Muppets Return, Autism Benefits Restored, And Peace Walk Kindness

We chase holiday magic at the Wanamaker Building, run into a wall of crowds and echoes, and turn a rough outing into practical tips for sensory-friendly planning. 

Then we celebrate the Muppets’ big return, share the joy of benefits restored, push back on cure myths, and end with a quiet act of kindness that says everything.

• What to expect at the Wanamaker light show and Dickens Village
• How last-minute plans amplify sensory stress in cold, echoing spaces
• simple tactics for smoother outings: timing, snacks, layers, fallback plans
• Why the Muppets’ return matters for inclusive, ensemble-centered art
• Benefits restored and why services unlock choice, routine and dignity<
• Concerns about the U.S. autism panel reset and evidence-based priorities
•  Vaccines do not cause autism, and why the cure rhetoric harms support
•  A monk’s thread bracelet and the power of gentle inclusion
• Aloka the Peace Dog’s recovery and resilience on the peace walk
•  MLK reflections on nonviolence, community, and doing better daily

Kennedy resets US autism panel with new line-up of 21 members

It's time to raise the curtain on the Muppet Show

Buddhist Monks’ Quiet Gesture Toward Nonverbal Boy with Autism Goes Viral in North Carolina

Aloka The Peace Dog on Wikipedia

Send us your favorite “quack cures” to laugh at together!

Written, hosted, and edited by Ted Harris

Co-hosted by Lindsay Harris Friel

Music by Vincent Friel

• For more information, visit us at 6630 Productions 
• Write us a review on Podchaser or Apple Podcasts

May your life be filled with magic!

Transcript

Speaker 3 0:19

Hello, and welcome to Life in the Ted Lane, your host Ted Harris. With me, is my co-host, my big sister, my loving, sweet, lovable, understanding sister, Lindsay Harris Friol.

Speaker 1 0:32

You're buttering me up for some reason.

Speaker 3 0:34

Oh, I am.

Speaker 1 0:36

Why are you buttering me up, Ted?

Speaker 3 0:38

Oh, you'll see.

Speaker 1 0:40

Oh, I get a feeling I'm about to take a beating. Okay. Ted, tell them about the podcast. What podcast is this?

Speaker 3 0:46

This podcast we talk about adventures, Broadway Hollywood news, Muppet News and what it's like to be autistic. So, in this Nugget of Brilliance, we're going to our visit to the John Wanamaker light show.

Speaker 1 0:58

Yep.

Speaker 3 0:58

It's time to Raise the Curtain of the Muppet Show as official trailers revealed.

Speaker 1 1:02

Great.

Speaker 3 1:02

And autism news, and we talk about my benefits being restored.

Speaker 1 1:06

Yes, that is the good news, and we will talk about how that happened. And also we have some autism news. What are the autism news headlines, Ted?

Speaker 3 1:14

We're going to talk about Buddhist Monks' quiet gesture toward the non-verbal boy with autism. Goes viral in North Carolina.

Speaker 1 1:20

And confusing news.

Speaker 3 1:22

I have to share. Cabinet resets U.S. autism panel with new line up of 21 members. Okay, good. And a cola the peace dog is on the mend.

The Wanamaker Light Show Plan

Speaker 1 1:31

Aloka the peace dog is on the mend. Okay. Shall we begin? Yes, let's get started. So what are we starting with, Ted?

Speaker 3 1:39

My Chris my Christmas adventure.

Speaker 1 1:41

Oh yeah, we're talking about an adventure that we went on. This is adventure news. Adventure news. La la la adventure news. Go ahead, Ted.

Speaker 3 1:49

The old John Waker John Wanmaker Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. What we did last Christmas went to the John Wanmaker Building to see the light show in Dickens Village.

Speaker 1 1:58

We went to the John Wanmaker building um on the Monday before Christmas, right?

Speaker 3 2:04

Yes.

Speaker 1 2:04

Yeah, it wasn't on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We went on the Monday before Christmas.

Speaker 3 2:10

Okay.

Speaker 1 2:11

That's important. Go ahead.

