Lost little kid
Friday, 20 March, 2009
An interesting little email exchange that got me a little choked up today.
Sam: “I had a strange question, but the whole umbilical cord story at my birth, is that true? How about my memorizing of license plates? I always accepted them, but then realized maybe you or mom were just propagating some myth about me… I hate to sound so cynical or revisionist, but in recent years mom has come up with some weird stuff about me…”
Pops: “yes, the story of the umbilical cord is true. i was there for the whole thing. it was an experience to remember. the memorizing license plates was one of my favorite memories of you as a small child. you were so amazing as a small child. there was no reason to exaggerate. there are a lot of other stories about you just as interesting. i don’t know if i’ve ever really sat down with and told you all i remember about you when you were small. it makes for some interesting stories.”
What ever happened to that boy? Somewhere in here still, I hope.
Saturday, 21 March, 2009 at 7:29
Hi Sam.
I would be interested in hearing the umbilical story if you feel inclined to write it.
It is interesting you wrote this dialogue between you and your dad… I just wrote a paper for school that discussed personal memory versus family mythology in relation to my childhood. Impactful what turns out to be true.
Hope you are well.
Liesl
Saturday, 21 March, 2009 at 13:42
It’s nothing terribly special, just how my umbilical cord got wrapped around my neck at birth, and they couldn’t get it untangled, so I started to turn blue, of course. Finally they were able to snip it off. I’ve always joked that that oxygen deprivation is what made me the way I am, at first, self-effacingly, now I’m grateful for it. Who knows who I might have become?
You just wrote something on it? Incredible. I’m not saying it matters if it turned out to be untrue, I am who I am now, but a lot of those little stories about Sam the nerd are what got me to Keystone, indirectly.
This is also partially a call back to one of my more recent whiny posts about how people like to stigmatize ourselves or our group as being quirky or different. I despise self-pity, but I was mostly having a sort-of moment of self-doubt. If I was allegedly an amazing child, I like to think that magic is not completely gone.