Few TV shows exploit hazardous interpersonal connections like “The Jerry Springer Show.”
But let’s be honest. We can all find instances of wackiness in our own relationships and families.
Once when I went home for dinner this summer, Springer made his way into our conversation. The second his name was mentioned my sister Kelsey started chanting, “Jerry! Jerry!”
Kelsey is 20 and one of the funniest people I know. She also happens to be autistic.
She is bound to her daily routine, and that night at the dinner table we found out that routine includes “The Jerry Springer Show.”
“Every day! 2 o’clock!”
Repetition and routine have been part of our family life since I can remember.
As kids we would watch the same movies again and again. Thanks to her, I have “Grease,” “Mary Poppins,” “Bug’s Life,” and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s “Billboard Dad” memorized to this day.
My mom taught me how to tell time using Barney episodes as a unit of measurement instead of minutes or hours. It was regular for us to watch four or five episodes in one sitting.
Kelsey and I spent hours playing together, too. We were Play-Doh Picassos and fine artisans when it came to making bean bags out of beans and socks that had lost their match.
Looking back, a lot of the activities we did were ones that are meant to improve motor skills, but then we were just two kids.
As day care days came to a close and school started, things changed.
I always knew Kelsey was different than other kids our age, but I loved her for it.
Others didn’t.
There were a couple of girls toward the end of elementary school that taunted and tormented her daily.
She knew she was different, too, but this was one of the first times her peers made her feel like a lesser person.
One aspect of autism is difficulty interpreting social cues. Sometimes, the hurtful things people say or looks they cast go unnoticed, but the amount of impatience and intolerance exhibited by some is enough to break anyone’s spirit.
Her tears broke my heart. I didn’t understand why someone could do this to my little sister, to my best friend.
The situation at school was remedied. Something still did not sit well with me after seeing her so upset, but a couple of days after the girls were moved to a different class, she was back to her regular self.
Kelsey’s happiness has always been one of the most beautiful sources of inspiration in my life.
Even today if she’s feeling down, pop in one of her favorite movies, make her a homemade Orange Julius, and the girl is as happy as can be in no time.
She reminds me to take it easy.
If I’m having a stressful week at school, I know it will eventually be over. Projects will be completed, tests will be taken, and whether they end well or not, they will be done and life will return to normal.
I can always come home and turn on my favorite movie and maybe even watch it twice for old time’s sake.
Now, Kelsey has a job. She takes public transportation there and comes back after working for a few hours.
She has no problem with living at home with my parents, so long as she can stick to her routine. With free food, no bills, and two live-in personal assistants, who could complain?
Someday I know I’ll become her personal assistant. She will live with me and shout hilarious one-liners at my dinner table.
I only hope that at that point I have a job that allows for some flexibility, one with room for the occasional dose of some 2 p.m. Jerry Springer.
