King of the Mountain

“A person’s identity is like a pattern drawn on a tightly stretched parchment. Touch one part of it, just one allegiance, and the whole person will react, the whole drum will sound.” – Amin Maalouf

Fred’s family was on a different scale than most families. He had seven brothers and one sister, and all the brothers slept in one small bedroom. Growing up poor, Fred said they banked on their creativity for fun since they had few material resources and money for games and toys. Their bedroom became the playground. Fred didn’t have the name for it then as he watched his siblings play — creative identity– but he said Cynthia Heimel was right: “There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth.” And Fred figured out which was true for his brothers.