek his attention to this day if we see them in public.
I don’t think it is true that nobody likes him. For one thing, I liked him when we first met, and I like him even more today. Many people like him, and I suspect those who read this blog are among that number.
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