As many of you already know, Tara and I support several different causes and charities. We think it is so important to do what you can for causes, people, pets, whatever you really believe in. That being said, how we get involved isn't always in a conventional way.
Take for instance how we became involved with Tourettes Syndrome. Please note, before I begin explaining how we became involved, I don't want anyone to think that Tara or I are poking fun at people with Tourettes. We by no means think this is a funny disorder.
It was a Friday night, about 16 or 17 years ago, and we were at Borders, the bookstore. We had our top 10 booklist out and checking over it to see which of our top 10 we wanted to purchase. We really had a hard time deciding that night because we both had a few things that we were so passionate about at the time, that it was hard for me to pick 2 and for Tara to pick 2, but we knew if we picked anymore than that, we would feel overwhelmed in the reading department and not grasp what we were reading.
So we decided to get the book about Sacajawea, a book about private investigation and how to get started (we really had dreams of being Charlie's Angels) and a book about haunted houses because I felt their was a spirit in my house at the time. Oh, I also remember being so excited to pick up the October issue of Allure Magazine because it was their annual Best in Beauty.
Of all the books, we really wanted the Sacajawea because Tara was convinced that Sacajawea was in her Family Tree somehow because her Great, Great ,Great Grandmother or someone was a Cherokee Indian. I tried so hard to explain that Sacajawea was not a Cherokee Indian, but I wasn't sure what tribe she belonged to. Tara really wanted to get all this figured out because she wanted to be Sacajawea for a Halloween party we were attending because she felt it would be a "memorial" to her ancestors. She was also trying to convince me to be the Tribal Chief for Halloween because she thought that would be so cute and that I would really like to wear an Indian Headdress, but I did not want to go as a man! So we compromised and I decided that night I would go as Pocahontas. Then we decided we would go as blonde Indians even though they both clearly had black hair, but we felt the black wigs wouldn't go with our skintone and we thought blonde Indians would be different and cute with braided pigtails. Anyway, I have no idea why I just said all that Halloween stuff because it has nothing to do with our involvement.
So we were standing in an aisle at Borders and we were apart from each other about 3 feet and we were talking and looking and all of a sudden this guy comes rushing by us and slaps one of Tara's boobs and then slaps one of mine and just disappears out of sight. We both looked at each other like we couldn't believe what just happened. So we get closer together and try to make sense of it and we came to some conclusions, but we started ruling them out.
First we thought, ok, maybe this is a gang initiation but then we decided that a gang probably wouldn't hold an initiation in a bookstore. Then we thought, maybe this was a Fraternity pledge task or something, but then we decided he may have looked too young for college so then we came to the only conclusion we felt seemed reasonable. We decided he was some kind of sexual predator like you see on Dateline. About the time we came to that conclusion, he resurfaced and again, went by us like a bolt of lightning, slapping Laverne and Shirley on his way. Now, we are pissed! We decided to get our mace out, which I always carry on my keychain, and we turned the knob thing so it was ready to spray if he attacked again. Sure as anything, he came by again, but I guess I was too shocked and somehow I never sprayed him. So we become ready again and our plan was to spray and then he would be laying on the ground and we could go get the manager for help since clearly everyone around us were enjoying the show, but was unwilling to help us out.
So we see him this time rounding a corner and I had my finger on the trigger to spray and Tara was going to tell me when because I was afraid to keep my eyes open in fear the spray would end up in them. We notice a man was watching and realizing what may have been happening and he starts walking towards us as he sees the young man about to slap our boobs again. The man quickly yelled at him to stop where he was and the young man did and just started making these faces at us and saying quick, curse words and we had no idea what was going on. The man walked up to us and asked if we were ok and asked what exactly happened and we told him. He then explained to us that he was so very sorry and that the young man is his son and then he told us his son has Tourettes Syndrome. We must have looked like a deer in headlights because he asked if we wanted to go sit at the cafe and have some coffee and he would explain. Fearful, we began to question some things because how did we know if what he was saying was true. For all we knew, they both could have been sexual predators. So, reluctantly we decided to sit at the Border's cafe and have a cup of hot chocolate with the 2 guys. The dad began explaining to us exactly what Tourettes is and how it can affect a family and how hard it is on the person with the syndrome. Tara and I both teared up and couldn't believe a disorder like this existed. This poor teenage guy, who had no control over his actions and things he said at times. I felt so bad that we almost maced him. He couldn't even go to school and experience all the great things we got to. The guy's father felt so bad that he even offered to buy the books we were holding but we said that definitely isn't necessary.
As we watched the father and son leave the store, we looked at each other and just couldn't believe everything that just happened and what we had learned in just a couple of hours. We decided on our drive home that night that we would go to the library the next day and check out some books on Tourettes Syndrome so we could learn more about it and maybe become a part of educating people on it or join a support group or see if they had any fundraisers coming up. Now, we can proudly say we support the Tourette Syndrome Assoiciation. Who would have ever thought that a few slaps on Laverne and Shirley would lead us to wanting to help such a worthy community of people.
If you are interested in learning about Tourettes Syndrome, we highly recommend that you visit Tourette Syndrome Association's website at http://www.tsa-usa.org/. The website is great at helping people understand what Tourettes is and how you can get involved and help.
Thanks for reading!
Niki
