Great news!

[Guest guest]

Hey, guys, this is stupendous (in my estimation anyhow).

Ron, Louie, and I just got back Monday from our family reunion. This

involved a trip from Albuquerque, NM to Tulsa, OK......almost 700 miles

and around 11 hrs. driving time coming and going (each way). The

travel part was hassle free, partly due to our having gotten Louie a

tiny color TV for Xmas a few years ago, and partly due to his continuing

maturing. Anyway, we stayed in a hotel room that my sis (who works

for the chain) got for us for a great rate, and we were there from the

wee hours of Friday night through Monday a.m......two double beds, a

tv.....what more could one ask? There were around 30 of us at the

reunion (my bros and sisters and their kids and kids kids), and Louie

handled it very very well. Even socialized!

But that's not the tremendous news.

On Saturday night, Ron and I decided to go and watch the people he used

to play music with run a jam session at a local club. We asked Louie if

he wanted to go, but he declined. When we got back, about 3 hrs. later,

this is what he told us. He decided he wanted a local paper, and there

were none left in the hotel lobby (he'd noticed this after dinner

earlier). So, in his sweatpants, sandals and tshirt, he left the hotel

(!), walked just short of a quarter mile to the major intersection,

crossed at the light, went into the QuickTrip there, bought his paper,

crossed again at the light, walked back to the hotel, went to the front

desk, asked for a keycard for his room (and said please), told the

deskclerk the room number, got his keycard (and said thankyou), let

himself into our section of the hotel, took the elevator up to the

fourth floor, let himself into our room, and put the keycard in the

keycard folder on the dresser. All by himself! And it meant

communicating clearly with both the clerk at the store and the one at

the hotel front desk, as well as handling payment and waiting for his

change!!!!! This is the first time Louie has ever ever taken the

initiative to do something like this on his own, and after we got over

being terrified we showered him with praise and told him how proud

we were of him. And the capper? We know about this because when we

got back we asked him how his evening had gone, and he told us the whole

thing!!!

I had to share this. It just made the whole trip!

Annie, who loves ya

annie@...

--

The food that you get in art museums is institutional revenge for the

art that you get in restaurants. -- anon