Speaker 3 2:12

To clarify, the Wanmaker Building is one of the oldest apartment stores in America, and its most recent tenant, Macy's moved out last year. So the building is offices, and some of the building is being converted into condos. The Grand Court has this Wamaker organ light show and display telling the story of Charles Christmas Carroll.

Last Chance Before Construction

The Trip That Went Sideways

Speaker 1 2:33

This is important. It's possible we know that there won't be a Wanna Maker light show next year, and there probably won't be one the year after it because of construction in the Wanamaker building. But we well so basically it was sort of like this is your last chance to see to hear the Wanamaker organ and see the light show at Christmas for a a long time. Okay. Sorry, Tech, go ahead.

Speaker 3 3:04

Alright. We went there by train and we got there. It seemed everyone for it up had the same good idea. For four ages for it up does had the same good idea.

Speaker 1 3:13

Okay.

Speaker 3 3:14

We see one autistic guy dressed like a rankabass elf as well. What kind of guy? One autistic guy dressed like a rank and bass elf with elderly parents.

Speaker 1 3:23

How did we know he was autistic, Ted?

Speaker 3 3:25

I just know.

Speaker 1 3:25

Yeah, if you know, you know.

Speaker 3 3:27

I guess he got his ticket in advance.

Speaker 1 3:29

Yeah, this was another thing to mention is that although the event was free, it was ticketed so that they wouldn't get overcrowded. But it was crowded anyway. So go ahead, Ted.

Speaker 3 3:42

The line stretched all the way to Chestnut Street and seeing how long it was is beyond me.

Speaker 1 3:46

Yep, wait, pause. The line stretched from Market to Chestnut Street.

Speaker 3 3:51

Yeah.

Speaker 1 3:52

And also, Ted, listen, take a deep breath.

Speaker 3 3:55

And seeing how long it was is beyond me, we decided to get some hot cocoa ahead to Christmas village instead. Went to the coffee shop. They're there. We saw two of these friends who liked my art. I wanted a sandwich, yum, yum. And when I got there, I reached to get one. I banged my head against the sea guard. I was so mad I yelled at two ladies behind us. I was so mad we ate and Vincent came and got us, and we came home and was sulked after handy hit. Don't wait till last minute to see the lights.

Sensory Overload In A Marble Lobby

Speaker 1 4:28

Now, here's something else to mention. Inside of the lobby to the Wanamaker building, we were in the office side of the Wanamaker building, not the not the shopping side and not the grand court. The lobby is all marble. And you if you dropped a pin, it it would echo like. So Ted hit his head. Ted was hungry, cold, and tired. I was trying really hard to warm him up and get him a snack. And I went to this one particular coffee kiosk. It's Pacero's at the Wanemaker Building in Philadelphia. They're excellent. They have great snacks, great coffee, great drinks, great everything. And uh when Ted hit his head, he didn't just yell ow. Um, what kind of an owl was that? Ow! Yeah, you expressed your frustration, like all of your frustration at the same time. And that's okay. It's okay to let your frustration out, but it was very scary for everybody around us. And what so anyway, it was it was a rough day. So, Ted, what was the most memorable about the whole thing?

Speaker 3 5:57

It was cold, crowded, some of this planning would have been helpful. Right, Lindsay.

Speaker 1 6:04

I think uh that's why you were buttering me up at the in the opening, wasn't it?

Speaker 3 6:10

Yeah.

What The Light Show Is Like

Speaker 1 6:11

Yeah. So don't wait until the last minute to see the lights. Again, as I said previously, we went on the Monday before Christmas because I wanted to take Ted as a reward for all of the Christmas preparation we have been doing, like putting up decorations and getting ready for Christmas, all that stuff. And I said, when we get the house tidied up and decorated, then we can go see the lights. We've been there before, Ted. Do you want to tell them what it was like? Tell them, tell them what it was like the last time we went. We went there a few years ago.

Speaker 3 6:45

I went there a few years ago. They had the job wallmaker organ playing all that, is all playing with the nutcracker of sweet and all that. They play Christmas cows, all that, they show brilliant lights, all that, like LED lights. Quite amazing. They show like flashy lights, all that.

Speaker 1 7:03

So they the lights are things like snowmen and snowflakes and Christmas trees, and they play Christmas music, right?

