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Luther Odom / Why Luther is no longer
communicating on "Facebook"
From:
Ben Beauchamp
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Nicky keeps me informed as to the "Procter Street
Drag" communications and "Bro" Dennis Hollander was kind enough to inquire
about Luther on several occasions.
Until recently, Luther lived on the East side of the Brazos River in
Montgomery County and I live quietly on the West side in Washington
County. We often visited each other and generally kept in touch. About
three years ago, Nicky was visiting and we asked Luther to join us for
supper. Even though he had been to my place many times, we did not think
much about it when he called three times for directions (on his way) to my
home and after arriving we had a pleasant visit. When Luther was ready to
leave he asked which way to turn on the county road when he was at the end
of my drive. I told him left. He then called when he reached the
intersection of the county road and 105. He seemed nervous and confused
when I told him he could turn either left or right because the only way to
cross the Brazos River was left over 105 through Navasota or right on 290.
We asked him to come back and follow us to where he was familiar. He
followed us and very close to his home area we told him to turn right
which was the road his house was on; he said he knew where he was and
thanked us. A few minutes later he called again and said he had missed the
turn. He never admitted he was lost, just confused in the dark. He then
followed us to his home.
I immediately contacted his son Aaron and passed the information on. Aaron
said he too had noticed things were not exactly right!
Over the next few years Luther began to stay very close to his home with
his 7 dogs, 3 goats and 2 cats. He made excuses as to why he did not want
to go places and it became apparent the reason was: he simply could not
negotiate driving distances he was not familiar with.
We still visited (at his home) and often talked on the phone. I based the
conversations on high school and other things in the distant past. He
could still be fairly rational but his short term memory was slipping
away. He was always glad to hear from me but had no idea when I had last
called and the subject of our conversation. I just asked the same
questions and discussed things we were both familiar with.
All this time his wonderful son Aaron (who is a nurse) was watching and
paying close attention to him and I kept track of him as best I could.
There is nothing to be gained in describing the onset of his dementia
resulting in a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s as we are all too familiar with
the sad, debilitating course it takes. Sadly Luther lost his father early
in his life to "hardening of the arteries" and knew only too well what
might occur. Suffice it to say, Luther is no longer able to maintain his
lifestyle living alone and is now in the Atria (2401 Green Oak Dr.,
Kingwood, TX 77339) in Kingwood. He still has a phone
(713
502-7888), but is not able to access the
Internet as he is simply too vulnerable to those willing to take advantage
of persons in his condition. Depending on the day, he enjoys talking about
past times, but his short term memory is becoming more challenged as time
goes on. If you call or visit him, and I hope you will, please don’t make
your conversation a guessing game. Tell him who you are and talk about old
times. He will be glad to hear from you and you might think him fine.
For those of you who may not know: Luther is a retired police officer,
divorced with 4 children. He was awarded 3 Purple Heart Medals for wounds
received (yes sir, 3) while serving in the Army in Vietnam, was an avid
bicyclist and pedaled all over Texas. He can still talk about many things
but often can’t remember how long he served in the Army or when he retired
and such. His son Aaron is his primary care giver and has given his
permission for me to say the above. My understanding is: you can still
contact Luther on "Facebook" and Aaron will get it to him. I hope this
helps somewhat to answer your questions as to Luther’s condition.
I have tried to keep this short and to the point but it hurts my heart as
I write it. My dear friend, Bob Jackson was kind enough to note what a
great thing it is to hear good news about Mike Eaves instead of the usual
sad notes. I could not agree more but thought about the recent death of
Ann Neumann (Randazzo), Bishop Byrne "62", due to Alzheimer’s. Ann was my
date to our Senior Prom! Time passes.
Take care friends!
Ben Beauchamp |
