by Jesse Hunter foonfoon 译

PROLOGUE 卷首语

脑海里的橡皮擦

Remember Those Who Can’t

by Jesse Hunter foonfoon 译

lf in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song.

—Khalil Gibran

I don’t have much personal experience with Alzheimer’s disease, but my nana (grandma) suffered from a form of dementia that shared several symptoms with Alzheimer’s.

As long as I had known her, and from all accords, nana was an inherently negative woman. Her favorite pastimes included verbally abusing my mother, blaming people for things, and smoking 40-60 Kent cigarettes a day (without turning on the electric ashtrays my mom got her). So visiting my grandparents’ apartment in Queens was not something we looked forward to. And then dementia set in…

It was really weird visiting grandma in hospice care. After half a century of nicotine intake, she suddenly forgot she was a smoker. She put on a few pounds (which happened to me when I quit smoking, too) and she was even a bit playful at times. She would tell jokes and ask if we brought her any candy. She wasn’t always sure who we were, at least not right away. And there was the occasional awkward moment when she would ask if my mom and I were a couple. But, as terrible as it is to say, I enjoyed this nana’s company better than the old one.

As you may have surmised, this month’s features are all about Alzheimer’s. In I Yelled at You Today, Pat Tomlinson feels sorry for yelling at her mom, and ends up learning a lesson in patience before saying goodbye. In What Alzheimer’s Disease Feels Like, Dr. Stephen Hume takes an introspective look at his ongoing battle with the disease. And in Still My Grammy, we see a grandmother’s facilities slowly fade through the eyes of a young girl.

So don’t forget all your elders out there, who’ve probably forgotten more than we relative youngsters have learned in our abbreviated lifetimes. In other words: remember those who can’t.

我个人并没怎么接触过阿尔茨海默病，但我外婆（外祖母）得了一种痴呆症，其症状与阿尔茨海默病有几分相似。

从我认识她开始，无论在哪个方面，外婆都是个天性消极的人。她最爱的消遣包括用言语羞辱我的母亲，责怪别人，每天抽40至60根的健牌香烟（没有用上我妈妈买给她的电子烟灰缸）。因此，去皇后区探望外公外婆并不是一件让我们期待的事。然后，痴呆症降临了……

去疗养院看望外婆的感觉真的很奇怪。在摄入了半个世纪之久的尼古丁后，她突然忘记了自己是个烟民。她的体重增加了几磅（我戒烟时也是这样），有时她甚至变得有点儿调皮可爱。她会讲笑话，问我们有没有给她带糖果。她并不总能认出我们，至少不能马上认出。偶尔出现过这样的尴尬时刻，她问我和妈妈是不是一对情侣。虽然这样说很糟糕，但是比起以前的外婆，我更喜欢和现在的外婆相处。

正如你猜测的那样，这个月的主题文章都与阿尔茨海默病相关。在《我今天吼你了》一文中，帕特·汤姆林森为吼了他母亲而感到抱歉，并在天人永隔前学到了关于耐心的一课。在《当记忆渐渐消失》一文中，斯蒂芬·休姆博士对自己与阿尔茨海默病所作的斗争进行了一番自我审视。在《奶奶，依然爱你》一文中，我们通过一个小女孩的眼睛目睹了其祖母逐渐丧失各方面能力的过程。

所以不要忘记你的那些长辈们，他们忘记的东西可能比我们这些年轻人目前的人生所学到的东西还要多。换言之：记住那些丢失了记忆的人。

epub扫一扫即可下载11月号精选有声阅读体验版至你的手机手机体验版电子书格式为多媒体技术，建议苹果及安卓用户先下载安装"奇特阅读器"app(百度一下)，然后再扫码下载有声阅读体验版。(特别说明：手机安装支持epub2.0版本的阅读器即可阅读体验版文件)

epub扫一扫即可下载11月号精选阅读体验版至你的手机手机体验版电子书格式为多媒体技术，建议苹果及安卓用户先下载安装"奇特阅读器"app(百度一下)，然后再扫码下载阅读体验版。(特别说明：手机安装支持epub2.0版本的阅读器即可阅读体验版文件)