Our town was in the path of totality for the 2017 eclipse, and we hosted an eclipse party for family who were outside the path. In our area, the eclipse of 2024 was only a partial eclipse and knowing I had two obligations for the day, I never purchased eclipse glasses. When I realized the eclipse was taking place in the time after the Alzheimer’s Walk committee meeting and before playing music at Primrose, I texted the committee to see if anyone had a spare pair of eclipse glasses. I was in luck when Monica brought glasses to the meeting. After the meeting adjourned, I drove to a nearby parki ..read more

This has been a busy week with quality family time. Between the early Easter celebration last Sunday, and lunch with my son and grandson, I was able to connect with most of my sons’ families. I saw three of my four grandchildren and both great-grandsons. On Good Friday, we decided to have a music practice at my brother’s house. I picked up Mom to take her to practice. We worked on some new songs and set up a date to work on our final program for April. After practice, Mom and I drove the winding, crooked road. A car popped over the hill, and I  was startled when a pickup flew past my ca ..read more

As I drove to the post office Saturday morning, I noticed a lot of commotion around Ohio Street. It took a minute for my mind to click in and realized the St. Patrick’s Day Parade was about to begin. My biggest concern was whether I could get out of town without backtracking. I didn’t stay for the parade because I had a busy day ahead of me. As I drove out of town, I ruminated about St. Patrick’s Days of the past. At one time, our Alzheimer’s Walk Committee participated in the St. Patrick's Day parade. One year, we were brave enough to sign up for the bed races. We didn't have to build a bed ..read more

  Several years ago, I went to see my family physician for an earache. He told me I had an ear infection and sent some medicated drops home with me. The throbbing in my ear stopped when blood trickled down my neck. I called the doctor and told him about the new development. He assured me that I wasn’t going to bleed to death from my ear. (Guess he never saw the same westerns I had!) My eardrum had ruptured, and he said it would most likely heal on its own. Once the incessant buzzing stopped, I figured I was good to go. I never noticed a problem until I took a hearing test as part of a wo ..read more

  When I was a kid, we lived in the Ozarks and the only music we ever heard on the radio was country music. I remember a song called “This Old House.” After I’d heard the song several times, I realized that the song wasn’t about a house at all, but about a human body. Back in the day, you just figured things out on your own, but now we have the internet, and I was curious about the song. I found a treasure! Stuart Hamblen, the man who wrote the song told the story of finding a dilapidated log house while he was on a hunting trip in the Sierra Mountain range. The old house was falling dow ..read more

  During the past twenty years, I’ve followed Alzheimer’s research, and have had a front seat to many disappointments. Currently, I’m pleased that significant progress has been made and promising new treatments can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Many years ago when I served on the Alzheimer’s Chapter Board of Directors, I learned that a healthy lifestyle was the most effective way to delay the onset of age-related dementia. Most of us blissfully move through life with confidence that our brains are clicking along like a well-oiled machine. Sure, we may not be able to mult ..read more

At forty-nine, Jim exhibited troubling symptoms, but the first MRI came back “normal.” About a year later, we visited a neurologist who ran a SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) scan. The SPECT scan was abnormal and the doctor believed damage could have been from a stroke. I wrote about trying to find a definitive diagnosis in Indelible, an unpublished memoir:  Jim began to have difficulty writing. He would write letters but they wouldn’t make words. Most of the time, the combination was close enough that I knew what he meant. I wanted him to feel useful and to “exercise h ..read more

  Before the holidays, I bought myself a Christmas present. I happen to like Bailey’s in my coffee, and I found the perfect gift set. One gift set combined a bottle of Bailey’s with a clear coffee cup. The clear coffee cup reminded me of a business trip Jim and I took to San Antonio, Texas. We stayed at a swanky hotel that served their delicious coffee in clear cups. Jim and I both enjoyed spending time in the lobby drinking cups of coffee to relax. It’s a good memory from one of our adventures. Anyone who knows me well is aware that the only way I ever start my day is with a good cup of ..read more

 Although January is almost over, I couldn’t help but think about how nice it would be to start the New Year off with a clean slate. Some people attempt this by making resolutions and giving themselves mental pep talks to be a better person. The hard part about starting with a clean slate is that we cannot let go of the baggage we drag along behind us. We can’t stop thinking about our mistakes, insecurities, and failures. We can’t forgive ourselves, much less others. And what about that grudge? Who is it hurting? A person with Alzheimer’s has a clean slate in some ways. The most recent m ..read more

  Maybe the cold arctic blast shouldn’t be a surprise since I have always lived in the psychotic state of Missouri, nicknamed Misery at times. We are enduring the days of wind chills, snow, ice, cancellations, and danger of frostbite. I am thankful that I no longer have to drive to work in this kind of miserable weather. I’m a competent bad weather driver, but other drivers make me nervous. I only drive in bad weather when it is necessary. Jim, on the other hand, loved to drive in bad weather. He liked to “break” the roads, and if we got stuck, he knew someone would come along with a tra ..read more