I've been a professional fundraiser, a mother (sometimes married, sometimes not), a would-be novelist, a knitter, avid reader, pretty good cook, and, if we go back far enough, musical comedy star (summer camp version. Did you know “There’s No Business Like show Business?”) Get ready to answer the call as I attempt to stride boldly …
Fiftieth – Yikes! – Colgate Reunion!
I’ve just returned from my 50th college reunion and my emotions are all over the place. I was a fairly indifferent student at a selective school. That is, it was selective if you were a guy. As a woman breaking the gender barrier, not so much. I entered as a junior transfer student and why …
Fiftieth – Yikes! – Colgate Reunion!
I’ve just returned from my 50th college reunion and my emotions are all over the place. I was a fairly indifferent student at a selective school. That is, it was selective if you were a guy. As a woman breaking the gender barrier, not so much. I entered as a junior transfer student and why …
The jury (psychiatrist conducting dementia screening) has spoken.
And I do not, repeat do NOT show signs of dementia. I’m just old. Most of us are at the age where our annual physical includes a quick-and-dirty mental acuity test. Draw a clock showing 11:15. Remember these three words: teacher, television, bandage. Of course now you must think of nothing but those three words …
Continue reading The jury (psychiatrist conducting dementia screening) has spoken.
Andi’s back…and she’s more real than ever
Fasten your seat belts! It’s going to be a bumpy night! Unlike most of my friends, I’ve never been terribly fearful about dementia. My father lived to be 96 and was coherent till the end. Ditto my mother at ninety. Alzheimer's had a serious hereditary component, didn't it? Seems to me there are three sources …
Bye bye rugs. Hello hospital socks!
First thing to go was the area rugs. Wha??? You mean those beautiful 4x6 floor adornments that I schlepped from Marrakech all the way home with a stop in Lisbon, storing them overnight at the airport so I wouldn’t have to pay a duty on what the Portuguese authorities thought I would be doing: selling …
What Fresh Hell is This?
Forget the merry-go-round's brass ring; that’s not important here. I’m talking about the ponies. Let’s say that the horses represent Parkinson’s. Let's also hypothesize that you're in reasonably good shape; your meds are working most of the time, and have done so for a grand total of about three weeks. You try not to think …
Keepin’ it real, folks
I’d just been telling all and sundry how well I was doing, Parkinson’s-wise. It seemed that, after two years of trial and error, we’d finally hit on the right combo of meds, with the attendant diminution of symptoms. Episodes of Parkinsonian depression descended occasionally, along with the muscle stiffening and and leg tremors, but they …
I am a Genius. The New York Times Says So.
Is tidydame a word? It should be. Are you listening, all you Marie Kondo acolytes? Petition the Oxford English Dictionary so I can maintain my genius status. For the uninitiated, I’m talking about Spelling Bee, the daily New York Times brain teaser, which for me serves the vital function of mental status barometer. If I …
You call this retirement?
In January, 2022, I bade adieu to my colleagues and, after 40+ years raising funds for a host of non-profit organizations, I walked out the door. Was I worried about how I'd fill my days without a schedule or meetings or people to gossip with? Not I. I was the poster child for a fulfilling …
Moving and Shaking 