The Hackman Syndrome
Are You Affected
I chose this picture for this article, first because I like it, and second because it is appropriate for this article.
A fast car for a fast syndrome, and I was wondering if I was the only one.
The Hackmans
I had never watched any of Gene Hackmans movies, but I had heard of him like most people.
And then he died, and he was famous all over again. He didn't just die, he was found deceased one week after he died of natural causes, lying on the floor of his and his wife's mansion in New Mexico. His wife Betsy died a week before that, and they were both found deceased on the floor.
We All Could Learn Lessons From That
We assume that all people have family that checks on them in their old age, but that isn't necessarily the truth.
Some People Have No One
Some people have no one at all, and other people have family but they don't get along, and they don't want to be bothered.
In Gene Hackmans case he had three children and it's a situation where they hadn't checked on the Hackman's in months. His children lived in California.
I Find Myself In The Same Situation
I had two children, unfortunately one was murdered, the other disowned me for reasons I don't understand, and with that situation it claimed my only two Grandchildren.
So I Named It The Hackman Syndrome
We find ourselves cleaning out things, that would ordinarily be left for family to clean out. They could pick and choose what they wanted and did not want.
However, in our situation we are cleaning out pre-death, so to speak. I am 75 and my husband is 70, I am handicapped with health issues, and he is my care giver. He has already had cancer once, and we now find ourselves alone, of course we have each other.
We own our own home, and it is paid off. We hope to stay in it as long as possible.
Do You Think It Is Common
Leave a comment, and who do we leave our home to???
Are We The Only Ones???
We feel like it, and it makes me miss my murdered son even more, even a decade later.
Leave a comment with your thoughts.
About the Creator
Susan Payton
I love to write in every venue. I am 75 years old and try to make every day count,. I am learning a great deal about poetry on Vocal, and I am glad to be here.
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Comments (3)
Oh, so sorry about your son. That is such a sad story. Wonder how the kids feel, Yes, it is very common. But with such famous persons, i figure a caregiver at least who reported to the children. Still, family is family, no matter what. I hope your family comes around, prayers.
This is a sad reality for many across the country. Families, for whatever reason, often fail to check in on the older generation as they should.
This was a very intriguing article. As we age these stories certainly stick with us more. I love how you started with the story of Gene Hackman then turned it into something personal. In answer to your question, I think it's a lot more common than we like to believe. Our culture has started valuing money and careers over families and the trade-off is that we no longer have the built in support network that existed for our ancestors. We move further away both physically and emotionally. For your home, you could put it in a trust and leave it to a charity, something close to your heart that would be in honor of your lost son. He served in the military right? Maybe there's a charity for veterans or military families that you could find.