Got mooched again today, this time for Peter Ackroyd's London: A Biography. I'm actually a big fan of Ackroyd, but there was something about this book that didn't agree with me, although it's brilliant, well-researched and encyclopedic, as his work usually is. It's a big, heavy tome. The moocher is located in New Jersey, so I've got to decide which postal option to use. "If this is too costly to send from Aus to the US, feel free to cancel," she said. "Otherwise, you can send it economy mail -- or whatever your slow boat option is." Which is probably what I'll do.
Busy day today. I'll be at Pennant Hills at 8:30 a.m. to get my car serviced. Then I'll go to the post office to send this book away. After that I'm going to drop by my old house-mates' place to have lunch. Finally, while I'm up in that part of the world, I'll drop by to see my uncle, who is living in a dementia-specific care unit at the Anglican Retirement Village in Castle Hill. He's suffering from Stage 2 Alzheimer's Disease, but he still recognises me when I visit.
It's a bit of a worry, his condition, as a South-Australian aunt on the other side of the family tree also had Alzheimer's when she died. Family predisposition is a major factor in early-onset Alzeimer's, so it's likely that I, too, will suffer from the disease at some stage, possibly before the age of 70. Hopefully, keeping my mind active through reading will work against it.
2 comments:
Dean,
There's been a lot of research publicised about Alzheimers lately - you've probably seen it. But in case you haven't, fruit juice daily is apparently an effective preventative, as is learning a language or a musical instrument. Reading and writing are probably pretty good too!
You never know what's going to happen. My dad's short-term memory is very bad. And he's just decided suddenly that they -- my mum and dad -- are going to relocate from the Sunshine Coast even further north: to Townsville or Cairns. He doesn't like the cold!
We'll see what happens. They are yet to go through the process of travelling up the coast, to locate a suitable spot. That, in itself, will be a major challenge, especially for him.
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