Intro

Early in Harrison’s experience at Colorado Mountain College, while taking a class called “Writing for Academic Success,” he started writing a book. The idea was partly my idea to get him interested in his assignments. With autistic people, helping them think the task is their idea can be key. In his mind he was writing a sequel to my previous book Full Tilt Boogie. He even designed a makeshift cover for this book before it was more than a handful of words. He called it Full Tilt Boogie, II.

The original Boogie was about my early experiences and acceptance of his autism, while also preparing for a last-ditch run at the World Championship Pack-Burro Race when I was 53 and he was 9. It made for an ironic title as the book really was not so much about the burro by that name as it was about literally and figuratively running or operating at full capacity.

What surprised me was that Harrison diligently stuck with the writing and suggested I join in. The idea of us co-writing the book seemed appealing yet daunting. I had not written much of anything in years, and was quite burned out on writing in general. In fact, any attempts at it were excruciatingly painful in ways I cannot describe. Friends would ask me why I wasn’t writing more and I could not explain it. It simply hurt my brain.

Nevertheless, the experiences we were living as he navigated college life as an autistic student and athlete were compelling— not to mention the complete absurdity of me living part-time in a college dorm at the age of 62 to support him. I began to take down some notes, sometimes just a couple of words, to spark my memory. I wrote some short passages. Slowly the story started to take shape and I found myself actually writing again, though it was still a rather painful process. Harrison had somehow managed to make me think this was my idea.

All the while, he insisted we call the book Full Tilt Boogie, II. I tried to explain that the title really didn’t make any sense because it’s not about Boogie. He protested. I thought about this for a long while, trying to think of some clever way to incorporate Full Tilt Boogie into the title. I realized I had been operating at full capacity for many years. Also, Boogie herself does make some cameo appearances in the book, including as Harrison’s running partner in his first pack-burro race. Suddenly the silly idea of Full Tilt Boogie Too popped into my brain. It still doesn’t make a lot of sense but then little in life really does.

We settled on The Blur Goes to College with the subtitle (Full Tilt Boogie Too). It’s part comedy and part tragedy, part train wreck, part triumph. Moreover, this is a story of empathy and compassion, and exploring the rights of people with so-called “intellectual disabilities.” We wanted to get the story out as soon as possible. We hope you enjoy this serialized rollout on Substack as we finish the book and eventually get it into print.