Time flies when you’re you’re spending every spare second of your existence fighting to get your son in school. That’s been the story of my life since September and all of a sudden the calendar says we’re in November? That means there’s maybe five or six weeks left until the 3rd annual Operation Jack Marathon (it’s December 26, whenever that is).

The race is a great event that benefits Train 4 Autism, a charity I’m proud to be a part of, even though I’ve kind of fallen off the face of the earth with an incredibly difficult year. Side note, but totally related, if you don’t know the how and why of how I fight autism, please take a quick look.

Anyways, the point of this post is to show off the age-group awards we’re going to have at the Operation Jack Marathon this year. I am so excited about them. When I saw the pictures, I had a very simple reply to my committee:

WOW. WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW.

In previous years, we’ve had trophies for overall winners. I don’t think we did age group awards, but we decided to do that this year. Rather than order trophies, though, I had a proposal for the committee that is doing an awesome job putting on the race (despite me!). I had an idea for a different type of award that would be incredibly appropriate for the mission of our race.

First, some quick backstory. In 2010, my 3rd marathon of the 61 I ran for Operation Jack was in Mobile, Alabama, and it benefitted a charity called L’Arche Mobile, which is basically an organization of group homes for mentally disabled adults in the Mobile area. I love good causes, and this one hits really close to home for me because my son Jack might end up with a similar organization when he’s an adult.

The age-group awards for that race in Mobile were hand-painted canvases (around 6″ x 8″) made by residents of the homes and on the back, there were bios of the person who made the painting. I was fortunate enough to take second or third in my age group and take home my own canvas. I love it — I’ve age-grouped somewhere around 30 times in marathons and that canvas is the only award I’ve earned that’s on display in my house and not in a box somewhere in the basement.

I love it, simple as that.

I asked my committee what they thought about us contracting with L’Arche Mobile to have their residents paint canvases that we could use as our age-group awards. The way I see it, I’d much rather our awards budget go to a charity that’s right in line with what we’re fighting for. Plus, I think it adds a great touch to the event and a great reminder to all the participants about why we’re putting on the race.

Not surprisingly, I got unanimous agreement immediately. I contacted L’Arche Mobile, they were interested and long story not any longer, they arrived late last week!

They actually arrived in California and since I’m in Colorado, I’ve only seen pictures. But I love them. Here they are:

I’m biased, but I am super, super, super excited about these. I think they’re unique, they have a special touch, plus they’re a visual reminder of everything we’re all about at Train 4 Autism, helping small autism-related charities and making the world a better place one small step at a time.

I’m not going to win one of these awards. But I’m going to be very excited for the people who do.

Three Things Thursday, here we go. I love these, because they’re so easy to write. Standard “if you’ve never been here before” plug about Operation Jack: If you’ve never been here before, check out what Operation Jack is and what’s driven me to pour every spare moment I’ve had over the past several years into fighting autism.

1. We’re still fighting to get Jack in school. Lots of behind-the-scenes stuff going on right now. I’ll have more of an update on Monday. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s the backstory.

2. LA AREA RUNNERS (OR NON-RUNNERS): A friend of mine named Bobby is putting on a low-key 10K at the same spot as the Operation Jack Marathon this Saturday. If you’re in the area, it supports a great cause as it benefits the families of troops killed in action. The event, the 1st Annual Sean’s Run, is named after Bobby’s friend Sean Brock, who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq on February 2, 2005.

3. ALL RUNNERS: Check out the Operation Jack Marathon … rates are going up soon. Benefits a great cause, of course. We also have events in Kansas City and Houston on December 29 that I’m going to get up on the site at some point today or tonight. I’ve been busy with Jack’s issues and slacking off with everything else lately. Drop me a line at sam@operationjack.org if you want me to let you know when those are up and I will.

OK, that’s three. Have a great weekend! Go K-State!

Today is November 7. For just about everybody in this country, it’s the day after the elections are FINALLY over. After another day or two of gloats and complaints, our Facebook feeds are going back to normal! For me, though, it’s November 7. That date stares out at me for two big reasons.

Quick plug: If you’ve never been here, CLICK HERE to see what Operation Jack is. PLEASE!!!

