Stuck In Neutral

Shawn introduces himself, saying his situation is like a good news-bad news joke. The good news: he loves everything about living in Seattle, including the rain and being close to the science center and sports arenas as well as living in the “former unofficial Grunge Capital of the universe” (1-2). He can also remember everything he hears perfectly with total recall, which he believes no one else can do.

Shawn remembers his gift starting when he was three or four—at first only bits and pieces—but by the time he was five “everything I heard just stayed in my head” (2). He remembers strangers’ conversations and the sounds of the outside world intertwined like a tape recorder. He thinks it is pretty incredible, although he does not want to sound arrogant. He thinks about how he doesn’t like it when people talk about other people being special; he believes that everyone is special, but that everyone also has bad parts about themselves, too.

Shawn remembers how his dad left because he couldn’t handle Shawn’s condition: “Everybody who knows me…anybody who even gets near me would tell you I’m dumb as a rock” (4). Shawn talks about the school tests he must endure, which he can’t complete; every year, the shrink tells his mom he has the mental capacity of a 3-month-old child.