Creatively Aging

The impeccably-dressed, silver-haired woman said “Ah, that something we seniors fear more than death.” And what is that ? That is dementia. You might have guessed that, seeing that I so often write about Alzheimer’s Disease and other memory-robbing, personality-stripping medical diagnoses. And I am now but in the unusual reflection that is the case of Brooke Astor and her son Anthony Marshall.

I am always trying to find ways to understand humanity’s (okay mine too) fascination with the lives of the rich and the powerful. It is entertaining but sometimes it is also a useful mirror through which we can see ourselves, if we dare look. And in the Astor trail do we dare look?

What might be see? A rich old lady. A rich old man. Whispers of a greedy daughter-in-law. But we also see trust abused – for Mrs. Astor trusted her son, her only son, to take care of her and the court has now found that he cared more for himself than for her. We see the vulnerable abused – for few can be more vulnerable than the elderly who lose their independence of mind, of spirit, of self. It is a shame. And a crime.