Take notes. I love this piece by Pam Paul. I am more than a little autistic. Neurodivergent doesn’t work for me.  For me, neurodivergence must be like something you do to get inside someone’s brain. I do not get metaphors. I take what you have to say, literally. What people are saying is important because their awareness lends you something of a road map. For me, it’s a photograph. To make it out alive at the end of every day. It can’t be that bad (Oprah). Wanna bet. Half the time, especially if you are stuck in metaforland, I will not understand a thing you say. Pam Paul calls it masking. Smile constantly. There are too many metaphors in the word  Alone. Alone is my friend. How are you today. Caffeinated. If you say to me: Oh, go stand in the middle of the road, I would stand in the middle of the road. I am being attacked 24/7. Especially in print. I know who does this like a bunch of junkyard dogs. Other writers. I did not murder an entire race of people. Far from it.

How are you today, I do not say Fine. Fine is a filament. A simple strand of hair. I am living in a landscape where I am losing my ability to comprehend what you articulate. Have a nice day. What is your gut telling you. Excuse me. I love you. I love you, too. What does this mean. I employ about ten masks. At a time. When you remove one from my face, I have others. I can hold an audience for no longer than fifteen minutes. Civil war. Civility. Shaking hands. See you later alligator. I see swamps. What’s wrong. Nothing.