Dear Readers,

I didn’t get any letters I could use for this week’s column (write me some!) so I decided to talk about a story that’s been really bothering me. This week, you get unsolicited advice. And that is, don’t do this.

The original story can be read in full here: http://www.slate.com/id/2192178/. It’s well worth the read. It’s a love story with the saddest ending since Romeo and Juliet. Only this one is real. She was in her eighties, and he was 94. They both suffered from dementia and lived in the same nursing home. And none of that is unusual. What is unusual is that these two fell in love.

She used to wear the same yellow dress, day in, day out. But once she began this new relationship, she dressed up, did her hair, wore jewelry, smiled and was happy all the time. Her doctors said her health and mental clarity both improved immensely. Similar benefits were seen in him.

But when his son walked in on this blissfully happy couple having sex one day, he threw a hissy fit, and demanded someone put a stop to the relationship immediately. When no amount of effort on the part of the staff managed to keep the lovers apart, the anal little jerk moved his father to a new place, crushing both their spirits, breaking both their hearts, and robbing them of their last chance at happiness in this lifetime.