Knucklehead

Langston Bellows needs to find a cure.

He lives in the Roosevelt Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn -- widely considered to be the toughest housing projects in New York City, if not the United States. Things are especially tough for Langston because he is a little bit “off”. Some might call it High-Functioning Autism, others would label it Mild Mental Retardation. What it means to you and me is that he invades your space when he talks. He looks at strangers too long. His speech is wrong.

What it means to him, in his neighborhood, is that he is a target of ridicule, bullying and beatings. He is on the wrong end of every fight. He's a sweet, vulnerable guy and he's completely defenseless. Lucky for him, he has a brother who protects him, Julian. Julian is the only person in his family who takes care of Langston.

Langston and Julian have a favorite pass-time -- talking about women. Julian has lots of women. But Langston only talks about one: Felicia, his girlfriend. Langston will tell anyone who listens about his dream -- to find his own place to stay with his girlfriend. No one else, however, has actually met Felicia. But that's not a problem for Langston. His problem is that as long as he's considered disabled, he believes he can't get a place of his own. In some ways he's right, but he’s not going to let that stop him. So he's going to change it. But how do you do that? How do you go about curing yourself of a developmental disorder? If you're like Langston -- a devout reader of RX Advisor Magazine -- the pharmaceutical connoisseur's bible -- then the cure is looking for you.

Langston writes lots of letters to RX Advisor, especially to his favorite expert, a doctor named Grill Brickstone, known to Langston as "Dr. Grill Brickstone, MD". He's the one who knows the cure. Julian takes Langston to the mailbox one day to drop off another letter for Brickstone, but someone is waiting for them. Teeny Miles. Teeny, until recently, believed that she was the only woman in Julian's life. A disagreement erupts. Langston gets involved. He tries to protect his brother, but he fails and Julian is shot to death. Now what?

Langston, without a protector, must do something. He decides to cure himself of his permanent mental disorder. If only he could reach Dr. Brickstone in person. It looks like he'll have to leave Brooklyn for the first time in his life.

This journey takes him deep into the world of pharmaceutical marketing. Langston finds himself at the hallowed RX Advisor offices, where he uses his knowledge of the magazine to land a mail-room job. He surreptitiously seeks out Dr. Brickstone while making unexpected friends with his unique brand of charm and frankness.

Langston is faced with some unwelcome news about Dr. Brickstone – The doctor doesn’t exist, he is just a stock photo whose articles are written by the marketing staff. His prophet exposed, Langston is driven to self prescribe and his overdose lands him back under the thumb of his mother.

Using a new-found perspective, Langston reaches out to his mysterious girlfriend, Felicia. Not only does she exist, but she has in fact been hoping to move in with him. Sadly, Langston isn’t clued in to her ulterior motives.

And things are worse at home. Without Julian not there to protect him, his mother threatens to kill his dreams of autonomy once and for all. Langston stands up to her for the first time, taking command of his legendary violent temper. Drawing on his newfound sense of self, Langston sets out to move into an apartment, made available as a result of his new friends and admirers.

Knucklehead is a story about faith. Langston places so much weight on his belief in the miraculous powers of prescription pharmaceuticals and the “imaginary people” in his life, that it breaks his faith. The experience devastates him.

It devastates him and it frees him.