Dear Sidney,

A heat wave is upon us here on the mountain. One minute there is so much snow that we can’t get out of our driveways and the next minute the heat has us sheltering inside drinking yet another Cuba Libre while watching Turner Classic Movies.

I’m asking for your advice concerning my aunt and uncle on my mother’s side of the family. Mom has passed but, very recently and simultaneously, her brother and his wife have come down with two cases of extreme hearing loss and dementia. When I visit at their Sun Lakes home, chaos ensues. These two have not slept in the same bed for 40-some years. They have their own rooms.

The scuttlebutt is that their children are moving them into an independent living one-bedroom apartment – the house to be sold to pay for the arrangement – and only one dog can come along and they have three of them!

I cherish the friendship with my aunt and uncle. I’m not wealthy, but I do have a three-bedroom/two-bath cabin in Cedarpines Park. I have a fenced yard for their dogs. I, myself, am 75 years old. My aunt and uncle are 83 and 92. I want to invite them to live with me, but their children are against it.

What say you?

Nice Niece in CPP

Dear Niece,

These are trying times. We’re all going to die. It’s frightful to realize that how and where we die ends up being at the discretion of our undeserving family; yes, no matter what our directive states, unless an attorney remains on retainer to watch over our desires.

I commend you for attempting to step in and save your aunt and uncle from a personal hell. But are you prepared to take on two crazies? They are going to require the diaper parade very soon.

Step back. Say your good-byes and enjoy your life. You can’t save them. They should have planned ahead. Not your problem. Put loads of ice in your rum and Coke.

Sidney

Send your questions for Sidney to [email protected] or by snail mail to Dear Sidney, The Alpine Mountaineer, P.O. Box 4572, Crestline, CA 92325.

This advice is intended for entertainment purposes only. No animals were harmed in the writing of this column.