Brooklyn Daily Eagle was a paper in New York around the turn of the century. Reading through the archives is fascinating. Growing up in the shadows of Gotham, I was always struck by the bit and pieces of old New York that survive to this day. Street signs in Staten Island from the 1920's. Mile markers in Brooklyn and Queens from the 30's and 40's. Manhole covers in Manhattan that had their dates worn smooth by a billion footsteps. It's all there, layer upon layer. Build and destroyed and built again. Like Shiva's own personal playground.
So....the autism thing
Since April is nearly over and it's autism awareness month, I suppose I should talk a bit about it. I guess the best way to start is to rehash the story of How I Got Here. My oldest was born in 1999. Healthy, happy and so on. One peculiar thing he did as an infant was to avoid eye contact. Our doctor assured us it was because he was so young and his eyesight was undeveloped and he was probably focusing on something in the background that was more interesting. Besides, babies don't recognize faces for a few months after birth. Only later did we find out that our doctor was an idiot. He was 16 mos. old when his little brother was born and he was walking and making wishes known by pulling me or my wife by the hand to whatever he wanted etc. He was fascinated with the wheels on toys. If you gave him a truck he'd turn it over and spin the wheels and smile. Only later would I find out this is a major warning sign. This was our first born and what the hell did I know? ...
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