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The genius next door is my dear friend Tom. He lives with a mental handicap, and sadly he is often misunderstood. Most people who strike up a conversation with Tom will quickly dismiss him as a simpleton. But Tom is a genius.

If I were ever a contestant on the Millionaire show, I would want Tom to be my lifeline for sure. He has a memory for trivial detail that is beyond mind boggling. If you want to know the name of some supporting actress in a "B" movies from the 50's, Tom will not only give you her name, he will tell you when and where she was born. You will get a better bio from Tom than you could from Google.

But sadly, Tom is what I call socially retarded. Tom is a 52 year old, with the social mentality of a twelve year old. Tom would rather hang out with kids and play Monopoly or Clue than socialize with adults. He seems to expect adults to have more childlike interests, constantly nagging me to organize a "game night" with my children, which is a bit awkward now, because my youngest are now sixteen, and beginning to develop more adult attributes. They used to enjoy Tom's company more, but have now outgrown him, as he is still stuck at age twelve.

When Tom was twelve, he had a swimming accident. Tom fell in the lake and was drowning, but his younger brother Casey jumped in and rescued him and resuscitated him. Tom has a vague memory of the incident, but in Toms recollection, it was he who jumped in a rescued Casey from drowning.

Something happened to Tom when his brain was oxygen starved. He went on social disconnect. He is physically healthy and normal, but he has never moved past being twelve.

After years of testing, and attempting to acclimate Tom into society, he finally was declared handicapped, and is able to get an SSI disability pension. His parents made arrangements with his brother who runs a group home to set Tom up in an apartment and manage his money for him with a trustee at the bank.

Tom is simply unable rationalize situations and function as an adult in an adult world. But he has this amazing ability, like a savant almost. He has total recall of what most people consider useless trivia. I cannot count the number of times I have had an answer to a trivial question on the tip of my tongue, and called upon my friend Tom for the answer. He is truly amazing.

There was a time several years back, when he totally displayed his ability, and he did it with flying colors. My aunt Carolyn and I went to an auction house with Tom, and for whatever

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