Social Service part 3

So we're getting rid of Social Security and Welfare. Those systems provide money to those who are not working. The reasons they are not working can vary from disability to illness to loss of employment to lack of desire to work. I will admit there are people out there who just don't want to work. It's those people that the anti-social service people target when they talk about those who abuse the system.
My mother and I were talking about this the other day and she said something that really made me think. If we were to force everyone to work, it would strain the already tight job market. Those who don't want to work actually provide more jobs for those who do. That's an interesting point.
I have a friend who's father is one of those people who doesn't like to work. He's an artist and his health is poor. He has a new wife and a small child. There is no way he's going to work to support them if his welfare dries up. What it will mean is that his wife and child will get less support than they get now. It's possible that she'll leave him. So where will he go - to his children. This friend who doesn't want to pay into welfare because she sees her father abusing the system will have to make the choice to support him completely. She can turn him away but that will mean her sister will have to support him (her brothers are not in a position to help). Having him on welfare actually keeps him from being a burden to his family.
I have an opposite example - we have a friend who wants to work but he's disabled. In the past he's gotten jobs and worked until he can't and then he quits. He has a mental disability which has lead to a physical disability. He's spent time homeless, during which he was subjected to horrible abuse. Because of his mental disability, he's not educated and he makes poor decisions. He makes friends easily but many of his friends take advantage of him. We got him on disability several years ago. During all this time, he's managed to stay in the same home. He gets adequate food and medical care (medical care for several issues that could have been prevented with adequate medical care earlier in his life). He still has problems with people taking advantage of him but he's finding less problems with the law and can recover from the situations far easier.
No one really thinks about how other people on social services will affect them if the social services are gone.
During the foreclosure crisis (when it was first made public), my mother asked an interesting question - who pays the taxes on the houses? The owners of the house are not paying taxes because they no longer own the house and the mortgage companies are not going to pay anything towards the house since they are already losing money. What happens - the city loses money, money that would pay for road repairs, city employees, schools, hospitals, fire and police departments.
What happens if people stop receiving money from social services? They can't pay their bills. How does this affect everyone else? Well they can't pay rent so the owner raises the rent for the next tenant to cover lost rent. They can't pay their electric bill or water bill - the prices go up for everyone else to cover the loss.
We won't pay into social services but we will still pay to support those who needed it in the beginning. There will be increases for medical charges to cover those who can't pay. Businesses may close because of the lack of income. It doesn't take much to cause a small business to go under.
In Lacrosse Washington, the grocery store closed because they could no longer afford the electric bill. It's a small poor community. As things became tighter, they bought less at the store. The store could no longer afford to cover its own expenses. No more store. No more jobs for the few that worked there. The owners no longer had an income and were far deeper in debt.
More small businesses will close, fewer jobs. More foreclosures as owners can't afford to keep up with their house payments or just decide that their rental property is too expensive to keep up with.
These are truths when it comes to the way of the world.
Let me ask you - when was the last time you gave to charity? Charities struggle and they will struggle even more when the social services are gone. I have watched my favorite support programs dwindle because their support is fading. Now is not the time to buy that big screen tv - that won't save this country. Give that money to charity, especially if you refuse to support taxes and social services.
A poem I like to refer to for any situation that involves that mentality - it won't affect me is:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me.

Who will you stand up for?

Social Services pt 2

I've debated rewriting my previous post but I've decided not to. It's not that I worry about the content, it's more about clarity but I think I can make things more clear as I go (or not). We forget how important social services are. I will agree that our government spends money on things that are not necessary and companies take advantage of our tax money but social services are one place I feel resources should be poured into. There is a reason they exist.
Today I want to talk about withholding social services from drug addicts and illegal immigrants. These are super hot buttons for much of the country because they feel that both populations do not deserve help or they take help away from those who really need the help. I believe that these populations do deserve help.

