Archie

Archie, my crotchety WWII veteran neighbor that I occasionally check in on turned 85 this past month.  He's starting to fade a bit.

His biggest frustration is the loss of physical dexterity.  He'd be fine forgetting things as long as he could still fix the valve and float unit in the toilet tank.

The middle part of March was the worst, though there are signs he is coming back to more of his old self.  He'd been sun-downing for months.  Lately he's also 'sun-rising'.  Not combative, but more confused.  He fixated on Daylight Savings time. Hates that policy, and he doesn't trust his clocks for weeks after.  He'll wake at 4 AM and wonder why it is dark at 4 in the afternoon.  Then he'll call and ask me about it.   He also wonders why the phone he is pointing at the TV doesn't work like the remote.  Pushing 5-1 on the phone doesn't change the TV to the History Channel.  He's beyond those habit for now, thankfully.

Another problem is that his contemporaries on the street are breaking a hip or simply moving to Assisted Living.  He knows that he'd be there himself if I hadn't been checking on him so much the past few years.

If its any consolation for him, I think Daylight Savings is worthless, too.