Open Writing

‘Alzheimer’s Disease? You can’t be serious! Dad has been running this property single-handed for years. Suddenly he’s not well and requires a spell in hospital. Are you sure you’re right? Couldn’t it be that he just needs a rest from hard work?’ There was obvious doubt in Don’s voice. He was reluctant to accept what the doctor was telling him.

Dr. Hopgood shook his head gently. ‘I’m sorry, Donald, your father is certainly in the first stages of Alzheimer’s. It’s been coming for a long time. It’s a degenerative disease. With increasing age we all have memory problems but this complaint is much more insidious. It’s not like forgetting for a few moments where you parked the car. It can be a complete wipeout of everything over a long period. He would have realised what was happening to him and in the beginning would have done his best to hide it from everyone. Since your mother died last year he hasn’t tried to conceal his problem.’

Don Boyd had been called home by the family doctor. Don was a podiatrist with a large practice and had to quickly contact all next week’s patients and cancel appointments. His wife, Kate, a partner in an Accounting firm, insisted on accompanying him and also had to make quick arrangements to be away.

Standing in the hospital foyer, Doctor Hopgood told the concerned couple, ‘You have to understand that Steve will no longer be able to run the property. You will have to make other arrangements, or sell it. George Saunders, his neighbour, took the dogs and the cow over to his place some months ago so there are no animals to concern you for the moment. Don Boyd lifted his arms in a helpless gesture.

‘God, I hate the smell of hospitals,’ Kate said, taking a small pink handkerchief from her handbag. ‘It sets off my hayfever. Let’s talk to Dad, he’ll be glad to see us.’

‘Yes. Go in and talk to him,’ Dr. Hopgood encouraged them. Remember, he will seem to be quite ‘with it’ at first but later will have only a hazy recollection of what you spoke about.’ Don and Kate nodded, smiled and headed for the ward.

Steve Boyd had great admiration for his daughter-in-law. He had to leave school early and start work and so farming was the only thing he knew. Because of this he thought Kate was terribly clever running a house, raising two children and building a large, profitable business. He didn’t have the same regard for Don’s achievements. He expected him to be successful. After all, he sent him to a good boarding school to ensure he did not have to work as hard as himself for so little return. He’d realised early that the property would not support two families and Don would need to be educated for something else.

'Come in. Come in, pull up a chair.’ Steve Boyd smiled and made a sweeping arc with his right arm.

'Hullo Dad’ Don reached out and shook his father’s hand. Kate leaned over and kissed the old man on the cheek.

‘I don’t know what I’m doing here. I had a bit of a turn and George Saunders panicked and rang for Hopgood. I’m lucky I don’t have a crop to worry about this year.’

‘Why didn’t you put something in, Dad. Even a couple of acres of lucerne would have been worth the effort wouldn’t it?’

‘Oh. I just decided to give the paddocks a rest.’ Steve was very off-handed about his lapse. ‘The truth is, Don, I’ve started to feel my age. I’m goin’ to try and get a share farmer or I’ll have to sell the place. I don’t want to do that. I’m too old to find somewhere else to live. The shearer’s hut on the back paddock would suit me now.’

Don watched his father closely. He was still having difficulty coming to terms with the diagnosis and was looking for signs of memory loss.

‘Kate and I will find someone to work the property for you, Dad. Don’t worry. It would probably be a good idea if you gave us your Power of Attorney.’

‘What the hell is that?’ Steve’s voice sounded fearful. Kate put her hand over his resting on the hospital quilt. ‘It means Dad that you agree for us to handle the property the way you would want to do it.’

‘Oh! that’ll be O.K. I want you to be involved Kate. Don doesn’t know anything about business. He’s only good at ‘foot doctoring.’ Kate and Don both smiled at the old man’s ‘put down’ of his son’s profession. ‘We’ll stay out at the farm for a while so that we can come and see you often. We’ll also have a think about the best way to go.’

Old Steve relaxed at Kate’s reassurance. ‘Good, but remember I want to keep living there. Find a sharecropper or a manager.’

‘We’ll look after it, Dad. Don’t worry, just get yourself better.’ Kate again patted his large brown hand.

‘We’ve taken a hefty task on ourselves,’ Don said as they left the ward. ‘He’s never had a shearer’s hut; he never had sheep!’

‘I know the size of the task probably better than you do,’ Kate responded. I have a couple of farmers as clients and they’re not doing well. They’d say they’re going broke. Repair expenses on all their equipment has doubled in recent years. Their returns are small. The cost of planting crops often outstrips the selling price. Your father’s place has a lot of poor soil and stony ground that makes the whole property a marginal proposition.’

As they drove up to the farm gate both Don and Kate felt a cold shiver of despair.

‘Oh, God. Look at the place. There’s hardly any paint left on the place.’ Don wiped a hand across his forehead.

The old house where he’d spent his childhood was now an unsightly eyesore.

‘The rain gutters around the roof are rusted through,’ Kate said.

‘Look at the gate lying flat on the ground. Bloody weeds are entangled through its mesh. How the hell will we ever get anyone to work here, let alone buy the place.’ Don was completely dejected.

‘It certainly doesn’t look as though your father has had much interest in the place for a long while.’

‘Darling, I know I shouldn’t ask you to do this, after all he is my father, but you have a better handle on these things. Would you find out what we might get for the place? Rummage around in the old man’s study and see what sort of a business it was at its best.’

‘That’s a bit rough, Don. Do you mean I should look through your father’s books and check his income?’

Don put his hand on her shoulder. ‘Kate, if we are to do anything with this place we have to know what it’s worth.’

‘Your father is going to be hard to convince to do anything.’

