Published on 12, July, 2020
Thanks to Number in another thread (root beer) I've been thinking of the many things I've just 'not got' and done wrong.
Usually the clue that I'm not 'getting it' is the look of wonder on the faces of other people.
I'm suspecting now this may be autism related.
There are countless examples during my life but here a few.
McDonalds: I don't really understand McDonalds and I don't spend time in them without another person.
My mum used to like them so I'd take her there for lunch sometimes.
One of the 1st times she asked me to collect a menu for her and some cutlery.
I couldn't understand why these weren't on the table.
So, I went to the counter and asked for these things.
After this initial trauma, I then had the trauma of trying to understand what you are supposed to eat off of and with.
Doh.
McDonalds is a particular thing with me I think.
I was with my autistic friend on our way back from visiting his mother and we went to a McD.
He asked me to get him a 'root beer'.
So, I asked for such at the counter only to be asked what that is.
I said 'I don't know' so no root beer was presented to my friend.
Another prime example is going to a spa and swimming baths in a hotel.
I'm not a swimmer or a spa goer.
So, the 1st thing I did was put my make-up on before going there.
Then, I couldn't understand how the lockers worked and had to get assistance.
Then, I eventually found the toilets but couldn't find my way back to the swimming pool so I walked through reception soaking wet in my swimming costume.
I was also in a church once when a service began and loads of people sat around me.
I had gone in there because I was in a strange city and cold and was using the church as a refuge.
I thought I could just sit there whilst the service took place.
I hadn't anticipated communion and although I'm not a Catholic or a church goer, and although I didn't understand what I was doing, I felt obliged to follow everyone up and take communion.
There are so many examples I won't continue.
Is it just me or are there other people here who just don't 'get it?'.
When I get completely fixated with a subject I sort-of expect other people to be as absorbed in the subject as I am. I play bass in a band and I'm really interested in the sound engineering aspect of setting up and running the PA system, so I expect all my other band members to be as interested in the details as I am (even down to what sort of cables I'm using and why). I sometimes forget that other people just don't want to know as much detail about things!
Then another thing that I really don't get is religion (I'm talking mainly about Christianity as it was the dominant religion in my family when I was growing up). I remember coming home from primary school and being completely baffled by something a teacher had said in assembly. They had said that God made everything in the world. I asked my parents about this as I really couldn't understand why someone would say that. To demonstrate my anxiety about trying to understand I picked up a pepper mill from the kitchen table and asked my parents "So, did God make this?". I obviously knew that God didn't make the pepper mill but I couldn't get my brain to hold two obviously opposing ideas at the same time. I couldn't understand why someone would say something so clearly untrue.
The other thing I remember is being told that "Jesus is to your right, to your left, in front of you, behind you, above you and below you", and I took this idea literally. I thought "well you're just talking nonsense now".