kind of sad

not sure if you all remember, but I have mentioned this older couple, well,
much older couple, who come into the restaurant alot, the Whistler and
his wife - Tom and Marion. She is, at least what I thought anyway, in the
early stages of Alzheimers. Well, last night gave me some evidence that
she is not in the early stages, but much more advanced. I was sitting and
chatting with my friend and 'concerned observer' Mrs. Reagan when Tom
and Marion walked in. I of course went up to them, hugged Marion and
shook Tom's hand. I led them to this corner table they like, and they
walked past Mrs. Reagan. After chatting with Tom for a bit, I went back
over to Mrs. Reagan, who informed me that Marion told her, as she was
walking past, that she just knew her father was crazy but he just won't tell
her. Our hearts sank, as we realized that Marion thinks Tom is her dad,
not her husband. It got worse later, when Mrs. Reagan had already left.
The daughter and son-in-law of Tom and Marion came in later on and
joined them; Marion had no recognition of her daughter. It is so sad, as
she always has a smile on her face, but beneath that smile is a sort of
blank emptiness. It brought me back to a conversation I had with them
in the past, about some place I had visited. Marion responded at that
point that she goes there alot with her mother. I kind of brushed it off,
thinking that maybe she meant she used to go there with her mother.
But now I am starting to think that in her mind, she may well indeed
think her mother is still alive and that she spends time with her. Makes
me mad that there is the possibility of maybe doing something about this
disease, as well as others, with stem cell research, yet the ultra conserva-
tives won't let it happen. I mean, I am generally a conservative too, but
not to the point that I put blinders on. Common sense takes over at some
point when the contradictions begin to pile up. Tom sure does put up a
gallant front and facade with Marion, calling her lapses "the wobblies".
He does take such good care of her, it is nice to see. And her good days
are a joy, but they seem to be fewer as time goes on. Boy, need to change
the subject and cheer up - oh, will be working with the lovely Kathy today
and tomorrow! I am sure she will share some stories of her temporary
place of residence; for instance, last week, she told us about some fellow
resident who lost her privaleges due to sneaking some kind of contraband
inside. Then she saw one of the cooks wearing a bright colored T-shirt
and asked him what on earth was he doing wearing "inmate orange"!?!
And Tina (boob job girl for those of you who don't remember, or are new
readers!) will be in tomorrow night too, so double dose of pretty girl
drama queens! Oh, speaking of queens, let me slip in a special Hello to
the Queens (and non-queens of course) of Queens! (that sentence was
an English teachers nightmare, I used the word 'queen' 4 times!)
Haven't seen our fellow girlfriend Sandra in a while, so I am assuming
she is in the Big Apple again doing another show. The local drag queen
community had their 2006 pagent a couple weeks ago, and it was covered
by the local press. That was a nice accomplishment in itself; what was
disappointing is that there were only 3 contestants, as the better known
ones didn't compete for one reason or another. Oh well, maybe next year!