The Card
Hint you might not be focused: A debit card arrives from a bank you don’t know. Slight panic. I’ve been hacked. Slow realization. What if it is mine? Quick check. Sure enough, your old bank has merged with this new bank. First thought? Why didn’t someone tell me? Second thought. They did. You missed it. Seems an important thing to have missed. Next thought. Is this what happens when you get old?
After that I didn’t have many thoughts except to figure out where I have to change my card for automatic bill pay. It’s a bit of a problem, but people are good at letting you know when your card doesn’t work, and I mean really good. They don’t sit around lost, going “Oh, this card doesn’t work, whatever shall we do?” They know what to do and they’re fast, and they do it. So, I think together we can get through this. Teamwork.
But back to being old. I do think there might be a slight issue with the brain’s ability to process data as we age, as in multiple data streams might be bad. It’s one reason why I turned off the radio in the car. Although, on the other hand, it may well be related to grief. As in, August was the anniversary of my wife’s passing, I just cleaned out her closet, and my brain may still be having issues coming to grips with the new universe. Something to ponder for sure, and if I’m good at anything, it’s pondering, maybe too good, put that’s a whole other story.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale