<div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:black;"><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;color:black;">Sorry, This was meant to go to group1 <br><br>Leonard<br><br><br>-----Original Message-----<br>From: tuchyner5@aol.com<br>To: group3@bluegrasspals.com <group3@bluegrasspals.com><br>Sent: Wed, Jul 21, 2021 11:21 am<br>Subject: reminder pieces are due today<br><br></div><div id="yiv1639530033"><div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;color:black;">Hi,<div>Just a reminder. July piecews are due today. Plus my piece is below</div><div><br></div><div><p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">1,376: word count</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">Last Battle</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">There was a knock at Dr. Franks’ door. It must be someone
wanting to see if he needed any of his trees trimmed. If not, it would be
someone who wanted to convince him that his driveway needed resurfacing.<span style=""> </span>It couldn’t have anything to do with his
being a medical doctor. He’d been retired way too long for that.<span style=""> </span>He opened the door but was not prepared to see
what was there. It was a man dressed as though he was on his way to a golf
course.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Excuse me, but can you tell me the way to Route 29?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">There was a lost look in his eyes.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“It’s just two blocks away.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Which direction?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">Dr. Frank pointed out the direction. He had seen that look
before. Many times. This man had Alzheimer’s disease.<span style=""> </span>“Are you new to the area?” he asked.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“No, just got turned around. Silly of me, I know.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Why don’t you stay a few minutes and get your bearings? If
you give me your telephone number, I’ll call your wife,” he offered.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“No! I’m fine.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Do you mind if I look at your driver’s license?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“I assure you I am fine.<span style="">
</span>But here.” He retrieved his wallet from his back pocket and handed it to
Franks. The doctor took the wallet and found his telephone number, committed it
to memory. Then he handed it back.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Thanks for your help. Please don’t tell my wife about this.
Goodbye,” Then he left in a hurry.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">Doctor Franks was disturbed concerning his strange visitor’s
safety. He immediately went to his landline and called the number he had
memorized.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Hello,” a woman’s voice said on the other end “Who is this?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“It’s about Tom. Is he your husband?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">Cara felt a deep dread at hearing that someone was calling
her about Tom.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Who is this?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“I’m a doctor.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">At that pronouncement, her fear intensified.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Does he have Alzheimer’s?” Franks asked.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Yes, What’s wrong? Is he okay?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“I’m a retired doctor, but I thought I recognized the
symptoms. Your husband just came to my door asking for instructions to Route 29.<span style=""> </span>He wouldn’t tell me his telephone number, but
was willing to give me his wallet, which had the information in it. He just
left here in a hurry. He wouldn’t stay. I called you as soon as he left.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Oh, God. Thank you. I’ve got to go.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">Then she hung up and started for her car to find Tom, but
stopped herself.<span style=""> </span>Going after him was a
crazy idea. She could easily miss him.<span style=""> </span>Instead,
she called the Sherriff’s office.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“This is the Sheriff’s office. Is this an emergency?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Yes. My name is Cara Dooley, my husband is driving around
lost. He has Alzheimer’s, and I just got a phone call from a doctor saying he
came looking for directions to get to Route 29. We’ve lived here for over a
decade. I didn’t know he was this bad. I’m afraid of what will happen to him.
Can you send out a warning to catch him before he gets himself in real trouble?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Is he at the doctor’s office?” the woman who answered the
phone asked.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“No. No. He just happened to knock on the doctor’s door.
