JJ, I think that is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you for your excellent advice. I will be following it. Especially your words; "You will never catch all of your own mistakes because you read what you think it says, not what it says."…Oh yes, that hit home.

Eagle, after reading your post, I had to leave my computer and think about what you had to say. It threw me through a loop to read of your problems. And frankly, it is so very hard for me to believe. You are one of the most eloquent writers here. Your posts are well thought through. I never detected any errors, (not that I was looking), - but I know that I usually have (ahem) lots of typing mishaps myself. Your poems were beautiful and intelligently written. How are you able to be so creative, and still have such problems as you described?

You said, "this is actually the first time I've ever told anyone about that memory loss."

… And you have had this problem for years? Well, dear Eagle Heart, it is good that you are now sharing, and not keeping this to yourself. You know we are all here for you to help you in any way we can. You must have consulted a doctor about your memory loss. Isn't there anything he can do? I know there are medications that can help, even slow down memory loss. Do you take any of those?

Can you still read music? I was never good at memorizing piano pieces. You know, another thing that I have noticed is that talk show hosts, news reporters, and many radio hosts stumble over words all the time. They think nothing of it, and correct it immediately. But when we do that, we think,…oh oh…am I losing it? We are so bombarded with all kinds of illnesses that can come with age that it's no wonder we get paranoiac about it. I'm not belittling your problem,…not at all,…I'm just saying that maybe we read into normal aging things,…more then what they are.

In any case, dear Eagle Heart, I am glad you shared your problem with us. I'm sure it wasn't easy for you to put this down into words. I'm sure.

Please dear friend don't give up. Don't give in…and sharing is the first step.