Constable: Celebrating a unique talent takes unique talent
If you dismiss "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" as nothing more than a campy TV Christmas special with a dentist-wannabe elf, an abominable snowman, misfit toys and one very unusual reindeer, Ben Nicholas could set you straight.
"I was 2 years old when I saw him on TV the first time," the 19-year-old Mount Prospect man says of Rudolph. "Every year, didn't miss."
Noting that the show's first TV airing was on Dec. 6, 1964, Nicholas figured he needed to do something special to mark Rudolph's 50th anniversary. So he organized a festive celebration at his new school, the Miner School, an Arlington Heights therapeutic day school that is part of the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization.
"There has to be a way to bring a smile to children's faces," says Nicholas, who figured that Rudolph always does the trick for him. "I have pictures of him (Rudolph) all over the walls in my basement."
The outgoing teen, who explains that he has "a little autism," cradles a handful of manila folders filled with photographs, news stories and trivia about Rudolph. But he's committed most of that information to memory. As impressive as that may be, Nicholas knew his Miner School classmates would appreciate something a bit more visual.
"Even though I'm not in Texas, I decided to go big this year," he says. Mowing lawns, trimming hedges and raking leaves, the teen made enough to spend $462.08 on a 15-foot inflatable Rudolph with a mechanical head that turns side to side.
"It's actually 16-feet-3-inches," says Nicholas, who inflated the giant reindeer in the school gymnasium. "I double-checked the measurements."
Rudolph impresses students and staff members, some of whom don reindeer antlers and red noses to pose for photographs with the giant reindeer.
"He's super giant, super big," gushes Chris Martinez-Napoles, a 15-year-old Hoffman Estates boy who has a soft spot for Rudolph. "I watch it at Christmas with my family."
Leafing through his detailed plans for the event, Nicholas utters "crikey" as he suffers a paper cut. That could be the only setback of the day as decorations, snacks, activities, movies, photographs and the fundraiser to buy toys for needy kids seem to be running flawlessly.
"They actually lit up," Nicholas says of one group of smiling students posing for photos with Rudolph. "It's going better than I expected."
Sort of like that night Rudolph helped out Santa.
"He has a unique talent that had to be found," says Miner School Principal Cathi Ivack, who could be referring to Rudolph or Nicholas. "That's what we're doing. The neat part about this is that the student is the one who organized it. His responsibility has been amazing."
The school has programs for students age 4 through 22 who fit into the autism spectrum or have behavioral issues, cognitive disorders or physical or health disabilities. One boy in a wheelchair rolls next to one of two smaller inflatable Rudolphs and takes a photo with his iPad.
Working on a set of goals to benefit his transition into higher education or a career, Nicholas did more than develop his own organizational and social skills with his Rudolph project.
"He built something that would benefit everyone," says Nancy Clark, his teacher. "When Ben is motivated, he's like a train. You just can't stop him."
Just as St. Nicholas is said to do, Ben Nicholas keeps a list and checks it twice.
"It's a wonderful example of growth, of independence," says Judy Hackett, superintendent of the North Suburban Special Education Organization. "We're very proud of him."
Having studied at Prospect High School before starting at Miner School, Nicholas also takes a manufacturing class at Wheeling High School every day and works at eWorks, an electronic recycling plant.
"Since he's been there (at Miner School), he's just blossomed. They bring the best out of these kids," says dad Craig Nicholas, who, with his wife, Joanne Prifty-Nicholas, and older son, Adam, a chemist in Oregon, love the career path Ben Nicholas is now on.
"I like to work with my hands, take things apart and put it back together again," says Nicholas, who says he welds, can use a lathe and loves to restore old, broken machinery. "I like to solve things."
His hands zipping through files on his MacBook computer and cellphone, the teen shows photographs and videos of old railroad signals he's restored, model trains he's painted and fancy cars he'd like to own. He rattles off model numbers, tonnage, horsepower and other details of his hobbies, and says he'd love to work for a railroad. But this day is all about Rudolph.
"Rudolph tops it," Nicholas says of his list of favorite things, grinning slyly and touching the end of his nose. "Sometimes, my nose blushes red. I think we have a relationship."