My First Book

Do you know that I am an author?   Earlier this year I wrote a book.  It is called The Adventures of Cool Gabe. The book is about my family, my friends at ARC of Indian River County, and the activities I enjoy doing. My friend, Walter, says that I am a "babe magnet", which I think is a pretty cool name to have!  I think Walter is pretty cool because he runs our snack shop at ARC. 

The author holding a copy of The Adventures of Cool Gabe.

I am very proud of myself for writing the book.  If you know someone who needs an inspiration to live up to their potential, then maybe my book can inspire them.  To get inspired, call Sandy Gaunt at ARC  (772-562-6854, extension 217) if you would like to purchase a copy of The Adventures of Cool Gabe. 

Yesterday, I went on a field trip to Mckee Botanical Gardens with my teachers, Ms. Barbara and Ms Jacque, to see different kinds of scarecrows which are planted around the garden. Some of the scarecrows were dressed up in different costumes from local organizations that participated.  McKee  is a hidden treasure filled with tropical trees, bamboo, exotic orchids, and tall palms.  A little known fact to people from outside of Indian River County is that McKee used to be Florida's most popular tourist destination before Disneyworld opened in Orlando. 

Your friend,
Cool Gabe

FAMILY MATTERS AND MORE

Cool Gabe and Kathi in my "Blog Central" office at ARC!

ON THE PERSONAL SIDE OF COOL GABE:

Let me tell you about my family.  I live with my mom, Liz, and my sister, Taylor.  Here are some interesting facts about my family.  My mother is one of 15 children - really!  That means I have 9 uncles and 5 aunts, and that's just on my mother's side.  I have about 50 cousins - REALLY!  My favorite girl cousin is Desier.  My grandmother Cavazos, who was a great cook, always told me that of all the cousins, I was her favorite! 

A special shout-out to Mom and Liz and one up to Heaven to Grandma Cavazos.

BACK TO WORK AT ARC:

The office across the hall from my classroom at ARC of Indian River County is the Support Employment and Supported Living Office.  Because of its convenience to my classroom, I use the computer in that office, with a little help from my blog teacher.  One of the things the staff do is help find jobs for people with disabilities, like me.  One of the job coaches is a woman named Kathi Pulver and here is a picture of Kathi and me in the Supported Employment Office.

Back to get some more work done before lunchtime.  Then we're playing bingo at 1:00 - I LOVE FRIDAYS!!

Stay cool, my friends,
Cool Gabe

Yellow Keds and Pelicans

Hello World,

We're having a wet tropical morning here in Vero Beach, Florida.  Mark is the man who picks me up every morning and brings me to ARC of Indian River County.  He had to drive through quite a bit of rain to get me here this morning.  Even though I am the original cool guy, my friend Mark is also very cool.  In fact, there are 3 pictures of Mark and me in my new book, The Adventures of Cool Gabe.

Let me tell a story about my yellow Keds.  As you can see from the pictures, I love to wear my yellow Keds.  My dad always wears Converse shoes, and I always want to be like my dad.   I have several different colors, however, the yellow ones are MY FAVORITES!   It also happens to be a coincidence that the color of my own personal transportation device is yellow, as you can see.  Sometimes I call my chair "The Yellow Bus". 

Speaking of transportation, if you check out this morning's Vero Beach Press Journal, you'll see a picture of ARC in the story about the Walking School bus.  The picture shows some kids walking to Vero Beach Elementary School, which is right next door to ARC, where I come every day.

On Tuesday,  my sign language teacher, Patricia, who I introduced you to in my previous blog entry, was here and I had another great sign language lesson with her.  I showed her and her mother my new blog and they were quite pleased to see what I have been up to.  One of the signs Patricia taught us to do is for "Pelican" which is really cool because I live in Sebastian, Florida, home of the nation's first national wildlife refuge, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (established by President Theodore Roosevelt).  If you want to see some pictures of this really cool place, click here:  http://www.fws.gov/pelicanisland/.

Time for me to get to work!  I hope you enjoy today's blog!

Your friend,

Cool Gabe

Check out my yellow Converse! 

I love the All*Star on my Converse!

I am now officially an author!!! 

PS - Copies of my new book, The Adventures of Cool Gabe, are on sale at ARC.  Just call Sandy Gaunt at 772-562-6854 or go to http://www.arcir.org/.