She had also started to develop the ability (or liability) of being in one place physically but only partially there mentally. It was like dealing with a cell phone wavering between one and two bars of reception, functional but a bit worrisome. Her mind was not in the here and now but was usually preoccupied, just like my mind, just like my father’s, and just like my mother’s. This habit of only sort of being present can drive nonacademics crazy. But it’s the only way I know that anyone can solve intellectually difficult problems. It’s a constant processing of ideas and techniques in the
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