Dementia or not, listen to seniors when they speak
Apple+ TV’s “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” brings back bittersweet family members
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In my high school and college days, I’d go to the library and get lost in a Walter Mosley (or Langston Hughes) novel, entertained by opinionated elderly men that often reminded me of my grandfather. Occasionally there’d be a woman among the characters who reminded me of other relatives, too. So I was delighted to find out Samuel L. Jackson was starring in the Apple TV+ mini-series “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.” My only problem? I’m about three milliseconds from punching my TV screen.
I was one of those kids who found people my age to be mostly dumb. I couldn’t learn anything from them, so I didn’t want to be around them. For me, the older, the better. I spent many many days during my childhood hanging out with my parents’ chain-smoking landlord (who loved to play Solitaire and cook meatless spaghetti for her nephew), or in the flower garden with my equally older next-door neighbor. I had no interest in gardening at the time; I just wanted to hear her stories.
Recommended Read: “Gardening made me the grumpy old man on my block ~ My childhood neighbor would be so proud”
Even as I grew older, I still wanted to be around anyone who was older and wiser. If AARP was sending you a bunch of junk mail, you were a friend I needed. I still feel very strongly that people should hang out with their elders. Although I’m a bit of a smart mouth and definitely had a few disagreements with some older relatives, a casual glance at any of my photo albums proves that’s who I always wanted to call or hang out with in person, including my Girl Scouts leader every Christmas Day.
Spoiler alert about “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey”: You can just about imagine how I felt when his nephew Hilly stole money from Ptolemy Grey. What kind of lowlife steals money from old people? Even worse, there was an equally manipulative elderly lady at a bank trying to hustle the elderly man into paying her electricity bill. For me, this was worse than watching a car crash. After the nephew handed him his money, Ptolemy Grey pointed out that he was used to getting $300 but only got $100. He said it at the bank and when they arrived at a family member’s home. Too many people just ignored him and assumed he was making it up. Why? He has dementia. Spoiler alert ends.
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