Growing up in the 1940s I recall the greatest fear facing childhood was polio. I recall vividly the image of an iron lung (recently American Pickers encountered an old iron lung as a forgotten relic) and while confronted by such a confining image I do not remember being concerned. My mothers sister and her family living across the street and my two younger female cousins were forbidden to go to the theaters or any large gathering other than their Baptist church. In the 1950s while there was talk of a nuclear war and in the cities children went through drills for such, I cannot recall ever seriously contemplating such a disaster. In college in the late 1950s I encountered the likelihood of a flu epidemic and the first vaccines came out. During those terrible years in the 1980s and 1990s when all those around me, including my partner, fell to AIDS it seemed impossible that it would reach me and I remain negative to this day. Now that I am just shy of 80 the specter of Alzheimers lies ahead. Thanks to a play-by-play account of its progression in The New Republic, and the fact that by 85 half of all seniors will experience some form of dementia this time I am fearful. And I understand why: I would lose control over myself - an overriding concern all my life.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 15:39:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015