"In this sticky web that we're all in, behaving decently is no small task." -- Novelist Stacey D'Erasmo

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Are You Losing Your . . .

     I just found out I passed my test for long-term care insurance, the one that includes the memory test to make sure I'm not on the verge of falling into the miasmic haze of Alzheimer's. That's a relief!

     (They also made sure that I wasn't HIV positive; and they gave me a drug test, too. These guys don't take anything for granted.)

     But I must admit, as I relayed on Are You Getting Alzheimer's? I was a little worried about the memory test. I never had a great memory to start with, and it hasn't gotten any better in recent years. How many times have I misplaced my wallet? How many times do I misremember the name of a store in town? How often have I pushed everything aside, looking for my glasses . . .  only to realize that they were propped up on top of my head?!? How much time have I lost wandering around the house looking for the remote control, or my coffee cup, or the book I'm reading?

     Anyway, I only got six out of ten questions right on the memory test. But apparently, that's enough to pass. So while my memory may not be the best, apparently it's not so bad as to disqualify me for insurance.

     I guess it's a good thing B signed up for her long-term-care insurance a few years ago. I honestly don't know if she'd pass the test today.

     Last week she called me from work. As soon as she'd walked in the door that morning, she told me, she'd gotten involved with some colleagues in an ongoing problem -- even before she'd had a chance to put down her purse and get settled into her desk. Then, at the end of the day, she got ready to go home. She reached into her purse, and her car keys were not there.

     Had she put them down somewhere when she arrived at work in the morning? She couldn't remember. She looked around her desk. She emptied her purse onto her desk and scoured through everything. She looked on the shelves in her room, and out in the lobby; at the copy machine and in the ladies room. She could not find her keys.

     So she'd had to call me to come and pick her up from work. Not a super big problem. She had an extra set of keys. We keep all our extra keys in a bowl by the front door. Only, when she got home, she went to look in the bowl . . . and her car keys were not there!

     We looked everyplace. The kitchen; the basement; the garage. She called her son, just in case he had the extra key. Nope. I drove her to work the next morning, and we both searched her car to see if either key was in the glove compartment or under a seat or in the trunk. No luck.

     Finally, B had her car towed up to the Ford dealer (fortunately, we have AAA so the tow was free), where they replaced her key. That was not at all free. There was the patch key, and the regular key, and an extra charge for the remote opener. I don't know how much she spent to replace her key -- she wouldn't tell me! -- but it was several hundred dollars.

     What could we do? We laughed about the whole ridiculous situation. We joked that her keys would no doubt surface the moment she got home with her new keys. But they didn't. We still haven't found those keys.

     But that's nothing. I play cards with a bunch of buddies once a month. Last Friday we all got together, and one of my friends told me how stupid he sometimes feels . . . sometimes, because this has happened more than once.

     He has an iPhone and a holder for it that attaches to his belt. So he's at work, walking down the hall, or coming out of the building, talking to his wife, or an associate on his iPhone. He looks down and suddenly realizes that his holder is empty. Oh crap, he says to himself. Where's my phone? Did I leave it behind on my desk? A few more swear words, kicking himself for losing his phone. When he suddenly realizes, the phone is in his hand! He's talking on the $#*#$*$ phone!

     Surely, you've never done anything as embarrassing as that, have you? But I still say, it's not because we're getting old. It's because life has become too complicated, and there's just too much stuff to keep track of!

18 comments:

DJan said...

Oh, dear, that's a funny story about the iPhone! I think part of the problem is that it's not just a phone but everything else as well. I wonder where your wife's car keys actually got to? I thought they might show up in the car door (I've done that). :-)

Meryl Baer said...

I like your excuse that life is getting too complicated....Did your wife drop the keys on the ground someplace? i have done that...

stephen Hayes said...

When we're in a store or doctor's office and I'm asked my phone number my wife looks at me curiously because half the time I can't remember it. In my defense, I don't often call myself.

Anonymous said...

David remembers prices and goes to the store with the lowest price. I can't. But, he can't remember names and phone numbers, whereas I can.

Linda Myers said...

I have three pairs of glasses and haven't yet learned to put them down in the same place every time. My husband says I need a chain. No!

