“I have two sisters--Sarah is 16 and Emily is 17. My sisters drive. Sometimes they take me out to lunch or shopping. I have a sleepover tonight with my big sister Sarah in her room. Every Friday night, we have a sleepover. We watch movies, pop popcorn, and eat it. I love my sisters because they make me laugh.”

Photo credit: Emily Ruth Photography

“I’ve worked at the cafeteria at North Central College for three years. I clean the tables and put things away. I like it because I get to spend a lot of time talking with the football players. The football coach gave me a pass to go to the football and basketball games for free. I get free food too! I wish I could go to every home game. I like to sit with the older football players. I have a friend from high school who went to North Central, and he still comes to some of the games. Sometimes we sit together.

“In my free time, I like to go to the library. I check out CDs and books. My favorite books are the Chronicles of Narnia. I also like to check out cookbooks, and then we make the recipes at home. My favorite things to make are spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, and pasta with shrimp . . . that’s really good!

“I also like to sing and play guitar. My favorite artist is Chris Tomlin. I like all of his songs. We go to a Joni and Friends camp every year in Muskegon, Michigan, and I always do their talent show. One of the songs I perform sometimes is, 'Good Good Father.'

“I have a new guitar. My oldest brother Steve let me have one of his, so now I have three guitars.  Every Sunday, we go to College Church in Wheaton. They have big bulletins, and they put the songs in them. I keep them and I’ve made a book out of them. Then every time we go to Florida (when we go on vacation), I put each verse of the songs into a PowerPoint page. I probably have 100 to 125 songs on PowerPoint now.

“On my days off, I was planning my wedding. But I don’t have a girlfriend yet, so I’m just planning right now—mostly all the songs. It will be Christian songs, like 'O Worship the King,' and 'In Christ Alone.'"

"Trick-or-Treat!"

What do you like best about Halloween? "Treats!"

What are a few of your favorite things? "Swimming and swinging."

Tim owned Tim’s Place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from 2010 until December of 2015. Known as the “world’s friendliest restaurant,” Tim’s Place featured a special, the Tim Hug, guaranteed to “improve your lease on life,” according to the menu. The restaurant also featured a counter that kept track of the number of hugs Tim gave out.

You were one of the first men with Down syndrome to own a restaurant. What do you want to say to young people with Down syndrome everywhere about achieving their dreams? “My answer has to be I want people with special needs to dream big and live independently just like I have.  I also would tell them, ‘Believe in other people and yourself!’”

What were the best and most challenging aspects of owning your restaurant, and who was your most memorable guest? “The best part of owning my own restaurant was meeting the people who came in through the front door. I made them feel welcomed and loved. On my YouTube video, it shows that I gave 75,402 hugs!

“The biggest challenge was trying to answer the phone and greet people at the same time.”

“One of the people I remember most was the musician Aloe Blacc, who came to the restaurant because we did things for Special Olympics. He came out to support the World Games. He’s famous and he took time to came out to support Special Olympics.”

Why did you start Tim’s Big Heart Foundation and what do you hope to achieve? “I started my foundation so we can help empower and motivate people with special needs to dream big and live independently and break down barriers.

“I do about 30 to 40 speeches a year, and I’m still traveling a lot more. I’ve traveled around the country, and the world—to Mexico, Brazil, Canada, and the White House.

“I’ve done lots of TV interviews and been on talk shows. I got asked to go to New York City and be on The View with Whoopi Goldberg and Jenny McCarthy. I also got asked to talk about my life and my restaurant on a talk show in Brazil. I travel with my life coach—she travels with me a lot. This year, I’ll be going to Mexico twice to speak.

“The CEO of Special Olympics also invited me to a State Dinner with President Obama. I asked my mom and dad to come with me. I shook the President’s hand and gave him a hug. That was a special moment right there. Oh yeah!” [Check out the video:  >>President Obama gets a hug from Tim <<]

[This is Part 1 of our interview. Watch for more next week.]

Favorite joke? Will: “What’s the difference between curtains and toilet paper?”        (Sam: I don’t know.) Will: “Then don’t go at my house.”

How was Homecoming?  "I asked Katie to go with me. We went to a restaurant at Arrowhead, and then we went to the dance with a big group of people. It was fun. I loved the music, food, and drinks. Next year, I’ll ask my friend Kimmy."

Dream vacation? "I would like to go to Ireland because I am Irish. I might be wearing green." 

Person you admire? "Blake Shelton, because I like his country music, and his songs. I also like his voice, and I like him on The Voice."

Most memorable trip? "I think California. I went with my dad. We did some business stuff, and sometimes we do epic stuff. I liked the food and drinks, especially In-N-Out Burger."

Favorite movie? "I like Angry Birds. It’s a fowl movie."

 

 

“I used to take piano, but now I play the bass. It’s tricky to play, because you know how that feels when your pinky gets really tired? I like playing in the orchestra at school because I like to play instruments.

“I’ve been riding horses a long time . . . since I was three or four. I go to a place where there’s a house and there’s a barn where the horses live.  The horses' names are Bella, Cody, and Tally. Fallon died. I like Bella best because she’s a Quarter Horse. She’s smaller. I can get off her all by myself, with no help from anyone!”

"In my free time, I like to be with my friends and family. I like listening to music, watching TV, going on my phone, and doing stuff with my brother, Matthew. We have two cats named Jack and Steve. I also like playing with the cats.

“Someday I'd like to have a job working around animals, maybe a veterinarian helper, because I really like cats and dogs. I’d like to go to college and have my own apartment, and I would like to have a dog named Lily.” 

"Tonight I'm going out to dinner with my friends. Then we're going to come back to my house to watch a movie. We've been friends like, forever. We're going to have so much fun. It's really important to have friends so you can be nice to one another, love them, and be who you are. My friends are good to me.

"Friends make you feel, deep down inside of you, like an angel's voice--like someone is calling your name."