This plaque sits at the base of the Statue of Liberty. There was a time that America held open it's arms to those of the world who wanted to start a new life. Most of America's population were immigrants at one point in time. The country is just over 200 years old. How could we forget and how could we deny future Americans the same opportunity that we were given? On top of that, no one points out how many Americans are illegally living in other countries. It's tough to come to America. We have made it nearly impossible for people to start over here. So they have to come in illegally so they can care for their families. Most people think of Mexicans as the only illegal immigrant and they are the most persecuted but they are not the only immigrants in our country (illegal or legal). We get Canadians, Africans, Europeans, Australians, Asians who stay in the country. If they are white and speak decent English, they can't really be here illegally. Aside from that, many illegal immigrants that come into our country take the terrible jobs we believe we are too good to do. Because they are not here legally, they work long hours for a lot less pay and are grateful. Some come here slaves and we pretend it doesn't happen until they want rights and then we throw a fit about them taking jobs and resources that should be ours.
I think about a scene in The Big One by Michael Moore. He's talking to Phil Knight, CEO of Nike. Michael Moore wants Nike to open a factory in Flint Michigan and Phil Knight says he won't do it because Americans don't want to make shoes. As sad as it is, it's true. I hear people complain that they deserve a better job. The economy is tight but minimum wage jobs are still in need of people to fill them. People do take the job with gratitude, for awhile. Then they move on to something better, something that pays them more. In advanced societies, this is a common trend. However, there are plenty of countries where people work long, hard days for little money and are so grateful. They live in barely adequate housing, no electricity, running water or cable tv. Americans wouldn't put up with this. How many people think their life is over when they can't get on facebook?
We have jobs in America that only immigrants will do. It's sad that they are not treated better but we, Americans, have screwed the entire system. We want to pay as little as possible for things and yet we want to make good wages so we can buy more stuff for as little as possible. Companies can not make profits off of what Americans want to be paid. Granted there are some out there but it's a situation we got ourselves into. It makes for great situations for those who are willing to work hard for what they get paid and don't feel they need a lot. So many immigrants work to send money home to family members still in their country of origin.
Most illegal immigrants come to this country to work. Don't they deserve help to keep those jobs? Help to make a better life for their families? If you don't want illegal immigrants then we need to help them be here legally not return them to their country or treat them like second class citizens.
There are a lot of fears that immigrants equal drug dealers. That may be true for a small percentage but our approach to drugs is beyond stupid. Countries in Europe have had great success legalizing drugs and monitoring them but not in America. We don't even allow farmers to grow hemp because it's too close to Marijuana. If the country took over the drug trade, there's be a lot of positive changes but our "values" don't allow for that. Look how hard it's been to legalize marijuana for medical use. Want a solution to our financial situation - legalize pot and prositution and then tax it. Yes, it does mean a certain amount of approving the behavior but those who are going to do it anyway might as well have some of their money go to benefit the country.
I like to compare the abortion laws to drug laws. Making abortions illegal didn't prevent women from getting them. What it did was force them to take unnecessary risks. Many women died from these abortions. The things they did were just bizarre and dangerous. Legalizing abortion meant the women who were going to do it anyway would have safe places to go. They'd walk out healthy with doctors to follow up to make sure they stayed healthy.
In England, they did the same thing with drugs. They gave the addicts a safe place to go and doctors to watch over them. They had to maintain jobs and be good citizens. Here in America, we ostrasize drug addicts. We turn them into criminals. If we don't give them any support, then they have to turn to crime. Prostitution, theft, drug distribution are some examples. I heard a case recently of a young man who would get his girlfriend drunk so he could talk her into smoking meth. He made her an addict because he didn't want to be alone. I share this because becoming an addict isn't always a choice and some addicts need help beyond the addiction because their reasons for starting have to do with underlaying problems.
It's important to think about a bigger picture. What happens to the addict if they have nowhere to live or food to eat? What happens to their children? Their families?
I'm not going to argue for legalizing drugs but I will say that there are so many things we could be doing to help people but instead we try to sweep it all under the carpet by making it illegal and unacceptable. We have more problems than just money - we have a crisis of morality. It's easy to stand on the soapbox and preach against sin, it's tougher to accept that sin exists and we should love the sinner.

