Read August 9th for Free Online Page B

of us and their grandkids we want to do something special for them.
    The rise of business here in the Valley is in direct contrast to most of the country which is dealing with a recession. High unemployment, high interest rates and high inflation are a terrible threesome and I keep waiting for things to turn around. I’m afraid we’re going to have a lot more bank failures thanks to the recession and deregulation of the banking system. I heard a stat that was indicative of the problem we face when a Savings and Loan can leverage $2 million into $1.3 billion in loans. Unbelievable!
    I hope all my talk about business doesn’t bore you but it’s the world in which I live. As always, wish you the best.

Dear Tess,
    It’s been an extremely difficult year for Maggie and me. First, we tragically discovered our little Ben has autism. Then I did the unthinkable and had an affair that threatened our marriage.
    Soon after Ben was born we noticed rather obvious differences in behavior between him and Caroline at the same age. We assumed boys were just different as are all children. We didn’t think it was anything abnormal. Then the different signs kept escalating and Ben’s behavior began to worry us. Sadly, the word “no” became the word we had to insert in front of his behavior: no big smiles, no facial expressions and no gestures. He also rarely made eye contact, didn’t respond to his name or our voices, and didn’t make noise to get our attention.
    We initially addressed the problems with Ben’s pediatrician who, at first, didn’t think the issues were abnormal or would be permanent. Several months later,when things became worse we again visited our pediatrician. This time Dr. Steinlen referred us to a specialist, Dr. Winston Miller who ran an exhaustive series of tests on Ben.
    I’ll never forget Dr. Miller’s words after examining Ben. “It appears to be autism. Unfortunately, there is no cure at the present time.” Maggie and I were devastated.
    We sought a second opinion and drove to LA to meet with one of the world’s foremost experts at the UCLA Medical Center, Dr. Ruth Weisman. Unfortunately her diagnosis was the same as Dr. Miller’s. Dr. Weisman also shared more information. Autism is reported in about 1 in 10,000 children although that number may be deceiving since many parents probably never have the behavioral problems of their children properly diagnosed. Autism also has a 3:1 ratio of boys over girls and it wasn’t until the last few years that autism was classified as a developmental disorder.
    Unbelievably, in the 60’s and 70’s treatment was all over the map and even included hallucinogens such as LSD, electric shock, and even pain and punishment. Thank God this is 1983 and autism is now treated with behavioral therapy and the integration of highly controlled learning environments. Dr. Weisman referred us to a colleague closer to home at the University of California San Francisco.
    I’ve never felt worse about anything and it certainly changed my perspective on what’s really important in life. There is no escaping the reality that our precious son has a behavioral disorder for which there’s no cure.
    This horrific situation also put a big crack in my relationship with Maggie. We became more and more distant, much worse than what we experienced during her postpartum depression. To escape reality I started to drink, more and more. While I like a drink to relax when I get home it increased to a couple of drinks, then three and even four. I drank to escape the pain but all it did was cause greater pain.
    My behavior turned from self-destruction to the possible destruction of my marriage and family when one evening I stopped at a local bar to have a drink before going home. I spotted a very attractive woman who looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her face. As I looked over at her, she smiled and then it dawned on me. She was the gal I met with Gary over three years ago who playfully put