A Lesson in Domestic Sociology

Father has exposed me to the underbelly of Life as a Senior, and I really wish he hadn't.

My mom's best friend started calling Dad the week after mom passed away. She wants to hook-up with him and offered to wear a black lace garter belt. I can't help but wonder if that helps disguise the fact that she has emphysema, a hump-back, and she was my mother's best friend. This gal has done the Married and Buried thing a total of four times. That's four husbands who died before she did. I think Dad's afraid he could be number five.

Sex is a still a big deal when you're older and I've recently learned that it's rampant in assisted living facilities. A good friend completed a research document about the prevalence of STDs in nursing homes. Figures from 32 states show that the number of persons over 50 with HIV or AIDS went from 40,000 in 2000 to more than 67,000 in 2003, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CBS News) Our misconception that old people don't have sex is way way way off the mark.

Back in California, Dad's eighty-four year old neighbor recently gave him a porn video and asked him to visit her so they could to watch it together. He declined. She then offered to give him another video. He declined. Apparently, she's "a chubby." Then there's the little problem that "he couldn't do anything if he tried." Two pieces of information that appall and disturb me at the same time.

Considering all of this new information has caused me to make comparisons of the elderly vs people who have head injuries. Tact seems to disappear and the normal, human sexuality impluses live very close to the surface. Recent studies tend to suggest that our aging brains do stop filtering appropriate vs inappropriate actions and comments. Which may be a contributing factor to my Dad's recent experiences.

I don't know why I'm so surprised by all of this. I guess it's just a tad disconcerting to hear Dad talk about all of his new sex-escapade opportunities with the hotties at the nursing home. I hadn't given it much thought up until now.

As his friend Phyllis commented at the dinner table, "I don't know how these men are going to handle all of these horny women running (sic) around here."

Dad's chuckle was filled with glee.