Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome (RTS). No, that isn’t the word that I invented. It’s a real condition which my pretty little cousin was born with. It’s characterized by short stature, moderate to severe learning difficulties, distinctive facial features, and broad thumbs and first toes. For more information you can start here
Anyway, I love my cousin to pieces and sometimes I’d wonder what it would be like to see the world through her innocent, smiling eyes… But she does this thing where we would go on two hour drives, and in the car, she would say my name non-stop… “ATE K…ATE K…ATE K..ATE K…” (ATE is a title for an older sister) While I am deeply touched that she never forgets my name despite her condition, I would silently pray that the drive would be over before my ears start bleeding and my head explodes.
So how’s this related to the Daily Prompt? More than a year ago, my boyfriend became infected with the “ATE K” virus. Out of the blue, he’d say my name in this weird, annoying little voice just to piss the hell out of me; then he started naming things after me. EVERYTHING was ATE K! ATE K burger, the ATE K park(ocean park), ATE K’s ‘r’ Us, the K-phone (iPhone), the ATE K Legacy (Bourne Legacy), Krispy K, the ATE K-saurus….. When I got a new bag, he called it ATE K Berry (Burberry) >< Basically, ATE K is a word that could mean anything and everything.
Maybe the ATE K disease is truly contagious.
Maybe he’s just crazy about me.
Maybe he just enjoys being an asshole.
If my boyfriend ever runs for President of the Whole Wide Universe, do NOT vote for him. There’d be massive confusion and complete pandemonium.
*Take note that this was way before he saw that movie with Sacha Baron Cohen, the Dictator, where his character General Aladeen doesn’t understand most of the words in the English language so he changed many of the words in the dictionary to Aladeen.
DOCTOR: Do you want first the ATE K news or the ATE K news?
PATIENT: the ATE K news.
DOCTOR: You are HIV – ATE K.
Having said all that, I might’ve only used this prompt as an excuse to raise awareness on Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome. It’s very rare yet very real and very few people know about it.
The Eclectic Eccentric 