Outskirts Press, INC.

Shawn’s accident changed lives in unforeseen ways

Shawn and his friends FEEL, TOUCH, TASTE, HEAR, and LADY BIRD learn a new way of life and valuable lessons through friendship, motivation, inspiration and blind instinct after losing something important.

I AM …. Shawn is a normal 10 year old boy who loves his family and friends. He enjoys school more than most kids his age. LADY BIRD came into his life when he was about 8 years old. Shawn discovers that LADY BIRD has unique instincts which he uses to his advantage. He and LADY BIRD share secrets. But, the car accident changes Shawn’s life in unforeseen ways. Shawn finds himself going from a normal pre-teen to a kid labeled as having special needs. Although his friends were already categorized as “special need” kids, he did not really understand until after his accident when he was plunked into the same category. The classification almost ruins Shawn but he is determined to maintain his “cool” status and shows his school that he can remain “cool” in spite of circumstances. He and his friends FEEL, TOUCH, TASTE, HEAR, and LADY BIRD learn a new way of coping in day-to-day activities through friendship, motivation, inspiration, blind instinct and trust. Their loss is something that a regular kid would find difficulties coping with but LADY BIRD pushes the limit with Shawn and his friends. Shawn’s friends’ uncommon nicknames convey their irreplaceable talents emerging as a strength while serving to harmonize their loss. Did what appeared to be a time of darkness for Shawn turn into a time of light? Journey with this extraordinary kid and his best friends as they search for their own “I AM….” Chapter 3-Shawn is proud of his dog. Lady Bird is the world’s best dog kisser, especially when she smells me eating peanut butter. She also likes to cuddle like my friend TOUCH. Lady Bird knows when someone in the household is sick or hurt. When I am sick, she cuddles up next to the body part that is hurting. If I have a headache, she will lay her head on my head. If I have a tummy ache, she will lie close to my side near my stomach. One afternoon I had gone to the playground playing with my friends. Since my aunt agreed to baby sit, my dad and I thought it would be okay to leave Lady Bird at the house with Dad and my aunt. Lady Bird had been upstairs nurturing my dad who had not been feeling well. My dad tried to take a shower, got dizzy, and fell in the shower. Lady Bird knew instinctively that he needed help. She ran downstairs and jumped in the lap of my aunt, a woman that Lady Bird hated, and she was never happy when Lady Bird was around. My aunt is an anti-dog lover! It startled her because Lady Bird never gets near her. Lady Bird began to throw her head in the direction of the stairs barking loudly, jumped down, and ran toward the stairs. My aunt ignored her. Then Lady Bird jumped in her lap a second time, barking even louder than the first time, and my aunt ignored Lady Bird again. On the third go-round, Lady Bird jumped in her lap. While whining, she licked her face, continued to bark, then jumped down and ran again toward the stairs. Lady Bird instantly knew the face licking and whining would cause my aunt to recognize that something had to be terribly wrong. After all, Lady Bird did not like her, and she did not like Lady Bird. My aunt called loudly for my dad to come and get this “crazy” dog. When he did not answer, my aunt ran upstairs and found Dad on the floor in the shower. If it had not been for Lady Bird’s intelligence and instinct, dad may have been lying on the floor for a long time without medical attention. Chapter 7-Shawn shares his friends’ abilities. I had been carving wood with my dad every week since I was 6 years old. Dad worked in cabinetmaking and taught me how to cut, shape, sand, and polish the wood. My friends often came to visit while we were in the wood shop but I would never allow them to get close or go down in the basement where dad and I worked. At the time, I could see but they were blind. TOUCH and FEEL had an incredible ability to know if wood had flaws. I would take pieces when my father was not looking to give to my friends. TOUCH and FEEL would rub their fingers over wood while looking up at the sky. One day, I asked what they were looking at and what they hoped to see in the sky. They said they “saw” the flaws through the feel of their fingers. Although I wanted to laugh, I knew not because they were serious. Close your eyes and rub your book. What do you see? Draw a picture of what you saw when your eyes were closed.