1. It’s the day I broke my neck back in 1991.

I could have been paralyzed, but I wasn’t. It’s something that I feel defines my life, because if I would have been paralyzed, I would have never met Tiffany and had Benjamin, Jack and Ava. I wouldn’t have any of the memories I have from the past 21 years. 18 years with Tiffany, 11+ years as a parent, college, the marathons, the football games, the cross-country drives, the friends I’ve met and the places I’ve been and the things I’ve done.

I would have spent my life in a wheelchair, either living at home with the folks or in some kind of home. Every time I get home from a run, I thank God for sparing those legs. Good or bad, I’m grateful to have the ability to get out there and have the use of them. It’s never lost on me. And today, I replay that day back in 1991 in my mind all day long.

It happened when I got pushed head-first into the shallow end of a swimming pool at school, kind of a freak accident. Accidents happen, and fortunately for me, life went on. I still feel soreness in my neck and it gets pretty bad when it gets cold. I just had a pretty bad few days a couple of weeks ago and it hurt really bad, but that’s just life now. In hindsight, I don’t think I would go back in time and change the way things happened. I mean, I guess I’d rather not have broken my neck, but it’s shaped my mindset and my path and I am where I’m supposed to be so I won’t dwell. I honestly don’t think I ever look back and wish it didn’t happen.

But it was November 7, 1991. So today, I’ll have my traditional McDonald’s lunch. My dad brought me Chicken McNuggets when I was in the hospital. Back then, I had to wait a year to have caffeine or chocolate per my doctors, so on November 7, 1992, I went to McDonald’s and got myself Chicken McNuggets, a hot fudge sundae and a Coke. Now, I do that every year. I go with my fam when I can. It gives me an opportunity to be grateful for what I have, to be always mindful of the fact that God was looking after me that day.

2. It’s the day we got Jack’s autism diagnosis back in 2006

Jack, my 9-year-old son, is severely autistic. Still in diapers, really not talking, self-injurious behavior — it’s tough on him and tough on the rest of the family. It really is something that defines all five of us, starting with him, then my wife, then me and then my other two kids. It impacts us all day, every day.

It’ll never go away for me, Jack and Tiffany. It’s a life sentence, and it officially started six years ago today. I won’t lie and say we don’t wish it never happened. We wish it never happened. And we know he wasn’t born this way, that he’s going to be fighting his vaccine injuries for the rest of his life. He had horrendous meltdowns until 9:30 last night, punching himself in the head and slamming his body around.

Unlike breaking my neck, this is something I wish hadn’t happened. I would undo this if I could. It’s a huge test of faith for us to accept this, even though we know we have to.

Side note on Jack: He’s still not in school. We had a horrendous IEP meeting yesterday. I’ll explain more about that tomorrow. Here’s some prior information on that. Here’s an audio clip of Tiff from yesterday’s meeting:

She said this to the teacher and principal who are refusing to let Jack back into the safe school. Even after this, they still stand by their position that they’re not letting Jack back in based on what Tiff said in August. I listened to the audio of the August exchange that the teacher is so mad about … I’m going to post it tomorrow. Wait until you hear what this is all about!

Anyways, I’m done rambling. It’s November 7. I’m going to make the most of it.

If you’ve been following along lately, you know I’m having a real tough go with getting my son Jack into school. It’s wearing out my family and really wrecking us. If you don’t know what’s going on, then two things:

– Jack is my son. He’s 9, severely autistic, and we don’t have a school to put him right now and I’m pretty sure we’re getting lied to about that by people who should switch careers if they’re willing to harm kids. I wrote a blog last Tuesday and another one last Thursday about what’s going on. I might write another one tomorrow. Not sure.

– If you’ve never been here or you don’t know what Operation Jack is, check here.

Anyways, my world has drained every bit of happiness out of me lately. It’s been miserable. I don’t smile any more. The only time I’ve been happy in the past month or so is when I’ve been at work, because when I’ve been home, I’ve been so focused on getting Jack into school and it’s wearing me down. But I finally got some happy time this weekend. It was the best weekend I’ve had in a long time. And it’s a weekend I’ll remember until I lose my memory. Even then, I might not forget it.

I went to Kansas with my oldest son, Benjamin!

Now, a lot of people probably wouldn’t get all that excited about going to Kansas. But I’m a proud graduate of Kansas State University. I love the Sunflower State. I feel so at peace when I’m there. I love everything about KSU and our football team is playing really well this year. I’ve been to two football games with Benjamin (he’s 11), but never a home game in Manhattan, Kan.

