A Story. "Faulty Connections" and Jewelweed

 Here is another story:

Faulty Connections

Bill wasn't looking forward to his doctor's appointment, but he felt he had to share the concerns he and his wife had about his memory, his problem solving, his word finding and understanding.

"I'm having trouble with my memory," he began.

"Just normal aging, but I'll give you a short assessment."

Ten minutes later, Bill had drawn a clock, identified a camel, recited three numbers backwards, remembered five words, and completed other similar tasks.

"Perfect score, Bill."

He left the office relieved, no dementia.  Driving home, he mistakenly pressed the accelerator at the stop sign and crashed into a car.

Jewelweed is not a terribly common weed in our area but it really likes the damper areas of our property. It has juicy stems like an impatiens and grows 5-6' tall.  It's an annual but it scatters its seeds by popping its ripe seed pods which flings the seeds a fair distance.  The plants are easy to pull out as they are very shallow rooted.  It is a bit of a nuisance in the gardens but it is much better than stinging nettle which also grows here and there.  The flowers are small - less than an inch- but they are interesting if you stop and have a good look at them.