Speaker 3 7:10

Yep.

Speaker 1 7:10

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3 7:11

They put every hour on the hour.

Speaker 1 7:14

Well, it's multiple times that day. I'm just not I don't know the schedule, what the schedule was. Where did we stand to watch it, Ted? We stood to the side. Mm-hmm. On like the second or third floor or something.

Speaker 3 7:25

Second floor.

Speaker 1 7:26

Yeah. And then what was the other Christmas thing that they had that you love?

Speaker 3 7:32

They had the Charles Stickers Village and all that. This is all dolls illustrating the story of Charles Stickers and Christmas Carol. It's like a big maze, big walk or maze, wall through it all that. I see various displays with dolls and all that illustrating the story for Christmas Carol.

Speaker 1 7:48

Yeah, it's really cool. When but when Ted says dolls, we're not talking about like little dolls that you can play with.

Speaker 3 7:55

We're talking about big were they animatric like mannequins.

Speaker 1 7:58

Mannequins. Were they animatronic figures that moved or did they hold still? I can't remember.

Speaker 3 8:02

They held still.

Speaker 1 8:03

Okay. So you're going through these almost life-size dioramas of a Christmas Carol. It's it's very kitsch and very fun. And we are sad that we weren't able to see it this year. So do you want to recap, Ted?

Big Ideas For The Wanamaker Space

Speaker 3 8:25

I have no idea what happened next year. They may do that again next Christmas. Maybe and maybe not because of construction. I suggested turn the John Walmaker building into a cultural arts place where they do art shows, live theater, ballet, art, and acting customer children, a program for autistic performers, and they keep the lighting show at the Wanamaker organ, Dickens Village.

Speaker 1 8:45

Yes. I well, one thing we do know, this past fringe season, they had a cabaret in the Wanamaker Grand Court, and it was the Bearded Ladies Cabaret, and they had one show for adults and then one show during the day for kids. I think that's brilliant. I think that's one of the best ideas ever. I think they should have. I think Opera Philadelphia was doing shows there.

Speaker 3 9:12

Yep.

Speaker 1 9:12

I don't know the specifics. I can't. We will put a link in the show notes for further information. I can't remember the specifics, but I hope we can be helpful. And yay, arts and culture in Philly. That's our favorite thing.

Speaker 3 9:27

Things that arts and people of the Keraker's family of French should know. Don't go to big event to school. Is this a session? Also dress warmly, break sex, go the first week or the second week when open, still the last minute. Oh, and don't go gonzo.

Speaker 1 9:41

Who's gonzo? Was I gonzo?

unknown 9:44

Oh.

Speaker 1 9:44

Do I have a big blue hooked nose? Do I get shot out of a cannon?

Speaker 3 9:49

Sorry, sir, for that.

Practical Tips For Holiday Outings

Speaker 1 9:50

No, no, no. Well, when you say don't go, gonzo, what do you mean by that?

Speaker 3 9:54

Crazy.

Speaker 1 9:55

Okay, fair enough.

Speaker 3 9:58

Um, we were going to talk about Christmas movies. My favorites are Christmas Carol. Over the years, there have been 500 versions of Charleston because of Mortal Tale. I also like Santa Claus movie because it talks about Origin of Santa. I also like Rudolph Rando's Ray Dirk because of the puppets. I also like a Triburg Christmas and Mother Christmas Carol. I didn't care too much for red one. Noel's Funny. I love Nutcracker for Realms.

Speaker 1 10:22

Which one? Which one was funny?

Speaker 3 10:24

Noel.

Speaker 1 10:25

That's the one with Bill Hader and that girl who's in all the commercials. I can't remember her name.

Speaker 3 10:32

Mm-hmm.

Christmas Movies We Love

Muppet Show Comeback News

Speaker 1 10:33

And okay, well that's cool. So, Ted, on to what what kind of news is next?

Speaker 3 10:39

Muppet news, Muppet news, Muppet News. Muppet news! It's time to raise the curtain on the Muppet Show as official trailer is revealed. Yay! The Muppet Show special guest vet a guest star, Spirit Carpenter, a special guest, Seth Rogan, Maya Rudolph, appears February 4th at Disney Plus ABC.

