When our family went to visit Willowbrook, we would take him to nearby Al Deppe’s, a souped-up hot dog stand, somewhere on Victory Boulevard. My brother Dave and I played Ski-Ball and marveled at the piano-violin machine that would play duets at the drop of a quarter. I was always wary because I never knew […]
My brother Mike went away to Willowbrook, a large mental institution (6000 residents) on Staten Island in New York State, USA. If you search for ‘Willowbrook’ and ‘atrocities’ on the internet, you will get more than 45,000 hits. The horrors were exposed in 1972 after which, New York State took actions that addressed the conditions. […]
I guess Dad took this picture. I am the one on the right, Dave, my little brother is on Mom’s right, and Mike is to the far left, in the photo. Not sure why Dad only got half of him. Mom looks utterly exhausted. I think I took the picture of the three pumpkins, with […]
I haven’t seen this photo in many years. It’s nice to have a memory of Mike* seeming to enjoy himself. I can imagine that we interacted. *Mike was my older brother, autistic, low functioning and nonverbal. He passed away last month.
