I haven't written much about my mother this year because she hasn't done many funny things this year. I've been worried from the time she returned from Florida, when she got lost on the way to my house.

The final straw occurred in September when I dropped in unexpectedly. When she opened the door, she didn't recognize me for the first split second.

Her doctor wouldn't see me without her so I was at a loss about how to get her some kind of help.

I talked her into attending a free memory screening by saying I needed to go because of my own problems. I passed. She didn't. She got a letter to give to her doctor, but she won't go to him.

There's a history of Alzheimer's in the family; her mother and sister died at age 78 from it. She is 77 now.

Now I need to be even more diplomatic. I've got to convince her to see her doctor right away, not six months from now.