Teacher and author Rick Riordan recalled how his 7-year-old son, Haley, was getting help for ADHD and dyslexia:
“As Haley struggled through second grade, his saving grace was Greek mythology. He loved those old stories. He would actually read them willingly in class. He knew I’d taught Greek myths for years in the middle school, and so every night he would ask me to tell him a bedtime story about the Olympians.
“One night, as we were lying in bed for story time, I realized I’d run out of myths. We’d done all the gods, the heroes, the monsters. I was fresh out of Minotaurs.
“‘Well, make something up!’ Haley said, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.”
Twenty years and several best-selling books later, we have this:
There’s a scene in “Ted Lasso” when Ted is feeling outclassed, realizing that (shockingly) a football coach ain’t so great at coaching soccer. Rebecca tells him about a saying from Dutch soccer: “Every disadvantage has its advantage.”
So the next time life leaves you in a downpour of urine, think about the wisdom of Rebecca and Haley. Does your disadvantage have an advantage? And if not, can you make something up?
I’m not trying to blow smoke up your downspout. Certainly some things are so horrid that you’ll sound like an idiot if you use words like “for the best” or “god’s plan,” but lots of lesser tragedies — even intensely painful things like breaking up or getting fired — can make you stronger and more independent.
The trade-offs aren’t always fair, of course. People who are blind or deaf might appreciate things that others don’t because their remaining senses are sharper, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t rather see and hear. But one of the few things that’s been great about the 2020s is that neurodivergent people are realizing that they have lots of company.
I’m sure Haley’s dad could offer up a slew of famous people with dyslexia, but I’ll go further: I’m not sure anyone is “normal” — or ever was. Google things like “ADHD,” “autism” and “Tourette syndrome” and tons of famous names will pop up, from Leonardo da Vinci to Dan Aykroyd, Benjamin Franklin to Bill Clinton, Albert Einstein to Billie Eilish. You could always toss in Emily Dickinson and Vincent van Gogh for good measure, and ask yourself whether Barack Obama is our most recent dementia-free president.
Lots of us don’t have any of those diagnoses, but our whole is the sum of a bunch of quirky parts. Many journalists, me included, might not be diagnosed with OCD, but are obsessive to a fault. Gifted students who daydream might just be bored — or could be flirting with ADHD. You might never be diagnosed with anxiety but still have, you know, anxiety.
Maybe abnormal is the new normal.
We’ll get back to our fictional and flawed Percy Jackson in a minute, but let’s not forget our fictional and flawed Ted Lasso. He used his football background to have his David-like team suggest trick plays in the hopes of beating Manchester City’s Goliath.
It didn’t work. Nobody said conquering Goliath was easy.
But you can find inspiration if you look for it. At the end of the season finale of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” the title character breaks the fourth wall to share a few words, written by a father to a son, from a hero to all of us.
“The stories you heard about Greek gods, heroes and monsters? I’m here to tell you they’re real. If you ever feel like you don’t fit, like the world doesn’t make sense, then you might be part of our world. So don’t give up. ’Cause we might need you for the fight ahead.”
Murphy Slaw
Something old: Wisdom for the ages:
Something new: I’m so old I remember when Sandy Koufax skipped a World Series game because it fell on Yom Kippur, a Jewish High Holy Day. Right now we’re going through Ramadan, a Muslim Holy Month that includes fasting from dawn to sunset, which obviously can be brutal for athletes. Here are some great examples of how professional soccer leagues have learned to be more tolerant.
Something borrowed: Love this map. If you ever mentioned “Somalia” and “Minnesota” in the same sentence, you’re one up on me.
Something blue: If you’re not on social media and you wonder why people waste the time, maybe this thread will help. As Percy Jackson told us, we need heroes. This writer found plenty.
I remember years ago - (and I mean YEARS ago - maybe 35) I said to my mom, "everybody's weird, in their own way, everybody is." And her reply, narcissist that she was: "You think I'm weird? I can't believe you just said that to me!" But it's true! We are all a bit weird. Some are lovable weird, some are funny weird, etc. But we all ARE! And I say Thank God! The world would be sooo boring without all the quirky people we know and love.