Opinion

I have a serious problem with controlling myself in regards to the purchasing of old books. It’s the one thing I can never walk past at an auction or estate sale without buying at least one. Additionally, on many of my travels, I have managed to find some dusty, old book store stacked floor to ceiling with piles of books, some dating back to the 1600s (but definitely out of my price range). When I travel by air, I also only ever bring a carry-on bag, no matter how long the trip, so I only can usually bring one of those books home. The book is usually the extent of my souvenir purchase - but I can tell you where every old book in my house came from.

A couple of articles ago, I explained the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS). In my last article, I shared about the Theory of Retrogenesis and how this theorizes that Alzheimer’s Disease will cause the brain to deteriorate in almost a reverse order of how it once developed. Today I am going to combine the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) and the Theory of Retrogenesis (which to save space I will abbreviate to ToR) so you can hopefully gain insight into the care needs of people living with Alzheimer’s. To review, in the GDS, there are seven stages to Alzheimer’s Disease. The first stage there are no complaints of memory problems and no evidence of cognitive deficits upon examination. The second stage is very mild cognitive decline and there are some reports of memory problems. According to the (ToR), stages 1 & 2 places the person abilities as that of an adult. Stage 3 on the GDS shows mild cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment. At a stage 3, an individual might find it harder to keep up with a demanding job and may start to have some denial about memory issues. By utilizing the ToR, this compares to that of an adolescent. This makes sense to me as an adolescent, for example would have difficulties holding a demanding job.

Dave Smiglewski Travelers on Highway 212 have recently experienced a shift onto a new segment of roadway between Cologne and Chaska/ Carver. The shift places both directions of traffic onto the newly built lanes that will eventually be for west bound traffic only.

What’s in a Name? Due to the overwhelming response (glad you liked it, Mom) to a recent column about nautical terminology, this is a kind of follow- up. Thus, I give you boat names.

I recently suggested to my youngest that for her Farmer’s Market booth, she should make popcorn balls. It seems she hasn’t even ever heard of popcorn balls, and somehow that seemed nearly impossible to me.

Leah Cook Granite Falls Artist in Residence When I crossed into Minnesota from Canada, the Customs officer at International Falls seemed pretty perplexed by me. I’d driven from Maine? Through Canada? For an artist’s residency? He looked between me and my passport and my packed car more than a few times as he processed the things he wanted to ask.

Director of Aging Well, Prairie Five Community Action Council, Inc. In July I mentioned that I had a minor knee surgery planned for the beginning of August.

Back to School The phrase “back to school” means different things to different people. To some, Back To School is a 1986 comedy starring Rodney Dangerfield where he goes well, back to school.