It was a lovely Sunday morning, just after our second resident came for a visit, that Buddy needed some space, and walked out the door! Don’t worry, not far! John and I followed him first with our eyes, but then we walked up to him, enjoying the sunny day and fresh air.
It was in the green grass that Buddy saw them! White flying saucers pushing the green grass out of their way, to settle on Mother Earth! Don’t worry now! Buddy is not on a new drug or hallucinating….he saw huge white mushrooms!
I never touch a mushroom growing wild, and here Buddy was bending down, picking them, showing me which ones are bad and which ones are good. John was suspiciously looking at us, and I only saw good fresh air, and good exercise for Buddy, physically bending down and searching for more mushrooms, and mentally trying to tell me stories about these mushrooms!
He told me about many days ago how they picked these huge mushrooms in Hamburg and sending them to their hotel somewhere, to be served on the menu for lunch! ‘Cost effective!” he said. He had so much confidence that gullible me, enjoyed all the new information! He laughed when I was trying to wipe his hands, so scared that something poisonous will get into his mouth! He was peeling the things, telling me that if you can peel them they fine…and then he will show me the others which he couldn’t peel!
He picked a whole bunch and I had to carry these things. ” All I need is a pot now, and I can cook them!” he said. Oh dear, oh dear….what’s going to happen if I am poisoning this poor man with Dementia? But I couldn’t stop the fun he was having and my brain was working at a speed. John’s too! He rushed home to Google!
The first site he stumbled on was a Care Home in Canada where four people died after eating a mushroom soup the Carer prepared for them! Oh dear…
A while later a very excited and hungry Buddy and me walked into our house, with mushrooms! Buddy just wanted a pot! I poured us some ‘black stuff ‘ to get him away from the stove, while John was hiding the “Denny Mushrooms” packet from one of the local shops! Soon a pan with lots of coconut oil and garlic and mushrooms were sizzling on the stove! Buddy supervising with one of the wild ones in his hand….and John trying to only keep it safe with the Denny ones.
I put the bucket of wild mushrooms around the corner, but the pungent smell of them made my stomach turn.
John dished up the mushrooms and I enjoyed them! (Denny mushrooms never tasted so safe) Buddy looked at me and only took a small piece with his fingers and slowly put it into his mouth! He was complaining to the cook, that they were not cooked well enough! All of a sudden he wanted to go back to his house, and said he will have some mushrooms later!
I walked back with him, but this time in silence. Only when we reached the gate he turned around and asked me: ” How do you feel?”
Oh dear, oh dear…..he was scared to eat the mushrooms! He was not a hundred percent sure! And here I thought he loves me, but he let me eat all that mushrooms first!
I took him safely home after spending a wonderful day with him!
Just this morning about a week later, looking for the pea hen with the four babies, he saw mushrooms again and said: ” I wish I still knew which ones are the good ones and which ones not!” And I still chuckle at myself, thinking that for a moment I forgot Buddy has Dementia, I almost wanted to believe him. Then again, wild mushrooms need more than a good memory to select between good or bad. To me it was so funny….but the fun we had for a couple of hours was golden memories made….
They say…..Falling in love, is like eating an unknown mushroom. You never know it’s the real thing until it is too late…
I just read the story with Ben and we concur , Buddy is a legend haha