Why did the adults in my life demand so much attention anyway? 'Are you listening Barbara?' was one of their favorite inquiries, followed up cleverly by, 'Then what did I say?' Sometimes their eyes bulged out so far when they asked these questions that I wondered whether the attention they needed wasn't medical. Or maybe they lacked inner resources and had no way of being sure they existed unless someone like me was around to confirm that they did, moment by moment, with appropriate eye contact and nods. And maybe they were right.