Shawn remembers a time when his father attempted to feed him shortly before leaving the family. Shawn cannot eat like everyone else. Food is placed on Shawn's tongue and then they must wait until his swallow reflex kicks in. Sometimes it does not and Shawn coughs the food out. This is what happened that day and Shawn remembers his father becoming very angry at the behavior, accusing Shawn of acting like a baby. Shawn also remembers an overheard conversation shortly after his father left in which his mother told a woman that she understood her husband leaving the family, though she did admit that he was cowardly. Shawn's mother said that her husband simply could not deal with the idea that Shawn might be trapped inside his own head. Shawn then thinks about how he and his father both have double jointed thumbs and how his father