Mixed Feelings

An elderly woman talks on a cordless telephone.

The demented old woman who called the Complete and Total Loser incessantly for over a year died on Christmas Day of last year, 2015. She was 92.
She'd been calling the Loser for nearly two years in the belief that he was her father, who had died many years ago, of course, with whom the Loser shared both first and last name. The calls were occasional and entertaining at first, but as time passed and her dementia worsened, they became more and more frequent, often over twenty a day. No matter what the Loser said, she would forget it and call again, usually within minutes. 
Last fall, the Loser finally looked up the man who's name appeared on the caller ID, sent him a polite email explaining the situation, and the calls stopped. 
Now the Loser feels guilty for robbing an old woman of what seemed to be the only purpose she had in life. 
Then again, she was a pain in the ass.

Madness and stuff

1. The elderly woman who has been trying to contact her father left a longish message yesterday. (Quick background: She thinks she's in her 80s and her father has the same name as the Loser.) Usually, the answering machine confuses her and she tries to talk to it, gets frustrated when there's no response, and hangs up, despite the Loser's clear outgoing message. This time she left a calm message for "Mom or Dad," and included her name and telephone number. 
The pictures her alone in a comfortable apartment, sitting peacefully, when suddenly the urge to talk to her father, who has probably been dead for several years, bubbles up among tangled neurons and she reaches for a pad with the Loser's name and number on it. The Loser has politely coached her a few times to write "No, not this number" next to the number, but to no effect.

2. The Loser was going to have dinner with a friend who lives half an hour away and has been depressed lately. (Neither cares for football so watching the Super Bowl had nothing to do with this. There are mild weather concerns, but it looks doubtful that the streets will be bad.) The Loser was ready to go, when he got an email from his friend saying that on his visiting sister's advice (she's a psychiatrist) he was checking himself into an emergency psychiatric care facility for a few days for evaluation and treatment. 
3. Yesterday, the Loser went to a funeral service for an old friend of the family's. About four years ago, he went to the same church for the female half of the couple who's male half's death precipitated the service. That time, he drove his parents, who have since died. The Loser stayed for the reception and spoke to two of the couple's sons and their only daughter, all of whom he had known when they were all children. After the service and reception, the Loser and a couple he's friends with went out for lunch. Two others who'd attended, a man and a woman, went also. The Loser thought he felt a spark between he and the woman, but she's far out of his league, being employed and good looking. 

4. Another friend of the Loser's will visit tomorrow. He sounds troubled and says he is nearly broke. He and the Loser shared the same job and were fired together last summer. 

First time this year

The elderly woman who called the Complete and Total Loser several times last fall called him for the first time since then this morning.
He had forgotten the name, a man's, on the caller ID and it took the Loser a few moments to remember her. 
She didn't sound well. 
Background: The woman, who is fairly sure that she is in her 80s, is looking for her father who has long been separated from her part of the family. He moved to the Loser's region decades ago, but they have never met. He and the Loser share the same first and last names. (The Loser's late father was an only child and he had no cousins.) The woman lives about four miles from the Loser.
It is statistically improbable that her father is alive.

The woman was pleasant as always this morning but she sounded more disoriented than before. She had, as always, no recollection of talking to the Loser previously and she had no reaction when he gently reminded her that they had conversed several time before. Such occurrences are likely a common element of her life now. 
As he has written here before, part of the Loser wishes he were clever enough to pull off impersonating an elderly man and convincing the woman that he is indeed her father and that he is delighted to hear from her. Think how happy that would make her! He knows, however, that trying that would probably lead to heartbreak and ultimately be cruel. So the Loser says he's not her father and after long apologies from the woman she writes down the Loser's number, vows not to call him again, hangs up and forgets about her search. 
Until the next time.