Doing your bit for society

I will be buying some groceries and then donating them to an old folks home on Saturday. I will be doing this with 2 frens W-13Bee and also An. You may ask, how come? Did I do something wrong and want to "cleanse" myself? Naaaahhhh.... No such luck lah... I am an old man who can't be bothered to do anything much nowadays.

I have always been wanting to do my bit for society and I guess that one way is to ensure that the old are comfortable and also have some nice things to eat. They are our society's pioneer batch, those who are now qualified to go into the old folks home will be those who are 65 and above... They survived the war and brought all of us closer to the place we are now at. Some may be put in a home because they are demented and are unable to look after themselves, some are there because their children cannot look after them or they have health problems. In some ways, I would hope that the State makes more effort to look after them as this problem will increase over time. Our batch or 40 plusses will be looking at such facitlities in the near future man..... (That is if we are not lucky enough to have knocked off... kicked the bucket or died by then).

Most of them are really very poor things. Even an Alzheimer patient will have some times when they are lucid and they will feel a great sense of sadness and lonelines when they realize that they are not with their children. However, sometimes, it is better to put them in a home where they can be supervised. At Stage 5 of the 7 Stages of Alzheimer, they are already quite unable to lead normal lives, with memory and cognitive functions severely affected. This means they may wander off and not be able to find their way back home, not even know if they are eating food or rubbish and so on. There was a guy in Japan who used glue in trying to stop his feet from itching. That was because the reasoning part of his brain was dysfunctional and it registered a tube of glue as looking like insect ointment and the higher function or master brain was unable to recognise the fault in the reasoning. This is also the same with eating rubbish, because it looks like food and so it should therefore be food. Alzheimers is not just being forgetful, it is not just becoming a child.... these symptoms are just the start. It gets worse for the care-giver and also the sufferer. And if they sufferer is unaware, he or she is still lucky. He or she will slip into the deep realms of dementia and not realize it. If he or she is aware, then he or she will suffer a living death sentence. They will know that one day, their brains will cease to function and they will become vegetables. And ultimately, the brains will be so affected that it will shut down and with the all other bodily functions. Experts say that the pain will go away.... as the brain stops functioning, the pain will disappear... But what about the care-givers?

Of course.... if you brought your child up as an idiotic self centred A-hole.... then do not be worried that they will be your care-giver when you are old.... it will be off to the old folks home at the earliest sign and then they will jus visit you when it is at their convenience. So if you are about to give your child an Evo for his first car.... or the latest handphone when he or she is only 12.... you better start calling up the various homes and make an appointment and start to pay for your stay there while you still can.

But for those who really cannot help it, then it is suffering from both ends while the patient is still lucid... It may stop for the sufferer because he or she will not even be able to form a thought one day... But for those who live on.... they will forever be wrought with the question of whether they did the right thing, was it right to make the parent "suffer" and so on.

But the question is ..... and this is the important part hor ladies and gentlemen... what will the government do for us? They have already admitted that old age related problems inclusive of dementia and so on will rise. Will the care facilities be increased? Will the cost be subsidised?

In the long long past in Japan, they brought old folks to the forest so that the old folks can live and die in peace..... We do not have any forests.... and it is expensive no matter whether you put them in a home or at your own home.... The care will be intensive as you have to be on constant watch and also to ensure that they do not wander and or eat anything they are not supposed to.... In the end... the parent might even be angry in the beginning as they do not know they are slipping.

But anyway..... no matter what, whether it is my darling energizer rabbit or some other old person, they have all served our country and society and so I would like to give back something to them.... So I will be donating food and things like dat.... not money.... that is the loser's way out.... And they worse will also be those who buy coupons.... as this will only allow the home to purchase from the store the coupon is bought from.

Hope that more people will join me and please please stop spoiling your children or you might as well book a place now hor.... I'm serious hor.