Great thanks to Sharon Robertson for sharing this with the CawsnJaws readers. – CAW and JAW –

I don’t know if any of you have ever thought about my blast and what it might mean but because of recent events, I’d like to explain.

My son is autistic. Autism is very misunderstood, even among the “experts”. And I certainly don’t claim to have some extraordinary knowledge regarding what is labeled as a “disorder”. But I do have the experience of having lived with my son for the past 16 years, which I feel gives me some understanding, at least of him…

Let’s start with “Different does not equal less.”...I came up with this myself…at least I think I did…if someone before me coined that phrase and I have inadvertantly “plagerized” the idea, I apologize. But I’d like to explain what it means to me…

There seems to be in our society the idea that if one does not somehow fit into the “norm” (meaning what, exactly?) that they do not have any value. I’ve experienced this first hand, so I have a knowledge that others who do “fit” may not. I can assure you, it is quite painful to know that others see you as having less worth simply because you do not look or act as they do.

I’ve also experienced this by observation. I remember quite well a girl I knew in elementary school who was “retarded”. She was the recipient of much harassment and heartache, simply because she had the misfortune of being born brain damaged. I learned again in third grade, what had been brought home in my own life so many times before – if you aren’t what people in general perceive as the same as themselves, you don’t deserve to be treated with aything except derision and hatefulness.

This is a lesson I’ve experienced as a mother as well…It is painful to be misunderstood yourself…it is DEVASTATING to see it happen to you child.

My son’s behaviour is very “untypical” at times and always has been. He has been judged and “misjudged” many times in his short life. As he gets older, it becomes more painful for him because he is aware, to some extent, of his differences and the judgements people make against him. And yet he’s as powerless to change these behaviours as a person of color is powerless to change the tone of their skin.

But does he have value? Oh! Dear Sweet Jesus, yes! Because of him there are people, like myself, who have the courage to press forward day after day, despite the hardships we face. Because that’s exactly what he does…despite all the difficulties he faces each and every day due to a brain that is “wired” differently, difficulties that most of us can’t even FATHOM, much less think about dealing with…he goes forward with humour and grace and a gentleness of spirit that definitley comes from a source greater than mere humanity.

Now, lest you think he’s a saint…he’s not. Sometimes he’s rude and disrespectful and loud and obnoxious. He gets angry and rebellious just like any young man going through the changes of adolescence. Sometimes he’s selfish and I’ve heard him be quite spiteful at times. Some of these behaviours stem from adolescence but they are greatly exaggerated by the differences and deficits of autism.

But for the most part, he’s a sweet spirited, fun-loving soul. Will he ever make lots of money? Unlikely. Will he discover the cure for AIDS? Probably not. Will he solve the problem of global warming? I doubt it. Will he ever do more than be a janitor? Or a Walmart greeter? Or maybe a bag boy at a grocery store? I don’t know.

But aren’t there others for those more “important” tasks? Is there really anything WRONG with being the person who cleans up after kids at school? How long could they continue to learn in an environment littered with trash and filth? What’s WRONG with being the person who with a genuine, warm smile says “Welcome to Walmart” and gets a cart for you? Isn’t there value in a young man who carefully bags your groceries and then offers a word of encouragement as he finishes loading them into your car?

You see, I think sometimes we have things all messed up. I KNOW we have when we think that someone is less valuable just because they don’t do the tasks to which we’ve assigned honor.

Read more The Blast ...

[Ed. note: Artie Kempner, Lead Director of NASCAR/NFL on Fox, has graciously written an article for us about a hot topic among NASCAR fans: racing vs. commercial broadcast times. We appreciate his taking the time to do this during the busy NASCAR Speedweeks broadcasts.]

“NASCAR and COMMERCIALS, A DELICATE BALANCE”

There is nothing better then being in Daytona in February getting ready for the start of another NASCAR season. In 2006, Fox Sports signed a new eight year deal with NASCAR to broadcast the Nextel Cup Series’ first 13 points races, and especially exciting for all of us in production, the opportunity to broadcast the Daytona 500 through at least the year 2014!

There is no better event in racing in my mind then the 500! I’d certainly love to direct the Indy 500, but Daytona in February, 43 cars, huge packs, huge expectations, it’s just the best.

That being said, one of our biggest challenges at Fox is the integration of commercials, specifically during long green flag runs. No one in our production truck, producer Barry Landis, executive producer Richie Zyontz, associate director Greg Scoppettone or me, ever want to leave the racing, but the economics of our business does not allow us to be commercial free. As an “over the air” network, Fox does not have the ability to sell our channel to cable systems. Unlike ESPN or Turner, the other NASCAR Nextel Cup partners, Fox Sports’ only revenue source is through the commercials that our advertisers purchase. Because ESPN and Turner are cable channels, they charge each cable system a monthly fee—which is passed on to the consumer through their cable or satellite bill. ESPN commands the highest monthly charge, around three dollars, while Turner is around one dollar. But even though these cable networks are making substantial profit through those fees, that doesn’t mean that they run less commercials during a broadcast then we do at Fox.

We pay multi-million dollar rights fees to broadcast NASCAR. 13 races for well over $200 Million, plus production costs that are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for each race. As a business, we have to try and at least make that money back. It is simple “Business 101” to understand that if we don’t generate enough revenue to at least make ends meet, that the senior executives at Newscorp, our parent company, will not likely want to keep the series.

Read more NASCAR on Fox Lead Director, Artie Kempner, talks about the 'delicate balance' of NASCAR and commercials ...