I.
This writing is true. Here the author records what he knows to be so. He has not added to or subtracted from a straightforward account of events as they transpired. For example, the day when the baby was born was indeed unusually hot for early May. Two weeks earlier, an unusual chill had brought some lake-effect flurries to the neighborhood. Now, the day started warm and close. The sky was clear of clouds and metallic with humidity. The heat affected the neighborhood, but was not noticed by the new mother, whose pain and contractions distracted her from the delivery room's cool or indeed from anything else. The baby weighed eight pounds twelve ounces. Or it might have been ten ounces. The new mom was relieved to be on the other side of labor. The baby reminded her of her father. The obstetrician confirmed a high Apgar score.
II.
You don't know what you're talking about. Everything you have written in "I." is a fabrication. There was never such a mom, nor such a day, nor was any such baby born either at eight pounds twelve ounces or eight pounds ten ounces. The mother, had she existed, would not have been relieved following the birth. She surely would have had an intimation of what the future would bring such a child. After investing so much in his growth and education for so many years, a fluke would bring his life to an end. She would grieve beyond the month of mourning, beyond a year. Why would God take him back so young? Would that he never have been born. Better not to dwell on his birth. You should not write such things.
III.
I see a boy of ten or eleven riding down the sidewalk on his Segway. He squeezes his knees, changes the angle of his feet, or leans backward to control it. He is not wearing a helmet. At the end of the block, he crosses the street and then rides westward. I think, he could get killed. I recall seeing a boy riding a similar device a few years ago. He rode through an intersection without stopping or looking for cars. A lawn sign at the intersection encouraged drivers to show more care. A few weeks earlier, a boy had been riding his bike on an early summer evening. I didn't see it happen but I heard about the tragic accident. The family had given him a drum set just a day or two earlier.
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