Terror

My Grandfather died when I was 5 or so. I don't have very clear memories of him. When I was very small I remember him being very tall but by the time he died diabetes had taken both of his legs. He had had a stroke about 15 years before he died and I don't remember his voice at all. The whole family was there when he finally died. Mom swears she saw his spirit rise out of him and go shooting off into space, she says glad to be free and ready to explore space. My Grandfather was a remarkable man. He was in Germany, going to school, when Hitler rose to power. He said that he left the country after the first time he heard Hitler speak. He said it was the most frightening thing he'd ever heard, because Hitler's power was that you *believed* him. Grandfather left that day, fled to England where he lied about his age and joined the air force. He could fly and spoke German, during the war he took people out of Germany and into Switzerland. He spoke 9 languages fluently, he worked on the Voyager space project. Mom says that as a child they were never allowed to watch TV because it "rots your brain" but now my most vivid memory is my grandfather sitting in his wheelchair, silent and without legs... watching TV.
Ever read Flowers for Algernon? If you haven't you should... If you ever want to see me reduced to a sobbing wreck have me read that story. I think the losing of your intelligence is the most terrifying prospect imaginable. Alzheimer's disease is the most cruel fate I can think of. I'm not a genius by any means but I think I am reasonably intelligent and the thought of losing that terrifies me.