THE PIECE OF STRING

Two old friends met one evening and sat on a bench by the river to chat. One said to the other; "Why do you look so gloomy?" The other said; "Well, my wife tied this piece of string round my finger to remind me of something, but I can't remember what it was and I'm frightened to go home." They met again the next night and the man had an even gloomier look. He explained; "When I got home late my wife was furious. She'd tied the piece of string round my finger to remind me to get home early as we were going to her mother's for dinner.Now she's not speaking to me!" I think that wife was a bit unreasonable, but living and dealing with someone suffering from memory loss, dementia or alzheimers cannot be easy. In my own case I am now the early stages of dementia and it can be very annoying for everyone when I forget to buy something. Yesterday I forgot to buy dog food. When I got up at five to feed the dogs I had to scratch around for some scraps which were leftovers from supper. It was spaghetti bolognaise. I duly served the mutts, who were not very impressed. Two of them soon tucked in however, but Boysie took hold of the bowl in his teeth and tipped it out! What a little devil that dog is! But that's Jack Russells for you. Bobby the parrot is still not speaking to me, but at least I had some apple for him which he loves. Although I still forget things, I feel that my memory loss is not getting worse; or if it is t's very slight. Perhaps the macademia nuts and coconut oil do help. Obviously diet is very important in fightng memory loss, dementia and alzheimers. Someone wrote to me to say that excess dairy products are one of the causes of brain deterioration and loss of memory. Perhaps it's true, but of course my generation were brought up to drink lots of milk and eat lots of cheese etc. Also we were encouraged to eat eggs which are now claimed to be contributory to heart disease and strokes.I must say that after a lifetime of eating eggs and bacon and juicy steaks with lots of fats I am now certain that a high fat diet is lethal. My late wife and I often followed the Atkins diet. She died at 59 after two strokes. I am still going strong, but I had to have a 'stint' because of blocked arteries. Of course smoking is probably the most destructive thing that one can do. Apart of course from drugs. My own regime is now a good walk every day and swimming when warm enough.Today it is a lovely day here in Paarl, 27%, so not quite warm enough for swimming. Boysie will be very disappointed! Keep taking the tablets! David