Speaker 1 10:57

Okay, so here's the news story. Disney Plus has officially called Here's the news story. Disney Plus has officially pulled the curtain back on the Muppet Show's big return, dropping a trailer for a new special event, premiering February 4th, 2026. Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the full Chaos Gremlin ensemble are back on the original Muppet Theater stage doing what they do best. Music, comedy, and things going charmingly off the rails. This special features pop star Sabrina Carpenter as the main guest, with special guest stars Maya Rudolph and Seth Rogan wearing multiple hats as both executive producer and guest star. There's even a freshly updated Muppet Show theme 2026 produced by Bill Sherman, because of course there is. Teddy, who wrote the original Muppet Show theme? Was that Joe Raposo?

Speaker 3 11:49

Joe Raposo.

Speaker 1 11:51

Yeah, I think he did the before Paul Williams came on board. I think Joe Raposo was their music writer.

Speaker 3 11:58

Yep.

Speaker 1 11:59

Yeah. Who also wrote. What else is Joe Raposo known for, Ted?

Speaker 3 12:04

He also wrote a lot of the songs right at it. Andy Arolaw songs for the Muppet Show. For Sesame Street.

Speaker 1 12:11

Yes, that's correct. The production leans heavily on veteran Muppet performers, names like, oh boy, I'm gonna pronounce this wrong. Dave Goles. Is that how do you pronounce his name?

Speaker 3 12:22

Dave Goles.

Speaker 1 12:23

Dave Goles, Bill Baretta, Eric J. Excuse me, Eric Jacobson, and Matt Vogel are all involved, which is reassuring for anyone who worries about the difference between Muppets and characters wearing the Muppets skins. You know what I mean?

Speaker 2 12:40

Yep.

Speaker 1 12:41

Yeah. For context, the Muppet Show originally ran from 1976 to 1981, aired in over a hundred countries, won basically every award you can win without being knighted, and was once called by Time magazine the most popular television entertainment now being produced on Earth, which is no pressure, right? The timing is deliberate. 2026 marks the show's 50th anniversary, and all five original seasons are currently streaming on Disney Plus. The message here is clear. The Muppets are back, the theater lights are on, and somebody has once again trusted them with a stage. What could possibly go wrong? Ted, what's your take?

Speaker 3 13:21

I think this is awesome. I think this is to introduce a new generation of the Muppets. And hopefully, if it if it works, it'll go on to a regular series.

Speaker 1 13:30

I really hope this is a big success. I really do. So what should we do, Ted? And what should our what should our audience do? Anybody who's paying attention to this podcast right now, what should we?

Speaker 3 13:44

I suggest that everyone should watch a series. No, check my Instagram. Everyone should watch the show. Uh one should also check check out older stuff. I think that everybody should should watch this show.

Speaker 1 14:02

I have a very long opinion about this. And this is not my podcast. This is Ted's podcast. So my my thoughts on this are available upon request, but in general, I'm excited and I'm looking forward to seeing this. Woohoo! Yes, exactly. Okay. So what is uh what's next, Ted? Do we want to talk about wait, wait, pause for a second? Okay, so what's what what was the most exciting thing that happened in 2025 for us?

Benefits Restored: Community And Support

Speaker 3 14:33

Just recently, my Beth was renewed by New Autism Agency.

Speaker 1 14:39

Yay! Thunderous applause, thunderous applause. We are very excited. Ted's funding benefits have been restored. Finally, despite many slings and arrows, including a massive snarl-up, if you read the Philadelphia Inquirer, you will learn that for the entire month of November, none of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services mail was sent out, which made me go into an absolute panic-fueled rage. And fortunately, Ted was not affected. Yes, we want to thank the Pennsylvania Health Law Project for helping us. They are great, they are resourceful, and they are patient. They are wonderful. And that's the good part. Ted has a new service coordinator. I don't want to say her name because we don't have permission to use her name, but what do you think of your new service coordinator, Ted?

Speaker 3 15:48

I like her a lot. She seems interesting. She seems nice.