The truth about social services part 1

There's been a lot of discussion lately about social services (social security, welfare, government medical). It leaves a bad taste in my mouth when people talk about not wanting to fund these programs. There are lots of reasons why people don't want to fund them - they believe that the people who use these programs are lazy, they believe that there should be fewer taxes, they believe people need to take care of themselves and not expect others to do it for them.
I agree that some people abuse the system but, honestly, that's what the system is for. (not to be abused but to be used) What defines abuse of the system? So many people use the example of a woman with six kids who never works and each of her kids have different fathers. Yes that happens but that's just one example of someone who uses the welfare system. I have heard arguements about not letting those who take drugs or are illegal immegrants use the welfare system. I think that a nation who calls themselves Christians and is founded on the principle that we take in those who need a place to go - well it's just sad.
I'm not going to keep rambling because I do have some serious points here and I may take all week to get to them all. I know there are a million examples of people who abuse and use the system but if you took a moment to pick it apart you'd see something completely different.
I'm going to start with our use of the system. We've struggled for ages. We still struggle. We depend on food stamps to supply us with more food than we could buy on our own (at this moment my income doesn't cover all the bills let alone gas and food so we pick and choose and struggle). Xavier gets free lunch at school. With that he also gets free breakfast.
So the system goes away. We struggle more but we'll make it work. Rob will go back to work when school starts so we can pay all our bills and buy food. We'll make lunches to send with Xavier which he won't eat because he doesn't like to take a lunch so he'll not have lunch. We may try to send money for lunches because taking a lunch doesn't work but we struggle with him buying snacks so his lunches will vary from nothing to ice cream to salty snacks. We'll stop sending money because we want him to eat good food so he'll start begging from his friends.
We'll get mad at him because he has access to food which will cause him to purposely not eat. That's okay - he's a chubby kid so starving's actually good because then he'll lose weight and be perfect (because that's all we care about). No one will be concerned about his nutrition but his mother because he's far to fat (his previous dr tried to convince us he was obese because that's the big concern these days). He'll not do well in school but then he's on an IEP so that's expected. No one really cares if he does well in school or if he's able to go to college because that's not their concern - until he can't get a job as an adult. Then people will say he's lazy and probably always was because he did so poorly in school. He'll continue to be fat because the food he can afford has poor nutrition and high calories. Or he'll have to live with his parents the rest of his life because he can't function as an adult because he can't get a job (and the welfare/disability system is gone so there's no support for him to live on his own).
Most likely none of that will happen because he's got family support and we won't let that happen but it happens for children all over the nation. A simple program like free school meals is an incrediably important program. For so many children on the program the food they get at school is all they get. It's not the parent's fault that they can't make ends meet. Many families struggle with finances. In this economy so many are losing their jobs and they are losing their homes. I'll talk more about other programs later this week because I don't want this to be a mile long.
We worry about the children getting fat but no one wants to give money to these programs so the schools feed the kids what they have access to - which is not great food. No one seems to understand that cheap food is not always the most nutritious and quite often it's calorie dense. I had an arguement with a woman about obesity and the poor. So many want to instill educational programs because we are all too stupid to understand nutrition. That's not true - cheap food is not always the best food. This particular woman said she makes good food for her family for very little money but the dishes she offered were beans, pasta, etc. That was my point. I can feed my family a good dish for a few dollars but it's most likely going to lack in fresh vegetables and lean meats.
If my son goes to school and eats breakfast pizza and hamburgers, then comes home to a big pot of beans cooked with ham hocks -it's not exactly a diet that's going to make him look like a supermodel. But then we do away with the free food and he'll be eating white bread and tuna for lunch (and hope he eats something at home for breakfast) and then coming home for beans at dinner.
I know I'm rambling and it probably doesn't make any sense but I am so fed up with the stupidity of our nation - does no one think things through.

