Absentmindedness

It is very difficult for most people to place me. I fit in but I don't. I feel very lucky to have my parents the way they are, as long as they don't go and do something grossly unworldly. It surprizes me how my father gets taken in, for a person who's IQ level is the highest of most people I know. I feel like an extinct tribe of one. I wonder if there is anyone out there who has a parent who has been/ is a brilliant scientist, but remains unworldly and impractical in day to day life. When people are surprized by my lack of knowledge about the practicalities of life, they should know, its not me, its just that the worldliness that comes to most people as a way of life, never presented itself to me and my siblings. When I see my parents, now living in the real world, as opposed to a secure campus, my heart is wrung by their sudden befuddlement.

My mother was telling me about one of my father's collaborator's daughter buying him a bright yellow suitcase, because he was never able to identify his black/ blue suitcases off luggage carousels, and then I knew, I was not alone. There are other people out there, who must have similar experiences. And sometimes, I wonder, does anyone even care that I will never forget logtables because my father taught them to me?

I would love to hear from anyone who has any interesting stories to tell about their mad scientist parents. I really would.