Exploring the child's world II Program 1
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The Duquesne University Alumni Association presents.
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Exploring child.
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That child is father to the man. And as we hope for a world of men of
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good will we must look to the conditions of the child's world to achieve it.
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So we search for the laws as Ways and Means the sources of the capable.
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Spontaneously whole adult. It is not strange that the world of the
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disturbed child throws a light on childhood in general. Although Father Francis Duffy Professor of
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Sociology at Duquesne University was not at first looking for this light when he started working with
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a disturbed child. He found however that it is not that the
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disturbed or delinquent child is completely removed from society rather that his
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position is more extreme and so its obviousness offers us a sharper
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clearer insight into the world of children to share the fruit of
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his research Father Francis Duffy and education university alumni association present a
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series of recorded interviews with delinquent children followed by a short discussion
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with Father Duffy's guest in which the child and his problems are explored for
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insight.
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Children can develop and offer attachment to anyone who is kind of and even though the person is not worthy.
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Marilyn is an example of this fellow she doesn't see it. Let's explore her life with her and see
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if we can identify some of her parents mistakes.
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What is your name. Mary how old are you Mary. 15.
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Where are you in school. I'm soft. Public school or
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parochial. Which one. Pleasant Valley.
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Do you get along well with school. Do you get good grades.
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What did you get the last report I had and I was in its
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school lunch for you a sandwich if I was here
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are you ever any problem and school did do the teachers like you.
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Thank you saying like me they ever keep you in or give you extra
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homework send for your parents and your problems around
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the school and is around the home.
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Yes. What is the problem. And
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I thought that.
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Is it something he does or is it something that that you do he doesn't approve of.
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I'm afraid of him are you.
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Do you have any older brothers or sisters who could help you out.
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I have an older brother and sister. He's in your army. She's married
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then of Florida. Now I'm the oldest one I have and my sister is 14
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Mary Grace. And then there is Carol. Tommy Vicki and Jackie.
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He's only 11 months but that's all there is.
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So you can't look for any support or courage move from them.
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What does he do that you don't like. I'm just afraid of
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him.
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Does he drink a lot. Is that when you're most
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afraid of him.
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Does he become abusive Does he ever threaten you or harm you.
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Does he ever want to throw you out or say he's going to show you
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what does he do that specially that you don't like. Well sometimes
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he's my mother and she just takes it.
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She can't do anything about it. How long has he been like that
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for a long time. I seem to have a regular job.
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He's off work now. Yes because of his drinking.
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He was laid off.
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Did he ever like you were he. Oh I don't know.
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He wanted me to be a boy. Maybe some good comes from
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that then probably he's disappointed. I know I have.
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How do you feel when you found out that he really didn't want you the way you are.
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I was hurt. Are you still hurt. Yeah.
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Is there anything else about you that he doesn't approve of. I need
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he doesn't mind the boyfriend. How old is your boyfriend
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Tony. And he's a pretty nice fellow.
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I think nobody else does.
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Well Marilyn when you get a lot of people agreeing to a certain thing
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yourself usually there's hunting to it isn't there. If everybody who knows
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him agrees that he's not a very nice fellow.
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Usually I think if you pay it's prejudiced against him. I think they
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just don't like his mother. What's the matter with her.
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She got my eye on my ear in a way to get Mary is
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part of your problem running away.
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Did you run away from this you knew you had a good deal to run away from
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the new you that this man offered you. That
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something in the way of security want to marry you for example.
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Oh yeah. We're going to get married twice but we didn't.
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When you ran to where did you go. You good.
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We never got a stay. Oh you were arrested. I was arrested I was picked up
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and where is the man now that was going to marry. He's in the county jail I
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think.
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We have been in trouble before this. Running
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away with him is a trouble you're in now isn't it.
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Well I didn't run away. So I was ran
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away right after Christmas and he helped me get well
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when I run away doesn't always help me.
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I see how many times did you run away six and how many
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times did he help you just once.
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Well you are in a very good position to get married to him now or you were to become
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independent of the family you need family. But your father makes
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it so unattractive that you feel you can't stay there regularly you have to get away once in
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awhile.
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Yeah that's it.
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And what else makes it so impossible for you to stay home.
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Sometimes I have to do all the work. My sister she doesn't like to work.
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I take it she's allowed to get her own weight oh yeah she does. But you're not allowed to
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have your own way. When she does they never pick on her. She gets to
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whatever she wants to.
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And I treat it she's not much more than a year younger than you would she.
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What would be special about her is she pretty high. She's better than me
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right now. Maybe they don't really know how hard she is oh I
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don't know.
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She don't like boys either and she don't want to get out. I mean we shouldn't
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go to football games she don't like to go to dances she don't like to work you.