Jury Duty

Yesterday, I had the privilege of being called to serve on a jury. I had been called two times before but in those cases I didn't actually get to the process. The first time, the defendant plead guilty right after all the people called had arrived so we were sent home. The second time, they changed the dates of the trial and I was going to Indiana for undetermined amount of time (we ended up staying 2 months).
I was really excited to be called because I wanted to really see the process. Watching crime shows on TV are not the same as actually sitting through an entire trial. The trial was short and deliberations were even shorter but the whole thing still took almost an entire day.
While sitting through this, I got to thinking. What would it be like for someone with Autism to sit on a jury? I'm one of those people who have Autism symptoms - like I can't stand for someone to tell me the "rules" and have no one follow them. For example, I worked at a nursing home. We'd have classes once a week where we would learn how to transfer patients and various other techniques. No one actually used those techniques in the nursing home and it drove me nuts. I couldn't function. I was in trouble because I would complain. I complained because I didn't understand why would they train us one way and not have us actually do the work in that way.
This is a skill that helped me on the jury. We were told that our job was to see if the evidence supported the law that we were given. In this case, the law was Washington State's definition of assault and culpability.
It was very black and white for me. There were no feelings involved just facts - did the facts support the state's definition of the law. We felt that they did.
The case was a young man had been drinking. He was taken into protective custody and proceeded to spit on an officer and a nurse. It may seem like a silly case, it did to me in the beginning, but the law says that spitting with the intent to harm is assault.
There was no disagreeing that the young man spit on the officer and the nurse - the question was did his intoxication make him responsible for his actions. This brought me back to Autism as well (I think I have Autism on the brain). I remember hearing a case of a young man with Autism who had assaulted his parents. He was found guilty even though he was mentally impaired. I know that there are situations where a person absolutely can not tell right from wrong. These cases are ones where the individual is so mental impaired they can not control their actions. One example used was a patient with Alzheimers. I have worked with Alzhiemers patients and they are not always aware of what they are doing. They do turn violent because the disease changes the way their brains work. Most of the time (if not all of the time), they are not even aware that they were capable of such acts. I remember a case of a man with Alzhiemers who killed his wife in a fit of rage. He couldn't understand where she had gone.
In those cases, I would understand that the defendant was not capable of controlling their behavior. Children with Autism may not be able to control their feelings but they understand what hurts and what doesn't. They make choices as to how they behave. They can swing out in anger but they choose what they swing out at and if they make contact. Xavier chooses words that he know will hurt when he yells because he wants to inflict pain. He wants us to know he's hurting and we are responsible. (We're not always responsible but he sees it as that way).
We hold him accountable for his actions and he can't choose his brain chemistry. Back to the case, yesterday, that young man chose to drink and drink to excess. I think he's lucky that all he did was spit. What would have happened had he actually hit someone or hurt someone? What would have happened if he had killed someone?
I'm glad that he didn't and maybe he'll learn a lesson. Me - I learned a lot. I learned that lawyers can ask the same question 20 times and be shocked that the answers are the same (or create confusion so no one knows what he's asking anymore). I was reminded of that Albert Einstein quote "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

Harry Potter

We went Sunday to see the last Harry Potter movie. Taking Xavier to the movies is always an adventure. He's getting better but we have to be clear with the rules when we get there.
Xavier loves to talk through movies especially when it's characters he knows. I can't stand watching comic book movies with him or ones adapted from cartoons because he has a pre-conceived notion about how the characters should behave.
He wasn't too bad through this movie. It was long for a movie but he didn't get to antsy which just goes to show how much he liked it. He's getting really tall so I ended up getting kicked and kneed a few times as he repositioned himself. The chairs are not that big at the theatre and he likes to sit with his feet under him. It was not really successful at the theatre but he managed.
He didn't talk to me much through the movie but that may have been the stern warning I gave him before it started. He did whisper to his father now and again but it didn't seem to excessive (and he remembered to whisper as quietly as possible).
I love movies adapted from books when it comes to sharing movies with Xavier. Sometimes the movies are so good, we can talk him into reading the book. He has listened to Harry Potter books on tape/cd which is a good start.
I've been trying to get him to read books this summer with the idea that I would read them too and we'd watch the movie but I can't get him through a book. He does like graphic novels and just devours them so it's not all bad.
This post is more scattered than I meant it to be but that is life in our house. Xavier is sure growing up and I can see some things change. Ten years of watching Harry Potter movies and I get to see my boy grow up with them. I can't believe he was only 4 when the first movie came out. I know we didn't see the first few in the theatre - the idea of going to a movie with Xavier was not fun. Even getting him to sit through them at home was hard. Now I think he'd sit through a whole marathon but he'd do a lot of talking because he knows the stories so well.
For those who might watch a movie with Xavier, never watch a movie for the first time with him if he has seen it before - he loves to talk about what's going to happen. He has a really good movie memory and gets overly excited when he knows something good is going to happen. He doesn't care if you talk through the movie nor does he mind knowing what's going to happen. It's all fun to him (he can watch the same movie over and over, still). Fortunately, he watches lots of movies so it's rare that we see the same one twice in a month unless it's airing on tv.

