Living with my dad is mostly waiting interminably for him to do things. But once a while like a National Geographic photographer I glimpse something astounding. Today it was the weirdness of a very good mind on it's way out.
At 6:45 am Jo walked into the bedroom and announced "Your dad is turning on all the lights all over the house".
I roused my old ass from the bed and gently turned off some lights my dad had just switched on. My dad said without looking up "Leave the lights on". I asked why. He said he needed to go downstairs and get the milk. He was clearly misplaced somewhere in time and space but where?
I tried to tell him that the milk had been taken care of. But he was persistent. I realized that he was looking for a way downstairs. I took him to the window and showed him the yard and trees and street and told him we'd need to dig to get any lower. But he remained quite adamant. I changed tacks and took him to the fridge and showed him the milk. He sidestepped it by claiming he had got some more milk this morning. I asked from where. He indicated by using a very Indian shake of the hand that it was from someplace just to the right of the front door. I opened the door to show him the neighborhood. He said it was down the street. Jo yelled to close the door (it was freezing and there was a stiff breeze). We walked back to the dining table and I served him tea. He was clearly not satisfied.
Fast forward to this evening. I got him up from the chair in front of the fireplace and took him to his bedroom to get him ready for bed. He was facing the doorway and I had my back to it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jo walk by in the hall beyond the open door. My dad almost jumped and asked who that was. I said "my wife". He said - "No - this person has a turban on. I know what your wife looks like". Jo had finished showering and had her hair wrapped in a towel. I explained to my dad. He said "Oh good. I thought it was a strange sardar (a sikh) wandering in your house".
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