Ben, book, sun, green grass, greener trees, blue sky, bluer Lake Erie, and a hunk of modern sculpture art that looks like a toddler sibling of the Chicago Daley Plaza Picasso in the background (Ben was unimpressed — all the
Struttin’
Soccer Ball Blast – A Ben Moment
Sitting at a traffic light, car windows open, Ben in his usual spot – back seat, passenger side. He’s in a great mood, so he belts out, at full blast, “SOCCER BALL!!!!!” Nothing unusual to us. Not the case for
Care Package
For the weekends in between visits, Karen always sends a little package for Ben to open on Saturday that often has a book or toy or something he likes, but ALWAYS has some sort of tasty treats that he loves
Horsing Around
Not directly Ben-related but… We have a few routines built into the end of our Ben visits on Sundays, the almost-final part (before the trip to Luna Bakery for cookies) being a drive out to the Hiram College area in
Lability
Jake, back from undergrad academia, was with us for our weekend with the big guy. Ben loves Jake, even though he hardly ever sees him. The twins have lived apart since they were twelve, with Ben in Wisconsin for five
Back Seat Reading Spot
Ben’s twin brother Jake being with us for a weekend is why we have this 10-second clip of an activity Ben requests a lot on every visit, and Karen is always happy to comply. And since I’m always behind the
Collecting Not Watching
Ben loves his Busy World of Richard Scarry video, which is where some of his favorite little mantras come from — like “Juggling!” (a.k.a. what he sometimes says while hurling a book into the air, emulating a character exclaiming “Juggling”
Alfresco Ben!
Ben’s staff are trying to widen his flexibility regarding where he likes to “take his meals,” and a gorgeous day like this I’d have to think would appeal to the big guy, though if there’s food in front of him,
Benjamin Pavarotti
One of our nicknames for Ben is Pavarotti. Here is a minute and twenty nine seconds of why. We don’t know exactly where some of these are from, like the “Weeee, Ah Weeeee, Ah Weeeeeeee-T!” We do know “Arrr-Purr” is
Clean Hands
When Ben hits the bathroom, he makes sure to wash his hands – as many times as there are sinks (unless there’s a dozen or something like that – then he just bothers with one). His technique is a little