Wednesday, 15 January 2014

An outbreak of Aspergers at the pub

The picture is a tavern scene (1658) by David Teniers the younger. I have chosen it because it is rather like the little pub I go to, both in appearance and in mood. The pub has very plain walls and floors, but the landlord and landlady have put various trinkets and simple decorations around the place which create a lovely mood. The group on the left reminds me of my friends and I, chatting, laughing and playing scrabble while we enjoy our pints. The person in the middle also reminds me of someone. I have already told you about a very aggravating alcoholic who drives me mad with his pissed and relentless verbal diarrhoea. Well, he did fall asleep once and needed to be woken up. It was only once though. I actually preferred him when he was asleep, because it was nice and quiet, and one could talk quite normally without the conversation being taken over.
A couple came to the pub yesterday that I hadn't seen before. We got talking, and they told me that ten days ago they'd moved here from London. They also told me that they had two children who have aspergers. I called my friend over and introduced him as follows: "My name is Cliff and I have aspergers. This is my friend X and he has aspergers too". We had a really good natter. I suggested that the couple bring their kids with them next time "so the poor buggers will know what they'll look like when they get older". We did laugh.
The couple said how much they had enjoyed themselves, and that they would be back.
A couple of weeks ago a lady I didn't know came in with one of the regulars. She was a little merry on account of the wine she'd evidently been enjoying prior to her arrival. She was in the mood for character analysis, and so it was my turn. She completely misread me. I explained to her that she had misunderstood my autistic traits, and then she talked at length about her only son, a teenager she suspects has aspergers but doesn't want to be diagnosed. During the evening she kept paying me compliments and cuddled me a couple of times. I put it down to the drink. The next time I saw the person she was with, he tried to arrange a date, saying how much she had liked me. I had to explain at that point that I would be quite unsuitable, since I am attracted to blokes. The person looked quite floored by my statement. He had no problem at all with what I had said, but it obviously had never occurred to him.
Reader, I have three questions for you:

1) What does someone who has aspergers look like?
2) What does a bloke who is attracted to other blokes look like?
3) Does someone who does not have aspergers and who is not attracted to the same sex have to keep    
    explaining themselves?

By the way I don't mind any of this in the least.



No comments:

Post a Comment