Got Crabs?

The simple pleasures in life are not beyond the means of your child with autism.  In fact, as we learned one summer in Sandwich, MA, autism can even enhance those simple pleasures.

Under this boardwalk, in the muddy tidal marsh, live hundreds of green crabs.  They're not good eating.  But toss in a hot-dog-baited hook on a line, and they're great fun to catch.  

Of course, it takes a little practice to hoist a crab up on a drop line.  And it takes a little patience.  For Tom (on the right), crab catching is a labor of love...  and no matter how often the surprisingly bright crabs let go of their hot dog on the way up to the boardwalk, Tom never loses sight of the goal.

On a sunny day, as we drop our lines, dozens of people may stop by to watch.  Occasionally our daughter, Sara, will lend them a line so they can try crabbing themselves.  And sometimes Tom will stop, watch, and applaud the biggest catches.  One day, while crabbing, it was Tom who noticed the big striped bass swimming around the tidal pools ...  and it was Tom who saw and recognized the ribbon eel under the dock.

At high tide, the water comes within a few feet of the boardwalk.  When that happens, scores of teens and tween show up to leap into the cold Cape Cod Bay, and swim back to the ladder or the shore.  Tom was among those who thought leaping would be fun, and he did.  Unfortunately, the tide carried him in just the wrong direction - away from the boardwalk.  Fortunately, he didn't panic, nor did the big boys who jumped in after him and hauled him back!

We make this boardwalk a special destination, now.  And at least a few times every summer we bring our bucket, our lines and our hot dogs.  For all of us (and not just for Tom), it's an occasion worth waiting for.