We moved to the Denver area this year and I knew we were just a road trip away from the 7-8-5. I looked at the calendar and settled in on October 26-28. Game vs. Texas Tech. Good chance of it not being too hot or too cold. I couldn’t wait! He was excited, too. He had been to KSU, but never for a game.

Friday after work we hit the road for 450 miles of driving to Salina, Kan. We were staying 60 miles outside of town on the way into town.

Big milestone on the way in: Ben had his first Big Mac! You’re just not an American until you’ve had a Big Mac, right? I was super-excited when we crossed state line. KANSAS! Ben, not as much as me. But he thought it was cool.

We played a game on the road trip. I told him that if he spotted license plates from 30 different states during the trip, I’d let him and his sister Ava pick out a game they can share for the Wii that costs up to $30. I figured this would keep his attention, it would give him something fun to do that would keep him from getting too bored, plus it would give us more things to talk about. It ended up being a good idea. I’ll talk more about how it ended up later.

We ended up in a $40 motel room in Salina, Kan. on Friday night. Perfect, no-frills stuff. He wants to be a K-Stater someday. He needs to learn from me to be laid-back and low-maintenance. I’m an Econolodge kind of guy. We hit McD’s for breakfast and got into Manhattan and went shopping for K-State gear before meeting up with friends.

Lunch was at a place I used to like when I was in college called Pat’s Blue Rib’n. The name is clearly a takeoff of Pabst Blue Ribbon, one of my favorite cheap beers when I used to drink. In college, Pat’s sold 20-ounce PBR draws for 75 cents. How can you beat that?

Back on point, we had fun with a friend of mine and his mom at lunch, then went out to the stadium to watch my Kansas State Wildcats! I hadn’t been to a home game since 2007. This was such a treat, and Ben was pretty excited, too. He really wants to go to KSU, although we live 20 minutes from Boulder, so I’m pretty sure he’ll end up chasing some girl to CU in seven years. A dad can dream, though.

Cats rolled 55-24. It was flat-out awesome. Like the good old days, back when I was in school. They’re good, we won, it was awesome.

After the game, we got Pizza Shuttle, an institution in Manhattan. When I was there back in 1995-98, it was $3 for a 10-inch pizza, I think $3.25 with a topping. Pizza so greasy, I turned the box upside down for 10 minutes before eating it back in the day. It was the perfect 2 a.m. food, if you know what I mean. Prices have gone up — I think it was $10.75 for two one-topping pizzas and two drinks on Saturday, but still, that’s not a bad price.

We hit the road and headed west, eating our pizzas in the car. We went about 150 miles to Hays, a moderately-sized town surrounded by not a whole lot of anything. I’d been there in college a few times. The Ramada marquee said $49.99, but when I got inside, they told me that was the weeknight rate and it was really $69.99. I didn’t take too kindly to the bait-and-switch, so we went across the street and spent $39 at the Motel 6.

Ben thought the place was nice. That’s the low-maintenance sone I’m raising! We watched ESPN for a little bit and then crashed pretty hard. No alarm clock Sunday morning!

We got ready and hit McD’s for breakfast again. Third trip to the arches in 36 hours. For Ben, that’s living the high life. For me, that’s how a laid-back vacation should be. Ben found a wedding ring on the bench in the booth we sat at, so we turned it in to the manager. Hopefully its owner eventually reclaimed it.

I refilled my coffee, then we filled up the tank and I bought another coffee and we hit the road. My wife Tiffany gave us a 4 p.m. curfew on Sunday afternoon. We were looking at getting into town before 2. Me and Ben have season passes to the Six Flags amusement park in Denver and it’s only a few miles out of the way on the way home, so we were hoping to drive straight through to catch a couple of roller coasters.

Ben started the morning with 18 different states in his license-plate game, needing a dozen to get it done. I knew it would be close.

One interesting thing about the drive (well, interesting to me) … we were in western Kansas and I was flipping through radio stations. At one point, I heard a George Strait song. And then the very next song was Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z. That doesn’t happen anywhere other than Kansas. That’s yet another reason that Kansas is the greatest state in the country.

