Sunday, February 20, 2011

as i was scanning the obits this morning-yeah-i do that- i noticed a familiar name- this man had grown up around the corner from me- we were almost exactly 1 month apart in age. my birthday is mid-jan. his was mid feb. he had just turned 59. his older sister used to walk me to grade school when i was in 1st and 2nd grade so i would walk around the corner to her house and wait while her family finished up breakfast.

i saw mark every day but never spoke with him. he had down's syndrome. back in the 50's. he was called a mongoloid, still. he was raised at home and rarely left until both of his parents passed and mark was an adult.

odd how 2 lives separated by 1 month and 1 block could be so different and yet i have a defect of the 17th chromosome and he had a defect on another.

                     R.I.P. Markie. i will always remember you as a child playing at being batman in your yard.

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