Buy One Give One Autism Tee
Please join A-Novel-Tee in supporting Autism Awareness! For every Autism tee you purchase, we will donate one to an organization we have partnered with supporting autism awareness. We are launching this campaign partnered with an amazing organization from South Jersey named Faces 4 Autism www.faces4autism.org I implore you to visit their website and see all of the great things they are doing in the community and for autism awareness on a whole. Sometimes we believe we can never change the world. I always like to believe we can at least change the people in it. Lets be better to each other. It all starts with awareness and kindness!
Click link below to purchase a shirt:
https://www.a-novel-tee.com/collections/buy-one-give-one
If you don’t wish to purchase a T- shirt, you can also make a donation to help us spread Autism Awareness.
The Story
I had purchased tickets months ago to see the best band on the planet, in my opinion, Earth Wind and Fire and the night of the concert had finally arrived. I was so excited I could not contain myself and I really wanted it to be the perfect night. The show was at the theater in the Venetian in Las Vegas where every seat is pretty much a good one. My seat was by the aisle and as the theater began to fill I noticed a group of teenage boys and two adults sitting across from me. Everyone seemed to be dressed in similar bright floral short sleeved shirts and jeans. They were really excited, maybe too excited for this type of show which was a sea of silver foxes. I mean it almost looked like a bingo convention lol. So I keep seeing the same group out of the corner of my eye and can't help but think these are a bunch of frat boys who just purchased tickets off the strip who will ruin my night with their antics because they have no love or respect for this music. The show begins and they're dancing, arms wailing about, jumping around and overly giddy. I start to notice one member of the group make his way to the aisle and he is just dancing, having the time of his life. This continues to go on and on. At this point I'm thinking ok, now you're just being extra and maybe mocking the band that I love so much. I am annoyed. I start to pay closer attention to the teenager and also the group he is with and I realize he is autistic. I felt horrible as I should, I felt embarrassed and ashamed as I should. I have family with autism whom I love dearly. I would never judge them this way or want anyone else to. The fact of the matter is I didn't know. It doesn't excuse my behavior but it is the truth. As the night came to a close I found myself watching the teenager more, this time with awe. He absolutely LOVED this music. It moved him. It moved through him. He danced and sang all the words like he'd been following the band his entire life. It truly was one of the most pure and beautiful moments I had ever seen. At one point in the show he even went down to the stage to be closer and one of the original members of the band, Verdine White, gave him a guitar pick. The show ended and I just thought about all the love surrounding this teen. I figured they all dressed, danced and sang alike to support him. Maybe it made him more comfortable, maybe it just made them happy to see him happy. In any event my scowl had turned to a smile as I had witnessed the power of love, the power of understanding and the power of patience. This is the story behind my tees, the inspiration and the reason.
