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1 " There is magic just outside our memory. "
― , Wonders in Dementialand: An Artist's Intimate and Whimsical Account of Dementia, Memory Loss, Caregiving and Dancing Gypsies
2 " Violet unwrapped everything old as if it were a ribboned gift given to her by the Gods. "
3 " My mother had a way of accessing the energy of the people around her. There was no need to know their name, who they were or how she knew them. She didn’t recognize their surface. She went much deeper. "
4 " This woman had no idea who I was. She has no idea I was once a smoker, was thrown out of boarding school twice and a certified rebel with strong opinions. To her, I was new, fresh, immaculate to the bone. This was all strangely wonderful. "
5 " Her memories got dizzy and fell out of her head. "
6 " They lived with us. Maybe there were twenty or more. At one time I counted 28. "
7 " I saw my mother with eyes opened and not curtained by her motherhood or my ego. "
8 " In Dementialand I was able to see for miles without the yesterdays and tomorrows obstructing my view. It was difficult and so simple all at the same time. "
9 " It all started with that damn fall. My mother pressed a full roll of paper towels against her head to stop the bleeding and drove to church. Her fall and bloody eye would have been a poor excuse to the Gods who appreciated the sacrifices of a good martyr. "
10 " Screams broke the holy deadness in the church. "Violet, vwaht on God’s earth happen to you?"... "Oh Lord, she'za been mugga." The rank of service reversed its order. The ladies were now the apostles of the moment. "
11 " My mother made that dress. She’s somewhere in its unsettling pattern. "
12 " Her eyes were trained to see the missing parts of the world. "
13 " The lady roommate said very little and chopped off the better parts of her story. "
14 " She looked like some damn fool angel that didn't even know the name of God. "
15 " The idea of disassociating from one’s surrounding, of taking a step back was rather clever on my mother’s part without her notice. "
16 " So began a kind of magic in Dementialand that took place most nights after the day’s sun went down. "
17 " Violet believed that Jewish people made good doctors and lawyers, a thought that came to the front of her head suggesting she might need one. "
18 " Violet screamed into her pillow so loudly she scared herself. Her head hurt. It was as if all her memories were trying to kick their way out. They were finished and wanted to leave. "
19 " There were thousands of secrets hidden in her purse, secrets and memories that took her elsewhere. She held onto them tightly and kept them to herself. Even God did not know of them. "
20 " An angel with dark hair caught Violet. His soft curls were loosely pulled back and tied together at the base of his neck. He wore Jesus sandals made by Nike. "