Jerry’s been living on this campus on and off since the Vietnam War. We decided to start playing chess regularly in hopes to slow the approach of senility.
Hi readers
I’m guessing every older person begins to see the memory functions deteriorate with advancing years. And probably most of us have wondered whether there’s anything we can do to keep it from becoming a conspicuous piece of our lives. Conspicuous enough, I should say, so’s the medicos or people around us begin putting a name to it.
My buddy Jerry and I ….. along with a few other and more intermittent old guys living around here, are making a valiant effort at fighting senility by regularly challenging our minds with chess games.
We meet whenever it’s agreeable in one of the waiting rooms at the main hospital. It has the advantage [for me] of being a place where smoking is forbidden. And if Jerry or one of the others wants to go outdoors to smoke it’s not that far.
But maybe it’s my imagination. I think regular games of chess really are improving my ability to remember, reducing the frequency of those events where I walk into the other room for something and can’t recall what it was I was there for.
And Jerry believes it is helping him, too. Wasn’t all that long ago he was mentioning almost every time I saw him he thought he was getting senile. It’s been a considerable while since he said that.
On the other hand, I also load myself up with Ginko Biloba at every opportunity, too.
I’m not above trying anything that isn’t obviously a health threat of its own.
Old Jules
So Far From Heaven 