As stated in my March 16, 2026, posting, Houston, I Forgot Something, here is an update on the progression to Dementia. It is expected to be a slow and gradual journey, probably over a few years. I will more than likely pass through to the other side of that black curtain before reaching the total bonkers stage. In the meantime, continuing to write what can be remembered, dreamed up, or just whatever I may be reflecting on at the time. Such as those morning poetry attempts.
Plans and outlines have been initiated for a novel, which, if able, hopes to address memories, dreams, and reflections of the main character’s current and a previous life, and will be set mainly in Paris.
So here is a somewhat boring diary of some of the more daily frustrations.
18 Mar 26 - Made coffee and poured a cup, brought it back to my easy chair. Started checking email and the morning news. Forgot the coffee for over an hour until I stood up, accidentally knocking it off the table and giving the green wall a hideous wash of coffee brown.
19 Mar 26 - Woke up at 4:35 this morning, made coffee, walked around the back yard for half an hour (we have a large lot). The brain fog is denser than ever today. Need to “lay up in Pelican Cut” * until it clears. Setting things down and forgetting where they are placed. Started to make a K-Cup coffee, completely forgot halfway through what I was doing. I need to set up reminders to remember to write things down.
*Check the northwest tip of Pelican Island, Galveston, on Google Earth, where the Intercostal Canal cuts through before passing the end of the Texas City Dike and joining the Houston Ship Channel. On foggy days, the tow boats would lay up here and not chance entering the busy Houston ship channel. Crews from the different boats would meet up and visit, and usually a poker game would get started. We, deckhands would have to go out now and then to check whether we could see anything beyond the bow lights, then come back and report to the captain. There could be a future mystery story here.
24 Mar 26 - Started to pull things together for my Paris novel, revised the outline based on a Hero’s Journey Story Arc. I'm not really happy with it. Changing location from
Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur, to Île de la Cité and Hôtel-Dieu. Hoping to finish it before the plot is forgotten - again.
29 Mar 26 - no significant changes that can be remembered since the previous entry. Did manage to put out a couple of attempts at poetry and finished Moon Beans.
30 Mar 26 - For some reason, that old song by Patti Page OL’ CAPE COD keeps popping into my head.
I'm more stressed about things forgotten. Almost to tears sometimes, very frustrated with myself, because I can't remember what it was. Slowly, I am reminded that I forgot I was going to write something from a 1957 memory, about some old memories of music on the radio and Paul Berlin. Well, at least this much has come back to me.
31 Mar 26 - Working on the Houston - I Forgot Something site and accidentally deleted most of the archived articles. The individual stories are still safe in the Cloud. However, the steps to add them back to the blog sites’ archive “folder” have also been erased from that extremely hard drive sitting just above my shoulders. So, I'll have to re-learn how to do it. This time, writing it all down. It's going to take several attempts. No, the site provider doesn't provide instructions for my economy version.
Just to be clear, the memory loss is not a constant experience, not yet. Maybe once or twice one day, then I remember everything else the next. From what has been written, it seems that it's the new memory that goes first, while the old ones remain.
Last in - First Out!
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