Nov 22

 

Nov 22

My brother with dementia
outside a bakery arrested for peeing
into a newspaper rack and forgetting
to refasten his pants which brings him
not to a police station but a hospital
where I find him and take custody.
The nurse asks the standard questions
to see if he is oriented such as ‘Who is president?’
‘That asshole.’
‘Which asshole?’
‘Um—the ugly one.’
‘What year is it today?’
[Shrug.]
‘What month is it?’
[Shrug.]
‘Do you know what the day is?’
‘No, what?’
‘Today is Thursday, November twenty-second.’
‘They shot him.’
‘Who?’
‘The president. They shot him.’
The young nurse is puzzled.
‘Kennedy,’ I explain.
‘Well,’ says the nurse, ‘do you know where you are?’
‘Yes,’ my brother says, ‘I’m in the fucking hospital.’
The nurse smiles. ‘Okay, you may go.’
‘They shot him,’ he mutters all the way home.
Because some things you never forget.

……