My Uncle’s Years of Living Dangerously
Serving as Translator and Tour Guide for a Veteran Battling Schizophrenia
My 69-year-old uncle Henry gazed into the jaws of the Natural History Museum’s biggest celebrity, Thomas the T. rex, who was frozen in a silent roar.
I asked Henry, “How do you define danger?”
Henry answered, “Everything.”
I made a mental note. Later, I added the entry to the unique dictionary Henry and I are creating together. We call it a “thicktionary.” It documents the language of his mental illness. Other entries include “Chicano,” which means Americano, and “alligator,” which means you want to make friends with them but they have their own …
