I wrote this for my autistic nephew Randy... He is currently 19 and going to college

Wow!...Look at you!
You finished School!
What will you do?
Go jump in a pool?

So now you’re cool!
What else will you do?
Because you’ve only begun
And you’re not really through!

I hope you can hear me,
Randy...I'm talking to you!
Yes…You can learn more!
Like…how to make a shoe!

"A shoe? Oh what a bore!
Keep talking Uncle Barney
And soon I will snore.
I buy my shoes… at the shoe store!"

But someone made the shoes
And sold them to the store
And without shoes…
Our feet will get sore!

So I appreciate him
And what he has done.
In my book Randy…
The shoe man's number one!

Okay… Shoes are out.
So tell me what’s in!
You have to do something,
To do nothing's…a sin!

You can be on T.V.
And give us the weather
Or be a leather salesman,
Because the shoe man needs leather!

You can be an inventor
And make a machine,
That lets us play games
And keeps our house clean!

You can be a dog catcher
Or make catchers’ mitts
Or be a shoe salesman!
Whatever shoe fits!!

It’s your choice Randy,
Whatever you do,
But please do something,
Because we need you!

You can do what you want,
And you can do a lot!
And what it takes to do it,
That’s what you’ve got!

To learn to write poems…
I had to learn how to rhyme!
It’s not really hard,
It just takes some time!

Before you counted to eight,
You had to count to seven
And before you counted to twelve,
You had to count to eleven!

And look at you now!
You can count to a million
And if you keep on going,
You will count to a trillion!

It’s fun to learn,
So don’t be afraid!
If you have trouble learning,
I will come to your aid!

If you do make shoes,
Then make them with passion!
And you can be sure…that
I’ll wear your new fashion!

You make this world,
A much better place
If you don’t make the shoes,
But you make the shoelace!

So do what you want,
And do what you will,
But make your shoes,
…Hard to fill!