A former teacher recently gave me several boxes of books and the promise of more to come. Last Sunday was my fifth Sunday to volunteer at the Union County Historical and Genealogical Museum. I was alone for those four hours (it was no surprise to me that I had no visitors on Halloween Sunday), so I used the opportunity to become familiar with my newly acquired old books.
One of them was written by a very liberal (he called himself a Baptist) preacher who defended some of the practices that fundamental Baptists consider ungodly and repulsive. Another was by yet another preacher who proclaimed the King James Bible as the only version that should be considered relevant.
The one that most absorbed me was a book on Alzheimer’s disease. There was a case study in the book that concerned a lady (I’ll call her Ms. A) whose husband had passed away three years prior. Everyone was amazed at how well Ms. A handled the loss of her husband of several decades. She continued going to Sunday school and church and living a seemingly productive life.
Unfortunately, within the space of a few short months Ms. A’s life took a significant turn for the worst. The first sign of trouble was a shortage of the Sunday school funds for which she was treasurer. Ms. A stopped attending Sunday school and her church attendance dwindled to nonexistence. Several people went to visit her, and she was non-receptive or downright rude, even to the pastor. Her meticulously kept yard turned to overgrowth and weeds. Her electricity and water were cut off because she hadn’t paid her bills for several months. Concerned neighbors, with whom she would no longer associate, called Ms. A’s daughter who lived some distance away. The daughter was unaware of her mother’s decline. This daughter spoke to her mother frequently on the phone in very brief conversations during which Ms. A. was able to maintain the sound of normalcy.
Ms. A’s daughter came back home and took her mother to the doctor. This led to some in-depth testing which determined that Ms. A did indeed have Alzheimer’s. Most frightening to me, though Ms. A’s noticeable decline happened within a few months, tests indicated that Ms. A probably had Alzheimer’s several years before she was unable to maintain her sense of normalcy. As her disease progressed, she became artful as employing little “tricks” to help her simulate normal functionality.
As you get older, do you find yourself having to resort to little “tricks” to keep you from losing things? For quite a while I have had to hold my wallet in my hand and keep a finger in the slot from whence the credit card was taken to help me be sure that I get the card back.
One morning many years ago I was standing in front of the mirror, tying my necktie for work. I could not remember how to do it! It seemed the longer and harder I tried the more impossible it became to remember. I honestly panicked—the thought came to me that this is how it begins with dementia and Alzheimer’s. I feared early onset had found me, though thankfully Alzheimer’s and dementia are not common on either side of my family (save in the case of one aunt on Dad’s side). In a few minutes, to my great relief, memory flooded back and I was able to remember and finish dressing for work.
People often compliment me on my excellent memory. Like most people, I remember things from my younger days implicitly well, while some things from last week or even yesterday are a struggle to remember. I comfort myself with the thought that childhood and youth have few responsibilities that require memory, while employment and home management seem to overflow with responsibility that can become overwhelming, particularly in times of great stress.
I talked to Union County Commissioner Debra Keck yesterday evening, and she very creatively compared her brain to a huge library and imagined a little man on a ladder pulling the correct books from the shelves of her mind as she needed them. I told her that I think my little man sometimes kicks my books off the shelf or drops them, as I can now forget in mid-sentence what I was talking about.
I once remember Preacher Charlie Lynch in a sermon talking about his mother. She spent the last portion of her life unable to remember even his name. How awful for your own mother to not know who you are, her own child. Charlie said he prayed that God would let him keep his mind to the end.
But each must live his/her life one day at a time. Remember the Scriptures (I always quote the King James Version): “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
In my next visit to you through the printed word, Dear Reader, I will share with you another instance of someone out of mind, though not in body. Until then, ponder these email thoughts.

Just so everyone's clear,
I'm going to put my glasses on.

When Bill told his contractor he didn't want carpeted steps,
they gave him a blank stare.

I'm trying to organize a hide and seek tournament,
but good players are really hard to find.

The older we get,
the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

I’m so old that I don't know how I got over the hill
without getting to the top.

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble,
you won't have anything to laugh at when you're old.