It’s sunny this morning, but I’m told it will rain this afternoon. We are making the best of it. We are off to the Farmers Market for bread, crab cakes, and Cindy’s soap. I want to write this afternoon about how we can get some food for the children of the Cambridge Pantry every day this week. Stay tuned.
I got this message the other day from a kindly blog reader:
Peter Loffler: “Your constant mixing up of Bud and Zip indicates cognitive decline. You do it much too frequently to excuse it as a minor slip. Please mention it to your doctor. Anti-dementia medication can help.”
My book editor suggested the same thing when I said I was giving up books to start my blog. I was hoping my cannabis might do it (it didn’t). No nursing home will take me.
Maria says it’s probably true but she’s decided to keep me around anyway for a while.
But I have a question for Peter and my Dyslexic friends (they are out there). Why do I often confuse the name Bud when I mean Zip, but I never use the name Zip when I mean Bud?
Dyslexics will probably know the answer, but I imagine the question will make Peter nuts.
More later.
Maria is playing with Zip with a garden flower stem. He is a kitten at heart. Zinnia is fascinated.
The dogs watch while I put my Sox on. Is this Bud or Zip?
The hens and some worms.
I’m not dyslexic, although I’m tending in that direction as I age. But I’d like to make a guess at the answer to your question. You’ve had Bud longer than you’ve had Zip, so his name is more deeply engraved in your mind. That means that you’re more likely to substitute Bud for Zip, but not vice versa. Am I close?
I find the human brain to be fascinating.
It’s a good question. I like the other Barbara’s response. But maybe you think of Zip as your buddy but not Bud as your zippy. Although I’m sure Bud zips around the yard looking for chipmunks. Oh, never mind … too complicated 😉
It might be a dyslexia thing, it might be an age thing, but more than likely it’s an “I’m a busy human and I write a lot and I have a full life and sometimes I use the wrong word” thing. Oy vey! We all knew what you meant when you said it as it was accompanied by a photo!
I am constantly entertained by what people worry about on your blog. For me, it’s a joy to log in every morning to find out how everything and everyone is doing on the farm. Yours is a real life with real problems — not glossy celebrities who typically only care about their image. Your “people I like or love” photos are the best of what is right in this country.
I am dyslexic and I mix up anything that is a choice of 2 (either this or that) and words that begin with letters K and F, for example, as they look exactly the same to me. (I have 3, 2-letter choices). Don’t even get me started on medicines that have similar names. I have to read and check them multiple times. I also drop out “connector words” like, “and” and “the”. I didn’t know this until I read aloud to an adult who said, “That’s not what this paragraph says.” I also do not know my left from my right. I do Port and Starboard just fine. And, as I learned teaching Headstart, just because you know your right hand doesn’t mean you can identify your left hand. Completely different side of the brain. I have reading comprehension problems in the late afternoon and evening but I’m fine in the mornings. Once I figured that out, I studied in the mornings. Caffeine is also essential to turn on the part of my malfunctioning brain.
I think every dyslexic has their own variations of things, from mixing up letters to writing backwards to directions. It depends where the brain has the disconnect. The only “mostly” universal thing I’ve noticed is that caffeine seems to help.
Thanks, Linda, for a great message; I appreciate it. I wrote this piece to have some fun with it, but it is serious. Peter knows nothing about Dyslexia or Dementia. I have been working with dementia patients at the Mansion for ten years. Their problem is not spelling; their problem is forgetting who the people in their lives are, or who they are. It is a tragic disease, and blessedly, I have no trouble knowing who the people in my life are, although I do often forget some of their names and have for years.
I was having some fun here; I know why this happens, and it isn’t easy even for kind and well-meaning people to understand. If Peter wanted to know about it, he could have asked rather than pretend to know. Bud and Zip are two creatures I live around, write about, and love. Of course, I know who they are. When I see their names, it often switches in my mind, mainly because there are three letters in both cases and sometimes both look the same. Because I have known Bud for years and mentioned him in the blog almost daily, he tends to pop up in my head as I get to know Zip, and that will decrease and eventually disappear. I never call it Zip Bud or Bud Zip, but in my head, it sometimes flips when I write.