Speaker 1 15:52

Yeah, she does. She and I think she likes you. Can I tell everybody about can we can we tell everybody about the big fart in the middle of the meeting?

Speaker 16:03

Yeah.

A Very Human Meeting Moment

Speaker 1 16:03

Okay. I really like her, especially because we were having our our meeting about what kind of services to look for for Ted, and we were sitting in the dining room, and we had been talking for a while, and I guess Ted felt very comfortable with his new service coordinator because as we were sitting there, Ted leaned over, raised his right hip, and let out a fart that could clear an entire frat house.

Speaker 3 16:38

Yeah.

Speaker 1 16:39

Really proud ha on a scale of one to ten, how proud of yourself are you?

Speaker 3 16:42

Oh, I'm not proud of it.

Speaker 1 16:44

Yeah, but you're not gonna not do it, right?

Speaker 3 16:47

No.

Policy Shift: Autism Panel Reset

Speaker 1 16:48

And fortunately, I so I was dying of embarrassment. And fortunately, this very kind, lovely, wonderful service coordinator turned around and she said to me, It's okay, I have brothers. But not only did the sound resonate like the grandest tuba of the Philadelphia Orchestra, but also it stank. Wow. It was a nightmare, it stank. So, in any case, we are working on getting Ted's services restored so that he can be out and about in the community doing things that are fun, right? Yep. Yep, great. Okay. So on to the next one. Ted, do you want to read the headline?

Speaker 3 17:35

Candy resets U.S. autism panel with no lineup of 21 members.

Speaker 1 17:40

Okay. This story was reported to Reuters by Ahmed Abulaneen. I apologize if I got your name wrong. Leah Douglas and Sidhi Mahatole. January 29th. Here is the news story. Reuters reports that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now the U.S. Health Secretary and Living Vintage Catchers Mitt, has replaced the entire 21-member federal panel that advises the government on autism policy and research.

Speaker 2 18:16

Boo.

Speaker 1 18:17

Yeah, the committee helps guide about $2 million a year in autism funding, and who whoever sits on it matters. What's controversial here? I'm sorry, Ted, did you want to say something?

Speaker 3 18:29

I think Robert F. Kennedy is a real screwball.

Speaker 1 18:32

Yeah, he's a screwball, to put it mildly. What's controversial is Kennedy's choice of members. Several of these people have ties to groups that promote long-discredited claims linking vaccines to autism or advocate for treatments outside of mainstream science. Autism researchers and former panel members are openly worried this will shift funding away from evidence-based research and toward chasing causes and cures that many experts consider settled or misguided. Like, I don't know, bubblegum gives you autism. Bubblegum does not give you autism. No. Oh yeah, Ted, what did we say the last time we heard about Robert F. Kennedy and uh autism? What did we say? Was it vaccines don't cause autism?

Speaker 3 19:20

Vaccines do not cause autism. How many times Vaccines do not cause autism? Vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines do not cause autism. Everybody say that. Vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines.

Speaker 1 19:37

Okay, okay, okay, okay. You're getting you're getting too too wrapped around the axle here.

Speaker 3 19:41

Right.

Speaker 1 19:41

Yeah. And even if they did, what would you rather have? Measles or autism? I choose autism.

Speaker 3 19:48

Autism.

Vaccines Myths And Real Priorities

Dignity Over Cure Rhetoric

Speaker 1 19:48

Yeah, exactly. All right, let's shake it out. Let's breathe. Kennedy has framed rising autism diagnoses as an epidemic, and says his focus is on finding causes and cures. That framing is the heart of the problem. When autism is treated primarily as something to be eliminated, quality of life issues get sidelined. Healthcare, communication support, housing, employment, mental health, and long-term well-being have to, they get ignored. That's exactly. There's also an uncomfortable implication in all of this. If autism needs to be, quote unquote, cured, what does that say about autistic adults who already contribute meaningfully to society? People like Temple Grandin and people like Ted aren't broken systems waiting for a fix. They're people whose lives improve when we invest in support, access, and dignity. Did I say that right? Yes. Okay, not when we chase a cure they never asked for. The panel's recommendations aren't binding, but they shape priorities. The real question is whether autism policy will help autistic people, autistic people or people with autism or whatever you prefer to say, live well or keep treating their existence as a problem to solve. Ted, what's your take?

