Booya-a-h-h!
by ;Rhoade
(for Tony and George)
I've met these autistic teenage boys who can't add seven plus three,
yet
can instantly pull up scenes from the Silver Screen
and t.v. reruns from the Sixties.
Anthony does Emperor's New Groove.
"Booya-a-h-h!!"
Jorge reclaims Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
I ask someone to do Casablanca,
Peter Lorre's incantation joins us in the classroom: "Ree-e-e-k!
I de-e-e-dn't do it! Don't let them take me away! Ree-e-e-k!!! "
Same with Stan Laurel and Chevy Chase.
Even Joe E. Brown whimpers and sobs on demand.
Not to mention the likenesses of Red Skelton and Deputy Dawg.
"Hey, Jorge, there's no way you remember the robot on 'Lost In Space'"
He retorts, "Warning! Warning! Warning!
Young Will Robinson, alien beings in vicinity! Warning!!!"
After several more "Skipper! Professor!!!"-s, "I can't believe I ate
the whole thing"-s,
and "Sock it to me"-s I'm going stir crazy.
It's an amazing resource, this photographic memory of theirs.
They cannot ever even work at a Seven-Eleven store,
but freelancing as consultants for the
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is within
the realm of possibility.
They don't do serious adult drama: no David Mamet.
Lilly Tomlin, yes, Ruth Buzzie, no problem.
They also don't do Isaac Newton or Descartes or even Romper Room Buzzie Bee yet.
That's arithmetic and math-lese is Greek to them.
How does the human mind internally regulate--how does it
encode--the stimuli bombarding it?
George has a possible solution to my query:
"Do not attempt to adjust your television set.
We are in control..."
