Aging paranoia
Mom called to say she learned that leaving liquid in lead crystal is dangerous. Who knew? I told her. But seriously, the other day when I was there for lunch, she said she had confronted her Hispanic neighbors about the smell of pot wafting through the air. She brought them an article from the Times Picayune about a neighbor who had called the cops on pot smokers only to learn that they were doing heroin – oh my god – so she says she was just protecting them by giving them a heads up but the guys grew very quiet when she told them and now she thinks they are averting their eyes when she walks by. It’s the paranoia that creeps up on you that is perhaps the most frightening of the aging ailments.