Discussion Forum (Archived)
Guest
My family tells me I was a late talker, not because I was slow but out of laziness, uh, conservation of energy. My big brother was 2 years older than I and would ask for a cookie - and one for Mary. It took a while to realize I wasn't talking. A favorite family story is that I was at Grandma's house and asked for a "nummer-nummer". Of course everyone knew what I meant but Grandma decided not to go along and asked what on earth a "nummer'nummer" was and I answered plainly "a drink of water". She said from then on when I was at her house and wanted a drink of water that is what I should ask for. So I did.
I'll bet there are many stories out there about late talkers, even some that occur here in the 21st century. My husband was born in 1955 (the Dark Ages, right?). When he didn't speak, the whole family started thinking he was mentally retarded. Except my mother-in-law, of course. A mom knows these things. He spent many hours perusing National Geographic, of which he is still a big fan. Finally, at the age of five, he had tonsils and adenoids removed, and BINGO! He started to speak at last. Whew! He's still the quiet type, though. Ironically, given this history, his sister's eldest child has a similar story. They always thought she was slightly "dim". As tots, she and her sisters has repeated ear infections, and always had tubes in their ears. Even with THAT history, it took until her late teens to discover that a simple surgery could and did completely restore her hearing. Now she is a HUGE success in life, and this is a cautionary tale worthy of passing on. It did not occur in some dark little backwater, but rather in a major and prosperous metropolitan area of California.
I don't know if the story about little Albert Einstein complaining about the soup is true, but it makes a nice verbal bookend to go with the one about the last time he spoke. Seems that just before Einstein died, he said something in German, but the nurse who was the only other person in the room didn't speak German, so now nobody knows what Einstein's last words were.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
1 Guest(s)