Speaker 3 21:14

I think that the Robert F. Kett Robert F. Keddy's real screwball.

Speaker 1 21:19

Yeah, he is. He's done some very risky and dangerous. Hey, Simone has a take. Hi, Simone. How are you? Simone, what do you want to tell us?

Speaker 3 21:29

I think he's going high risk at all that.

Send Us Your “Quack Cures”

Speaker 1 21:32

He has engaged in a lot of risky behaviors, such as putting uh picking up a whale's Hi Simone. Yeah, I know. You don't want me to talk about Robert Kennedy because he's not good to animals. I know he's not good to animals. He took a dead whale's carcass and put it on the roof of his car. Wow. With his kids driving home in it. I know, Simone, you really want me to stop talking about it, but Simone, we gotta speak truth to power, honey. He also, uh He put a a dead bear in the back of his car and then drove around and went out for drinks and then finally dumped it somewhere in Central Park because he thought it would be funny. This guy's does some very unhealthy things. So yeah, this is important because it I don't think that his priorities are about the health and well-being of autistic people. What do you think, Ted? Why do you think this is important?

Speaker 3 22:31

I think that that basically autistic people should respect it, not treated as clowns and give the dignity they deserve.

Speaker 1 22:38

Exactly. And I also, why should autistic people and their caregivers be aware of this story?

Speaker 3 22:46

I mean, just because we're autistic, why do we have to suffer?

Speaker 1 22:49

Run that by me one more time, Ted.

Speaker 3 22:51

Just because we're autistic, why do we have to suffer?

Speaker 1 22:54

Just because you're autistic, why do you have to suffer?

Speaker 3 22:56

Yeah.

Speaker 1 22:57

I think that's a good point, Ted. I think that's an excellent point. I think it's important for caregivers and autistic people to know this because it used to be that the Department of Public Health was a trusted resource for health information. But now if they say all autistic people need to do to cure their autism is to drink a gallon of apple cider vinegar every day. Ted is giving me a look like, are you insane? The look, I wish you could see this. I'm really glad we don't do a video podcast, but boy, your face, Ted. You are mad right now. Hey Ted. Hey Ted, did you know if you rub a paper clip on your nose, it'll cure your autism? No, it won't. Hey Ted, did you know if you lick a duck it'll everyone who's paying attention to the podcast right now, if you have any great uh great suggestions for quack cures for autism, please click the link in the show notes and share those quack cures with us. We would love to share them on the show.

Speaker 3 24:13

Can I say one thing before if you they share Okay, what?

Speaker 1 24:21

Well Oh boy, he's he's winding up for something big and I don't believe it is.

Speaker 3 24:26

Well quack cures do not cause autism.

Speaker 1 24:29

Quack cures do not cause or cure autism.

Speaker 3 24:33

Right.

Speaker 1 24:33

Right. What is a quack cure, Ted?

Speaker 3 24:36

Like the quack cures that Lizzie was talking about.

Speaker 1 24:39

Like something somebody made up.

Speaker 3 24:41

Yep.

Speaker 1 24:41

And they say, here, if you buy my space my special paperclip and rub it on your nose, it'll cure your autism. My special paper clip that cures autism. Only $19.95. Here's how to order.

Speaker 3 24:56

Do you mind?

A Monk’s Quiet Blessing Goes Viral

Speaker 1 24:56

That's for I'm sorry. That's ridiculous. Okay, so maybe we should move on to some good news. Let's move on to some good news. Good news.

Speaker 3 25:05

Headline Buddhist bugs, quiet gesture towardable boy autism, goes barlow, North Carolina.

Speaker 1 25:13

And the story is by Ashley Vega, published on January 28th, 2026 in People Magazine. A people magazine story this week tells a quiet human story out of North Carolina that's been reson Buddhist monks' quiet gesture toward nonverbal boy with autism goes viral in North Carolina. A People magazine story this week tells a quiet human story out of North Carolina that's been resonating far beyond where it happened. A group of Buddhist monks has been walking through the state as part of a walk for peace, a traditional practice rooted in nonviolence, mindfulness, and public blessing. And they're walking from Texas to Washington, D.C. That's a long walk. Can you imagine walking like that?