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She likes to eat and sleep.
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Your parents don't seem to mind that in her.
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Well they know they never will if she does anything they don't do anything to her
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if I do the exact same thing as she I get holiday.
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They approve of her they don't approve of you and you.
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What were they disappointed she wasn't a boy to like you.
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They wanted to see my mother wanted a boy and she wanted a girl and then she wanted a
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boy. They had feeling they had stare.
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They're both married now you and me but they wanted a boy but they got you instead.
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Your mother wanted to arrange the sex of the children even before they they were born.
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Well my mother wanted me. My mother likes me but I
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can't get along with my father.
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He's the one who gave you that course as you probably know some men don't know how to act
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when their daughters get bigger your age. So they seem to like them when they're little but when they grow
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up the father gets kind of mixed up in his feelings. Sometimes even if I don't
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get nasty or hostile to you feel listen also you resent
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the fact that he didn't want you and he senses this that you don't like him.
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How does your father show he doesn't want you and does he show it many other ways.
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Sometimes he hits me as though you were mad. One time I
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was just sitting at the dinner table and he hit me. You provoked him somehow.
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I was eating maybe that provoked him. It is strange that a
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child could make her father angry just by sitting there eating.
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I was just sitting there eating me across the face at the back of his hand.
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He doesn't like you. On the other hand he doesn't want to see you escape from the
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home either.
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Does he know.
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He brought me here as unmanageable learned what uncontrolled
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he says I was a runaway and you were of course.
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Oh yeah.
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So you feel that the people at school are fair in their treatment of you than the people at
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home.
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Yeah I like to go to school.
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You seem to like school at home though the exceptions your mother she's on your side.
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Who's the real bad one in the family.
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You mean of the kids. Yeah me.
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And who's the bad one of me. Well in my day and so in a
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way you're something like him aren't you. Oh no I'm not I'm not that mean
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I don't know I just ask. I don't go around hitting people for nothing I
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came I don't hit nobody.
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And who's the good one in the household.
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My little sister Carol she's six and the littlest one Vicki she's 2
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she's the best.
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Why are you like any of your answer your uncles.
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I guess I'm like Miami and then he ran away to get married.
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And who sisters that your mother's ears. Why do you and Marilyn your
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Aunt Mary was a bad one in her family and you're the bad when this time.
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Yeah I guess you both have the same name too. And you both run away so
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I imagine you get along real well with your own Marilyn don't you. Yeah. She's my grandmother.
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And you like her. She sort of makes you proud of you. Your favorite.
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She treats you in a special way. She doesn't treat the other kids do you.
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I mean time you're going to be just like her. Oh I sure am. So sometimes
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when there's a bad one in the family and the next generation is a bad one in it too
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the parent complains that the child is just like the aunt and then they do
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more and more things to make her just like the aunt you think has happened to you.
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I think so. How about tell me something that
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happened to you when you were a real little girl before you started to school. So I started to
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school now and I fell and broke my arm.
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I was five. Anything before that.
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I went to Florida once when I was too young thing I remember that is why I made
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ice cream and nothing else. Oh I
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remember how as a rule let alone lived with my Uncle Fritz one
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day I had a boar a couple sugar and I was walking down the street with this little tin cup of
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sugar and fail and it all spilled out and I try to put it back in a cup.
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But when my mother saw it she asked me what happened.
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And I says nothing she got romantic is there is there in
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just a little cup of sugar.
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Oh yeah because we didn't have any. What was the most
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pleasant thing ever happened. Well that was I think when I came here.
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Yeah when I met my roommate you were happy to get away from home and you found a
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friend.
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I like my rheumy white girl Mary Jane.
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Do you know I think I do my one girl friend. She was card.
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She left but my roommate left today.
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The one you like so much was she's sympathetic with you.
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Oh I think she was and that you
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did your dad ever suggested you might be naughty too.
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You know he does when he thinks I'm crazy.
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What does that make you feel like when you do it when he regards you as crazy or says
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he thinks you're crazy.
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Sometimes I act crazy but I'm not really crazy.
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Why would you want to act crazy. Well when I'm in a good mood all I see.
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Let me ask you this Meryl do you think your parents are able to spread their attention do
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they give enough time to all the children. Do you get enough attention now.
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Well I think you know once get it this time. Do you resent that
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they're smarter than a baby.
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They the ones need more attention and what about
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affection or love or how do you get this. I don't know. You sure don't
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get it from your dad was was he ever an affectionate kind.
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This program has been transcribed using automated software tools, made possible through a collaboration between the American Archive of Public Broadcasting and Pop Up Archive. Please note that no automated transcription is perfect nor is it intended to replace human transcription labor. If you would like to contribute corrections to this transcript, please contact MITH at mith@umd.edu.