RETURNING FROM WOODSTOCK , U.S.A.
My husband Bert since the first day I met him I have called him Fonz. Not “The Fonz”, just Fonz and now thirty years later I still call him Fonz. So Fonz and I just came back from visiting a very dear friend of ours. Claudia has been a very close friend of mine since we started hanging out together at the swimming pool club in Great Neck. At that time that I met Claudia I was in seventh grade and she was a year older and in 8th grade. Claudia in some ways has become the sister I never had. She is a very special spiritual person.
After college we lived across the street from each other in Manhattan, we traveled to work in the garment center every day, sharing a cab, and spent all our summers together in Fire Island. We were inseparable. Interesting enough, Claudia’s last name was Hirsch and I married a Hirsch. I always felt like Claudia was one of my very best friends, so this was quite a coincidence. Now we could really be “related”.
On the trip up in the car to visit Claudia and her husband Rolan, Fonz and I were listening to music from the 60’s and I started to reminisce. I remembered when I was in sleep away camp and the camp had just taken us horseback riding. While seated in the back part of a station wagon( since at that times there we’re no SUV’s) I heard on the radio that Marilyn Monroe had been found dead. I was around 12 years old and I remembered feeling quite upset. I then flashed while in the car with my husband,as the music played on, how I had such a crush on Johnny Crawford the singer (and actor). I use to play his record on the juke box, while in a bowling alley while I was away at camp. I asked my husband, if he knew who he was and he said "of course". Fonz told me that he use to be on the Rifleman. I answered " he was ? I don’t remember ever watching that show". Maybe I did, yet I have no recollection of it. Can it be part of my dementia starting? Sometimes I think so, although I do not worry about it. The thought does cross my mind occasionally.
When I shared (last summer) with Claudia, about my writing a memoir dedicated to my mom and told her how inspiring my mom has become, since she has Alzheimer’s ,she told me about her friend Alfie. She said that Alfie’s mom also had Alzheimer’s and she remembered him telling her how happy his mom had become, singing, smiling and dancing. Claudia knew my mom pretty well. I shared with Claudia that why I also wanted to tell “our” story was because of all the documentaries, movies and articles that I had read, I found rather upsetting and somewhat depressing. Anyway before I left for Woodstock my mom said to me to send her love to Claudia. Mom at this particular moment remembered her quite well. (This was last summer,and this year my mom remembers nothing.) In fact she said “of course I know Claudia “and three days later when I called my mom to tell her what I nice time we had and how nice it was to see Claudia, my mom said" I don’t remember her at all". I then tried to have her recall Claudia's dad and my dad’s friendship, her mom, all from our childhood, and my mom said “don’t even try I can’t remember any of it" .
When I shared (last summer) with Claudia, about my writing a memoir dedicated to my mom and told her how inspiring my mom has become, since she has Alzheimer’s ,she told me about her friend Alfie. She said that Alfie’s mom also had Alzheimer’s and she remembered him telling her how happy his mom had become, singing, smiling and dancing. Claudia knew my mom pretty well. I shared with Claudia that why I also wanted to tell “our” story was because of all the documentaries, movies and articles that I had read, I found rather upsetting and somewhat depressing. Anyway before I left for Woodstock my mom said to me to send her love to Claudia. Mom at this particular moment remembered her quite well. (This was last summer,and this year my mom remembers nothing.) In fact she said “of course I know Claudia “and three days later when I called my mom to tell her what I nice time we had and how nice it was to see Claudia, my mom said" I don’t remember her at all". I then tried to have her recall Claudia's dad and my dad’s friendship, her mom, all from our childhood, and my mom said “don’t even try I can’t remember any of it" .
My mom did not sound down when she said this. It just was a fact to her. I then said to my mom “well at least you can remember me” and we both laughed. My mom then said “you’re lucky you have me as a mom it could have been worse”. I smiled to myself and answered her “you’re so right”, and now know how lucky I am to have her as my mom.
Keep spreading the word of the joy and life to embrace,even with Alzheimer's
ReplyDeleteI loved Johnny Crawford on the Rifleman, he was the Rifleman's little son. I don't remember him as a singer though. Maybe I'm getting it too. We can forget together.
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