Update

I haven't really posted anything this week because there's not much to share. Xavier had a sleepover this week with the boy downstairs. We've been hesitant to let him stay over because Brady is 10 and Xavier is 14. The two boys are really close friends and have been for the last 2 years but I really am uncomfortable with the idea of a sleepover. Brady slept over at our house last week and Xavier stayed this week. We did talk to Brady's mom about our concerns. We really like Brady but I worry that something innocent will happen and an accusation would do irrepairable harm.
I know I may be over-worrying but last summer a Dad became irrate after finding his 8 year old daughter sitting on Xavier's lap at the playground. I know what he was implying. Xavier was heartbroken because he couldn't understand what he did wrong. Because Rob and I were both working, we wouldn't let Xavier go outside to play until we got home so it meant a long summer stuck inside. Rob's home this summer and that family has moved so Xavier is spending lots of time playing outside.
Because Xavier likes to play with the younger kids and pretty much avoids kids his own age, I worry. I worry a lot. Xavier is a sweet kid but it's a tough world out there. I'd hate for Xavier to get into trouble.
Well, the sleepovers had no problems. Xavier worked hard to give Brady privacy and be respectful and discreet. Xavier has bunk beds so there was no worry about where anyone was going to sleep except I think Xavier had Brady sleep on the bottom bunk and he slept in the closet (silly kid).
Xavier had his challenge course this week but ended up sick. He missed Monday and tried Tuesday but they brought him home early. We have an irritating summer cold going through our house - not enough to make us feel really sick but enough to drag on and on.

Xavier update

Things are going really well with Xavier. He's been on the medication for a little over 3 weeks now and his behavior has been well controlled. He's still a teenager but his emotional responses are normal. He doesn't seem to be as angry as he was before. He's swimming lots. He still attends church (just we're not always making it through the entire service - sacrament and sunday school). He likes spending time with his new scout troop/youth group.
Today he woke up with a horrible headache so he missed his adventure/challenge course group. He'll catch up with them tomorrow when he's feeling better. A small bug has been working it's way through our family. It's not the kind that really make you sick but you just feel blah for several day with minor symptoms here and there.
We've been experimenting with going more natural with household products. A friend of mine suggested we try soap nuts. I made up shampoo and soap with the soapnuts. I don't mind them except my hair is going through a weird shampoo withdrawal but Xavier hated them so he's back to bar soap and regular shampoo.
Our garden is going okay - it's still green but not a lot of growth. Xavier and I planted a strawberry plant last night and Wednesday I am going to add manure and more soil to the plot while Xavier is at scouts. It will get there. Xavier is excited for the blueberries to get ripe but it looks like we'll get strawberries first (there are 3 berries and they started to get red yesterday).
Good things are happening and I'm excited.

Growing up and still mama's little boy

Last night Xavier snuggled up to me as I laid in bed. I asked him where my little boy had gone and he said he was right there. He would always be my little boy. At times like this it's hard to think of Xavier growing up.
I follow a blog written by women who have a family member with what they call a hidden disability. This includes children with Autism. It's an interesting blog and often gives me inspiration of new things to try with Xavier.
I was struck by a conversation about redirecting young men's behavior when it came to interacting with their mom. They talked about training their son's not to hold their hand in public or to be so snuggly. They had good reasons for this. They wanted their sons to learn how to interact with members of the opposite sex and to develop a certain amount of maturity.
I talked with my husband about this and he just thought I was over-reacting when I expressed my concern for holding Xavier back. He didn't see anything wrong with letting Xavier hold my hand or snuggle with me.
I talked with my mom. She said that when my brothers were born, she knew that she was going to accept every snuggle, hand holding, sign of affection for as long as my brothers would offer them.
So I talked to Xavier. Conversations like this are always a struggle with Xavier because I think they sort of embarrass him. They shouldn't because I want to know what he thinks, how he feels. I think it's just too much work to talk about his feelings that he just doesn't want to. He told me he was just fine with how things are.
I got to thinking. Xavier gives me cues when he's not wanting to demonstrate affection. He doesn't always hold my hand in public, especially if someone from school might see. He doesn't mind me kissing him in front of his friends - I know because I ask him before I kiss him.
I'm his mom and at this point in time, I think it's okay for him to demonstrate affection how he's comfortable. He does have this terrible habit of wanting to chew on me when he's uncomfortable and that's something we're working on redirecting (because it hurts).
If he wants to hold my hand until he's forty, I don't think I'll object (he will be married and living on his own at this time so it probably won't happen all that often).

