The Grossout Factor! Sometimes Doing the Right Thing is a Bad Idea

She suffered from Dementia but was otherwise fine. Now, for those who don't know, I should point out that Dementia and Alzheimer's are two very different diseases. Where Alzheimer's destroys the brain, Dementia only robs the person of their short term memory while leaving memories they formed prior to the disease perfectly intact.

My "patient" always ate like a little bird, it actually took some doing to get her to eat enough calories each day but the liquid nutrition drinks certainly made a world of difference.

Anyway, on a certain day she was in an above average good mood and we decided that we would have lunch in the dining room. So when the time came we went ahead and sat down at a table that she picked out and shortly after they brought her lunch to her.

I only recall that for dessert they had some chocolate covered peanuts and the reason I remember this is because of what happened with those peanuts.

I already mentioned that it was always tough getting her to eat enough food but another problem was that she would often put the food in her mouth, sort of suck the nutrition out of it and then take it out of her mouth and place it on a saucer.

That day was going to be no different, she pecked at her lunch and basically didn't eat more than a couple of teaspoons of food. She then started in on the chocolate covered peanuts as she had quite the sweet-tooth.

Now, as much as she enjoyed the chocolate she didn't really care for the peanuts so after all the chocolate was gone from each peanut she would remove it from her mouth and place the "spent" peanut on a small saucer.

All of a sudden I hear a mans voice say my name, I turned around and realized that her Power of Attorney and friend of the family had arrived and was going to join us for lunch. He wasn't actually going to eat with us but just keep us company.

He sat down at the table and we started making chit-chat.

Then it happened! One of those situations where no matter what you do it's going to have an ugly consequence.

For us, that moment started when I realized that, one by one, he was eating the peanuts that were on a little saucer on the table. I had forgotten that he hadn't been there to witness the journey those peanuts took to the table.

So we're sitting there talking and I'm watching him pop peanut after peanut into his mouth until eventually they were all gone.

Now don't get me wrong, had I noticed him reaching for the first peanut I would have warned him that those peanuts had skeletons in their closet, that they had been previously suckled on, that they knew the touch of denture-free gums upon their outer most surface.

However, he had already eaten one or two peanuts before I became aware of what was transpiring right in front of me and I realized instantly the predicament I was in. No matter what I did there was no graceful way out of this. If I had told him about the peanuts that he was enjoying I would have embarrassed him and if I didn't tell him I would have to be exposed to this horror-show that was taking place right before me.

I decided that I wasn't going to mention anything to him, there was nothing truly wrong with those peanuts. Sure they were once covered in chocolate and it's true that they had rolled around inside someones mouth just a few minutes prior but at the same time it's not like they were coated in poison or anything that was going to make him sick. So I sat there and pretended that nothing was wrong, though my eyes followed the track of each peanut from saucer to mouth.

It was almost mesmerizing, it was sort of like finding that the carton of milk in the fridge had expired two weeks ago yet you can't resist the urge to smell it.

So, a few minutes passed and both of them had finished her lunch and as her attorney stood up he said that he had to run.

It is at this point that he uttered the phrase of the year. "You know what Robert, I've got an urge for chocolate. Since I'll be heading back this way from my errands I could drop off some chocolate for you also."

I politely declined and asked him for a rain-check on that. The very thought of eating chocolate at that moment was enough to turn my stomach.

Now I realize that this isn't a dramatic story or that it's of any importance to anyone but I basically wrote this article because I wanted to hear other peoples opinions. So what would you do in that same situation, would you tell the person at the table that they are eating recycled food or do you save them the shame and say nothing?

By: Robert Korczak

robertkorczak.com