Martha

Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Well, no, that is a lie. I have a hard time telling you about Martha but calling her someone else. The story is not told with malice, only love, and it is not really embarrassing when you consider Martha's dementia is far enough along that she needs special care.

So I say I've changed names so I don't get sued but the odds are minuscule and if I get any complaints, I'll call her Marilyn. See what  I mean, just doesn't feel the same as calling Martha, Martha.

Martha is one of Gregory's table mates in the dining room at The Lieberman Center. You may have read about her previously.

She is a short, cute (you know how old age can go ugly or cute, well Martha's went cute,) pixie cut white haired sprite. Besides the periodic grimace and shout out of arthritic pain in her shoulders, she is pleasant and usually in a good mood.

She talks non-stop. And when I say non-stop, I mean NON-STOP. For example, as her Aide was wheeling her away from the table today after lunch, Martha continued to talk as if the audience and venue was the same as it had been before leaving the table and dining room.

Some of the time her conversation makes complete sense and is "present time related" but most of the time it is Martha reliving events and people from her past as though they or she were still in her present.

She usually does this with mild exasperation and a "what can you do" attitude which makes me really wonder what her family and friends must have been like. Her attitude is endearing and her complaining engaging, not put offish.

Also, I cannot say that what she says always makes sense because most of the time it doesn't, but if you listen closely, it is hard to tell which part makes sense and which part does not. 

For example read here a repost of yesterday's conversation:
Martha: "May I call you Jack."
Me: "Yes you may."
Martha: "Is that your name?"
Me: "No."
Martha: "Then what is your name?"
Me: "Michael."
Martha: "Well I'll call you that then."

Today at lunch Martha, talking non-stop, was fussing with the little bit of left over food on her plate. She pushed it this way and that, back a little, pulled it forward a little while talking about wrapping it up and putting it in the car.

Then she stopped and asked no one in particular if putting the food in the car was a good idea? "They might come and steal the food. They might just do that. But then again they might come and still the car so I do not know what to do.

Made perfect sense in her wonderfully demented way of thinking. I'll try to remember more of what she talked about because she gets really creative. She makes me laugh a lot although sometimes I just want to say, "Martha, lets play the "Can you be quiet for two minutes?" game.