Since moving to Florida, I have encountered some bewildering situations involving older folks. It seems that as some seniors age, inhibitions and common sense go out the window.
There was the elderly woman who tried to back out of a parking space with her husband standing directly behind the car, giving orders. She ran him down. Now, one could look at that in several ways. She obviously had no business behind the wheel of the car. Why was he behind the car that would be moving backward? That wasn’t very good judgment on his part. Perhaps she accidentally put the car in reverse before she meant to do so. Or may she was tired of his “orders” and flipped. Whatever the case, it’s a true story and happened several years ago in Southwest Florida.
A friend of mine was working a part-time job at a local supermarket for a distributor of women’s personal hygiene products. She handed out samples of “light-weight pads” to passing ladies of the appropriate age. One morning, she was approached by an elderly gent who asked for a sample. My friend asked if it was for his wife and the man replied, “Oh no, it’s for my hemorroids,” and he launched into a lengthy description. She gave him the sample.
I frequently hear stories of senior women who get in the wrong car, insisting it belongs to them. (Wonder why it is always women who receive the blame for that?)
Stories of seniors in their 80’s and 90’s, still driving when they shouldn’t be, abound. I’ve written about a couple of those on this website.
On more than one occasion, I’ve seen a senior – both a man and a woman – riding an adult tricycle down the middle of the passing lane on Highway 41, a 6-lane, major thoroughfare. Seems like a bit of common sense would prevent that from happening.
Stories like these – both funny and sad – can be found in any retirement area, but what is it that causes people to commit these unusual behaviors? Is it senility, a simple loss of inhibitions due to aging or something more?
Research shows that people with dementia lose their inhibitions and their judgment first, and they may behave in ways others find embarrassing. The suggestion was that these simple acts of strange behavior could very well escalate into “very inappropriate behaviors,” such as exposing themselves or completely losing touch with reality or running down their husband .
While we may find some of these stories amusing, we probably should be hoping a family member will step up and recognize that their senior loved one is in a bit of trouble.
