The Good Thing About Alzheimers

There are a few down sides to this getting “old” business. I guess the main one is that you are getting old! You can’t just eat whatever you want anymore, unless you like a burning sensation where there is no way there should be a burning sensation. You can drink, but only in moderation, unless of course you like the idea of being hung over for three days. Running is how you get to the bathroom in the middle of the night now, not on a field, kicking a ball. Friends disappear sometimes as you age. Mostly, it is because they have drifted away and their lives have become much more complicated, but sometimes they just disappear.

Thankfully, I have only lost a couple of friends permanently. I have alienated many more, but I am sure that they will come around when they realize the error of their ways. I mean really, how could you not love me? The ones disappearing that I am talking about are people that I have never met but have given me great joy.

I miss Asimov, Heinlein, Tolkien, Wilde, Twain, Lewis, Doyle, Barrie, Clarke, Capote…the list just goes on and on. Some have been dead for a goodly amount of time and that is just life. Well that’s death. The ones that really bother me are the ones that I have read all of my life and then all of a sudden, they die. Sure, it is hard to blame a person for passing on, but what am I to read now?

A few have left people to continue on with the stories. Tolkien left his grandson, but he doesn’t have the same ability to capture you with the magic. Anne McCaffrey’s son Todd has begun to take over the reins of “Pern”, and he is doing a very good job of it. Oh, Anne isn’t dead yet, just winding down. Eric Von Lustbader is writing more of Ludlum’s “Bourne” books, which I have enjoyed very much. I just started to read a book by M.Z. Reichert that is continuing Asimov’s “Robot” books. So far, so good.

I guess I should be thankful for all of the great authors out there that I have read and have yet to read. I do miss some of my favourites. My son has promised to write the great Canadian novel, which I am obviously dying to read. Perhaps someone will collect this blog together in book form and when I read it I will sort of remember it, but not quite. I have often taken books out of the library only to find that I have already read them a number of years before. My memory seems to be getting a little raggedy around the edges.

I guess that the good thing about Alzheimer’s is that I will be able to reread all of my favourite books all over again. Yay….????

One Thing Remains Constant

I have always loved Halloween, but then who in their right mind doesn’t. I loved it as a kid because I could become anyone and anything that I wanted. I didn’t have to stay the shy solemn little boy, but could become a super hero by putting a red towel on my shoulders, or a hobo by wearing my dad’s old clothes and using a burnt cork to paint on a beard. We didn’t have the many store bought choices for costumes that there are today, but somehow we managed to fill a couple of pillow cases with candy just the same. The whole idea that we could be out after the street lights had gone on, was exhilarating!

When I had small kids it was a different kind of enjoyment that I received from Halloween. Sometimes it took months for them to decide just what they wanted to go out as, and when they did it would usually send Louise into a sewing frenzy. Brendan was the worst offender. One year he wanted to be an apple tree and another year he wanted to be a bag of chips. I would have said NO, but Louise put her thinking cap on and came up with terrific costumes. It was fun watching how excited the kids were and to see their little faces beaming with joy when a perfect stranger would give them candy. Oh, I took my share of their candy too, kind of like you would pay for protection from the Mafia or the Church.

I eventually got a kick out of the day after Halloween as a letter carrier. You see, kids would drop candy in their haste to get to the next house and I would always pick it up. Sometimes it was just a wrapper and at other times I suspected that the candy had been licked. Mostly however they were nice little snacks to give me that extra burst of energy on a cool day. One of my co-workers and I would have a contest to see who could find the most candy. She pretty much always won, but to this day I suspect that Donna brought some in from home. There is something about found candy that makes it taste that much better than the stuff you buy yourself.

I would also find discarded parts of costumes. Over the years I found cap guns, ray guns, swords, wings, capes, glasses, beards, wigs, hats of every description and I still have a Zorro mask that I picked up and wore for the rest of the day. We would go back to the depot at lunch time and sit around eating candy and in my case wearing cap guns, ray guns, swords, wings, capes, glasses, beards, wigs, and hats. Good times for sure.

Now, I am pretty much the guy that puts up the gravestones and skeletons, hands out the candy and then oohs and ahhs at the kids and their costumes. Then, I wait until Arwen puts the pictures of Hurricane and Tornado in an email. Pretty cool!

Like I said, I have always liked Halloween and even though what I like about it has changed over the years, one thing remains constant…FREE CANDY!!!!