Gone

It took me forty years to join the human race. Can you blame me? I was born here. That much is true. I often refer to the story of Superman because I owe so much to my adoptive parents. Still, as much as I don't feel like I'm from around here, I was not actually born on another planet. I used to tell people I was born in Rosedale, Queens. That is where my parents lived when they brought me home. When I was 25, I had to fish out my birth certificate for the DMV to update my license. It said I was born in Buffalo, NY. I had to ask my parents what that was all about. Now, I know that, in December 1978, a young Catholic couple gave me up to a Catholic orphanage for adoption. My parents, who were on a list, were notified. They immediately flew from Queens to Buffalo. They had to answer questions and do paperwork but had to leave without me. The orphanage sent someone to Queens to inspect the house I'd be brought to. Finally, in February of 1979, my parents flew to Buffalo again to bring me home.

Maybe those two months were a head start. I love my parents. I have never been curious about or sought out my birth parents. I used to say my origins are mysterious. You might say I claimed them for myself. Speaking and reading came easily. Not long after I start school, they put me in a program called Gifted & Talented. This seems to trigger a particularly aggressive wave of "What are you going to be when you grow up?" pressure. On some level, I must have sensed that my mind was something of value. It became my cockpit. Instead of taking it in all the directions placed before me, what if I grabbed the controls and never let go? What could I accomplish? It seems I ascended and took my place among the other satellites, unwilling to come down until it was on my terms. See the previous entry, Re-Entry, if you're curious how that went.

I named this post after a U2 song with the refrain: I'm not coming down. That would be roughly the first forty years of my life. Yet, this year I began a one year conservatory program in film and TV producing at New York Film Academy. On the same day, I broke up with my girlfriend. Again, see previous entry. 

Then, see the next entry.