No real English gentleman, in his secret soul, was ever sorry for the death of a political economist.
Vets do what doctors used to – diagnose the injury or the condition, patch it up as best they can and remind you that these things happen and that in life we are also in the midst of death.
Somehow, knowing that Alzheimer’s is coming mocks all one’s aspirations – to tell stories, to think through certain issues as only a novel can do, to be recognised for one’s accomplishments and hard work – in a way that old familiar death does not.
I think when you’re 10 years old, it’s too much to see something with the threat of death in every episode. Kids are better left naive about certain things.