Bean an Aspie?

I drove in to work today (school starting and getting the kids ready in the morning this week has thrown me off my bus schedule), and listened to Kevin & Bean on the Los Angeles area radio station KROQ.  I only get to hear them once or twice a month anymore.  Frankly, I don't always want to listen because like many morning radio shows nowadays, rudeness and crassness are mistaken for funny - this mostly comes from Ralph Garman (and before him, Adam Carolla, before he moved on to bigger and better[?] things), although Kevin usually joins right in with it.  This morning, they were talking about how Bean had been boring everyone with talk of his upcoming vacation to Finland, and on the day he was supposed to leave he got the the airport and discovered he had an expired passport, so they wouldn't let him on the plane. Whereupon, Ralph said, "This is where Bean's Asperger's kicks in," and went on about him obsessing over every tiny detail of his trip - not the least picking Helsinki as a destination, because who in their right mind wants to go there (not even his wife)?! -and then spacing on the major detail of having a valid passport.

I was a little taken aback to hear Asperger's Syndrome mentioned.  Six years ago I had never heard of it, until someone mentioned it in a blog, and then a few years later, my son is in special education because of it.  Has Asperger's really become so mainstream? Bean (so nicknamed because he's a beanpole of about 6'6") and his partner Kevin have been doing this radio show for more than fifteen years, and the constant running joke among the morning crew has been Bean's quirky behavior and odd interests; anti-social (he actually does the show from his home in the Seattle area because he can't stand crowded Los Angeles), surrounds himself with animals, has fascinations with things most people would consider rather strange (visits every 7-11 in every city he can possibly get to and studies their floor plans, and has a curious admiration for the postmaster general). He's in his forties and still signs his name with an accompanying smiley face. The rest of the crew give him a hard time for (sporadically) keeping a blog, because who could possibly be interested in what he has to write about? FYI - the domain is named for the discoverer of Pluto, another obsession of his - I read it, and it's no more or no less normal or obsessive than most other bloggers, probably less because for the second time now, he's given up on it for an indefinite period of time.

I found some archived bits of the show, and listened to them; in one, Bean is in complete denial, which I guess I can understand; however, I really don't see it as a bad thing. I always kind of identified with Bean, because I've been considered to have some strange interests and not considered really normal by most of my friends, too.  And I suppose I have a soft spot for him, because he hugged me once.* I wonder how much is real and how much is affected, because he makes a good foil for a morning drive time radio show, and certainly any diagnosis is only speculative (although I did hear that they actually had a doctor come on the show.  I also wonder how a supposed Aspie, with a condition noted for social difficulties, got into broadcasting - although my coworker pointed out to me, it's radio, fairly scripted, and he has partners who support him, so it very well could be real and not an act.  He does get an opportunity to air his obsessions.  And he seems to be valuable enough to the show that they let him move to a totally different part of the country and telecommute.

Lest you think he's being exploited and the butt of all the show's jokes - that's not the case.  He's a smart guy, an equal partner, and quite a lot of the humor (this is a comedy show, after all) comes from him.  Most of the "hard time" I mention is fairly good-natured ribbing that you'd hear among people who know each other well and are good friends.  I'd say he's doing pretty well. 

Bean may be in denial (at least publicly); but should he get a formal diagnosis, I don't see it as something negative.  He's another example of refuting the "If there is not an epidemic, where are all the adults with autism?" question.  Should he not, that's ok too - he's a grown-up, and he's learned to deal in his own fashion.  And he's fine the way he is.

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*Before I got a permanent job where I work now, I took a job as a fisheries observer and lived in Portsmouth NH by myself for about eight months. I came home to my parent's over the holidays, and spur of the moment, decided to go to one of their signing events for the holiday cassette they used to put out (it was still a cassette at that point, not a CD). When I finally got up to see them, I blurted out "I had to move to New Hampshire six months ago and I have missed you guys SO MUCH!" Where upon Bean said "Aww, now that deserves a hug," came around the table and gave me a big one. As someone single and a bit lonely at the time, a hug from a tall, somewhat cute, locally-famous guy felt pretty good.