We made it back to Denver by 1:30 and I was able to get a hold of Tiff. She gave us the green light for Six Flags. We were at 28 states when we got into the city. Ben was bummed but I told him that we were close and still had a good chance — we hadn’t seen Wyoming or New Mexico, our borders to the north and south. We saw Alberta, but I told him it had to be states, not provinces. Then a friend of mine texted me a picture of a license plate from Maine. That didn’t count, either.

While we were parking at the amusement park, we saw Wyoming. 29!

We went in and rode three rides. I hink I got four concussions. I’m not as young as I used to be.

We headed home. Finally, after more than 1,000 miles of driving over the weekend, the navigation was down below 10, which is when we see decimals. So close, so close! At 7.0, I saw a license plate a few hundred yards ahead with colors that didn’t look familiar. I learned from the trip that every state has a ton of variations, so Ben didn’t have his hopes up. I got a bit of a lead foot to catch up and when we got in close, we saw that it was New Mexico. 30! Lucky kid. He was pretty excited and I was happy for him.

We were home less than 10 minutes later, 47 hours after we’d left. It was an awesome weekend. He had fun, I had fun. And in 30 years, he’ll have a son and tak a road trip with him and think back to the Motel 6 and the license plates and the roller coasters and the McDonald’s overdose, just like I still remember when me and my brother and my dad went from Southern California to Calico and then Las Vegas (Circus Circus!) back in 1982.

I’ve been so busy with so many things his whole life, but for once, I finally spent some really good quality time with him. I couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve had a weekend like this. But I can assure you next year we’ll be doing this again.

Three Things Thursday, here we go.

Real quick, if you’ve never been here, click to the ABOUT page so you can see what Operation Jack is. There’s a purpose behind my site and what I do.

1. If you’ve been here at all the past week or so, you know we’re having a whole lot of trouble getting Jack in school. Jack, my 9-year-old severely autistic son, is stuck right now in a school that we think is unsafe. He elopes, which means darts and runs away from supervision. He’s a danger to himself and they have him in a school with a playground that’s unfenced and attached to a parking lot that flows into a busy street.

Here’s the playground:

So, we tried to get him transferred back to the local school, where he was enrolled to start the school year, but the district won’t let him in. But our transfer request was denied. So he’s sitting at home. We don’t feel that he’ll be safe at this school.

I found out yesterday that my appeal was denied. But while I wanted to know why they wouldn’t let him in at the school we want him to go to (where his sister goes), they tried to sell us on the school we’re uncomfortable with. So, I demanded a meeting to ask questions, something I was never able to get during the initial process. At least somebody was finally willing to talk to me.

The woman who denied the appeal gave me an hour of her time. She didn’t give me answers to all my questions, but she’s going to follow up with me and I’ll get them.

Here’s what I do know from yesterday’s meeting:

– The school we want Jack enrolled in can handle Jack’s needs. But it can’t handle Jack. Whatever that means. They’re going to tell me what that means in due time.

– The district insists it’s looking out for Jack’s best interests. (I told them not to bother, that nobody cares more about him than me and my wife Tiffany and we can let them know what’s in Jack’s best interests.)

– The school’s safety plan for Jack at the unsafe school is to stick him in the pre-K playground at the unsafe schol because unlike the 4th grade playground, it’s fenced. The 4th grade playground at the school we want Jack enrolled in is fenced. They won’t move Jack from the pre-K playground until he doesn’t elope any more, and they acknowledged that might be never. So yes, let’s punish Jack by sticking him on the pre-K playground since the school is unsafe for him!

– The teacher at the school we want Jack enrolled can handle Jack. But now that Jack is gone, and Tiffany was assertive in wanting what’s appropriate for Jack, she doesn’t want to deal with Tiffany and Jack (is that the behind-the-scenes dealbreaker?).

2. Going to Manhattan, Kan. with my oldest son Benjamin this weekend. We’re gonna watch my alma mater, Kansas State University, play Texas Tech in football. I’m really excited about this. I’ve always wanted to take him to a KSU game and now that we’re in Colorado, I can road-trip down for the weekend with him. It’s not an expensive ordeal with airfare and all that jazz. Can’t wait, should be fun!

3. Snow! We didn’t get that in California! I went out for a 6-mile run on my trail in the snow this morning and loved it. Had some nice quiet time.

Ok, that’s all. Gotta get rolling. What do you think about the playground? Who’s your college team? What are the temps in your neck of the woods? Have a great weekend!