"Having had undiagnosed ADHD until I was in my forties, I look back and marvel that I was so successful in school, was accepted to medical school, completed two residencies (general surgery and plastic surgery), and made it through thirty-five years of practice." Interesting! I suspect I might have received the same diagnosis, had ADHD been on the horizon in the early 1960s. I'm delighted that it wasn't and no one tried to ply me with psychotropic meds.
My parents were told I was "hyperactive". I spent a lot of time in detention for all sorts of things, such getting up in the middle of a class that bored me and going over to the bookshelf in the classroom, pulling out a book, and sitting on the floor to read. I was not purposefully disruptive. My third grade teacher once sent me home after a rock throwing incident- I accidentally hit a girl in the head trying to see how far I could throw a rock. I never dreamed I could throw that far- with a note telling them I would grow up to become a "menace to society". Little did she know how close she came. My youngest, a daughter is a "mini-me" also a physician and as ADHD as they come. She made it through high school with no grade lower than an A ever and missed out on Valedictorian by a fraction of a point to an boy who did nothing but study, while she did competitive dance, soccer, and cross country. All unmedicated.
I wasn't much of a discipline problem. I just had a million interests and bounced a lot among them. Always took on too many things at once--pushing myself hard on them and getting overwhelmed at times. My reading was three to four grades ahead of where I was "supposed" to be, and one elementary school official told my parents "throttle him." The city library refused to allow me to check out books beyond the supposed reach of my calendar age. Fortunately, my parents would have none of this. Mom would check the desired books out on her own card. And I had a few fine teachers who defied the administrators' wishes and let me work independently at my own level. But very early on, a psychologist analyzed me in an attempt to gauge my level of attainment. He perceptively identified my tendency to overwhelm myself by taking on too many challenges at once. (Years later, I came across his report to my parents and I was really impressed by his insights.) I've never really gotten over this impulse to take on too much. I just acquired the discipline necessary to force limits on myself.
Loved "throttle him". Encapsulates the bureaucratic mindset response to overperforming outliers. My parents encouraged me in everything I did. As a boy, I watched an episode of Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges. The next thing, I was out in the yard with an empty Chlorox bottle strapped to my back with one of my Dad's belts, I tied a string to the neck of the bottle and attached a cork to that- my makeshift "regulator. then I filled a pail with water and stuck my head in it. My first SCUBA dive!
And I built tiny rockets made of aluminum foil and match-heads. (They worked surprisingly well.) Parents today would be dragged before Child Protective Services for allowing such a thing. My Dad was a mild-mannered, forgiving man, but he never stopped being pissed of at the "throttle him" comment. I discussed the incredible freedom I enjoyed as a child in "Whence Fall Snowflakes": https://graboyes.substack.com/p/whence-fall-snowflakes. Exploring creeks by myself at age 5, walking alone to school at 6, traveling alone miles on a city bus at 7, biking miles and miles into farmlands at 9, and--being small and nonathletic--teaching myself to fend off bullies. Most of all, endless hours to explore and think.
Two of my current heroes are Bud and Temp Abernathy, whose incredible story I just discovered. Another is Robin Lee Graham, who was profiled in multiple National Geographic magazines as he sailed solo around the world starting at age 16. I was never quite so bold, but I did do a few mildly insane things in my youth, like swimming 3-4 miles into the Gulf Stream from shore towing a small raft to go diving after tropical fish and swimming in a fenced enclosure along shore of the home of a professional shark collector that was filled with sharks up to 6-7 ft, just because. My parents had no clue..............
"Having had undiagnosed ADHD until I was in my forties, I look back and marvel that I was so successful in school, was accepted to medical school, completed two residencies (general surgery and plastic surgery), and made it through thirty-five years of practice." Interesting! I suspect I might have received the same diagnosis, had ADHD been on the horizon in the early 1960s. I'm delighted that it wasn't and no one tried to ply me with psychotropic meds.
Robert,
My parents were told I was "hyperactive". I spent a lot of time in detention for all sorts of things, such getting up in the middle of a class that bored me and going over to the bookshelf in the classroom, pulling out a book, and sitting on the floor to read. I was not purposefully disruptive. My third grade teacher once sent me home after a rock throwing incident- I accidentally hit a girl in the head trying to see how far I could throw a rock. I never dreamed I could throw that far- with a note telling them I would grow up to become a "menace to society". Little did she know how close she came. My youngest, a daughter is a "mini-me" also a physician and as ADHD as they come. She made it through high school with no grade lower than an A ever and missed out on Valedictorian by a fraction of a point to an boy who did nothing but study, while she did competitive dance, soccer, and cross country. All unmedicated.
Rick
I wasn't much of a discipline problem. I just had a million interests and bounced a lot among them. Always took on too many things at once--pushing myself hard on them and getting overwhelmed at times. My reading was three to four grades ahead of where I was "supposed" to be, and one elementary school official told my parents "throttle him." The city library refused to allow me to check out books beyond the supposed reach of my calendar age. Fortunately, my parents would have none of this. Mom would check the desired books out on her own card. And I had a few fine teachers who defied the administrators' wishes and let me work independently at my own level. But very early on, a psychologist analyzed me in an attempt to gauge my level of attainment. He perceptively identified my tendency to overwhelm myself by taking on too many challenges at once. (Years later, I came across his report to my parents and I was really impressed by his insights.) I've never really gotten over this impulse to take on too much. I just acquired the discipline necessary to force limits on myself.
Loved "throttle him". Encapsulates the bureaucratic mindset response to overperforming outliers. My parents encouraged me in everything I did. As a boy, I watched an episode of Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges. The next thing, I was out in the yard with an empty Chlorox bottle strapped to my back with one of my Dad's belts, I tied a string to the neck of the bottle and attached a cork to that- my makeshift "regulator. then I filled a pail with water and stuck my head in it. My first SCUBA dive!
And I built tiny rockets made of aluminum foil and match-heads. (They worked surprisingly well.) Parents today would be dragged before Child Protective Services for allowing such a thing. My Dad was a mild-mannered, forgiving man, but he never stopped being pissed of at the "throttle him" comment. I discussed the incredible freedom I enjoyed as a child in "Whence Fall Snowflakes": https://graboyes.substack.com/p/whence-fall-snowflakes. Exploring creeks by myself at age 5, walking alone to school at 6, traveling alone miles on a city bus at 7, biking miles and miles into farmlands at 9, and--being small and nonathletic--teaching myself to fend off bullies. Most of all, endless hours to explore and think.
Two of my current heroes are Bud and Temp Abernathy, whose incredible story I just discovered. Another is Robin Lee Graham, who was profiled in multiple National Geographic magazines as he sailed solo around the world starting at age 16. I was never quite so bold, but I did do a few mildly insane things in my youth, like swimming 3-4 miles into the Gulf Stream from shore towing a small raft to go diving after tropical fish and swimming in a fenced enclosure along shore of the home of a professional shark collector that was filled with sharks up to 6-7 ft, just because. My parents had no clue..............
I just ordered the Kindle version. Will start reading it on the subway ride home tonight.
Love it! Let me know what you think. Rick