How often are you a victim of The Daze of the Weak?
I awoke the other day asking myself, “What day is it?” I walked
into the bathroom and found my SMTWThFS pill box. I noticed
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, were empty but the slots for
Wednesday through the end of the week were filled. That’s when
I realized it must be Wednesday.
I also realized I had just experienced “The Daze of the Weak”
and those occurrences are becoming more frequent as I approach
my 80th birthday.
On Saturday March 1, 2025, I experienced another event that
reminded me of my diminishing hippocampus – a part of my
brain I suspect I left on some other campus. It was my 76th
birthday and I had invited both of my friends and some family to
join me for wine, snacks, and the obligatory chocolate cake.
I had purchased a few items at our local grocery store and found
I had a $5.00 coupon to be applied to any purchases exceeding
$25.00. As I concluded my purchase, the cashier, a woman in
her 60s, asked, “How are you?”
I was tempted to make a whimsical remark about it being my
76th birthday and how I could still conjugate all my verbs
without dangling any participles. But discretion grabbed my
tongue, and I remained silent. I little voice inside of me said,
“Shut up!” Instead, I said, “I’m fine, thank you.”
She then asked me if I had any coupons to redeem. I handed her
my $5.00 coupon,
The kind cashier looked at my coupon and said, “This is a very
nice coupon. It is valid and doesn’t expire until Wednesday, and
it offers you a $5.00 discount on all purchases exceeding $25.00.
You will find it will work much better at Walgreens.”
As I placed the coupon back into my wallet, I noticed
“Walgreens Drug Store” printed across the top of the coupon in
faded but bold print.
The Daze of the Weak had made another appearance.