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EdnaBambrick wrote:They always defend him by stating 'he was in the army and knows his way around guns'. I point out that even the Russian Army wouldn't let this kind of stupidity go unabated.

My father is a retired Marine/National Guard veteran. But he seems to forget the basic things he was taught while in the military! I showed him my carry gun once, after unloading it and handing it to him with the cylinder open (J Frame S&W, model 36), and he closes the cylinder and, while pointing the gun up in the air, yelled "YeeHaw" and pulled the trigger about 5 times!! One other time (I wasn't present) he was messing around with a .22 Saturday night special, pointed the gun at the wall, and pulled the trigger! It was loaded. Almost shot the 50 gallon fish tank. Needless to say, I don't even mention guns around him anymore, even though he knows I carry. For a guy who was supposedly an "expert" with his pistol and rifle, he sure got stupid in his old age! By the way, I have that .22 now; his wife gave it to me after that little episode. The senility angle is interesting...

Nobody has ever been killed by an unloaded gun, unless they were clubbed to death. Many, many, many folks have been shot, killed, wounded or scared to death by many guns that were thought to be unloaded. This is why all guns should be treated as if they are loaded. This act of your FIL was rude, careless and socially unacceptable. As far as Alzheimer or dementia goes, the things you mentioned happen every day to health folks of all ages. Just because he doesn't behave the way you want him to doesn't make him sick or mentally ill, but you do not have to tolerate unsafe and dangerous behavior.

Dementia sneaks up on people and families don't want to admit it. Don't be in denial. Too often people end up being diagnosed 5 to even 10 years after the disease has started, which really is too late to do anything to do much of anything. The earlier it's found, the better the chances are of managing symptoms and preserving a good life for everyone.