as we lay dying

I was reading the Sunday obituaries today, as I often do. I read them for many reasons, but mostly because it's important to remember. To know what, and whom, has past. I always feel a certain pang when I read, "No services will be held," or when the survived-by list is woefully short. I smile when I see pictures of faces lit up by a life well-lived, or read the accounting of a life that left so much wonder and love in its wake.

Today, I read something that made me stop, and think, more so than usual. At the end of one particular obit, I saw this:

"Remembrances to the Alzheimer's Association."

The irony is obvious, and the bitter laugh floats underneath. But I feel an anger here, as well. No one should be taken away from you like that. Taken away, but left to you, as well. There is no greater pain than losing a love, then getting it back broken.

I hate Alzheimer's. With a passion. It's a torment like no other. We will find a way to stop it. We have to. Our memory is the inheritance of our lives. Nothing should be allowed to take that away. Now, only Death ought to have that right...and maybe, eventually, not even that.