James

Reston, former New York Times columnist and author of several books once called Ronald Reagan “An authentic phony.”Why do I bring this up at this time? Because this terse,pithy phrase, accurately describing Reagan, is even a more accurate description of our present Republican Vice-Presidential candidate,. Sarah Pailin is the epitomy of

an authentic phony.

[A piece penned after reading an eight-year-old article entitled “Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease.” Some progress has been made since then, but still . . .]

I am not in the Medical Profession, and I live in New York City. So why would a layman and an Easterner be reading “Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease” in the 2000 Summer issue of Medicine Northwest? My son, Dr. Jay T. Rubinstein, an alumnus of your medical school, sent me the issue, knowing that I am deeply interested in Alzheimer’s.

Deeply interested? Mildly terrified — in a low keyed way - would be a better description.
Two of my aunts died with or of Alzheimer’s. My mother died of the effects of this disease in her late 80’s. One of my sisters became a victim of Alzheimer’s in her 60’s, though another sister died at age 86 with her mind as clear as a bell. So, I concluded that, while Alzheimer’s may be genetic in origin, it only pursues female family members.

Incomplete information or questionable logic proved me wrong. Beginning a number of
years back, my older brother started to show progressive signs of Alzheimer’s.At his age of 89,
itwas difficult to hold a reasonable conversation with him. He rambled from subject to subject, with no nexus whatsoever. He was always so intelligent; his memory loss was frightening to me. As I listened to him, I kept asking myself, “When will I fall into the abyss?” My wife, watching the altered life of my sister-in-law, probably got more jittery than I did.. [He died at 93, completely oblivious of visiting friends and family.]

Do I or don’t I have incipient Alzheimer’s? Your article on the subject, interesting as it
was, provided more questions than answers for me or others like me who have threatening family histories and are over 80. I am 86 years of age, well on my way to 87.

My memory loss is a source of constant frustration, ranging from mild to moderate to
severe, depending on the subject matter and the circumstances. I now grope for the mot juste I
have known for years, unable to bring it quickly to my tongue. Recently, while visiting Mt.
Vemon, I inquired of a guide whether there were presently any Washington “ancestors” living in
the vicinity. Of course, I meant “descendants,” but I twice repeated this question before realizing
my error. I purposefully go in a certain direction or enter another room, and then have to stop to
question myself as to why I am there. The question usually answers itself quickly, but the
hesitation is frustrating and its growing frequency scary. I suddenly find myself mildly dyslexic,
dialing wrong phone numbers and typing words with transposed letters.

I have become butterfingered, dropping things much more often than I used to. Lyrics to
songs I’ve known for years endlessly repeat themselves in my mind. I sleep well but, when I
awaken in the middle of the night due to a prostate condition, I have problems going back to sleep. Too many thoughts keep competing for my attention. I periodically find myself brooding about opportunities missed during my earlier years. Furthermore, while my conscious memory keeps getting worse, my subconscious memory seems to be improving. I never used to remember dreams; now I do.

Am I in the initial stages of Alzheimer’s, or are these just the normal signs of aging shared
with my contemporaries? I don’t know, and nobody seems to be able to tell me, including your
article, my General Practitioner and my Neurologist. If Alzheimer’s is on the horizon, is there
anything I can do to alleviate the situation or delay the progression? The answers in books and articles are pablum, not really of much practical use.

I know that there are numerous research projects involving Alzheimer’s, but no one seems
to have a grip on the date when helpful solutions might emerge. Recent tests on mice indicate
some progress. Have researchers reached a stage where they are seeking humans for trial runs on
hopeful approaches? Am I a man or a mouse? I might be interested in finding out, but where do I
go to volunteer? In short, I am in a no man’s land, apparently one with a growing population. It would be appreciated if contributors to Medicine Northwest provided guidance in these areas in future issues. I hope they make it on time.

In the meantime, I’m still anticipating.

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Just a few questions, Sarah, to determine whether you are a human person or just a zealot.

(1) If you found that your husband or one of your sons had raped your daughter, and she became pregnant, would you consider her having an abortion?

(2) If you could relive the last few years, would you counsel your daughter on birth control, or would you still insist that abstinence is the only way to go?

(3) Since you apparently believe in family values,for a woman with five children –– many of them young and one an infant with Down’s Syndrome requiring special attention –– and a 17 year old pregnant daughter who needs comforting and extra support,do you think it appropriate to take on a job requiring extra long hours and substantial international travel away from home?  If your answer is “Yes. are you really a good mother?    [I know, I know, you are going to ask me if I would ask the same question of a man. Well, Sarah, in spite of many changes, fathers are not mothers.]

(4) Your unmarried daughter’s pregnancy should of course be a private family matter, but you must have known that, if you ran for Vice-President, it wass bound to come out and be spread on every front page in the Country, causing your daughter substantial embarrassment.As a good mother, shouldn’t you have turned down the V.P. offer so as to spare your daughter this humiliation? Is your ego that important?

If your answers are what I expect them to be, then you are simply a more physically attractive version of Phyllis Schiafly.

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EDWARDS

In a recent Times column, Gail Collins serves up the following with reference to political infidelities:

“The American public has always had an extremely pragmatic attitude towards their elected officials.and will overlook almost anything if they believe the sinning pol can deliver on the job.”

Bravo! If true, my hat is off to the American public. And it is probably true. President Grover Cleveland was accused of fathering a love child while in office, but still was elected to a second term. FDR had a mistress throughout most of his terms .Rumors were rife about Eisenhower and his driver.And Bill Clinton remained very poular in spite of his sexual shenanigans and his impeachment trial.

I repeat: hats off to the American public or at least to the majority of them. To those who disagree, let me ask you a question: Which would you rather have in office, a philanderer who successfully governs in the way you would like, or a faithful fellow who leads the Country into wars, recessions, and inflation? The answer is obvious.

We are electing Presidents, not Saints.And, with all the attention we give them, all the cheering and hoopla and hallelujas we shower them with, who can blame them for believing that acceptable rules of conduct do not apply to them. After all, if vaunted Evangelical leaders and Catholic Priests cannot be trusted to uphold the rules of morality they preach to others, why should our Presidents be different?

In spite of this, everyone jumps on John Edwards. Almost all our newspaper columnists and TV talking heads turns thumbs down. I wonder how many of them are without sin. Glass houses, glass houses, glass houses!

I still like Senator Edwards and, even more, I very much like the causes he espouses.I feel sorry for his wife, but that should be a personal matter between the two of them. If she suffers from unwanted publicity.who is more to blame, her husband or the media who are mealy mouthed about her suffering at the same time they are contributing to it.

We live in a strange world. Millions of women will stand behind a husband accused of murder, but will head for the divorce court in response to a single case of infidelity.

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“Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Emma Lazarus

Alas, Emma’s heartfelt poem has been perverted by a rising number of rich Americans moving to tropic paradises to avoid the I.R.S. and live a tax-free life. I offer an updated version of the poem for overseas realtors to use in advertising in U.S.

Give me your retired, your mature,

Your affluent numbers yearning to be tax free,

The wealthy members of your teeming shore.

Send these shrewd buyers, aircraft tossed to me,

I offer beach sHes with benefits galore.

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