Logo Jerry Ham

1. 30.09.1998:
Listmates,
I was talking to a friend from the list earlier this afternoon via ICQ, and she was telling me how her father was becoming afraid of his own reflection in the mirror. It brought to mind a humerous yet sad incident that took place shortly after we brought mom home to live with us. For the "old timers" I apologise for repeating the story. We had gone to one of the major malls in our city and mom happened to stop and start talking to this lady she saw. For several minutes she chatted very pleasantly, frequently nodding her head in response to what ever was being said. As she turned to leave she said to my wife, that the lady she was talking to was really nice, but seemed rather hard of hearing. Mom had been talking to herself in the mirror in the Ladies Clothing Dept. We were thankful that there was no one else there to see her. That long ago memory prompted this poem.

2. 19.12.1999
In the last few days there has been much talk about the inability of their loved ones to recognize themselves or others. There has even been the news story about Ronald Reagan's failing memory. I felt compelled to offer up an experience from mom's early days here in our home, and a poem, which I've shared before. Shortly after we brought mom home to live with us, we took mom with us one day to the mall. I took off another direction and let mom and my wife head off into the women's dept. Later my wife told me that while she was looking at some dresses, she heard mom talking to someone. She walked over a couple of steps to get a closer look at mom. Mom was talking cheerfully, nodding her head up and down. My wife stood there watching her for a moment, cautiously looking around to see if anyone else was watching also. After a few minutes she took mom by the arm and told her that it was time to leave. As they were leaving that dept, mom told my wife that the lady she was talking to was really nice but seemed to be really hard of hearing. What mom did not realize was, she was talking to her own reflection in the mirror.







The Face In The Mirror

Well hello, how are you? I heard Mama say.
I hope you are well, it is such a nice day.
She smiled as she talked to her newly found friend.
She nodded her head again and again.
How are your children? My, how they've grown.
It's hard to believe how fast time has flown.
Her voice was pleasant, enhanced by her smile.
She talked on and on, for quite a long while.
We need to go Mama, please say goodbye.
As Mama turned away, she said with a sigh,
That was such a nice lady, sweet and endearing,
I noticed however, that she's hard of hearing.
It was funny yet sad, Mom could not have known.
The face in the mirror, it was that of her own.

© 1998, Jerry Ham
e-mail Jerry.Ham@werner-saumweber.de

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