I spent yesterday volunteering for an event called "Challenge Air" where private pilots take physically, mentally and neurologically challenged children on flights, give them "wings" and have an all-around fun time in a "festival" atmosphere for the kids and their families. I signed on as a loader (which is what I did yesterday) but for most of the day was a cheerleader waving the kids on and off their flights and talking to them and helping them with games and "flight school" and petting the canine companions. I saw one of the kids I recognized from last year, a teenage boy who is pretty big (football player type big, not fat-big), has flaming red hair, has difficulty communicating and is unable to speak. I came up to him, said "Hi (name), I remember you!" He grabbed my arm and rubbed it, then pulled it up to his face to smell my forearm and took a pretty deep whiff. (His sense of smell is much stronger since his other senses are limited. It's how he recalls and recognizes.) After a moment he started patting and rubbing my arm and smiling because he remembered me.
This was me for much of the afternoon:
If you know pilots, like planes, like kids or like volunteering, check to see if there is a Challenge Air event near you. www.challengeair.com