the happy ending...
i just read a book called petey. it is a story about two boys. petey and trevor.
petey was born with cerebral palsy in the 20's and misdiagnosed as an 'idiot'. he grew up in a mental institution. unable to communicate the growing thoughts in his 'deformed and twisted' body, he came to mark time as patterns of light from his locked crib. seasons passed. years passed.
because people didn't know that his mind was developing while his body was spastic and his tongue could not form words, they did not treat him as a person, but as an incoherant ward to change and feed. he had not even been outdoors since he was left at the institution. despite his mother's urgent attempts to live with his condition, he was committed to the state at the age of two. he spent nine years inside, not seeing the trees, not smelling anything but excrement and lye.
the book follows his life thru people who care for him and notice his spark of life. it starts with a bit of chocolate or a toy gun. a tender worker builds a relationship and can communicate with him. always they leave. he has no family.
it is important to note that throughout the narrative, petey is joyous. tho he goes thru his periods of depression and feels exceedingly vulnerable to a distant world that controls him when he cannot control himself, he is celebratory of the many small experiences he has. they accumulate in his vast sensory recollection and in his shoe box of belongings.
trevor is a young boy in a new school. he saves petey from bullies pelting his wheelchair with snowballs, and petey decides trevor will be his friend. trevor goes thru the horror of seeing petey, and reacts as most people do upon first meeting him, but comes to understand him thru the help of a caring nurse.
the two end as grandfather and grandson in the hospital where petey will soon pass
on. trevor's family is reunited after overworking and neglecting his feelings, and one is left with tears brimming.
one is left with the question however, "if petey can do this why can't i?". the grotesquerie of his features and lot seem to magnify his bliss at any positive experience. he is a fully present and sensing being. he is also completely compassionate.
the descriptions of his first trip to the grocery store at eighty, as he asks what everything is since he has never seen any of these objects before, are exquisite. he is delighted by everything.
he is selfless, devoted to his friends despite distance and time, and infuses everyone around him with vitality that speaks wisdom and kindness thru the eyes.
he is forced to contemplate. to just be and sense. and he is helpless without constant watch, yet so strong in soul. trevor is also a positive force to be reckoned with.
after taking petey out on many occassions having to bring duct tape to keep his wheelchair together, trevor is determined to get him a new one.
the cost is three thousand dollars.
trevor is only a boy on a bike, but he collects coffee cans and puts them up in local shops with petey's picture for donations, he goes to the paper and they write a story about his life, and finally he convinces the medical company to take only two thousand dollars because of the tremendous effort the whole community has put forth, and petey gets his new chair.
i don't have a lot of time to read. having a bookshop, you'd think it would be natural, but i only piece thru everything, never finishing. (not since the deluge of grad school anyway)... and this book was just great.
it is for ages 10 and up, so the print is really big, and it feels a little silly reading a kids book on the bus, but i didn't care.
i feel like reading rainbow...
...pretty rad...
love&noise
petey was born with cerebral palsy in the 20's and misdiagnosed as an 'idiot'. he grew up in a mental institution. unable to communicate the growing thoughts in his 'deformed and twisted' body, he came to mark time as patterns of light from his locked crib. seasons passed. years passed.
because people didn't know that his mind was developing while his body was spastic and his tongue could not form words, they did not treat him as a person, but as an incoherant ward to change and feed. he had not even been outdoors since he was left at the institution. despite his mother's urgent attempts to live with his condition, he was committed to the state at the age of two. he spent nine years inside, not seeing the trees, not smelling anything but excrement and lye.
the book follows his life thru people who care for him and notice his spark of life. it starts with a bit of chocolate or a toy gun. a tender worker builds a relationship and can communicate with him. always they leave. he has no family.
it is important to note that throughout the narrative, petey is joyous. tho he goes thru his periods of depression and feels exceedingly vulnerable to a distant world that controls him when he cannot control himself, he is celebratory of the many small experiences he has. they accumulate in his vast sensory recollection and in his shoe box of belongings.
trevor is a young boy in a new school. he saves petey from bullies pelting his wheelchair with snowballs, and petey decides trevor will be his friend. trevor goes thru the horror of seeing petey, and reacts as most people do upon first meeting him, but comes to understand him thru the help of a caring nurse.
the two end as grandfather and grandson in the hospital where petey will soon pass
on. trevor's family is reunited after overworking and neglecting his feelings, and one is left with tears brimming.
one is left with the question however, "if petey can do this why can't i?". the grotesquerie of his features and lot seem to magnify his bliss at any positive experience. he is a fully present and sensing being. he is also completely compassionate.
the descriptions of his first trip to the grocery store at eighty, as he asks what everything is since he has never seen any of these objects before, are exquisite. he is delighted by everything.
he is selfless, devoted to his friends despite distance and time, and infuses everyone around him with vitality that speaks wisdom and kindness thru the eyes.
he is forced to contemplate. to just be and sense. and he is helpless without constant watch, yet so strong in soul. trevor is also a positive force to be reckoned with.
after taking petey out on many occassions having to bring duct tape to keep his wheelchair together, trevor is determined to get him a new one.
the cost is three thousand dollars.
trevor is only a boy on a bike, but he collects coffee cans and puts them up in local shops with petey's picture for donations, he goes to the paper and they write a story about his life, and finally he convinces the medical company to take only two thousand dollars because of the tremendous effort the whole community has put forth, and petey gets his new chair.
i don't have a lot of time to read. having a bookshop, you'd think it would be natural, but i only piece thru everything, never finishing. (not since the deluge of grad school anyway)... and this book was just great.
it is for ages 10 and up, so the print is really big, and it feels a little silly reading a kids book on the bus, but i didn't care.
i feel like reading rainbow...
...pretty rad...
love&noise
posted by polychrome at 9:58 AM
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