simulacrum of life

a good command of the english language allowed thatha to flirt with females young enough to be his granddaughters. during his long stay in the hospital at the beginning of last year, he totally charmed the nurses and the doctors and the physiotherapists. and it was quite funny watching the doctor question him so as to gauge his state of mind. thatha had been suffering from dementia in his final years, and he realised that his memory was not what it used to be. but he would not admit that he'd forgotten. asking him what he had for his last meal would get the answer of "whatever you ate" or "whatever your grandmother gave me".

whilst in the hospital, his state of mind started going downhill. for a man who had 2 dislocated knees since he was 50+, he only started using a walking stick to aid his movement after he turned 85. he prided himself on never being a burden to anyone, and thus being bedridden and having people tending to him was not something that pleased him, to say the least. so he used the best tool he had in his control. his speech. he'd flatter the nurses, saying that their voices sounded angelic and they had sweet, darling expressions on their faces. and how could such angelic creatures bear to see a poor old man who is old enough to be their grandfather lying in bed, and wouldn't they please help him to get out of there?

his flattery made the physiotherapist blush and she commented that even her husband never said such nice things to her. she was quite a plain jane sorta girl, and when thatha commented on her lustrous hair and her smile that looked like the sunshine, i'm guessing that she quite melted.

the doctor would come on his morning rounds and ask questions like "do you know what the date is today?" to see if thatha was situationally aware. thatha's answer was "you are the doctor, and you don't know what the date is?" to which the doctor would reply "yes uncle, i know what the date is, but i'm asking if you know it." thatha's rejoinder would be "well.. if you know you needn't ask me, right?" after which the doctor would retreat, since he probably figured that if the old man could spar with him verbally, he was still in control of his faculties.