Memory Loss

A distraught man staggers into a psychiatrist's office and slumps into a chair.

"You've got to help me, Doc," he says. "I'm losing my memory."

"Tell me about it," says the shrink.

"Well," says the man, "I once had a successful business, a wife, home and family. I was a respected member of the community. But all that's gone now. Since my memory began failing, I've lost the business; I couldn't remember my clients' names. My wife and children have left me, too, and why shouldn't they? Some nights I wouldn't get home until four or five in the morning. I'd forget where I lived ... And it's getting worse, Doc. It's getting worse!"

"This is not an unusual form of neurosis," the psychiatrist says soothingly. "Now tell me, just how long ago did you first become aware of this condition?"

"Condition?" The man sits up in his chair and looks the psychiatrist in the eye. "What condition?"