Speaker 3 25:59

Yep.

Speaker 1 26:00

How how tired would you be?

Speaker 3 26:02

Very tired.

Aloka The Peace Dog Recovers

Speaker 1 26:03

They move slowly on foot through towns and neighborhoods, offering presents more than speeches. They don't offer speeches at all, actually. Um I don't even know why I said that. I'm gonna change that. They move slowly. They move slowly on foot through towns and neighborhoods. Along their route in Raleigh, North Carolina, one monk noticed a nine-year-old boy named Vincent sitting nearby with his family. Vincent is autistic and nonverbal, and in the video he appears to be seated in a chair with wheels on it, and he's all bundled up against the cold like everyone else. Without fanfare, without, you know, any lead up to it, the monk approached him and gently tied a thread bracelet around his wrist, which is a common Buddhist gesture of blessing and protection. What makes the moment extraordinary is how ordinary it is. Vincent usually does not tolerate anything being placed on his wrist, even by family, according to his mother. What makes the moment extraordinary is how ordinary it is. Vincent usually doesn't tolerate anything being placed on his wrist, even by family, according to his mother. But here he stayed present. In the video, he makes high-pitched sounds that I thought were curiosity and cheer, not distress. He's going like, ah, kind of thing. The monk moves calmly, the moment passes, and everyone continues. They're all bundled up and breathing in the cold air. Vincent's mother later shared the video on Facebook, and it spread quickly, reaching more than a million views. For her, the response wasn't about virality, it was about what the moment represented. Her son being seen, approached with gentleness, and included without explanation or demand. There's no lesson spelled out in the clip, and that's part of what makes it so special. Nobody tries to fix Vincent, interpret him, or turn him into a symbol. A monk offers a blessing. A child accepts it his own way. I don't know how old he is. He looks pretty young. And for a few seconds on a cold day, the world makes room for connection without conditions. So I looked up what the bracelet means, and I found this story on the Tenement Museum website. I'll put a link in the show notes to it. The daughter of a Cambodian immigrant said that the red string bracelet is a Buddhist tradition. It's tied onto one's wrist to absorb all negative energy. In my culture, we wear a red string bracelet for it to absorb, absorb negative energy until it has held enough and it falls off. My mom has always said it brings bad luck if you cut it off on your own. Red thread is used because it represents protection, faith, and good luck. So we'll put some links in the show notes here. But the bracelet the monks gave to Vincent appears to be white, and a white thread bracelet is for protection and good health. What do you think, Ted? I think it's very interesting. Yeah. I think it's a big kindness, isn't it?

Speaker 3 29:02

Yep. Treat people with kindness.

Speaker 1 29:04

And that's how those monks are moving through the world as an example of kindness. Yep. Now, here's some very happy news. The Buddhist monks have a dog who is named Aloka the Peace Dog. And Ted, do you want to read the happy news?

Speaker 3 29:21

Happy news. Aloka the Peace Dog is recovered for surgery.

Looking Ahead And MLK Reflections

Speaker 1 29:25

Yes. We will put links in the show notes to uh Aloka's Instagram and Facebook page and also the Wikipedia page with the background information about Aloka. But uh Aloka is a rescue dog of Indian origin who became widely known as Aloka the Peace Dog for accompanying the Buddhist monks. And Aloka is believed to be a pariah dog, originally living as a stray when he encountered a group of Vietnamese-American Buddhist monks in 2022 participating in a peace pilgrimage across India. And according to the monks, Aloka began following them during their walk. And despite facing hardships, including being hit by a car, he repeatedly rejoined the procession. The monks then adopted the dog and brought him back to the United States. And Aloka's prominence grew when he joined a larger initiative called the Walk for Peace. So he has a distinctive heart-shaped marking on his forehead, and he has a social media following. So we will connect to you with that information if you want to read it. Alright. Alright, Ted, so that about wraps it up. What will be what's next for us?

Speaker 3 30:34

We will look forward to some more things in the future. We'll see if it has some more adventures.

Speaker 1 30:38

Yeah, you know what?

