How Aging Is Like a Science Fiction Movie
Is an old person in your life driving you absolutely crazy?
A few weeks ago I watched one of those movies/shows that’s about a human being who gradually realizes they’re not a human being, but an android or clone. This poor character has a brain loaded with memories of having a full life and a home he thought he’d return to one day, but none of it is real. At one point, he weeps, “I just want to go home,” but the home he wants doesn’t really exist. It’s heartbreaking.
Recently I had a discussion with someone who helps her aging parent with daily tasks because she can’t do everything herself anymore. This elderly person will sometimes be in her own home and still say “Please take me home.”
I was in the car of a friend one day and noticed the passenger seat was weird. I said, “Why doesn’t this seat have an armrest like yours does?” He said, “You say that every time.” It shocked me because I’d been in his car many times over the years, but I had no memory of ever saying that. What happened to my brain?
Sometimes it seems to me as if the changes in memory that often come with aging are like a science fiction movie where someone has messed with someone else’s brain.
- You remember things that those around you don’t remember.
