Yeggs over easy

The rehab is doing my mom good! Every day things are better.

Last night she wanted to do the puzzle from the paper. I could not remember that last time that had happened.

My brother had taken the sports section, where the puzzle is, so I went down the hall to the sitting room to look for another copy. Ah! There was one on the coffee table. An old guy was sitting in front of it but he appeared to be watching TV.

I approached, all ready to say, "You don't mind if I grab the paper, do you?"

But the guy was asleep with his mouth open. Ha, ha! He must have been reading something I wrote!

I took the paper and went back to my mom's room. We do the puzzle. My mom was kind of down for the count by then after all her physical therapy but she wasn't ready to go to sleep. That was an improvement too. There are improvements as far as the eye can see.

And after months of discouragement she was suddenly up to the clues! I was reading them and she was answering them. Even clues I did not know!

We get to "Safecracker." I told my mom: "Four letters ending in a G."

I was thinking "Thug," maybe. But I wanted my mom to get it.

My mom goes immediately: "Yegg."

"Yegg?" I said.

"Yes, yegg." She spelled it.

"Mom, I never heard that word," I said.

But sure enough.

Anyway. Things are sure better! You would not believe this but there was a time not too long ago when Mom could not remember Leonard Pennario's name. Imagine being around me day in and day out and not remembering that.

She said: "Who was that pianist you were friends with and are writing your book about?"

That was when I knew something was seriously wrong!

Now we are worlds from that. Cross fingers and say prayers, it really looks as if things are turning around. Plus I have learned a new word, yegg.

I will have to work it into this Web log!