We had just moved to San Jose from Dallas. Aadi was two and a half. One evening we went out to explore the new neighborhood. I was walking and Aadi was on his scooter. We had gone a couple of miles before it dawned on me that we did not know the neighborhood and did not know the way back. These were the pre-iPhone and google map on iPhone days. I had left my BlackBerry at home anyway.
I told him we were slightly lost and it was getting dark, so let’s start heading roughly in the direction of the house. We came to an intersection, and Aadi looked at the street names and said the next cross street would be Kingsport Lane, and the one after that would be Medallion Drive. Of course, he was right. Absolutely floored, I asked him how he knew. He said he had been looking at the neighborhood on Google Maps on the computer and remembered the street names. And that too a mile away from our house! With no TV at home when he was growing up, he used his limited computer time for this.
Needless to say, we got home by the shortest path possible. Memories are what we are left with, and I am glad to have these memories of his thirst for knowledge and unexpected ways they helped others around him.
Aadi Arya Karthik 