Isn’t that a beautiful simile for love? That’s exactly how I feel when I look at my beloved and count the many ways that I am so lucky to have her in my life. That she chooses to love me in return, even after all these twenty odd years, still gives me immense blissfulness

Who came up with that lovely allusion? It was twenty-three year old Julius Robertson, son of Kathy Lette and Geoffrey R.

I was right royally peeved last Saturday to discover my Age was missing its two best bits – ‘Spectrum’ and ‘Good Weekend’ – for my perusal the following week. It usually takes me that long to get through the weekend’s Australian and Age. Eventually, as well as inexplicably, they both turned up in Monday’s edition. I was delighted they did as they contained even more exceptional writing than usual – such delicious reading. It was ‘Spectrum’ that featured young Mr Robertson, as part of its ongoing ‘Two Of Us’ segment. Here we have a take on the ‘he says/she says’ format, with two connected persons telling of their relationship from their individual perspectives. Over the years this single and singular page has featured couples from all walks of life, as well as from all degrees of fame. Without fail, whether the duos involved are celebrities or ordinary Joes, perusing their musings is always time well spent. Often what is read here leads me to the ether for more research on the persons involved. The linkage between the two participants needn’t be one of love, but I mostly find it more interesting if it is.

As for the twosome in last Saturday’s offering, there certainly exists a great deal of affection between Julius and his mother Kathy, although the former has a unique way of expressing it. You see the young man is on the high end of the autism spectrum. In fact he has Aspergers.

Over my teaching years I have taught many a student diagnosed somewhere on the continuum. Hand on my heart there were a number I found it extremely difficult to contain, but with those I could connect with it was a hell of a ride – in a positive way. They were so intriguing and gave so much I felt privileged to be in their orbit.

Some, as with Julius, have a prodigious memory and are quite obsessive. As his mum puts it, he has fixated on everything from Serena Williams’ posterior to Hamlet, which he can recite rote. It’s the way their brain works. I found it fascinating with some of my students. Some of these guys ask very curly questions in class and were often responsible for very perceptive replies to mine. The article gave examples of Julius’ amazing queries:-
‘What is the speed of dark (if light has speed)?’
‘Is a harp just a nude piano?’

The wonderful Stephen Fry is the young man’s favourite from the cohort of his mother’s friends – describing him as ‘…like a honeybear.’ Kathy was once flirting with Hugh Jackman, only to have Julius draw the thespian’s attention to the dark hairs on his mother’s top lip, just in case Hugh hadn’t noticed them for himself. On meeting Kevin Spacey he was transfixed by ‘…his moonhead’, bald for a play. He regards his mum, Ms Lette, as ‘…the modern Shakespeare’, but wishes he could display the same emotions as she does. He is bemused by her gait, describing it as like ‘… a dolphin’s.’ Pleasingly, he reckons people are generally happier in Oz than the UK (I suppose you wouldn’t have to be all that bright to figure that one out!) and he thinks the animal his dad most resembles is a polar bear. He knows his authorly mum wouldn’t mind if he was gay, but he confesses he is’…very attracted to women’s bodies’ – and so he goes on. Despite his occasional social faux pas, there is no doubt of the adoration one of our best known ex-pats has for her boy.

Their relationship has been shared with the nation in print form elsewhere as well, including in the Womens Weekly. Her novel, ‘The Boy Who Fell To Earth’, tells the story of a single mother raising such a boy with Aspergers. This will soon feature in a Hollywood movie.

‘My love for you my DLP is like the foam on the crest of a wave.’ Try that line with your very own partner sometime soon. I am sure you’ll be happy with the results.

The ‘Two of Us’ column = http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/two-of-us-kathy-lette-and-julius-20140728-3coal.html

The ‘Women’s Weekly’ article = http://www.aww.com.au/news-features/in-the-mag/2012/2/kathy-lette-my-son-has-aspergers/