Therapy night

Last night was our first official CFI therapy. It was really casual and felt more like a cluster of conversations than therapy. There was a lot of information (from us) that just layered over the two hours. Dennis is a great guy and is going to be a joy to work with. He said he was amazed at how functioning we were as a family (he said something about us being a unique situation). He's going to bring another boy next time (in two weeks) to help Xavier work on his social skills and Rob and I have to come up with a list of motivators/rewards to get Xavier to have the behaviors we want. I have struggled with motivators when it comes to Xavier but Dennis had some great ideas.
I want to come up with a unique way to keep track of the tasks and behaviors we want Xavier to have so I thought I'd try a Bingo game. I'd make up Bingo cards and laminate them with the tasks we want Xavier to do - like brush his teeth and take out the trash. We can have school ones as well. In the beginning I think I'll have him try to get a "bingo" and then work up to filling the whole card. Rob and I can initial the tasks when he does them. We'll see how that goes.

Fourth of July

What a busy three day weekend. Xavier loves holidays especially when friends and family come to visit. This weekend my best friend and her family came to Pullman. Vanessa and I have known each other for 20 years (I cannot believe it's been that long). She's married with the cutest little girl and another on the way. Xavier loves to play with Nadia, Vanessa's daughter.
We went swimming on Saturday as a group and then got together on Monday for a family BBQ (ours and hers) and then again for fireworks that night. The fireworks in Pullman are really nice but we sat just under them so it was spectacular. The fireworks were so large and loud. Xavier kept yelling about them breaking the sound barrier.
We're all very tired today. I had to go to work while the "boys" slept in. It will be interesting to see how tonights therapy will go. I just hope we're not all too cranky. It's just the first appointment so it shouldn't dig too deep.
I'll have to share pictures this week when I think of it. Still haven't gotten around to taking pictures of the garden - should probably ask Xavier to do that when he waters. The gardens are going well. It's been really hot so we have to keep remembering to water more than once a day.

Babies

My brother and his wife had their baby Tuesday night. Their bundle of joy was named Bianca and she is so precious. Xavier is baby crazy so having a new baby in the family is great. He loves to play with the little kids but has such a knack with babies. It's one of those fascinating traits about Xavier - he's so busy that you can't imagine his patience when it comes to small beings who need a little less activity. He can sit still and watch barn kittens or bunnies.
My mom is going to see the baby and new parents this weekend so it does mean not really having her around for the holidays. We promise to forgive her if she brings back lots of pictures. I'm looking over the budget to see if there is any chance of taking a Seattle trip this summer. We'd love to go see the baby even if it means a really tiring trip.
I'm bouncing around today because I don't really have a good topic for today's post. Xavier will be meeting with Dennis who will be the family therapist and we will meet with him Tuesday. I'm excited for this and hope it's rather successful. Since Xavier has been on the Risperdal, we've had far fewer problems with his behavior. We're working on tapping but at this moment Xavier is not really open to it so I don't want to share the procedure if it's unsuccessful. I may share anyway because I have noticed that it really makes me feel better and calmer. The goal is just to keep mentioning it to Xavier is short increments so that it becomes something that he just does instead of trying to "force" him into using it. The last time I suggested it to him, he just showed me he knew how to do it and didn't say anything so this might work.
I've been seeing "ads" around campus looking for volunteers to help at Orphan Acres which is a horse rescue farm. I keep forgetting to talk with Xavier about it but I think it might be something he'd enjoy helping with. He has a knack with horses and I could tell how attached his therapy horse was to him. The horse kept nuzzling Xavier and no one else. Everyone was so impressed with his work with his horse. The program was a couple of hours a week for 9 weeks and the last day the kids show their skills off. Xavier's horse did everything he asked it to do with no problem. In fact that was part of the problem because they were demonstrating how they work with uncooperative horses and Xavier's horse was completely cooperative. It was so great to see.
Xavier says he wants to grow up to be a crazy cat man. We watched the original Clash of the Titans this past weekend and Xavier was in love with the older man (the playwright whose name I can't remember now). That man had cats and kittens all over his room. As soon as Xavier noticed it, he exclaimed that that's what he wanted to be when he grew up - a crazy cat man and was so glad that someone else was one too.