But I can’t say it won’t happen again, and all I can say is if it bothers people, that’s their problem, not mine. If Peter is bothered by it, he is free to leave, and if he doesn’t, I’ll probably kick him out. I wrote 26 books with Dyslexia, which sometimes drove my editors nuts, but I also have five best sellers on the New York Times book list and have published the blog since 2007..
No one forces Peter to stay or even wants him to stay. There are a lot of Peters in the world, and few of them are interested in truth. The blog is free, and I work hard on it; somewhere along the line, he might remember to say thank you, or perhaps he never learned how to do it. I feel a lot more sorry for him than for me. In either case, I don’t care to talk to him about it. I have a lot of work to do, which is more pressing than him. Your explanation is good and clear, and I thank you for it. As I understand it, that is the truth of it. I can’t drink caffeine, but I’ll keep it in mind.
No, Jon, dementia is not only the end-stage variety. Everyone who goes on to develop full-blown dementia starts out with smaller memory lapses. Your confusion of words is definitely something to discuss with your doctor. It may be dyslexia, but it also may not be.
No, Erica, what I do or don’t discuss with my doctor is not your business. Get some manners. Do you really think I need to be told by a stranger who knows nothing about me when to see a doctor?
I am angry at Peter for suggesting anti-dementia medication can help, assuming he means well, but . . . I am not or ever have been a fan of super pharmaceuticals with their many side effects. I hardly register any more when you use the wrong name, I know who you mean from context and photos. Seems to me you are high functioning with the many different parts of your life and that you cram a lot in. I like what the Barbara’s and Sandy have said. On a metaphysical level, spend a little time with each animal and ask how to resolve the problem. Curious what you hear back.
Thanks for the message, Sharon, I won’t hear anything back, Sharon; people who send messages like that almost always disappear and are not heard from again. They hate being called out.
Oh good grief. I’m not dyslexic and I’m forever switching words and names. I’ve been doing this for decades so not dementia. Why are people so bothered? You’re upfront about having dyslexia, so what.
B comes before Z, your brain sees it first. Probably not the reason but it’s as good an explanation as any. And we all know what you mean, shows you’re human.
Very 🙂
I’ve noticed your interchanging/ misnaming Bud for Zip several times…..but I think nothing of it other than they are both part of your family…..both names have 3 letters……and hey, who doesn’t mix things up now and then? It’s easy to do, dyslexic or not. I always know what you mean……. and questioning it never enters my mind!
Susan M
RE Bud/Zip name staring — I am not dyslexic (ADD is my deal) BUT here is my theory — both are black and white fur pets (so the mental images have that link), but imagining your memory as a giant Rolodex B comes before Z, so Bud comes to mind first and he has been a part of your life longer is more embedded in your memory. That is my justification for when I am having a brain fart about some word or name that I am reaching for and my mental Rolodex has already gone past the letters I need to trigger the answer. Just a theory …….. (my e-mail and I aren’t on speaking terms (old computer, old system))
Jon,
Please keep on truckin’!
Fan since Running to the Mountain.
Thank you for your work.
Mickey
Thanks Mickey I’m not going anywhere
I think the name Bud is a form of endearment. Short for buddy. Zip is a name of movement. Like zip right along. You might be using your emotions to describe them instead of their names. That is my best guess.
I once called my daughter in front of a group of people Biscuit ,my dog’s name, several times as she running around with a bunch of kids. It’s all fine. Your faithful blog readers know who you mean and couldn’t care a less.
Jon, my Mom would reply to a rude and intrusive question/statement with. “And why does that matter so much to you?” That would leave anyone stammering. Lordy. She would also say, that if the haters would turn their considerable efforts towards light instead of heat, this world could be a better place. Hawking someone’s writing adds no value to Life.
I personally found the question you posed to be pretty amusing !