WALL - On a typical Sunday morning, the cul-de-sac on Pascal Place is pretty quiet and serene.
That is, unless you get a visit from the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile and the company's famous Hotdoggers. And then, well, it's hot-diggity dog.
"It was very surreal," resident Eileen Shaklee said. "Pretty much every neighbor came out. It's not what you normally see, and it was fun."
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The hot dog-shaped vehicle, and its two Hotdoggers, "Cold Cuts" Chloe Kersh and "Chili Dog" CJ Zabat, were there to see Shaklee's 16-year-old son, George, who has autism.
They found out about George after reading Shakee's blog, which featured a picture of him dressed up as a giant hot dog, his favorite Halloween costume. The blog's message: don't be judgmental when you see a teenager or adult trick-or-treating.
Kids with disabilities grow to become teenagers and adults. "It was really important just to get the message out saying you may think what he's doing is something for a child, but for him, it's something he enjoys doing," Shaklee said. "Don't be stingy with your Snickers."
For some with disabilities, it can take a lot of work just to get there.
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"Just the act of doing trick-or-treating is something that usually gets practiced at school, is addressed with speech therapy, is addressed with occupational therapy," Shaklee said. "When they can finally master it and do it, I'm not about to tell this kid, no you can't do it anymore."
A Hotdogger alum saw Shaklee's post and passed it along to the top dogs.
"The mission of the Hotdogger program is to drive miles of smiles all along the hot dog highways," Cold Cuts Chloe said in an email. "When we saw that a hot dog fan was in need of an exciting Halloween, we thought our hot dog hot rod could do just the trick (or treat)!"
Shaklee said she was "flabbergasted."
"I've never had emails that came from somebody who had a signature underneath it that said 'Weinermobile coordinator,'" she said.
And when they got there, they gave George a great experience. He "loved it," his mom said.
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"He was thrilled and I almost didn't get him out of the vehicle," Shaklee said. "He was so happy sitting inside the hot dog and then they offered to give him a ride," she said, adding, "he was in heaven. He just loved it."
It's not as comfortable as you may think, Shaklee said, "but it's a Weinermobile so you kind of have to go with it."
With Aerosmith, George's music request, playing inside, the Weinermobile took a drive around Route 35 and 18th Avenue, near the Shaklees' neighborhood.
"It was quite the experience driving down Route 35 and just seeing people literally just stop and turn their heads," Shaklee said.
David P. Willis: dwillis@gannettnj.com
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Wienermobile comes to Wall after mom's post about autism, acceptance and hot dogs - Asbury Park Press
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