Fading Memories
I met Michael yesterday. I was in a Kroger grocery store on the south side of Conroe, TX. I do book signings in Kroger stores every two weeks. I love it and I meet the neatest people and have the most wonderful discussions. Michael was sweeping floors as part of his job. This particular store is a giant - fully a hundred yards by a hundred yards of floor space. He passed me several times, and finally he stopped to ask me what kind of books I had. That led into a conversation that fairly captured my heart. You see, Michael told me he has Alzheimer’s. He told me that he is 61 years young, and that he was diagnosed seven years ago. We talked for several minutes. I listened to him tell his story, how he takes treatments daily, plays word games, and different things that I didn’t understand. But that didn’t matter. You see, Michael was excited about them. He told me he lost his wife a short time back, and that his motherin law was paying for his treatments. He was very excited about yesterday, because he was testing for a new job there at Kroger’s. He came back and chatted a bit every now and then during the day. He had a light in his eyes that said he was a fighter. At one point the store manager came by and I mentioned Michael to him and related a bit of our conversation. The manager came over closer and started telling me about Michael. His story, as you might imagine, has its up and downs. He told me that a few weeks ago he caught Michael pushing the broom upside down. He stopped and corrected him and told him it would probably work better if he turned it over. Michael looked down and seemed shocked, and said, “Well, I wonder how it got like that?” He said Michael has been better the last week particularly but his prognosis is not good. I asked Michael what he thought might have triggered the condition and he told me “Sugar.” He said that he had been a sugar addict all his life, plus he had also been a drinker, which of course means more sugar. He has