Anonymous said...

I don't think B is losing her memory. When we are distracted, the short-term memory doesn't have a chance to record properly. Also I operate on the premise that as we age our hard drive is full. I mean just how much can we store. The amazing thing to me are the memory bubbles that pop up. I should write them down as they occur because almost as soon as one appears it disappears again. I had one today, but I think it has sunk into my subconscious again, whatever it was.

Olga said...

yeah, I'll go with that--too much stuff to remember because life has become so complicated.

Janette said...


Over ten years ago I called my husband, and then the police because my car was stolen. I waited for those police when my husband called back and reminded me I had taken a different airline to my work. Meaning, my car was in a different parking garage! Loads of explaining to the police.
That was when I decided to slow down and call him with my parking spot number. I never forget- since I told him :)

Anonymous said...

I have 15 pair of costco reading glasses. 3 pair at work 2 in my briefcase, 1 in the kitchen, 1 by the TV, 1 in my home office, 1 on the night stand, 1 in the car, 1 in my tennis bag, 1 in my golf bag. an a spare 3 pack. I have it covered.

Tabor said...

We must admit that part of it IS because we are getting old. But I also think we are shifting our priorities and tend to think about more important things then where something is.

Kirk said...

I have a fairly large home shop where I spend a lot of time. Very frequently I will have a tool or a part in my hand, set it down to do something else, and a few minutes later am completely unable to find the tool/part again without a long search.

At least with keys/phone/wallet I've gotten pretty disciplined about where I put them when I get home.

The wife does keep many pairs of reading glasses stashed around the house, and frequently misplaces the car keys in the kitchen.

All part of being "mature".

Rosaria Williams said...

Tom, have you researched the benefits of long-term insurance? I have heard so many negative things.

Tom said...

Hi Rosaria -- Yes, I have some info. in the above mentioned "Are You Getting Alzheimer's" and also at my post "The Basics of Long-Term-Care Insurance" [http://sightingsat60.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-basics-of-long-term-care-insurance.html.]

Bottom line: It's useful for people who are rich enough to want to protect their assets, but not so rich that they can protect those assets themselves. And then the "X" factor is whether you trust that the insurance company will actually pay out the premium when and if you need it 10 or 20 years from now. I guess I'm betting they will.

June said...

I once had the extreme pleasure of telling my boss that he was TALKING ON HIS PHONE while he was ranting that he couldn't find it. I do think it isn't that we're getting old and forgetful . . . it is that there's too much happening too fast all the time for our poor human brains to keep track of.
You can't ponder wisdom and skip from one subject to another in your mind all at the same time.

Anonymous said...

I am having a problem finding things that I put away in my home so I recently started writing down the locations of where I "hide" items so that when I need them again, I will know where to find them. Currently, I have a shipping tape gun, and a small hammer missing from my tool box. Last seen: I used the tape gun when I was preparing to mail a box item and I used the hammer to hang a picture. Where on earth did I put these things?

Anonymous said...

can't remember why...but I love love loved this blog...I will now "bookmark" so I will have a reminder to come back...seriously, though, I feel like I am 16 with a 65 yr old body..the reality of this must be faced-the comments here are priceless-I am NOT alone! :)

Hauola said...

Enjoyed this article and the comments, reassuring to know I am not in the minority amongst this 'over sixty' segment of life. I have arrived and can relate to the forget something, somewhere, at some time or another, some days more frequently than others. I have always had a fear of locking myself out of the house, although reluctant to place a hidden house key outside where even I may not remember its exact hiding place. The solution instead has been to have a house key on numerous sets of keys. Those sets of keys happen to include vehicle keys, and then the spare key to my daughters' home, the keys for the bicycle cable lock and the key fob I take when going for a walk in the neighborhood and want to travel light, in my vast "key world". Perhaps it is time for a key log and hope for the best on remembering where it was left last!

Unknown said...

Nowadays, having a reliable health insurance is essential. And I’m glad that you will continue to have yours. At the very least, you’re assured that no matter what happens, you’ll receive all the medical care you might need. Take care!

Mitchell Carlson @ Insure Your Company