"What made you suspect it might be Alzheimer's?"
This is #1 by a landslide.
The answer to this question may not be of real help
to anyone else. The reason?
Because every case is unique.
The truest phrase I've heard is:
"If you've seen one case of Alzheimer's Disease,
you've seen...
one case of Alzheimer's Disease."
With Jack Stovall, there was little question.
In his world there was no shade of grey.
There was black, and there was white.
He was able to have details of multiple jobs so
ingrained in his mind that he could tell
you the exact financial status of each.
Jack never forgot anything, especially about
his beloved company.
His organizational skills were legendary.
It was not necessary for me to call him to remind
him of appointments.
Until...
June 29, 2000.
Our friends Skip and Becky Leffler had asked
us to do something really exciting!
Charlton Heston was coming to town on
behalf of the NRA, and they
invited us to share their table!
We were going to get to see "Moses" at the
Arlington Convention Center!
Even cool and collected Jack was his version of excited
about this prospect.
He decided he would get a haircut for the occasion.
His appointment was in the afternoon.
As he left the barber shop he called me and said
that he was headed back to the office.
I said, "Do you really think you have time
to do that?"
And he said...
"Why wouldn't I?"
He had totally forgotten the reason for the hair cut.
That just didn't happen.
I was stunned.
A couple of weeks before there had been an incident
at church.
I wrote a check for something special
which we were going to give to Lonnie Diggs,
the church financial manager at the time.
We always saw Lonnie on Sunday morning,
as we worked the visitor's center.
Jack put the check in his shirt pocket.
I noticed it missing later and asked him
if he had delivered the check, to which he replied,
"What check?"
Lonnie didn't get it, and it was never
seen again.
This had continued to puzzle me, but it became
much more significant in my mind
after the C. Heston event.
I know these two incidents might easily be
explained away--if they hadn't happened to
Jack Stovall.
Subsequently there were many more occurrences--
becoming more and more obvious.
But this is where it all began...
One case of Alzheimer's Disease.
*Stay tuned
for what happened right after this!
(The picture is a hint!)
Love this recollection. How do you remember these details? Did you make a journal or take notes? Yes, probably ingrained since they were so significant. Looking forward to the next installment.
ReplyDeleteI made quite a few notes--not nearly enough. They are not organized, but I plan to do that someday. These particular events were so earth-shattering that they are forever etched in my memory. I have had my old calendars out recently, enabling me to know the dates.
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