I recently made a post that referenced a hideous creature called Alzheimer's Disease. It was intended to be humorous but, for understandable reasons, not everyone found it funny. To those that were offended, I do apologize for crossing a line. I failed to see that the line existed.

To those same individuals I offer this as perhaps a bit of solace:

My mother is currently in a state of dementia. So, I hear you and I sympathize with you and those in your family who have suffered through this debilitating and gut-wrenching situation.

I don't make jokes like that to be intentionally insensitive to what you and your loved ones have experienced. I make jokes like that simply because I'd rather find a reason to laugh or actually MAKE a reason to laugh rather than cry.

This wasn't about you. This wasn't about your family or their pain. This wasn't about my own mother's pain or the pain it brings to my family. This was about alleviating my own pain. That's what laughter does. And, if you lose the ability to laugh in the face of chaos and terror then, the disease takes more than just the life of the individual dying from it.

My mother will die not knowing who she is. Not knowing her husband. My mother will die not knowing me. If I sit and dwell on that shit then, part of me dies too.

Fuck that. I'm not going down with anything before it's my time.

I make jokes. Those of you who follow me know that. What most don't realize is that comedy comes from pain. And sometimes the jokes just aren't funny. But, dammit... I try. Because I don't want to cry.

Duke