Hi Billye:

You know what used to get me about people in nursing homes (and I still don't get this to this day). Twelve years ago, both my parents were in Richey Manor Rehabilitation and Nursing Home in Florida. It was a very very nice place, very hospitable. I flew out as much as a person can fly out.

At the time I was 48 so these people in the wheelchairs were all over 75. I will never forget this one lady, always walking around with a cup of coffee. Since I didn't know her story, I met her for the first time and she looked me in the face and said "where is my room?" So I looked at her arm band and said "oh, here it is, you are in room 4B, I'll take you there". I took her to her room and on the other side of the room was another older person and there were tons of photos behind them. It's a hospital bed but a homey environment and they like when you put up photos, keepsakes, etc.

Well, this nice lady had no photos behind her bed or up on the wall or anyplace. So I put her on the bed very gently, and bid her goodbye.

Ten minutes later I see her over on the other side of the place and I walk over to her and she goes "where is my room?" I just looked at her completely baffled and I said "But I just took you to your room". Some nurse walked over and whispered "alzheimers" (I really do not think I completely understood what that was 12 years ago).

So I was visiting my parents for 5 days (I stayed in a nearby motel). I would go there bright and early and leave around 10 p.m. every night.

Do you know how many times that poor lady would ask people "where is my room?" I asked the nurse "what is her story? how come she has no photos up?" and the nurse shook her head and said "granny dumping". I said "what the hell is granny dumping".

It seems it's very common in nursing homes, people just take an elderly family member, who is senile and just dumps them at the door and drives away.

I had never heard of such a thing in my life up until that moment. I think that was the single most appalling thing I had ever heard of.

I made it my business to get that lady coffee whenever she wished. I also took out my makeup case every day and made up all the elderly ladies. You should have seen them with the fake necklaces, all my makeup, and eye shadow on them. I even gave one of them my Sudden Beauty instant face lift bottle. She liked that it tightened up her wrinkles. These ladies had a ball.

And so did I. They were all nice, but very lonely. So for 5 days, I put makeup on everybody.

It was the best thing I ever did. And the best time I ever had.

But Granny Dumping??? It should be a crime.

Melody