Sky: Ready, Set.... Slow

I’ve done what I’m supposed to do…. [at least the steps I can remember ! ] 

• Visited a lawyer to update my will.
• Completed an Advance Directive and a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, should my body outcast my brain’s ability to communicate my wishes about medical care.
• I’ve kept myself busy, volunteering here, there and everywhere.
• I’ve spent more and deeper time with friends and family.
• Spent quality time in the woods, on weekly guided nature walks led by faculty at the UVM Field Naturalist Program.
• Started riding my beloved bike more, now that the weather has started to break.
• Advocated for a support group for those living with with Dementia, then joined one when it became available.
• Traveled coast-to-coast and north-to-south by train and only got lost twice.
• Read and wrote like crazy, learning and sharing about my Alzheimer’s experience.
• With Jane, created a twenty-minute sermon about dementia presented at thirteen church services across the Northeast with more scheduled into the summer.

Wow, now that I write this list, I remember I’ve been a busy boy!

Sky: Five-and-a-Half Million

Five-and-a-half million.

5,500,000 is a LOT.

It is the estimated number of people living with dementia right now in the the United States, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

The number is a lot, but where is everybody?

Sky: Taking the Test, Again

A long-delayed visit to the Memory Clinic the other day, the second follow-up visit since the diagnosis back in the summer of 2016. Due to scheduling conflicts, I’m overdue for another cognitive assessment and check-in. I ask the friendly psychometrist if the test will be the same as the last time. She just gives me an inscrutable smile and says, “Partly," as she leads me into her office. A former mediator myself, I admire her skills at acting neutral and generally keeping her cool as she guides me through the bizarre world of her test.

The first question sets the stage: "I am going to give you three words for you to remember and then say back to me."

Jane: Our Speaking Schedule

Sky and I have been speaking around the Northeast since September on "Living with Dementia." Many of you who have attended our talks have asked to know our full schedule so that you can refer friends and family who live nearby. So, here it is:


April 15, 10:30 am, Skagit UU Fellowship, Mt. Vernon, WA
April 21, 9-noon, workshop, First Unitarian, Portland, OR
April 22, 10:30 am, West Hills UU Fellowship, Portland, OR
April 28, 9-noon, workshop, East Shore Unitarian Church, Bellevue, WA
April 29, 10 am, East Shore Unitarian Church, Bellevue, WA
May 13, 10 am, UU Church, Manchester, NH
May 27, 10 am, Murray UU Church, Attleboro, MA
June 3, 9:30 am, Old Meeting House, E. Montpelier, VT
June 24, 10 am, UU Society, Bangor, ME
July 1, 10 am, College St. Congregational Church, Burlington, VT
July 15, 10:30 am, Barnstable UU Church, Barnstable, MA
Sept. 23, 9:30 am, Mt. Mansfield UU Fellowship, Jericho, VT

If any of our readers would like us to speak in your area, please contact us!

Sky: Alzheimer's Canyon, Part 11

Our hero begins the ragged process of settling in to Alzheimer’s Canyon, apparently his new residence.

Thanks to his invisible guide, Dusty, he has a name now… X…short for X, the Explorer. As well as a few basic supplies, like underwear, clothes and food.

And, he is finally rid of his unfortunate first fashion statement in Alzheimer’s Canyon, the adult diapers supplied by the Shady Way Home.

As the darkness deepens, X notices new sounds drifting up from the valley. You might call it a howling, or maybe a groaning. 

“Dusty, what is that?” 

“Ha! I think I might be right about you after all, my brother, X. Y’all got some good instincts, boy! I didn’t even have to knock you upside the head to be listening, and you HEARD.”