It didn’t take Kate long to find the stack of unpaid accounts. They sat in the middle of the old redwood desk and there had been no attempt to hide them. Searching through the drawers she did find a notebook jammed into a corner. Its contents alarmed her. More urgent was a letter of demand from the bank for outstanding overdraft repayments. It threatened action in four weeks unless a large payment was received. It was dated a month ago. She also found a magazine opened at an article about Alzheimer’s disease with many of the early symptoms underlined with yellow highlighter pen.

Kate sat at the desk and pondered the complex financial mess. With no money at all and debts totalling about the same as the property was likely to realise at an auction, the future for Steve looked bleak. He’s brought a lot of this on himself, Kate thought with a touch of sadness. He’s created most of his own predicament. Has his creeping illness caused his troubles, she wondered. Then her accountant’s mind began to puzzle how anyone with such an illness could do the things the little notebook showed.

Kate got up and walked to the study window and looked out over the debt-ridden farm. She could hear the hum of insects among the weeds. Her eyes lingered for a moment on a bee ravishing a dandelion. She tried to push from her mind the nagging suspicion that Steve’s illness was a cover for the financial ruin he’d brought on himself. How sick is he? Should she tell Don about everything she had found? As her keen eyes drifted over the farm her gaze rested for a few moments on the suburbs a few miles beyond the far fence. A germ of an idea began to spin around in her head.

‘It might just do the trick if I could pull it off’ she muttered to herself. ‘It would let him continue to live here even if we had to have a close watch on him.’

He will certainly object, she knew, but felt he might become a bit more co-operative when he realised she had found the notebook. What about Don? He’ll be furious when he knows the truth. Well, he’s not going to know the real problem until we face Steve together, Kate decided.

At dinner Kate told Don as much as she wanted him to know at present. ‘Your father, darling, has huge debts. What he doesn’t have is Alzheimer’s; I’m convinced of that. He’s faking to cover up the money problems he’s created.’ As Don began to interject Kate held up her hand and continued, ‘I found a magazine in his drawer with all the early symptoms underscored. The bank is about to sell him up. If we are to do anything worthwhile it’s got to be urgent. I’ve had a hunch that I want to follow up in town tomorrow. I want to call on a few people before I raise your hopes. Be patient, darling.’

Don grabbed his chance to speak. ‘What the hell do you mean, Kate? Is there are a chance he could loose his home? And what’s this about him not having Alzheimer’s? Has he fooled the doctor but not you? The magazine might mean he has simply been checking the symptoms to ensure he wasn’t becoming a victim. Don was getting angry and his face glowed red right to the hairline.

‘You have a right to be upset darling but remember you asked me to handle this sorry mess. Trust me. I think I might be able to find a way out for all of us. It’ll need Dad’s co-operation but I believe I can get that. Tomorrow after my visit to the city,’ Kate explained, ‘we’ll go and see Dad and sort out everything, I hope.’ She smiled at her husband and waved her crossed fingers.

Kate spent a busy day in the nearby city. On the way home again she felt more confident. Don was anxious for news when she returned. ‘Wait until tonight, darling. After we visit Dad I feel certain he’ll see the light. He’ll realise my plan is his only chance but I must say I’m not looking forward to the showdown.

‘You can handle him, darl.’ Don had a weak smile for his wife.

‘Got any news for me’ Steve was propped up against his pillows and looked particularly alert.‘Indeed we do,’ Kate spoke first. ‘You’ve let things get into a bit of a mess haven’t you, Dad?’

Don watched his father closely; Kate’s suspicions about his illness uppermost in his mind.

‘I’ve been crook, ya’know.’ Steve was beginning to feel his illness was not attracting the sympathy he deserved. Kate spoke firmly. ‘Dad you know, and now I know, that all the debts and neglected bank payments have nothing to do with being crook.’

Steve and Don both began to speak at once. Kate held up her hand. ‘Hear me out then you can have your say.’ Her voice left no room for argument.

‘Firstly, if nothing is done the bank is going to claim your property and some creditor will try to bankrupt you. That will mean you are forced off the farm and will probably finish up living in an old people’s home.’

‘Never’ grunted Steve.

‘Oh yes they will.’ Kate was maintaining her authoritative position.

‘Well what’s the other choice?’

‘The three acres nearest the town is very stony and won’t even grow weeds. You have never grown a crop there. It would be more valuable as development land, I thought. A present bus service would need only be extended a kilometre to make it highly desirable residential land. I asked the Council if they’d rezone for housing.’

‘A great help that mob would be’ Steve muttered.

‘ Don't be so uptight, dad. They quickly agreed. The largest building company in town quickly showed interest when I outlined my plan. With these assurances I called on the bank and got a month’s grace to complete the sale of those three acres. Then they would want payment in full within three months. I believe you could get enough for that small piece of land to clear all your debts and leave a nice little sum for a rainy day’.

‘You mean I would have to look out at heaps of little boxes?’ Steve was not impressed with Kate’s plans.

‘They won’t be little boxes, Dad. They’ll be modern homes and either you look at some of them in the distance or you’ll be looking through bars at a bare exercise yard.’

Did you say there would be some money over after debts are paid?’

‘Yes there will be some but I’m going to insist that it be paid into a trust account requiring two signatures to get the funds. You and Don would both have to agree before any money could be withdrawn.’

‘You mean I have to get approval to use my own money?’ Steve was indignant.

'‘Dad, I’m sorry to do this to you but I do have this.’ Kate waved the little notebook. ‘This tells me I must insist we have two signatures over your spending.’

Steve dropped his head and looked rattled. Don reached out for the notebook. ‘Let me see that. He’s a bit old to have a ‘little black book’ isn’t he?’

‘It’s not an address book, darling. It’s a complete record of your father’s losses at the casino during the last year.’

‘No wonder the bloody place is run down’ Don groaned