260625 Ghosts of the Future

This post is not something I have dreamt up to frighten you. It is what I experienced many years ago when visiting an old WW2 hero.

Think about this piece of reality.

Ghosts of the Future

I was in St. Louis years ago, and while there, went to the old folks home. It is an experience. If you have never been in one, you have quite an eye opener ahead of you. The sight of all of these once vibrant people now in states of physical and mental breakdown is chilling!

You may remember the scene in the movie or the book ‘A Christmas Carol’ where the ghost of Christmas future visits Mr.Scrooge. In it he is terrified by the prospect of what he sees and asks, “is this the things that will be or is it just the things that may be?” When I was there at the home, I, like Mr.Scrooge, am asking, “are these the things that will be or is it just the things that may be?”

I suppose that if I am lucky, I will be walking out to pull a weed, or better, returning with a freshly picked flower for my love when I fall over dead as a stone. In my current state, I’m hoping for the end, whenever it may be, to come swiftly and without a lot of pain. As I sit here I dread the thought of just hanging on in a purgatory of endless years with a decaying body and a mind that suffers from Dementia.

The scene at the home is, to me, remotely similar to an artists’ rendition of Dante’s Inferno, with the suffering souls thrashing about. The home and staff are just fine, no complaints there at all. The suffering is in the minds of the residents.

We are born helpless, we are cared for and we grow. On the other end of the line all that we have accomplished and grown into, slowly diminishes and we return to the helpless state and eventually to the state of non-being on this plane. That is the plan and there are no changing seats.

This below is what I saw in the home.
One of the ladies there still carries her purse as though she is going somewhere and eventually sits down and has this blank look on her face like she just doesn’t know what is going on at all. Another stands from her wheelchair and sets off an automatic alarm that brings the staff to reseat her. From the look on her face, she never figures out what is happening. Another woman just sits there in a dream-like state singing a little song and moving her arms about as though she was providing a perch for butterflies or a bird to land on. One resident barked orders non-stop. He went on and on for an hour and a half. He was in his mind still in world war two commanding a group of soldiers.

Not being a trained professional, but rather an observer, I think all of the activities reflect what was locked in their past, but now is being re-lived in a state of semi-delirious living. There are many retired Nuns there. They are the calmest of all. I’m guessing the deep and abiding faith through the years is still working today. They are impeccably dressed in their robes and habits.

There is another wing of the facility where the residents are in a lock-up situation. I assume this prevents those with a penchant for wandering away from completing their goal. For all I know they may have violent tendencies that preclude them from sharing the facility with the other residents. The staff are under paid and over worked but all seem kind and caring in every situation. The home is really a good place. The problem is the requirements for being a resident are a loss of physical and/or mental function. The scary part is we are all headed in that direction. In some respects we all have the beginnings of mental problems. We all do abnormal things.

So before you get depressed, think for a moment. What we are today is the determining factor in what you will be tomorrow. At some point, when the conscious thought processes disappear, what we have left are the deep sub-conscious thoughts we have held and nurtured for some or most of our lifetime.

So plan your trip today. Think nice thoughts and enjoy yourself. Calm down and give yourself a memory of a friend or love to carry you through the scary times ahead. And when you get there don’t worry, I’ll have already been there and I’ll leave a light on for you.