Speaker 3 30:39

Also, we'll be talking about Martin Luther King Day next time.

Speaker 1 30:42

Ted? I think it would be a good idea if we talked about um we can talk about Martin Luther King, but we should probably talk about Martin Luther King now because it's January.

Speaker 3 30:54

Alright.

Speaker 1 30:55

Do you want to talk about Martin Luther King?

Speaker 3 30:57

Yeah.

Speaker 1 30:57

Okay, go ahead.

Little Free Library And Snow Joy

Speaker 3 30:58

The foul of Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King was a great civil rights leader and all that. Basically he preached on violence all that. Basically he was the son of a sharecropper's son. And basically he preached his dad was a sharecropper?

Speaker 1 31:11

I didn't know that.

Speaker 3 31:12

Basically, basically he preached about nonviolence. He was he basically preached for people. He shut down a bus line and all that. One of his favorite speeches was I Haven't Dreamed All That. He preached that on the Link Memorial in 1969. Despite freezing cold, many people came to see the show was a big rally and all that.

Speaker 1 31:32

I will fact check this, Ted's I will fact-check Ted's account later on. Go ahead. What do you like about Martin Luther King, Ted?

Speaker 3 31:45

I'm married because he never gave up. And basically he preached about nonviolence and talked peacefully. He never owned a gun.

Speaker 1 31:52

We don't know that, Ted. We need to fact-check that.

Speaker 3 31:55

Well, preach about nonviolence despite many trials and tribulations, all that.

Speaker 1 31:59

What does nonviolence mean, Ted?

Speaker 3 32:01

You don't you're not violent.

Speaker 1 32:04

Can you tell me more about what that means? Yeah. That's the best way to to explain it, I think.

Speaker 3 32:13

Yeah, this is why it's important we should all get along and all that. All get along. We all have to do better every day. Eventually life will actually fall to place.

Speaker 1 32:22

I think we need to also learn to accept each other's differences.

Speaker 3 32:25

Yep.

Speaker 1 32:26

And I think we need to work on being good members of our commun Everybody, when I say we, I mean the collective we, everybody, needs to learn how to be good community members, right? Yeah. Yep. One of the things that Ted and I have been working on to be good community members is our little free library, which has been taking a very long time for us to finish painting because we don't have a good paint shop. And also, Ted, what has the weather been like lately?

Speaker 3 32:58

It's been very snowy lately. It's been heavy snow. We haven't been able to paint lately, but hopefully we should get it up in the spring.

Speaker 1 33:05

Yeah, that's what I hope, because we have boxes and boxes of books that need to reach more readers, right? Yeah. Yeah. And also, Ted, do you want to tell them about Mount Mount Epiphany?

Wrap-Up And How To Reach Us

Speaker 3 33:22

Oh, we have Mount Epiphany or our property and all that. Well, it's not on our property, but right about the cul-de-sac, it's like a big glacier of snow and all that, done with the plowers, all that. It's like right big and the kids were all skiing on it and sledding on it.

Speaker 1 33:39

Yeah, the kids were out sledding on it as soon as the plow was finished. And the other day I took Simone, no, last night I took Simone out for her last walk of the day. And somebody had made a flag out of a cardboard tube and bubble wrap and planted it in the top of the giant pile of snow. This is this is not a small pile of snow. This is a it's probably six feet high.

Speaker 3 34:09

Six feet high.

Speaker 1 34:10

And it's about as big as like a a van, like a like a passenger van that a family would have for their three or four children.

Speaker 3 34:19

Okay, so Ted. I think we should wrap this up now. Yeah, well, that's our show. Well, we're boardboss. You can search our puppet comp. We're boardboss at uh at 63production.com, right first info at 6630.com, 30 per selection or view on Apple Podcasts on Patreon. Yeah, to have clipsboard share, topic show, sitwells, sitware, info at 663production.com, at the point to clarify, you can send it to us at info at 630productions.com. That's that part wash is set. Five for now, stage of four life of templates. See you next time. I Life of the Tablight is written and host by Ted Harris. My co-host is Lizzie Harris Frill, edited by Ted Harris. For more information, visit our website at 662productions.com.