Hello everyone:

I heard a story some time ago about bad decisions and thought I would pass it on to you today. This story was told to me by one of my students. He knew a man, who we will call “the Colonial,” as a patient at a home for veterans. My student realized that the man never had any visitors, in spite of his having been a man of considerable influence during the span of his career.

The Colonial shared his story in small parts, over a period of time. He had been married three times, ditching each of his first two wives after they hit the ripe old age of forty, saying “they just kind of lose something around that age, you know?”

He had children with his first two wives, and now has a boatload of grandchildren, who he no longer sees. His third wife (who is now in her mid-forties) was “the best darn divorce lawyer in town.” She now lives comfortably in the house the Colonial paid for, using money from his investments to support her lifestyle.

Wife number three does not come to see him, preferring the company of younger men to that of her bitter, chronically ill, late-eighties husband. His kids and grandkids hate him; his current wife ignores him. He did not make very good plans for his own future, placing great importance on having a trophy wife, but not understanding what would happen to him if he became institutionalized.

The Colonial might have been a very important man, but he did not make good decisions and it is costing him plenty now. He seemed to think that the grass was greener elsewhere, but that was probably because it was over the septic tank.

Best,

Dr. Sheri