• Jack's a bit of a know-it-all. Very confident about technology; loved Legos but created only his own designs.  He was a precocious kid, talked early, told the neighbors "thank you for coming" when he was 16 months old. He has a keen sense of direction; knows where he is and how to get home.  Instinctively knew how to steer when backing up a boat sans instruction.
• He has his own website and Ann's hoping he isn't running an international ring of some kind.
• His coveted items are his boating license (he showed up to class with his own pen and highlighter and was the only kid who could sit still during the 8 hour class), wears his cell phone on a camouflage phone clip, is a pack rat and won't throw anything away, brings a brief case bigger than dad's - of stuff to work on when they travel. Their computer guy bought Jack a subscription to Mac World - he reads cover to cover.
• Rules are sacred to Jack and he does not tolerate those who don't follow them, like his brother. 
• Jack was obsessed with vacuums as a child. He had many toy vacuums but got a real one for his 3rd birthday. It was all he wanted. When grandma called he'd say, "Hi Nana, do you have a vacuum? What color is it?" He loved the cleaning lady Ida - and always asked "is Ida coming today?"  Gifted kids often have unusual obsessions.  Now you know Jack.
• Ann has to remind Jack that he's not the parent. But at school he's the master  of all things tech. In 2nd grade they pulled him out of class to set up the sound system for the school play.  
• Jack is into saving money - and gaming - they won a 5th grade competition: "Create a product and sell it to your classmates." When they ran low on inventory Jack suggested they sell raffle tickets for the last 5 Blobbers.  Bingo.
• On vacation when the other kids were running to the pool, Jack decided to run an impromptu business helping people with their luggage using a shopping cart he found.
• When Jack was 8 years old he bought $6000 of Apple computer equip on an old credit card he found in Ann's desk. When the package arrived Jack came into the kitchen and said, "I might know something about this."  Ann was horrified to learn that he'd set up an email address and figured out the 3 digit user code on the credit card.  Jack had ordered a new laptop plus adaptors for foreign countries (for all of his international travel) , airport adaptors, and 3 iPhones; one for each brother. He paid extra for overnight shipping. In one of Jack's 6 emails was a worried attempt to cancel, "Dear Apple, I don't want this stuff anymore". When Jack's dad asked, "what were you going to do when all of this showed up at the house? "  Jack answered, "I was beginning to worry about that."
• Jack was M.I.A. at the family reunion and my sister came in to find Jack sitting in the den with two laptops, a bluetooth in his ear, on the phone... She asked what he was doing. Jack replied, "I'm helping Jacob with his server."
• Jack called Ann down to "see his new office" in the basement. He'd moved his stuff into grandpa's old rolltop desk that Ann desperately wanted to sell on Craigslist.  Jack had the old Dell monitor with Steve Jobs' portrait as the screensaver, his laptops, his mini-mac, blue tooth in ear, all bought with his paper route money.  He pointed to a photo on the inside cover of Isaacson's book and said, "see mom, Steve Jobs' office was messy too."

 

 

(founder/owner Valslist.com)