The Tolls Of Age ¤Frankenstein¤   Author:  47699  Category:(Discussion) Created:(3/19/2003 4:52:00 PM) This post has been Viewed (253 times) Dad came by to see us about an hour or so ago and we talked for a few minutes. He left and about five minutes later, he came back to the door. He said that his car wouldn't start and he wanted me to try to boost it off. I went out and opened the hood of his car. He was standing there with the door on the passenger side open. I told him to close that door and get away from that side of the car so I could pull over closer. I started my car and saw that he was closing his hood for some reason. I had to get out and ask him what he was doing. He said that he thought I wanted him to close it and I asked, "How am I supposed to get to your battery if you close that?" He just shook his head and opened it back up. I started to pull over there and he starting walking around to that same side of the car again for some reason. After hooking up the battery cables, I told him to see if his car would start. He got in and tried it but nothing happened. I told him to wait and let it charge up for a minute. We never got it started so he asked me to take him home. I came back in to get my wallet and when I went back out, he was on the passenger side of his car for some reason. I thought that he was just locking the doors since he was going to leave it here overnight. It was starting to rain and I ready to go so that I could get back before the storm really started. I got in my car, started it up and waited but he never came to get in. I looked and didn't see him anywhere. Guess where I found him. He was sitting in the passenger seat in his own car. I had to get back out, go over there and ask him how I was supposed to take him home if he was in his car which didn't run. He looked confused for a split second and then he started laughing. He laughed much of the way home about that and said, "I'm going crazy. I guess I have to have something to laugh at, though." I told him that I could tell that he was related to my bride because he's as crazy as she is. He thought that was pretty funny, too. All in all, the years have been kind to dad. He has rarely ever been sick and he's only been in the hospital once. That's not bad for a guy who is seventy-one. He tries to eat right and take good care of himself. In fact, I don't think he's picked up a salt shaker or had any caffeine in at least ten years now. I took him to see his doctor one day and he didn't seem to think that he was getting Alzheimer's disease, thank God. He led me to believe that it's probably just a case of senility. Mom's case is tragic. As you may or may not know, she's in a nursing home and has been there for about two years or so now. Age hasn't been so kind to her. It's really sad but she's been sick for at least half of her life. Her problems all seemed to start when she had to have a hysterectomy due to endometriosis. When she healed internally, the scar tissue wouldn't stop growing. Her doctor called the growths adhesions. Mom was miserable with that for many years because of the constant pain she had to endure. She had to have surgery every few years after that to remove them. Of course, they always came back. She described them as being like big snakes wrapped around all of her internal organs and squeezing. In later years, she developed thyroid trouble and, as a result, gained an enormous amount of weight. She's only 5'3" and she now weighs over three hundred pounds. As a result of that, she became a diabetic. At this point, she can no longer walk. She has been told that she is confined to her bed and warned not to even try to walk without the help of an orderly or nurse. Mom's seventy now. Mom and dad are the kindest souls you could ever hope to meet in your life. Dad worked hard all of his life but never had much to show for it. He also served in the U.S. Marines for four years during the time of the Korean War. Mom was working at a 5 & 10 cent store when they met in the fifties and she later went on to be a telephone operator. She never worked again after I was born forty years ago. She might have considered it when I was older but, by then, her health simply wouldn't permit it. It's great that mom and dad have attained the ages that they are but it's also so very sad to see them now and remember back to what they were like just twenty years ago. Cherish your youth for it is fleeting. There will come a day when you will cling to and hunger for the times you are experiencing at this time in your life. How I long for the sixties, seventies and even the eighties. Seize the day. Now is the time to make your memories. Live your life to the fullest while you're still able to do so and enjoy every moment of it. You can join Unsolved Mysteries and post your own mysteries or interesting stories for the world to read and respond to Click here Scroll all the way down to read replies. Show all stories by   Author:  47699 ( Click here ) Spring is coming