Memories
Dear Forum Friends
Canuck was talking of memories.
Talking of memories. I have a 92 year old friend, who is now confined to a Care
Home. I visit him during the week for lunch, and I eat my lunch, which I buy there with him. That way both of us have company and do not have to eat alone.
He had suffered a stroke, and now can no longer live by himself. He is aware of
visitors while they are present, but his short term memory is no longer sufficient to remember four hours later. But his long term memory is working just fine.
He tells me stories of his youth in Germany. His memory starts at about age four
. He can recite his life's story until about eighty years old. Most prominently
etched in his mind are the experiences of the great war. (Second World War).
This man Walter was a Christian and a Pacifist at heart. When drafted to military service at the beginning of the war, he was issued a rifle with 30 rounds of ammunition. At the end of the war with the collapse of Germany he became a prisoner of war in the east and ended up in Russia in the Caucasus. He surrendered his
rifle with the same 30 rounds of ammunition. He had never fired a shot in those
five years. Of course it helped, that he was assigned to a medical unit. Still
he attributes daily prayer for his deliverance from killing others and the eventual quick release from captivity.
He can tell stories and keep the listener spellbound even today. So you see, the
early memories last longest and will sustain you in old age. To me that is very
hopeful. The story of Walter in all its details is much too long, but maybe I will write about it later.
With best wishes, Uncle Ben
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