brain

For whom the bell tolls 1

Lakefield, Qué, February 4, 2021

With malice toward none 2

I have been scammed. Stupid me, I walked right into the trap with my eyes wide open. You can laugh about it if you wish. Stupid him! 3

Do I have an excuse? Of course not! But then .... 4

But then there is always a reason for whatever happens in this world of ours. In this case the reason is that I am an old fogey. Ninety-three. My mental speed has slowed considerably—noticeably so over the last year. But I am fighting hard not to give in. I still have something to contribute to society, from a large store of experience. And, interrupting myself for a moment, it pains me that society seems to only see an old fogey who has difficulty speaking coherently. What society does not comprehend is the value of my experience. And so, here I am: an old fogey who rambles a lot, and pees a lot. 5

Guess there are many old people who tend to ramble, to be repetitive. Old folk who can't get their points across, are talked to, somewhat condescendingly, and not listened to. REALLY listened to. Heck, why listen to someone who is so darn stupid as to fall for an obvious scam. 6

It came in the form of an email from Bell. It told me that they tried to collect a bill payment and that it appeared I had given them faulty information. "Please bring your file in order." Well, you can guess the rest. I obliged. Never did such a thing before, but I was preoccupied with a number of things while my attention was continually disturbed by all sorts of little duties to be looked after. While my mental acuteness is being badly dulled by aging. 7

Bell used to send their monthly bills by mail, but has for some time gone over to online billing. Hate that, but what to do? Maybe I am unjust, but my sense is that companies like to save money by such a change. "For their shareholders," of course. That while innocent shareholders risk losing their life savings. I used the word "innocent," but others may read this as "stupid." At any rate, so the Bell tolled for me. 8

As I said, I am an old fogey and I pee a lot. That is quite normal for old fogeys. Have been told time and again not to mention that peeing part, especially not in my writing. Come to think of it, people talk a great deal about what they put into their body, but feel constrained not to freely talk about what and how comes out of it. We have an extensive vocabulary to serve us as camouflage. One of my favourites is about ladies going to the bathroom, or washroom, or toilet, to powder their nose. Well, to be sure, I too tend to draw the line somewhere. For instance at lunch-time when being regaled by TV about five varieties of Tampax. So, what is wrong by me saying that I pee a lot? Yes I am rambling. But can't you see the parallel? Do I have to spell it out? The scamming of social conduct. By decisions made at the board-room level. 9

I could easily go on along these lines. Scamming, deception, white lies, excuses, what-have-you. Everywhere. All the time. No, I am not pointing fingers. Should not. Having reached this age, I have done my fair share. 10

But now, looking back, besides looking forward, well ... 11

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