Retarded people seem happy to me in spite of their handicaps. I have always been intrigued by the fact that retarded people seem happier than people of average intelligence. Their state of mind is reflected in their appearance. The rigors of stress will show up in the faces of most people, but retarded people retain a more youthful appearance, in many cases.
I have had some limited contact with those who have mental handicaps. I remember a family in the suburb in which I grew up who had three good looking kids. The older boy and girl were both honor students in high school; the youngest son was retarded, however. Tom, who had a mental handicap, was retarded in speech and action. He stuttered and would always repeat the same thing every time he saw you. If he came to associate a particular thing with you, he would always ask you about that thing. For instance, every time he saw me he would ask what I was going to eat for dinner.
Tom was always smiling and always cracking what he considered to be practical jokes. He was very likeable for this reason alone. People generally got along well with Tom, and I think it was because his older brother and sister were popular. The family was very protective of him, and he was just expected to fit into the community, given his limited abilities.
In high school I knew a guy named Ron who was retarded. He was unkempt and strange acting, and appeared somewhat menacing. He was sort of the opposite of Tom in terms of appearance. Ron also had a physical handicap (perhaps cerebral palsy). His spine was somewhat deformed, and he was quite tall. These attributes gave him an awkward, hunched over appearance, especially when walking. I can remember not wanting to sit by Ron, but he was in two of my classes, and I was one of the few people who would talk to him like an average person. Needless to say, he was the brunt of many jokes. One of the students in our class followed Ron...