Age gap and wage gap frustrate girlfriend
Dear Sick: Would these family members go out to dinner and then invite another person to come over and sit in the middle of the table to converse with them during the meal? Probably not. But this is what they are doing when they talk and text during the meal.
My casual observation is that adolescents do this, and then the distraction wanes until people hit the age of 60 or so. Older people seem to be very heavy smartphone users, and also oblivious to the impact on others.
The next time you go out with them, ask your companions if they would be willing to play a game: The first person to reach for their phone pays for dessert.
Dear Amy: Regarding "T," who said his wife was having secret chats with an old flame after many years of marriage ... family members should please consider that she might have early onset dementia.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which can strike when people are young (in their 40s and 50s), has a few variants. The behavioral variant causes people who have it to exhibit behaviors like T described, including the apathy for his emotional distress.
It is an awful disease.
-- Been There
Dear Been There: FTD is relatively rare. Hooking up with a former flame is relatively common. But I agree with you that dementia is a possibility, and thank you for the suggestion.
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(You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@amydickinson.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or "like" her on Facebook. Amy Dickinson's memoir, "The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter and the Town that Raised Them" (Hyperion), is available in bookstores.)
