Autistics Speaking Day: The Joy of Stripes!

Original post here
As much as I have written lately about NOT speaking, I will be posting some visual images that I love. I could try to write more, and maybe I will, but let's have something that is non-wordy for a change.

STRIPES!!!!!!!!! Just posting these makes me very very very very very happy!!!!!!!!!!

I once indexed The Devil's Cloth: A History of Stripes and Striped Fabric, by Michael Pastoreau. Whilst indexing this (indexing being lining up all the information... plus a LOT MORE and no, a computer can NOT do it!), I was very happy, and went around saying "Stripes!" at odd moments, which made my mother laugh, because she thought I was being very entertaining. A search on the title yields two different (striped!) covers:

http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-12366-2/the-devils-cloth

http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Cloth-History-Stripes/dp/0743453263

From a description of that book: "The medieval eye found any surface in which a background could not be distinguished from a foreground disturbing. Thus, striped clothing was relegated to those on the margins or outside the social order," a place which, not unsurprisingly, Autistics often find ourselves, not necessarily by choice.

STRIPE SERIES I: Striped Clothing with Joyful Happiness!

STRIPE SERIES II: Striped Plates, with Stripey Water, Very Cheery!

STRIPE SERIES III: Numerals That Are Sort of Stripey When Lined Up- 1, 4, 7

This is my room number at my very first Autreat, in 2007!!!!

These odometer readings are from one of my Volvos. I admit to tweaking some of the mileage counter numbers so that they would match the odometer reading, for more number-pattern fun! I got very good at figuring out when to reset the mileage counter so that it would match the odometer, and if I was off by a few numbers, it was really annoying to me. Of course, I had to pull over to do all this; it would be worse than texting while driving. I can even remember exactly where I was for some of these, like the church parking lot (first one), at Carter Mountain (some of the later ones), on Rio Road (one of the middle ones). No, I am not making this up. But I can't remember where I put my car keys most of the time...

And the awesome Alexander the Green Salamander, 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan, currently with over 325000 miles. Here featured with some 1s and 4s.

STRIPE SERIES IIII! :) Stripes n' Pipes

I am fairly sure that I did not become an organist because the pipes, keys, pedals, stop tabs, and rows of keyboards make stripes.

And finally, STRIPE SERIES IIIII! A Lovely Striped Card from My Child

A card my child made for me a year or so ago, with things that he thought I would love, so hearts, and XOXOXOXO and lots of 111111s lined up!