On Thursday, Kris' Grandmother called. She calls infrequently, and at odd hours.

She's called at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. She's called at 10:00 p.m. on Friday. She calls when she's thought of something to say and she believes there is a possibility that somebody will be awake on the receiving end.

On Thursday, Kris' Grandmother called at a reasonable hour. She wanted to thank Kris for her Christmas gift, though she couldn't remember what it was she had been given. When informed that Kris had given her a silver ginko-leaf pin, she was delighted. She had found the pin recently, tucked away in some nook or cranny, and she thought it was beautiful. She couldn't recall from whence it had come, and she was pleased to learn the Kris had given it to her for Christmas.

On Saturday, Kris' Grandmother called, again at a reasonable hour. She wanted to thank Kris for her Christmas gift, though she couldn't remember what it was she had been given. When informed that Kris had given her a silver ginko-leaf pin, she was delighted. Kris' Grandmother is losing her memory. She is an intelligent woman, well-read and erudite, but her memory is failing.

I noticed the memory failure several years ago. When we chanced to speak (not often), she would ask me the same questions ("J.D., are there any Tintin books that you would like? I seem to remember I have a catalog from which I might order one or two." "Thank you, Pamela, but I already have them all. I appreciate the thought, though.")

Pamela also sometimes confuses me with my brother-in-law, Richard. I'm never sure whether the confusion is merely on a verbal level, or whether she has comletely exchanged our identities in her mind. Does she imagine that Richard is living here in Oregon? That I am living with Tiffany in the desert? Does she confuse our personalities? Or does she simply confuse my name with Richard's?

(Kris' mother confuses our names constantly. I fine her a nickel every time she calls me Richard. Over the Holidays, she accumulated $1.00 in fines. Of course, she confuses her daughters' names, too -- it's not just her sons-in-law!)

Kris is saddened by the deterioration. She loves her Grandmother, and is understandably shaken to see her fading. She relishes the opportunity to speak with her, and the two continue to exchange letters. Increasingly, though, Kris' Grandmother repeats herself, or forgets important details.

We spent a night and a day with Pamela when we were in California during the Holidays. Her old house felt empty, uninhabited. Her mobility is limited, and she seems to spend much of her day seated on an old, well-used stool in the middle of the kitchen.

And in the morning, when the sun shines through the window over the sink, Pamela is radiant. She glows. She is bathed in sunlight. It seems that her rickety stool has been placed just-so: precisely in the spot from which she can derive the greatest benefit from the rejuvenating rays of the sun.

On this day at foldedspace.org

2005 — Everyone Has Something to Say   I believe that everybody is talented, original, and has something to say.

2004 — Top Films of 2002 & 2003   Rating the top films of 2002 & 2003. Learning to use iChat. Resisting the urge to eat Girl Scout cookies.

2003 — Obsession   My new 105mm macro lens just arrived.