Dateline Dayton – My wife Pauline, who has Early Stage Alzheimer’s, gave up the keys to her car last week without any comment. She hasn’t driven in quite some time, so I don’t think it was a big deal. My real concern is: I am not sure if she realizes she has given up driving.
Going Shopping
No wonder retail store sales are failing. They just don’t stock anything anymore. Try to buy a decent woman’s digital watch. Or an adjustable work bench. Finding either is almost impossible.
Last Sunday I took Pauline shopping for a dress. She has lost a fair amount of weight. Nothing fits her anymore.
We went to three stores. When she found dresses she liked, they were too short for her taste. I claim that doctors want to reshape women’s bodies. At the fourth store, she finally found a nice dress that met her requirements.
Monday was Therapy Day. Pauline played cards all day with her women friends. They told me she did very well.
Tuesday marked our first support session with the Alzheimer’s Assn. For the first 30 minutes we heard about the many different forms of the disease. Then the caregivers went into another room for our support session. Our son Christopher also attended. When it was time to go home, Pauline asked him if we were going to leave her alone.
Our support session was very worthwhile, although it sounded as if some were indicating that their spouse, father or mother might be worse off than Pauline. However, those persons still were driving.
I found it scary. Although I had no doubts about Pauline’s driving ability, I did about her getting lost. That also was the concern of her doctor.
After the meeting, we went to lunch and Pauline told us how much she enjoyed her session and the amount of sharing that took place. She said it was a friendly group and that she was looking forward to next month. Was I glad to hear that!
Politically Speaking
I must make one thing clear regarding the presidential election. I was not contacted by any Russian or Russian organization asking me to vote for anyone. Nor did they influence my vote. I voted for my governor, John Kasich, without anyone telling me I could or couldn’t. This noise about Russians influencing our election is just nonsense, sour grapes by the losers.
Even if the Russians did try to influence our election, I would hope the citizens of this country would be smart enough to ignore it!
I believe Donald Trump got elected because people want change. They are fed up with what has taken place in Washington.
Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net
