Family pictures from one’s own childhood are tricky. The pictures of ourselves before we had the ability to form memories are useful only to the extent that we can say, “I have my father’s eyes,” or “I look just like my mother.” But in general, this is for others to say. What about family snapshots […]
I came across some thoughts I wrote down a number of years ago. They are amazingly consistent with thoughts I have today, about the possibility of reaching out to my older brother and actually communicating. Mike is my older brother, who is autistic, low functioning and nonverbal. June 19, 2001 I’m sitting in Mike’s room […]
I am trying to understand what it was like in the 1950s for families who had severely mentally ill members to take care of. My family was among that number. I can speak for my own experience as a younger sibling, as my older brother Michael, was very low functioning, autistic and nonverbal. He was […]
Why throw away interesting stuff? In preparing to move, I am sorting out my stuff. I always save little tidbits of interesting items. For instance, there was a short article about some man who just won a settlement against a tattoo parlor. The tattoo depicted a man stabbing someone in the back with a knife, […]
Attention There are many factors that figure into the calculation of attention in a family. All other things being equal (which is probably a rare occasion), in families with more than one child, birth order plays a big role. When children are not separated by many years, sibling rivalry sets up a dynamic among the […]
As I mentioned previously, Mom remembered that Michael, my older autistic brother was at the Bronx Developmental Center for a little while in the mid to late 1950s. She would schlep there twice a day, once to drop him off and then to pick him up. The ‘state of the art’ thinking of the medical […]
It is getting harder and harder for me to be an existentialist these days. My wife and I are trying to pack up and move halfway across the country, and I am trying desperately to let go of things I don’t need and will probably never need. There’s the rub: ‘things I will probably never […]
I’m so glad that I can still talk with Mom. Even though we are on different coasts, I can still ask her about things in my childhood. She and I are practically the only ones left who have first-hand knowledge about those times. Over the years I’ve bombarded her with many questions about Michael, my […]
I’ve been watching some videos that I took years ago of my brother Michael and me. Mike is my older brother, who is low functioning, autistic and nonverbal. For me, an ongoing issue is whether my memory is faithful to actual events. It is important to me, although I’m not sure why. The videos refresh […]
I mentioned my photography exhibition about my brother Michael, in my post, Review of Photo Show. I attended a talk given by Temple Grandin in New York City at the same time my show was open and was lucky enough to meet her. I spoke with her and gave her the announcement of my show. […]
