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Poem
Remembering the frantic little boy with strawberry blond hair who didn't say boo

Nonverbal (though he could talk)
most of his responses
happened to be witnessed
as his characteristic
and courtesy enigmatic
trademark shoulder shrug.

If born free and clear today
skilled professional diagnosticians
employed within the mental health field,
would probably unanimously agree
he met criteria
as high functioning autistic spectrum
predicated upon withdrawn
and introverted behavior classic indications
after observing him in the classroom
just another brick in the wall.

As a baby boomer gifted with mental block,
versus my younger sister,
who experienced blessed with smarts,
(she enrolled in the equivalent
of advanced placement courses
throughout her 1979
senior year at Methacton High School)
as an exceptionally smart kiddo
in retrospect, I on the other hand
would designate myself
at the other end of the scale,
nevertheless few and far between
alternative options existed
for the girl or boy who exhibited
an evident struggle
(case in point yours truly)
difficulty comprehending, taking notes,
and effective time management,
to identify a few helpful skills
to succeed at established curriculum,
hence the opportunity
other than Saint Gabriels,
located in Audubon, Pennsylvania,
a residential program for male youth,
which closed in October 2020
housing those being
designated incorrigible and truant
subsequently relegated
as lumpenproletariat,
progressive ideas as alternative
to traditional teaching and learning paradigm
such as being homeschooled did not exist,
but among those deemed functional
with potential receptivity for learning
special ed students held singular option
a collective term fostering a stigma
instructing those described
as developmentally delayed, id est
cognitively, intellectually,

or organically challenged,
thus public, parochial, or Quakers,
also known as the
Religious Society of Friends school
only choices available to parents
or legal caretakers responsible
for the welfare of a minor existed,
hence Matthew Scott Harris suffered brickbats
when boarding the bus, sitting stock till
at assigned child unfriendly desk

to skadaddle under
when getting drilled with duck and cover
a civil defense measure,
primarily associated with the Cold War,
designed to protect individuals
from the effects of a nuclear explosion
involving quickly dropping to the ground
and shielding one's head and neck,
ideally under a sturdy object
like a desk or table.

The phrase also refers
to the drills and educational films
used to teach this technique
to schoolchildren and the general public.

How farcical and laughable 
to maintain a ridiculous premise 
believing humans to be indomitable 
that by taking shelter under cover 
of a measly solid object
he/she would be free of radiation sickness
proffering a false sense of security
in the event of unleashed atomic bombs
one would be safe and secure
from the fallout after a nuclear explosion 
releases various types of radiation, 
including gamma rays, neutrons, 
and ionizing radiation  
emitted both during the initial detonation 
(prompt radiation) 
and as residual radiation 
from radioactive fallout.
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