I have a niece that long ago was diagnosed as having Asperger’s Syndrome. She is and always has been one of the joys of my life. She says and does things that are totally inappropriate socially and put simply she just does not give a damn about protocol of any kind. Her name is Ashley and here is my favorite story about her.

The two of us were riding down the road one day just shootin’ the breeze when from out of the blue she asked me, “Uncle Buck have you ever scratched your butt and smelled your finger?”

Well. What do you do? I wanted to be totally honest with her but damn. After a little stuttering and stammering I just said, “Yes honey I have. Have you?” She nodded her head yes as if the question had an obvious answer and then she was quiet for a few moments as if she was deep in thought. After just a couple of minutes she looked at me and said, “Uncle Buck have you ever scratched your butt and licked your finger?”

There was no pause on my part this time. My voice got a little higher than it should have and I said to her, “Lord Jesus Christ honey, hell no, have you!”

She gave me her patented sideways smile and simply said, “Not yet.”

I tell this story before making a book recommendation. I have just finished reading a book called “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” It is a marvelous novel written by Mark Haddon and is written from the perspective of a 15 year old boy that is autistic. Asperger’s Syndrome is a form of autism and that is what sparked my interest in the book. I highly recommend it.

Just like Ashley it will make you laugh and it will make you cry.