WelcomeThe parents I needed but did not have
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The picture above is a 12 year old Ukraine boy who after a Russian missile strike, "had managed to escape his mangled apartment by climbing out a window and scrambling down the building's facade with the help of bystanders. But in the confusion, he had been unable to locate his white cat, Belyash. "I was more frightened for my cat," he said.And so firefighters once again climbed into the building as Rostyslav, his mother, Nadiia, and a small crowd of onlookers gathered in the darkness below. After about 20 minutes, a firefighter emerged from the kitchen window, a red and white cat carrier in hand. Inside, was a dirty and frightened Belyash. "We're going home," said Rostyslav, peering into the carrier when at last he and his pet were reunited. " Not this home, of course, but everything will be OK." (NYT, "One Saturday in Dnipro, When a Russian Missile Shattered Lives", +2023.01.21, Michael Schwirtz)
I never had a home. Domicilage, yes. When I was maybe 7 years old we actually had a pet cat for a few weeks but I cannot remember anything about the cat although I do have one [hotograph of me holding the cat so I must have done that. Posing for my parents to take a picture of me. Potemkin child. Potemkin parents. Potemkin world. As Donald Trump and Mr. Zelensky have said abou bad things for which they did not assume responsibility: It was what it was.
Here I will fantasize the childhood I did not have. Not the one I really should have had, being the child of someone such as Edmund Husserl or George Steiner, but something at least economically and biologically even if not sociologically possible. America grossly failed my parents and by transitivity they failed me. So let me imagine a better country.
Once I compained tha tI wasnted a model remote controlled model airplane with a gasoline engine. I should never have got to taht point but let's start rewriting my childhood there. Parent:" Brad, we know you see expensive things you would like but we don't hav ea lot of money, so we can't buy you those things. And they wouldn't really make you happy anyway. But we do ahv eto give you is our genuine affetion and protection from the world which doesn't understand a sensitive child like you. You don't really want a remote contro model airplane. Here's what will give you some real pleasure: a pet cat. The cat will play with you and help you be less lonely because ther are no children for you to play with. Well, maybe one exception we've found and we'll see if yo might like to play toger=ther. She has only one eye and so her parents need to protet her form other children ike we need to protedt you. But back to the cat. You can pet and hold the cat. You will hvae to take care if him, feed him and clean his litter box. But he will be with you all the time whenever you are home. You will nnver be alone.
You don't belong wher we live but we aren't rich so ther is nothing we can do abou tthat. but we see you are traumatized by haircuts. Most boys don't mind it or they like it but you don't. You hav eto undertans, wa live in a country wher you are not allowed to have the hair on your head. It's a very bad country. So we have no choice but to have you put up wtih haircuts. But what w can do is do it as seldom as possible and instruct the bargber to do it as quivk and as little a possible. As little sufferig for you as possible.
Wasted life
You go from day to day and ther is nothing that has enough value for you to remember except for thing sthat hurt you and then you remember their negative value. Let's see if we can find things for you to do to make your days memorable in a positive way. It's not a matter of money. It's finding things that appeal to you, and what we like or at least accept does not work for you. We an't stop you from being tsted and graded in school. We don't hav et=money for a private tutor, but we will talk with them and trry to get them to work out a speciap program to meet your needs. But, at home here. Just playing with the cat maybe meaningful to you, but we undertnd hat you don't really even imagine anytihng can appel to you. At leat remember and keep in mind that we have taken note of how what we do doe not do much for you, just to you. That's something. Know that things should be better. Keep that in mind.
 Unfortunate for themself, the person who lacks one; unfortunate for others, the person that is one. Don't be an a**hole! |
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