THE CZECH IS IN THE MAIL
This week was a bit of a struggle trying to find something to write about.
I pondered on venting my frustrations about NBC or the One Chicago screenwriters about going three weeks without new episodes of “Chicago Med,” Chicago Fire,” or my personal favorite, “Chicago PD.” But, at the 11th hour, I found inspiration to write about someone very near and dear to me.
This piece is about my cousin, Jacob, who members of my family affectionately call, “Jakers.” With World Autism Day approaching on Wednesday, this is the perfect opportunity to write about Jakers, who is autistic.
I’ve always had a great bond with Jakers, including when he was a baby. At first, he developed on schedule such as jabbering, crawling, walking, etc.
But around 18 months, Jakers had some noticeable changes. He stopped eating solid foods, stopped talking and started performing hand gestures.
It was soon discovered that Jakers was autistic. At 22 years of age, there are still things that he cannot do such as use the restroom independently, speak or care for himself.
However, there are plenty of things that Jakers can do. He has tremendous hand-eye coordination and can flip a Rudy’s BBQ sausage link in the air and catch it without looking before proceeding to take a bite.
When Jakers is in town, he loves for me to take him to the nearest Rudy’s BBQ as well. He loves their cole slaw, brisket, onions and – of course – sausage. Another popular spot for Jakers is McAlister’s Deli. He loves to go there and eat a club sandwich, broccoli, mac and cheese, and drink the sweet tea.
When my son, Toby, and I took Jakers to McAlister’s Deli last year, I discovered the hard way that he likes broccoli. I ordered Jakers a club sandwich with a side of mac and cheese, while Toby ordered his usual mac and cheese on the kids’ menu with a side of mac and cheese.
I ordered the jalapeno turkey crunch with a side of broccoli – or so I thought. When the server arrived with our plates, Jakers took the broccoli off of my plate and started eating it.
A few years ago, I discovered the hard way that he likes sausage and dinner salad with ranch. On both occasions, I ordered one of those items only to have Jakers take those off of my plate and dig in.
Whenever we go back to those eating establishments, I make sure to order Jakers sausage, dinner salad with ranch, or broccoli. The one constant thing about hanging out with Jakers is that we always have fun wherever we go.
Now that he lives in the Kansas City area, I don’t get to see Jakers as much as I did when he lived in the Waco-Temple area. But, when we meet again, we’ll have a great time.
After all, there’s only one Jakers.
Chlapek is the area editor of the Taylor Press. He can be reached at jason.chlapek@granitemediapartners.
com
