CHOKING CHOKING

Sometimes I just start choking. I find it happening more and more. I happens when I'm drinking water -- never when I'm eating. Sometimes, I'll be in the livingroom choking. My wife asks, "What are you doing?" I try to squeak out, "Oh nothing; just choking -- don't mind me." Then I choke some more. When I'm done, I tell my wife that I pity her for what she's in for. This is partly in jest.

But at night, things are different. I dream that I'm choking on nothing. I can't stop. I am unable to swallow. I wake up choking. And am horrified.

My grandmother died of Alzheimer's. With Alzheimer's, you forget how to swallow. My wife and I saw her spitting up ginger ale many times. In my dreams, I've had a foretaste of my throat closing up and not working.

Here is a picture of me cleaning out my grandmother's house, preparing for the estate sale, with my brothers Christian and Rob. For some reason, Christian is choking Rob.