Goodbye, Rain Man

Laurence Kim Peek
Nov. 11, 1951 - Dec. 19, 2009
Kim Peek is best known as the inspiration for the character Raymond in the 1988 movie "Rain Man". Although the character in Rain Man is autistic, it was later determined Kim Peek is not autistic. He had savant syndrome as well a malformed cerebellum and missing corpus callosum. Kim Peek's memory amazed many in that he memorized over 10,000 books (including phone books) as well as what day of the week a date falls on. Despite his exceptional memory, tasks such as brushing his teeth and dressing himself proved to be daunting. When Kim was a baby; the doctors said he would never talk and his parents should put him away. Kim's father has spent years with his son touring to educate people about disabilities. I may not know Kim Peek personally, but I've known of him. I'm sad to hear he has passed, but I know he lived a rich life with a loving father taking care of him.