What gave Auggie the idea of the Christmas story?

In Paul Auster's Christmas story we don't know how Auggie cooked up this story but in the film there was a prehistory Auggie's Christmas story based on finally. Auggie put some details of their life experiences into the Christmas story. So you can find many parallels between the story and real life, for example:

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1. Where did Auggie get the idea with the thief Robert from? --> Once there was a boy who had stolen some magazines from his store. This experience he transfered to Robert.

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2. Why did Robert and his grandma Ethel live in Brooklyn? --> Auggie visited (his daughter) Falicity who lived in Brooklyn. It's a criminal area for unsuccessful people who have no future. Robert was also a criminal punk. Propably, therefore Auggie thought it was a fit area for him.

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3. Robert's photos Auggie found in his pocket have something in common with the photos of Auggie's project. On Robert's photos you could see always the same boy, Robert himself, but in different phases of his life. On Auggie's photos there were also always the same street but in several times.

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4. At least you can see a little similarity between the stolen money Thomas hid in Paul Benjamins flat and the stolen cameras Robert hid in Ethel's flat. Both things served for a good purpose although it wasn't good that they were stolen. With the money Auggie could support his ex-wife Ruby and Falicity. The camera he used for his "project".