Part 5 Epidemiology Chapter 16
Vida
• This chapter starts with Vida on the streets and Genie has decided to come and live with Vida on
the streets to “Save him”, once she turned 18 and left the Masukus house.
• Vida makes a note that Genie smells like Vanilla and woodsmoke, a sent he really likes. Note that
Genie is now 18 and Vida is at least in his 30’s or 40’s, we are not sure the book never specifies
his age.
• Vida and Genie argue as he insists he does not need to be saves and Genie is stubborn and will
not leave. Vida tries to ditch Genie but she keep following him.
• The chapter carries one with this struggle of Vida wanting Genie to leave and she wont. Vida by
night time goes into the bar, Genie cannot go in she is not old enough and she waits outside. Vida
then falls asleep in an alley way and when he wakes up in the morning Genie is asleep next to
him.
• Vida tells her again to go home and she responds by saying,”I am already home”
• Soon Vida gave up in his protests and hoped after a while she would get sick of living on the
streets and go home, she never did.
• They formed their own routines living on the streets and they became good friends. They were
completed opposites but they balanced each other out well.
• Vida has a secret that no one knew, he was an artist. He would go down to the junk yard and find
pieces of scrap metal. He would then go down to a where-house he owned (Note, that Vida lives
on the street by choice, he owns a where house and an actual house)
• Vida would then use these scrap metals to build sculptures (Vida later in the book creates a
sculpture inspired by genie, called ‘the theory of flight’ that becomes famous around the world,
this is where the book gets its name)
• Soon Genie would help collect metal with Vida and go back to the where-house and se would
watch him work, this was their own little routine.
• They were slowly falling in love with each other
• Then one day they were collecting metal at the scrape yard and Genie cut her hand open pretty
badly, Vida came to try help but she screamed and forced him away.
• Genie has a secret of her own, she has HIV. For the rest of the day genie told Vida her whole life
story and Vida told his to her. They grew closer and bonded.
• Vida told her a story of when he was a boy he kissed another boy and liked it. Another group of
boys saw this and started to bully him and call him a morffie which is a mean word for a gay
person. They then all heated Vida but he did not run or cry he took it. But his father saw the whole
thing
• He was scared his dad would be disappointed or mad but he was not and he told Vida he would
always love him no matter who Vida loved, he said, “There are more than one way to be a man”
• They both accepted each other’s truths and who they were, “It was liberation”
• This is another hint to the them of freedom and belonging, which are main themes in the book.
Vida
• This chapter starts with Vida on the streets and Genie has decided to come and live with Vida on
the streets to “Save him”, once she turned 18 and left the Masukus house.
• Vida makes a note that Genie smells like Vanilla and woodsmoke, a sent he really likes. Note that
Genie is now 18 and Vida is at least in his 30’s or 40’s, we are not sure the book never specifies
his age.
• Vida and Genie argue as he insists he does not need to be saves and Genie is stubborn and will
not leave. Vida tries to ditch Genie but she keep following him.
• The chapter carries one with this struggle of Vida wanting Genie to leave and she wont. Vida by
night time goes into the bar, Genie cannot go in she is not old enough and she waits outside. Vida
then falls asleep in an alley way and when he wakes up in the morning Genie is asleep next to
him.
• Vida tells her again to go home and she responds by saying,”I am already home”
• Soon Vida gave up in his protests and hoped after a while she would get sick of living on the
streets and go home, she never did.
• They formed their own routines living on the streets and they became good friends. They were
completed opposites but they balanced each other out well.
• Vida has a secret that no one knew, he was an artist. He would go down to the junk yard and find
pieces of scrap metal. He would then go down to a where-house he owned (Note, that Vida lives
on the street by choice, he owns a where house and an actual house)
• Vida would then use these scrap metals to build sculptures (Vida later in the book creates a
sculpture inspired by genie, called ‘the theory of flight’ that becomes famous around the world,
this is where the book gets its name)
• Soon Genie would help collect metal with Vida and go back to the where-house and se would
watch him work, this was their own little routine.
• They were slowly falling in love with each other
• Then one day they were collecting metal at the scrape yard and Genie cut her hand open pretty
badly, Vida came to try help but she screamed and forced him away.
• Genie has a secret of her own, she has HIV. For the rest of the day genie told Vida her whole life
story and Vida told his to her. They grew closer and bonded.
• Vida told her a story of when he was a boy he kissed another boy and liked it. Another group of
boys saw this and started to bully him and call him a morffie which is a mean word for a gay
person. They then all heated Vida but he did not run or cry he took it. But his father saw the whole
thing
• He was scared his dad would be disappointed or mad but he was not and he told Vida he would
always love him no matter who Vida loved, he said, “There are more than one way to be a man”
• They both accepted each other’s truths and who they were, “It was liberation”
• This is another hint to the them of freedom and belonging, which are main themes in the book.
