I’m working on a story that I’m convinced is the key to the rest of my life. The thing is it’s just not jelling.
Maybe because many of the background characters and one important one are Facebook friends. Maybe because I feel such a commitment to portray the Fall of 1968 perfectly–and everybody in the world is an expert on the 1960’s especially if they weren’t there.
Maybe and this is my big theory——dementia is setting in. Yesterday I was reading the news to Lucia on the phone——something we’ve always done. It’s calming.
Only there was a picture of a girl, no name, in an article Great Crimes on Long Island. I had been sent the article because Jesse Friedman’s conviction wasn’t overturned. I spent a year interviewing everybody involved in the case and writing almost-award winning cover stories about it.
One of the writers for the paper was that girl. The founding editor (won’t say his name to protect the guilty) liked to put us “on the same page.”Ha ha. Her first name was Amy and she was generally referred to as “the Long Island Lolita.”
I, of the perfect memory, couldn’t remember her last name. Dementia’s another thing everybody’s an expert on and I do believe that anybody who has it or has a spouse or parent with it knows more than dementia specialists (career number three). And I knew that I only had three hours sleep the night before, and the stock market, something that’s incredibly important to my life, was in free-fall so anxiety could play a part in my lack of memory.
But it’s not the first time it’s happened. I was a riot at the doctor’s last week; a regular laugh riot——they doubled the minimal dose of my anti—depressant and I didn’t even have to ask.
But when I finish the story I’m going to put it here. Hold me accountable please. And if I seem demented——well, how would you know the difference you ask? You will——tell me so I can start planning.
I plan on being a lot like William Shatner in Boston Legal. His mad cow was so enchanting. Oh gawd, only the demented would say that.
Please understand I take dementia very seriously and if this seems light hearted you should see me shaking!
First line — so Pia. Perfect opening. Had me hooked.
I’ve had so many more memory glitches and other malfunctions (even – gasp! – frequent typos) in the last year. I don’t know what to blame it on. But let me know if I start seeming off, too. We’ll call it our dementia pact.
Is that too demented?
Ha! No, bring on the dementia pact!
Your memory’s actually better than it was. Or at least you don’t say “my memory, my memory,” all the time anymore so it seems better
I think that’ s an anxiety thing with us NLDers; but the losing memory thing is my greatest fear too. Hope things get better for you, but keep writing and do it interest you never stop that. That’s a lesson I’m starting to learn.
I never had this problem before so…
It takes a whole life for some things to jell, Pia! 🙂 I don’t think you have dementia, by the way.
Thanks Sage. Unfortunately I don’t have a whole lifetime to wait, I think.
I hesitated to post this because of your mother–so I wrote the disclaimer
Wow, facelift over here since I’ve been by!
I think there is a difference between demented and dementia – most of the country (world?) is the former 🙂 I don’t think you have dementia: it’s easy to have one of those moments where something you’ve ALWAYS remembered slips your mind.
We’ll call it another evil word: Normal. 😉