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When staff members from The Arc, Upper Valley took Kim Peek and his father, Fran, to dinner at the Blue Moose the night before his appearance in Grand Forks, he astounded the servers by telling them about their hometowns - everything from telephone area codes, pre-fixes,and zip codes to television stations and historical landmarks.
Kim Peek is a savant - an individual with extraordianary, almost unbelieveable, mental abilities. So extraordinary, in fact, that screenwriter Barry Morrow based his 1987 film “Rain Man” on Kim.
Kim shared his incredible abilities with an audience of over 300 at the Holiday Inn on August 18, 2005. He even brought the Academy Award won by Barry Morrow for best original screenplay, passing it around the audience. Over two million people have held the award, which has literally worn the gold off the legs.
The audience posed questions about everything from history, geography, classical music, Shakespeare, and professional sports to literature and authors.
He received a thundering round of applause for reciting all the presidents of the United States in chronological order.
“He knows all their wives and children, too,” his father said.
When one audience member, a woman from Germany, stood up to ask a question, Kim abruptly stated, “I’ve met you before!” And indeed he had. He made his way toward her in the audience and hummed her favorite piece of classical music, which he remembered from their prior meeting.
When asked if the movie, “Rain Man,” was an accurate depiction of his life, Kim responded in his booming voice, “Only a third!”
His father went on to explain that even though Kim’s abilities were the inspiration for the lead character in the film, the story is entirely fictional.
Dustin Hoffman consulted with Kim before his portrayal of Raymond Babbitt and even mimics many of Kim’s mannerisms in the film. But that’s where the similarities end.
In reality, Kim is much more out-going, friendly and warm than the character of Raymond Babbitt. He truly enjoys meeting and interacting with people, often holding their hand or placing his hands on their shoulders while conversing.
Kim and his father, Fran, travel approximately 32 weeks of the year to share Kim’s message of inspiration with schools, churches, civic and disability organizations, and chambers of commerce.
Kim is an ambassador of sorts - giving the public a rare glimpse into the complex world of Autism and demonstrating the unlimited potential of the human mind. It’s no wonder NASA’s Artificial Intelligence Agency is studying his brain and attempting to recreate it in software to assist astronauts in space.
Kim’s message of inspiration is this: “Learn to recognize and respect differences in others. Care. Share. Be your best! You don’t have to be handicapped to be different. Everyone is different!”
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