It’s a retired doctor, but he managed to get his driver’s license and my number
before he left in a panic.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Let me connect you with Sheriff Tinsley.<span style=""> </span>Please hold the phone.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">Very quickly, Sheriff Tinsley got on the phone. “Hello,
Mrs.<span style=""> </span>Dooley.<span style=""> </span>Let me get the essential information out to the
men in the field so they can be looking for him.<span style=""> </span>What is his name?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Tom Dooley.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Describe the vehicle.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“It’s a white Ford pickup. It’s just family sized. Its
license is 24601. Please hurry.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Yes, Mrs. Dooley. I’m discharging the information now.<span style=""> </span>I’m also sending two officers to your home to
get a detailed report and information. They should get there within 15
minutes.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Thank you.<span style=""> </span>He was
going downhill, but I didn’t know he was deteriorated as far as he appears to
be.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Are you prepared to keep him from driving, Mrs. Dooley?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Definitely.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Do you need us to help you legally to do that?”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“No. I’ll be able to handle it. I want to protect his
dignity. If I can’t, I’ll certainly ask for help.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Don’t wait for too long. We don’t want him getting in
trouble.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“I’m not even sure if we can legally keep him out of trouble.
It is hard to tell how bad he is unless you know him.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“I’m sorry. I just have to ask that. My men will ask you
some of the same questions.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Thank you. Thank you so much. I’ll wait for the officers to
get here.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Thank you for your vigilance. All the best. Can I hang up
now?” Sheriff Tinsley asked.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Yes.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">A squad car arrived quickly after that. <span style=""> </span>Two officers out of Mayberry came knocking on
the door. Cara let them in and proceeded to repeat much of the information
already given. They took notes.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“You say he is worse than he ever has been?” Officer Jones
asked.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“The doctor was very concerned. He has lapses. But he never
got lost before.<span style=""> </span>He doesn’t accept that
there is any problem with his mind. His mother had Alzheimer’s. We went through
hell with her. He said if he ever got as bad as her, he would kill himself. I’m
afraid he would do that. I would rather control him until he gets worse.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Do you really think you can keep him from driving?”<span style=""> </span>the second officer asked her, his voice sounding
cynical.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“I think I can keep the keys from him.<span style=""> </span>He can’t hold a thought long. I’ll call for
help if I can’t.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">The officers looked at her skeptically, but there was not
much they could do to restrict him without <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Cara’s
cooperation.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">At that point, Tom drove into his own driveway. </p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“That’s him now. Thank God.<span style="">
</span>Can you make an excuse for your being here? “</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Yes ma’am,” Officer Jones said, “We understand.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">Tom walked in, very curious as to why the police were at his
home.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Hello, sir. We were just leaving. “</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“What’s the problem, officers?” Tom asked.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“We were just checking out a complaint that one of your
neighbors had about mailbox tampering. You hear anything about that?” Jones
asked.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“No. <span style=""> </span>None that I know
of.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“It’s probably just an isolated incident. Thank you, Mrs.
Dooley.”</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">“Thank you,” Cara said warmly. She was thankful that Tom
came off so normal. However, she knew her life would be different from this
point forward. Her mother-in-law had gone through a process that she could see
Tom was moving through. He had passed the time that he could be trusted to
drive himself.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">Cara took his keys when he wasn’t looking. When he said he
couldn’t find them, which is something that had often happened in the past, she
told him she couldn’t find them, either.<span style="">
</span>Then, with his waning power to keep a thought in mind, he simply forgot
the incident.<span style=""> </span>That would happen
continually for a while. Until things got really bad.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">Cara knew that she was in for one of the worst problems of
her life, and the stress nearly killed her. She wondered why she had to go
through this twice in her life.<span style=""> </span>But she survived
and eventually thrived. </p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">Some of the details of this account are not true, but the
story is basically correct. <span style=""> </span>It is a
situation that too many people are facing every day. </p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal">I had a close friend who had dementia.<span style=""> </span>Strangely enough, the quality of his poetry
endured long into the illness, until he died. I don’t know if he had Alzheimer’s
disease, but the dementia was growing and he was well aware of it. He had an episode
similar to Tom’s. He was driving and suddenly didn’t know where he was. He kept
driving until he picked up enough landmarks where he could re-orient himself
and get home safely. It was one of the most frightening episodes in his life, including
his experiences in the Korean war. He had the presence of mind to throw away
his license.<span style=""> </span>This man never lost is
dignity. May we all be so lucky.</p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv1639530033MsoNormal"> </p><br></div></div></div></div>