"Stones of Antiquity" for listening. “One Man, Two Graves,” “Queen of the Street,” “Apartment of the Damned,” “Urban Python,” “An American in Almaty,” and “Songs in Sequence” for reading.
Regarding your trip to Kazakhstan, some years ago I took a class in Interpersonal Communication at Ivy Tech. One of the things taught in that class was that "eye contact" is not a universal value. It's a Western custom. Some cultures are actually offended by it.
That idea was of interest to me. I'm on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. And one of the things we are known for is not making eye contact. I do it sometimes, but I had to learn the custom, and I still sometimes forget.
BTW, the "epidemic" of autism you hear talked about--the cause is that they are finally looking for us. When I was growing up, in the 1950s and '60s, no one was looking for us at all. I never even heard of Asperger's Syndrome until I was 55. It was like the lights coming on for a lot of things in my life, both in childhood and as an adult. Now, I have ten grandchildren, ranging in age from 8 to 24. All of them have been diagnosed. Why do we have so many? We've figured out that we have been marrying others on the spectrum for at least 3 generations. It may go back farther, but we don't know enough about the behavior of the earlier generations to be sure.
Thank you for introducing me to Lance Hayward. What a talent. Your story about the Queen of Sheba also strikes a vibrant chord for me. I have always marveled at the musical talent I've been blessed to hear in my travels, coming from people whose names will never be known, by quirk of fate or fortune. I would love to hear your three pieces performed with choir and orchestra. 😊
Another fine essay (or more properly 'essays'), Professor Graboyes. Of course just as I wrote that sentence I realized it is not 'another,' but 'a previous'. But you enjoy time warps, don't you?
I find it somewhat revealing that Lance Hayward understood racial discrimination, but as a blind person could not see what he was experiencing so presumably had to intuit the experience. So many inferences to be drawn from that. . .
I enjoyed your stories. And if you don't mind I can add another NYC story. There used to be a man hanging around midtown in the 40's or 50's about 1980 who used to wear a Viking helmet.2 horns and everything. Possibly a cape I read later on that he was deaf.
A comment about eye contact. Many years ago (1964) I worked as a counselor in a juvenile facility (pre-detention camp) in the mountains above LA County. Lots of young Black and Latino gang members who were waiting to see if they would move to a residential facility or could return to their community. One of my fellow counselors took me aside early in my time there and told me to observe how different youngsters used eye contact. I did, and noticed that Black detainees looked at the person they were communicating with when the other party was talking, but did not make eye contact when they were talking. Something about threat or challenge posture, but it was the opposite of the way I used eye contact. I tried it myself and it seemed to work well. Other ethnic group members did not have the same custom.
Regarding your trip to Kazakhstan, some years ago I took a class in Interpersonal Communication at Ivy Tech. One of the things taught in that class was that "eye contact" is not a universal value. It's a Western custom. Some cultures are actually offended by it.
That idea was of interest to me. I'm on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. And one of the things we are known for is not making eye contact. I do it sometimes, but I had to learn the custom, and I still sometimes forget.
BTW, the "epidemic" of autism you hear talked about--the cause is that they are finally looking for us. When I was growing up, in the 1950s and '60s, no one was looking for us at all. I never even heard of Asperger's Syndrome until I was 55. It was like the lights coming on for a lot of things in my life, both in childhood and as an adult. Now, I have ten grandchildren, ranging in age from 8 to 24. All of them have been diagnosed. Why do we have so many? We've figured out that we have been marrying others on the spectrum for at least 3 generations. It may go back farther, but we don't know enough about the behavior of the earlier generations to be sure.
Thank you for introducing me to Lance Hayward. What a talent. Your story about the Queen of Sheba also strikes a vibrant chord for me. I have always marveled at the musical talent I've been blessed to hear in my travels, coming from people whose names will never be known, by quirk of fate or fortune. I would love to hear your three pieces performed with choir and orchestra. 😊
Another fine essay (or more properly 'essays'), Professor Graboyes. Of course just as I wrote that sentence I realized it is not 'another,' but 'a previous'. But you enjoy time warps, don't you?
I find it somewhat revealing that Lance Hayward understood racial discrimination, but as a blind person could not see what he was experiencing so presumably had to intuit the experience. So many inferences to be drawn from that. . .
I enjoyed your stories. And if you don't mind I can add another NYC story. There used to be a man hanging around midtown in the 40's or 50's about 1980 who used to wear a Viking helmet.2 horns and everything. Possibly a cape I read later on that he was deaf.
Another great read for a Sunday afternoon and further proof of your amazing network. Alana’s painting is wonderful as well. You make a great team.
A comment about eye contact. Many years ago (1964) I worked as a counselor in a juvenile facility (pre-detention camp) in the mountains above LA County. Lots of young Black and Latino gang members who were waiting to see if they would move to a residential facility or could return to their community. One of my fellow counselors took me aside early in my time there and told me to observe how different youngsters used eye contact. I did, and noticed that Black detainees looked at the person they were communicating with when the other party was talking, but did not make eye contact when they were talking. Something about threat or challenge posture, but it was the opposite of the way I used eye contact. I tried it myself and it seemed to work well. Other ethnic group members did not have the same custom.